Panasonic LX100 The Ergonomics of Carrying

Cameras and bags referred to in the text below

A personal view

The LX100 is an interesting and in many ways very good small camera. 

However having used one for several months I have come to the view that the size of the LX100 is not optimal.

By this I mean it is not really compact in the sense that the original Sony RX100 is compact.  But neither is it a full featured camera like the  fixed zoom lens camera (FZLC) mockup or the FZ1000 in the photo above.

There is a nexus between the ergonomics of carrying and the ergonomics of operating. I think the 

LX100 misses out both ways.

The original Sony RX100 is remarkably compact  for its specifications and capabilities. It fits in a small pouch which can slip into a ladies purse or handbag or into a jacket pocket.

In the photo above it is shown in a Malopero pouch which is actually larger than it needs to be.

In a thin drawstring pouch it will even fit in a trousers pocket.  Some users put their RX100s into a pocket without any protection, with the consequence that the camera fills up with bits of dust, debris and all kinds of other stuff which accumulates in pockets. Yuk. Very bad for the camera.

The RX100(3) is 5mm deeper than the original but still fits into much the same places.

The RX100(4) mockup represents my realisation of the ergonomically ideal compact camera. It has a built in handle, proper control dial on the top plate, JOG Lever to move the AF box, fully articulated monitor, large buttons and a fixed EVF which is always ready to use (it does not need to be popped up and out).

This is 1.5mm wider, 3.5mm taller and 2mm deeper than the RX100(3). The dimensions are just sufficiently larger that it requires a larger carry pouch.

In the photo it is shown with a Lowe Pro Apex 30 AW with the tongue removed.  This pouch is somewhat overbuilt and over protective but it does have a built in raincoat. 

Already this pouch is too large to consider fitting into most pockets.  A largish handbag yes. But a pouch this size probably sits best on a waist belt or even over the shoulder on the strap provided.

Next up we come to the Panasonic LX100.  This camera has a box volume (w x h x d) 2.3 times that of the RX100(3).

A big step up in carry bag/pouch size is required. In the photo the LX100 is shown with the bag in which it lives and travels, a Think Tank Mirrorless Mover 5 (TTMM5).  Some owners have reported fitting the LX100 into smaller bags. I have experimented with this but the fit is too tight for smooth one handed transfer of the camera into and out of the bag.

The TTMM5 can be carried on a waist belt but I find it a bit large and awkward when used this way.

So I just carry it over the shoulder on the supplied strap.

Now, at last, I am getting to the point of this post.

If  I am committed to carrying my camera in an over the shoulder bag then a slightly larger bag is just as easy to manage as a slightly smaller one.

Which brings us to the next camera/bag combination.

The FZLC mockup shown is a realisation of my ideal small fixed lens general purpose camera.  It is somewhat larger than the LX100 but it has a fully shaped ergonomic handle with the shutter button in the desirable forward location. There is a Mode Dial and ideally positioned Control Dial. There is a quad control module set on top of the handle. There is a JOG lever to move the AF box, a fully articulated monitor, full suite of large controls, built in flash and hotshoe,  Drive Mode dial, large 

EVF located in the optimal position on the lens axis, sculpted thumb support and plenty of space for a large aperture zoom lens covering approximately the E24-100mm focal length range with a sensor in the 16-20mm diagonal size range.

When I hold the FZLC mockup it feels as though it was crafted to fit perfectly into my hands ………..oh, right…..…it was.

And all the controls feel as though they have been placed exactly where my fingers want to find them ……..oh, right……..they were.

Incredibly nobody actually makes this camera.

Anyway the point of this post is that the fully ergonomic full featured FZLC mockup fits easily into a

Lowe Pro Apex 100 bag which is only slightly larger than the TTMM5 bag required for the LX100.  

When I am out and about the LP A100 bag feels no different from the TTMM5 bag.

The ergonomics of carrying is the same. The ergonomics of operating is very different.

Last on the list of cameras in the photo is the Panasonic FZ1000 with the Lowe Pro Apex 110 AW bag into which the FZ1000 fits perfectly, as if the two were designed for each other (which is not the case, the match is serendipidous).

The  FZ1000 is one of the larger fixed zoom lens full featured cameras, yet the bag in which it lives and travels is not so very much larger than the next bag size down and I can testify after using it extensively over the last 6 months it is no more trouble to carry around either.

Summary

I see the LX100 as a betwixt and between thing, neither really compact nor fully featured and ergonomic.

Others will differ of course, that is the nature of opinions. 

Some people may see the LX100 as the ideal synthesis of compactness, features and ergonomics.

But my FZLC mockup demonstrates a proof of concept. You can have a slightly larger camera which is just as easy to carry but has much better holding, viewing and operating characteristics.

Now I need for some forward thinking manufacturer to produce the real thing.