Panasonic Lumix DMC-LS80 (Black)
Manufacturer: Panasonic Part number: CNETDMCLS80K
- More product information:
- Editors' review
- User reviews
- Specifications
- Product series
- Accessories
- Manufacturer info
- Bottom Line:
- Though it stands out as one of the least expensive digital cameras to sport optical image stabilization, the LS80's performance and pictures simply don't hold up against competing budget cameras.
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Where to buy
| store | customer rating | inventory | tax & shipping | price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon.com Marketplace |  | See Site | Enter zip code to get total price: Price +Tax +Shipping =Total price | as of 12/02/2009 |
CNET editors' review
Panasonic Lumix DMC-LS80 (Black) price range: $249.99
- Reviewed by: Will Greenwald
- Reviewed on: 03/27/2008
The good: Optically stabilized lens; great color reproduction; can shoot widescreen video.
The bad: Noisy, soft pictures; very slow performance.
The bottom line: Though it stands out as one of the least expensive digital cameras to sport optical image stabilization, the LS80's performance and pictures simply don't hold up against competing budget cameras.
Panasonic's Lumix DMC-LS80 is a camera without pretense. It's an 8-megapixel snapshot camera with optical image stabilization and a price less than $200, you won't mistake it for a sleek, high-end ultracompact camera. Still, the LS80 feels comfortably small and light. It measures about 1.2 inches deep and weighs just 6.3 ounces with SD card and batteries. Its relatively slim profile design lets it fit easily into most pockets. The extra 0.2 inch it sports over slimmer ultracompacts lets the LS80 take AA batteries, which are generally more convenient and readily available than the proprietary rechargeable batteries most superslim cameras use. The camera's interface is its greatest design weakness. It uses several small, flat buttons and switches that feel uncomfortable and awkward, especially under large thumbs. The layout makes it far too easy to tap an adjacent button accidentally when manipulating the four-way-plus-OK cluster.
An optically stabilized lens stands out as the LS80's most prominent feature. The camera includes a 33mm-to-100mm-equivalent, f/2.8-to-f/5.1, 3x optical zoom lens with Panasonic's Mega Optical Image Stabilization system that shifts lens elements to compensate for camera shake. While many budget cameras offer some form of "image stabilization," those modes are usually software-based and rely primarily on increasing camera sensitivity and quickening the shutter. Most companies reserve their mechanical (aka sensor-shift), or optical stabilization systems for more expensive models, and seldom in budget lines. However, we are seeing optical stabilization begin to trickle down into budget models, as evidenced here. Besides the optically stabilized lens, the LS80 presents a lackluster feature set, including a 2.5-inch LCD screen, a WVGA (848x480) 30 frames per second movie mode, and a standard compliment of scene preset modes.
The LS80 performed slowly in our lab tests, lagging behind similar cameras in nearly every category. After a 3.2-second wait from power-on to first shot, the camera could take another picture every 2.2 seconds with the onboard flash disabled. With the flash turned on, that time doubled to 4.4 seconds. Its shutter lagged 0.7 seconds with our high-contrast target and 1.2 seconds with our low-contrast target, which mimic bright and dim shooting conditions, respectively. In burst mode, the LS80 captured four full-resolution pictures in 2.7 seconds for a rate of 1.5fps.
Besides its sluggish performance, the LS80 also produces generally disappointing pictures, save one notable quality. The camera produces remarkably accurate colors that tend to appear neutral, even in awkward lighting, thanks to an effective automatic white-balance system. Unfortunately, besides color, the LS80's pictures simply don't look very good. Photos taken at the camera's widest angle suffer from considerable barrel distortion and vignetting (the darkening of corners in a picture). Noise and artifacts damage picture quality, even at lower ISO settings. Grain appears even at ISO 100, the camera's lowest sensitivity setting. By ISO 400, heavier noise, and Panasonic's attempt to suppress it, obscures, or outright ruins text, hair, and other fine details. Strong color reproduction is a nice touch, but it can't make up for the LS80's myriad other picture problems.
