Panasonic LX100 II compact camera with large sensor will cost 949 euros

Panasonic has announced the Lumix DMC-LX100 II. The compact camera has a multi-aspect sensor in the 4/3″ format, with an effective resolution of 17 megapixels. The 24-75mm f/1.7-f/2.8 lens is the same as its predecessor.

The Panasonic LX100 II is the successor to the LX100 that Panasonic released in 2014. The new model shows many similarities, but features a new sensor with a higher resolution, a touchscreen, a larger handle and more control buttons. The LX100 II also gets a larger buffer, so that up to 33 raw photos can be taken at a speed of 11 frames per second. When using continuous autofocus, the speed is 5.5 fps.

As in the original LX100, there is a multi-aspect sensor in the LX100 II. This means that the sensor is never used in its entirety, but a cut-out is made depending on the selected ratio. When using the 4:3 ratio, the camera takes pictures of 4736×3552 pixels, at 3:2 that is 4928×3288 pixels, and at 16:9 that is 5152×2904 pixels. The sensor has dimensions of 17.3x13mm, making it a lot larger than the 1″ sensors that Sony uses in its RX compact cameras.

Panasonic gives the screen on the back a higher resolution; the LCD now has 1.24 million pixels, compared to 920,000 with the predecessor. It is also now a touchscreen. The electronic viewfinder with 2.74 million pixels is unchanged from the first model. The camera has WiFi and Bluetooth to connect to a smartphone. Panasonic will release the LX100 II in October for a suggested retail price of 949 euros.