We’ve posted other reviews of the Panasonic Lumix L10 here where we commented on how expensive this model seemed. Well DPReview have now put their review online of this model. The Panasonic Lumix DMC-L10 is the newest member of its digital single-lens reflex (SLR) camera line and the company’s first DSLR with Face Detection. The DMC-L10 also offers an advanced 2.5-inch Live View LCD which can rotate 270 degrees, enabling versatile shooting options and making it easy and convenient to shoot from high or low angles. Complete with a 10.1-megapixel Live MOS sensor, the DMC-L10 includes an advanced Supersonic Wave Filter system that prevents dust from collecting on the sensor and degrading photo quality.

Panasonic DMC-L10 10.1MP Digital
List Price: $1,299.95
Our Price: $1,244.93
You Save: $ 55.02 ( 4% )
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours

Average Customer Rating: Average rating of 3.5/5Average rating of 3.5/5Average rating of 3.5/5Average rating of 3.5/5Average rating of 3.5/5
Buy a Panasonic DMC-L10 10.1MP Digital

Features

10.1-megapixel CCD captures enough detail for photo-quality 18 x 24-inch prints
Kit includes Leica D Vario-Elmar 14-50mm f3.8-5.6 MEGA O.I.S. lens
2.5-inch Live View LCD with 270-degree rotation
Supersonic Wave Filter system removes dust from sensor
Face Detection focuses, sets auto exposure, and detects up to 15 human faces simultaneously

“Panasonic’s second digital SLR is a far more conventional affair than its first attempt, the DSC-L1. It’s also quite obviously aimed at a very different type of user - the beginner / first time user / upgrader from a compact. To this end the L10 has perhaps the most compact-like operation and user interface of any SLR to date (and if you were being cruel, the most compact-like JPEG image quality too). And though it may look a lot more conventional, in typical Panasonic fashion it has a few unique tricks up its sleeve, mainly centred around the sophisticated live view capabilities.
…

Panasonic’s desire - need - to plough its own furrow is understandable in the face of the dominance of the big DLSR brands. It’s got little chance of competing directly with Canon or Nikon directly, and the L10 is a surprisingly mature and innovative product that I enjoyed using and got some impressive results from. But I couldn’t get away from the price, nor could I really justify the cost of the kit lens (particularly for the typical target user).

And so there we have it; a DSLR that is a very good, but very expensive, entry-level model that would be the ideal first SLR for a compact camera user wanting to move to the next level. A camera capable of stunning output in raw mode, but a camera that it’s hard to give a wholehearted recommendation to because Panasonic insists on bundling it with an over-priced kit lens and adds insult to injury by using image processing that produces JPEGs which hide the true capabilities of the lens/sensor.”