The Panasonic Lumix DMC-LS80 distinguishes itself as one of the least expensive cameras available with an optical image stabilization system. Unfortunately, while that feature is handy, it simply can't make up for the camera's sluggish performance and poor picture quality. If you're looking for an affordable budget camera, forego the LS80's image stabilization and instead look to the Canon PowerShot A470. It doesn't include optical or mechanical image stabilization, but it shoots faster and produces much nicer-looking photos.
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User reviews
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i like cameras
by iamrexmantooth2 on December 11, 2008
Pros: for taking
Cons: good pics
0 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
Specifications
- Manufacturer: Panasonic
- Part number: CNETDMCLS80K
- Description: You don't have to be a digital camera expert to take great photos. Simply set the DMC-LS80 to Intelligent Mode and it's easy to get clear, beautiful images every time you shoot. MEGA Optical Image Stabilization (O.I.S.) will automatically detect and compensate for hand shake, while Intelligent ISO Control helps prevent motion blur by sensing subject movement and adjusting the ISO setting and shutter speed accordingly. Get perfect close-ups, too, with the camera's Macro mode, which automatically switches on when you bring the lens in close to a subject. The DMC-LS80 features a high-image-quality CCD with 8.1 effective megapixels combines with a 3x optical zoom lens (focal distance: 33 to 100mm) to help you capture beautiful images in all kinds of shooting situations. The Easy Zoom button instantly extends the optical zoom and Extra Optical Zoom to full telescopic position. With a total of 230,000 dots, the DMC-LS80's 2.5" diagonal LCD makes viewing and shooting easier and more comfortable. Intelligent LCD functions include Auto Power LCD for increased backlight brightness in the sun and Bright Live View, which automatically increases the brightness of live images according to the level of ambient darkness. This allows bright, easy framing of scenes that would normally be too dark to see on the LCD screen.
General
- Product Type Digital camera - Compact
- Width 3.8 in
- Depth 1.2 in
- Height 2.4 in
- Weight 4.5 oz
- Enclosure Color Black
Main Features
- Resolution 8.1 megapixels
- Color Support Color
- Optical Sensor Type CCD
- Total Pixels 8,320,000 pixels
- Effective Sensor Resolution 8,100,000 pixels
- Optical Sensor Size 1/2.5 in
- Light Sensitivity ISO 100, ISO 200, ISO 400, ISO 800, ISO 1600, ISO auto, ISO auto (1600-6400)
- Digital Zoom 4 x
- Shooting Modes Frame movie mode
- Shooting Programs Pet, Food, Snow, Baby1, Baby2, Beach, Candle, Sunset, Scenery, Fireworks, Soft skin, Starry sky, Night scene, Sports mode, Aerial photo, Party/indoor, Portrait mode, Self-portrait, Hi-speed burst, Night portrait, High sensitivity
- Special Effects Cool, Warm, Sepia, Vivid, Black & White
- Image Stabilizer Optical (MEGA O.I.S.)
