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Panasonic Lumix DMC-LC33 3.2 Megapixel Compact Camera - Silver

Reviews for Panasonic Lumix DMC-LC33 3.2 Megapixel Compact Camera - Silver

1.5" LCD - 3x Optical Zoom - 2048 x 1536 Image - 320 x 240 Video - MPN: DMCLC33

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|10 reviews
  • 5
  By member: chris935h - Jun 7, 2003

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LC33 3.2 Megapixel Compact...

Strengths: excellent photos; solid feel; well designed; excellent menus; fast, fast fast; cheap, cheap, cheap

Weakness: no af light; becomes addictive

Excellent design. What a little beauty. Fits the hand so easily rather that the Canon Elves which I find too small - but it still fits the pocket. Buttons are well designed and easy to use. Menu system is outstanding - quick to master, and make changes and very intuitive. Runs on 2 AA which is wonderful and even tho it is a new toy and gets a lot of use, I get 2 - 3 days of use for NIMH batteries.

Picture quality is outstanding. I admit I am an experienced amateur only so dont expect great shots every time, but the Lumix does just fine in point and shoot mode and the few manual settings are fun to experiment with and have taken great shots in challenging light situations. People who have seen my pics have been impressed. The video mode is fun but not why I bought a camera.

Software is OK - nothing too exciting but it does the job nicely.

The most important feature for me is the shutter lag - or should I say "what lag". Panasonic has got this down pat - it is extremely agile and is always ready for the next shot before I am!

Good luck and enjoy - this one will not disappoint.

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  • 4
  By member: squirl033 - May 26, 2004

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LC33 3.2 Megapixel Compact...

Strengths: small size, solid feel, easy to use, very intuitive, easy menus

Weakness: flash seems a little weak, LCD display is a bit small

This is my first foray into digital photography after 20+ years using 35mm SLR and compact cameras. I shopped around, reading reviews and specs for some time before finally deciding to give the DMC-LC33 a try. I got mine on eBay for $167.50, a pretty good price, and I have not been disappointed. Image quality, from the shots I've taken so far, is very good. I've only made 4x6 prints to date, but those were excellent, rivalling my 35mm SLR for clarity and color. The camera is very easy to use; I was taking photos within ten minutes of unpacking it. The manual is extensive and thorough, and mine came with a 32MB SD memory card. I have since purchased a 256MB card, to take advantage of the camera's maximum resolution. Downloading to a PC is a snap; with Windows XP, you simply plug in the USB cable, and the PC automatically recognizes the camera and offers options for displaying or saving photos. I haven't tried the photo-editing software that came with the camera yet, however.

The camera has many features, and the optical zoom is smooth and easy to operate. Another plus is that it uses just 2 AA-size batteries available at any store, so if you're on a trip and your rechargeables run dry, you can still take photos. NiMH batteries do seem to last longer, though, and in the long run will save money. The camera seems well made, and has a sturdier feel than many digicams I've handled. The access doors are easy to manage, although I'd prefer at least an aluminum insert for the tripod mount, instead of the plastic threads which may wear out if you use a tripod much. The only thing that seems inadequate is the flash, which is a very small unit that the manual says is good for about 8-10 feet. Obviously, this camera is not intended for professional work, but a more capable flash would still have been a welcome addition.

In short, the DMC-LC33 seems to be a very well made, high-quality camera and a good value for the price, particularly if you don't plan on a lot of low-light shooting. The 3.2MP version is inexpensive in spite of the high-quality optics, and the 4.0MP model would be a nice step up if you want more resolution. I would recommend this camera to anyone wanting a good, compact, take-anywhere camera as a companion to an SLR, or for someone just getting into digital photography.

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  • 5
  By member: joefxr2 - Mar 17, 2004

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LC33 3.2 Megapixel Compact...

Strengths: Sharp Images, Easy to Read and understand Owners Manual, Many adjustments to improve your images if necessary.

Weakness: Battery Life

I was baptised into Digital Imaging with the purchase through AOL of the Megapro over a year ago and still have mine which I am using as a backup which I have not needed yet since the purchase of the Panasonic Lumix LC33. You can read the reviews about the Lumix and they all reveal complete satisfaction with this camera and I agree with them all. I have been through several other brands and pixel choices, but the Lumix is the best.

I noticed a few reviews giving a low evaluation of the flash capabilities of this camera. Here's my fix. If your "Sensitivity" is set at Auto and your flash images don't appear bright enough, adjust the Sensitivity value to 50 and take the same picture. If it still isn't bright enouch, adjust the value up to 100. I find that at 100 most of my image are fantastic. However, I have also used the higher sensitivity adjustments to make it brighter if necessary. Adjusting back to Auto Sensitivity might be necessary if you switch your picture taking in bright sunlight outdoors.

