Home > Consumer Reviews > Panasonic DMC-LC43B Digital Camera [4MP 3xOptical]

I chose this camera on the basis that is has a Leica Lens and high (4Mp) resolution. You won't be disappointed. The images are clear, sharp and colours are accurately and vividly reproduced. You can Zoom optically 3x which is ample for most circumastance or up to 9x digitally. The camera body is plastic but don't let that put you off; the moulding is precise and the camera has the 'feel' of a metal equivalent. Considerable thought has been given to the layout. There are enough buttons to easily command the camera without it being over complicated yet easy to acccess the full features of this unit. The LCD screen is bright and crystal clear, again well thought-out menu make this a delight to use. When the unit is switched on (independent on/off switch) the camera is almost instantly ready to use, extending the lens from the body rapidly. The screen image is stable and has instant refresh (which I personally like) as inferior cameras tend to flicker. This camera is exceptional in all conditions, it excels in low light but my only criticism is that the macro facility is limited in focal length, it struggles at less than 10cm. As well as the usual movie/sound recording this camera has a brilliant fast photo feature (one easy button) to take 4 repetative shots.

Loading onto the SD card is very swift although I'd recommend that you upgrade from the 16Mb card provided. Batteries are AA rechargables which is a good feature as you can use alkalines in the field should these expire. Connecting to a PC is very easy. For XP users the PC sees the camera instantly as a new drive as soon as the USB cable (provided) is connected. You can edit straight from the camera so no need for an SD card reader. If need be you can also play back on a TV direct from the camera using the AV socket, (again cable provided). The only thing you will need to buy is a small camera bag.

Overall I'm very pleased with the quality of the product and the images produced. The 'proper' lens certainly makes a diffence when combined with the digital technology.

I see lots of rave reviews about the Canon IX400, but this little beauty is just as good. Not even had mine a week yet and am made up with it.

Takes superb pictures indoors and outdoors, but nightclub shots are particularly impressive, I'd even go as fars as to say artistic.

On that note took some truely amazing pictures of my girlfriend, using the slow sync (slow shutter) feature. The pictures came out that good it took me an hour to stop staring at them.

Small and lightwieght (camera is in plastic casing) and easily fits in pocket.

Only downside is it comes without a case and only 16mb card. I upgraded to 128mb and you can take about 70pics at the highest resolution, before you need to download.