- Max Shutter Speed 1/2000 sec
- Min Shutter Speed 60 sec
- Exposure Modes Program, Automatic
- Exposure Compensation ±2 EV range, in 1/3 EV steps
- Auto Exposure Bracketing 3 steps in 1/3, 2/3 or 1 EV steps
- White Balance Custom, Presets, Automatic
- White Balance Presets Shade, Cloudy, Halogen, Daylight
- Digital Video Format QuickTime
- Still Image Format JPEG
- TV Tuner None
- Video Capture QuickTime - 640 x 480, QuickTime - 320 x 240, QuickTime - 848 x 480, QuickTime - 640 x 480, QuickTime - 320 x 240, QuickTime - 848 x 480
Memory / Storage
- Flash Memory 27 MB Flash - Integrated
- Supported Flash Memory MultiMediaCard, SD Memory Card
- Integrated Memory 24 MB
- Floppy Drive None
- Image Storage Fine, Normal JPEG 3264 x 2448, Basic JPEG 3264 x 2176, JPEG 3264 x 1840, JPEG 2560 x 1920, JPEG 2560 x 1712, JPEG 2560 x 1440, JPEG 2048 x 1536, JPEG 2048 x 1360, JPEG 1920 x 1080, JPEG 1600 x 1200, JPEG 640 x 480
Camera Flash
- Camera Flash Built-in flash
- Flash Modes Auto mode, Fill-in mode, Slow synchro, Flash OFF mode, Red-eye reduction
- Red Eye Reduction Yes
- Effective Flash Range 1 ft - 21 ft
- Features AF illuminator
Lens System
- Type Zoom lens - 5.5 mm - 16.5 mm - F/2.8-5.1
- Focal Length 5.5 mm - 16.5 mm
- Focal Length Equivalent to 35mm Camera 33 - 100 mm
- Focus Adjustment Automatic
- Auto Focus TTL contrast detection
- Auto Focus Points (Zones) 5
- Min Focus Range 19.7 in
- Macro Focus Range 5cm
- Lens Aperture F/2.8-5.1
- Optical Zoom 3 x
- Zoom Adjustment Motorized drive
- Lens Construction 5 group(s) / 6 element(s)
- Lens Manufacturer Leica
- Features Aspherical lens, Built-in lens shield
Additional Features
- Self Timer Yes
- Self Timer Delay 2 sec, 10 sec
- Additional Features DPOF support, Direct print, Date/time stamp, Built-in speaker, Cropping an image, Resizing an image, PictBridge support, Built-in help guide, USB 2.0 compatibility, Digital image rotation, Digital noise reduction, RGB primary color filter, Display brightness control, Motion Detection Technology, Camera orientation detection
Viewfinder
- Viewfinder Type None
Display
- Type LCD display - TFT active matrix - 2.5 in - Color
- Display Form Factor Built-in
- Display Format 230,000 pixels
Digital Player (Recorder)
- Type None
Microphone
- Type Microphone - Built-in
- Microphone Technology Electret condenser
- Microphone Operation Mode Mono
Connections
- Connector Type 1 x USB, 1 x Composite video/audio output, 1 x DC power input
- Expansion Slot(s) 1 x SD Memory Card
Software
- Software Adobe Reader, Apple QuickTime, Photo Fun Studio, Drivers & Utilities, ArcSoft Panorama Maker, ArcSoft MediaImpression
System Requirements for PC Connection
- Peripheral Devices USB port, CD-ROM drive
Miscellaneous
- Carrying Case None
- Microsoft Certifications Certified for Windows Vista
- Included Accessories Carrying strap
- Cables Included 1, 1 x A/V cable, USB cable
Power
- Power Device None
Battery
- Supported Battery AA
- Supported Battery 2 x AA Alkaline battery ( Included ), 2 x AA NiMH rechargeable battery ( Optional )
Environmental Parameters
- Min Operating Temperature 32 °F
- Max Operating Temperature 104 °F
Product series
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Panasonic Lumix DMC-LS80 (Silver)
Manufacturer: Panasonic
Specs: Compact, 8.1 megapixels, 3 x, 2.5 in LCD display, 27 MB - Integrated
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Panasonic Lumix DMC-LS80 (Black)
Manufacturer: Panasonic
Specs: Compact, 8.1 megapixels, 3 x, 2.5 in LCD display, 27 MB - Integrated
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Panasonic Lumix DMC-LS80 (Pink)
Manufacturer: Panasonic
Specs: 8.1 megapixels, 3 x, 2.5 in LCD display, 27 MB - Integrated
Accessories
Manufacturer info
- Panasonic
- Manufacturer profile
- Browse Panasonic products on Shopper.com
-
- Website: http://www.panasonic.com/
- Address:
One Panasonic Way, Secaucus, NJ 07094 - Phone: 800/662-3537
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