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  • 5
  By member: sblattner001 - Jan 17, 2004

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LC33 3.2 Megapixel Compact...

Strengths: Ease of use, size, video capabilities, takes gorgeous pictures. No shutter lag.

Weakness: Battery life - but this may be common to all digital cameras. This is my first one, so I can't compare

I love this camera!!! The Leica lens makes a real difference in photo quality. The user interface is very intuitive - if you spend 10 minutes reading the manual, you'll be able to figure out how to use 90% of its functionality. Finally, there is no shutter lag. After holding a frozen smile on my face for photos taken by other digital cameras,this was very important to me. Highly recommended, esp. for the price.

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  • 5
  By member: jtla - Jan 15, 2004

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LC33 3.2 Megapixel Compact...

Strengths: Leica lens, Great picture, fast shutter, burst mode, solid built

Weakness: movie mode only 10 fps

I did fair amount of research and concluded that the Panasonic Lumic DMC-LC33 is the best value overall. With the Leica lens, it takes absolutely great pictures that are comparable to film pictures. It is very easy to use. The mode dial (choice of simple, normal, macro, portrait, landscape, night portairt, motion) help beginners to take nice pictures. For sophisticated users, it has many control enable you to adjust ISO, EV, white balance etc. Besides the picture quality, its speed is one of the best among digital cameras. You almost don't feel any shutter lag, and its burst mode let you take 5 shots in 1 second. The movie mode is a bit jittery at 10 fps, but like the still pictures, the quality is very good. I have seen some complaint about the flash being weak. However, I found it can be easily compensated by setting ISO to 400. Its size can fit into a shirt pocket.

Maybe because Panasonic is not as well known in camera as brands such as Canon, Nikon, Olympus, etc., so it prices its model very competitively. This is a great camera. I couldn't be happier with it. Strongly recommended.

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  • 5
  By member: deerewa - Jan 2, 2004

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LC33 3.2 Megapixel Compact...

Strengths: Build quality, small size, buttons are easy to use, image quality is very good.

Weakness: None so far.

I picked this camera up at Circuit City, as a display model. The circuit city salesman went and got me everything that came with the retail bundle and was very pleasant.

First thing off is that I like the on-off switch. I turned the beeps off as soon as I got the camera cause the were annoying. There is a nice set of modes to choose from. Well...umm..just check this camera out, if you can find it anymore.

It is worth a look.

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  • 5
  By member: Razzmatazz - Feb 18, 2004

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LC33 3.2 Megapixel Compact...

Strengths: * Photo quality. * Low price. Sub-$199. * Fast shutter lag. * Fast lens. (Less motion blur.) * Small size. * Uses cheap AA batteries. * Good feature set. * Easy & intuitive interface. *

Weakness: * In-camera battery charging not possible. * Rechargeble batteries not included. * 4M pixel prices have dropped significantly in the year since I bought this camera. *

I've had a highly rated 3.2MPixel Kodak DC4800 for about 4 years, and I was pleased with it, but it was too big to put in my pocket to take skiing. So I wanted to get a pocket-sized 3.2MP camera, but I didn't want to pay another $300-$400. So when I saw the pocket-sized Panasonic Lumix LC33 for $199 at my local Fry's Electronics store I thought, skeptically, I'd do some side-by-side comparisons with my Kodak and see if the LC33 was possibly good enough to use for relatively unimportant ski photos. I expected to return it. But I was shocked to find the LC33 superior in every regard at half the price and size.

I shot exactly the same multi-colored subject material (framed identically) with both cameras outdoors, indoors, and indoors under moderately low light, in standard JPEG-compressed 3.2MP mode, and then I displayed the photos, full screen, sequentially on a high quality SXGA 17" LCD monitor. I also tested motion blur and shutter lag by shooting pictures of moving cars at the moment they passed a pole. In every scene, the image quality and color reproduction of the Panasonic LC33 was superior. In the motion scenes the LC33's superior speed (lack of shutter lag) was evidenced by the cars being significantly closer to the pole. I've worked in the graphics industry for years, so I have a good eye for photo quality. But in a "blind test" (if you will), my wife also quickly picked the LC33's photos as superior, in every scene.

The LC33 is superior to my Kodak DC4800 (and most digital cameras that I've tried) in TWO VERY IMPORTANT PROBLEM AREAS THAT ARE COMMON TO MOST DIGITAL CAMERAS:
1) The LC33 lens seems faster (brighter) so the shutter speeds can be faster. That means fewer blurry photos if the camera or the subject moves. My Kodak, and many digital cameras, often produce motion-blurred photos especially if you're not careful to hold the camera very still. That happened with my Kodak, but not my Panasonic, during these tests, forcing me to reshoot some scenes.
2) The LC33 has less shutter lag. So when I take a photo of friend jumping on skis, I actually catch them in mid-air, not after they land. And when I take photos of my two kids at the split second that both of them are smiling nicely with their eyes open, I get the shot.

Digital cameras tend to be annoyingly inferior to film cameras in the two aforementioned problem areas. Those annoyances were the only things that I didn't like about going digital. But Panasonic really narrowed the gap.

Battery life and flash distance have been good enough for me, but I haven't pushed either. One nice thing about this camera is that it takes 2, cheap, AA (alkaline or rechargeable) batteries, so you can always bring along some CHEAP spares, if you think you'll be taking a lot of photos. I use rechargeable NiMH batteries (not included) which last longer than the alkaline batteries. Many digital cameras (like my Kodak) use proprietary battery packs that are so expensive that you never end up buying a spare, and consequently you end up running out of juice and missing shots. I hate that "hidden" cost and hassle.

I didn't think that I'd use the motion picture feature because I have a MiniDV camcorder with far superior video quality. But I end up using the video feature a LOT. MiniDV video is too large to email to friends and family unless you hassle with shrinking it with PC-based re-code software. The LC33's lower quality audio+video Quicktime files (320x240 x 10 frames/sec) are small enough to email. Plus this small camera goes more places than a bigger camcorder. Clips are limited only by the size of the memory card. At about 5 seconds/MB, that's 80sec on the included 16MB card or 21 minutes on a 256MB card!

This camera is very easy to use and it has plenty of different features. The menu system is so intuitive that you hardly need to read the manual. There are lots of manual adjustments that you can make, but I rarely use any of them since the camera works fine in the automatic mode.

As of late '04, 4MP cameras are getting pretty affordable, and so I'd consider getting one now if I didn't already have two 3MP cameras. But unless you plan to make large posters and view them at close range, 3MP are still good enough for making perfect 9" x 12" prints or displaying photos on a high definition monitor-- and you save disk space.

Panasonic is new to digital cameras and so I think that Panasonic is trying to buy a good reputation and long-term market share by initially selling high quality cameras (with Leica's excellent lenses) at low prices and perhaps unreasonably low profit margins. I suspect that after they build a reputation as a good camera maker, they'll start raising prices to be in line with the competition. In late '03, at $199, the LC33 was worth about $100 more than I paid.

The LC33 is AMAZING bang for the buck. I have recommended it to friends & family. I recommend it to you too.

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  • 5
  By member: sousaswines - Feb 22, 2004

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LC33 3.2 Megapixel Compact...

Strengths: compact high quality photos quickest shutter even low light very easy to use

Weakness: battery life to short even with lcd off

after weeks of reaserching online and megazines i found was getting more confusing by the minute so after i saw an ad advertising the panasonic lumix lc33 for $209.00 i thought i gave a shot and bought it in mind that i would return it but after taking to disneyland on winter break the pictures was increable crispy clear no flowes whatsoever even my brother in law whos a camera freak was very impressed very easy to use the manual easy to understand if you thinking of buying your first camera this one is recomended

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  • 4
  By member: 2aftechs - Dec 10, 2003

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LC33 3.2 Megapixel Compact...

Strengths: Solid camera, great pictures and features for the price

Weakness: Flash is weak.

After doing a fair amount of research on this site and others, this camera appeared to be the best value in its price range. I'm very pleased with its performance - it takes absolutely great pictures. The camera has performed flawlessly, but I just wish the flash was better. I recommend it, especially at today's price (I paid $299).

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  • 5
  By member: Jwin100 - Jan 11, 2005

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LC33 3.2 Megapixel Compact...

Strengths: Cripy picture after compare same environment photo, at night the corner of picture could still see the small Macdonld nero sign, while Cannon A70 barely could identify this, only red points display

Weakness: Still feel a little bit bulky, otherwise perfect point and shoot.

1.Side by Side compared with Canon A70 photo under the same env, this proved really cripy and sharp. No busel effect of corner image. AA size battery never feel worry about the ending of power when shooting.
2.THe SD card is compact and reliable , much better than CF card used by Canon.
3.Becautifully build, delicate in every piece, felt like and camera not a toy.

If Optical zoom could be 10 for this size will be perfect.

In Summary, much much better than Canon A70.

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