I, personally, am not a compact camera UW photographer...

This camera looks to be an alternative to the common Sony and Canon compact cameras used UW?

https://www.dpreview.com/articles/9011490317/panasonic-l10-2026-tour-controls-changes

DivePhotoGuide

Nauticam Announces Housing for the Panasonic Lumix L10

It is very similar to the LX100/LX100II. I had 10 yrs ago the LX100 and it was a very good compact camera for underwater use especially for video. I just hope the LX10 does not have the LX100 plague i.e. a non dustproof lens barrel as it was an expensive repair to have the sensor cleaned.

Interesting choice of name, which reminds me of the unmentioned Lumix LX10 which I still currently use for video. It's excellent for that (more practical than the LX100 series), within its limitations.
This new model seemed to have upped the game, at last:

It can shoot 4K video in either DCI or UHD aspect ratios at up to 120p, or 5.6K DCI-shaped video at up to 60p, or 4:3 'open gate' 5.2K footage at up to 60p.

The video modes make use of the same multi-aspect approach as stills modes do, so the 5.2K footage is taken from a much taller region of the sensor than the ∼17:9 5.6K video, making it tall enough to extract 2160 x 3840 (vertical 9:16 4K) crops, if you're using it to deliver both horizontal and vertical video from the same capture.

On the dust issue:

The original LX100 developed something of a reputation for sucking dust into its sensor, in part because pocket cameras tend to be carried and used in wide, varied and challenging conditions. Panasonic said they made efforts to reduce this risk with the Mark II, and we've heard fewer complaints from users of the newer model. No further claims were made about the L10, so it's likely to be worth remembering that it's not fully sealed (it has an extending zoom, after all), but shouldn't be as susceptible as the Mk 1 was.

It's a little video beast.

Basically it's the GH7 sensor in a smaller factor.

I read the lens has a MFD of only 3cm and it has a mech shutter..

It could be a killer compact camera for uw use. Nauticam announced a housing already.

9 hours ago, Davide DB said:

It's a little video beast.

Basically it's the GH7 sensor in a smaller factor.

I read the lens has a MFD of only 3cm and it has a mech shutter..

It could be a killer compact camera for uw use. Nauticam announced a housing already.

Yes - the lens is the same as the LX10 but faster! (24-75mm equiv. F1.7-2.8 lens) - I can reach macro and up with strong diopters on this (but the LX10 has a crop to 36mm in 4K, which helps), so this is good, even if it's not in the RX100 zoom category.
One major downside I see are ergonomics - they're similar to the LX100, which is not great...

As Backscatter once but it:
As attractive the LX100 Mk II is with it’s Micro 4/3 sensor, the controls are very frustrating. Especially when interfacing with the Nauticam housing. Panasonic made the controls more like a retro film camera, and not very conducive for us underwater shooters, and especially for video.

L10

LX100 Mk2


Design seems very similar, need to see how Nauticam handles it

As a reminder, the NA-LX100 housing turned out like this:


VS. this format for the NA-LX10


Still, very exciting news on the compact front these days, for a format which was declared dead and buried what, two years ago? 😁
We now have the highly modern Canon V1 and R50, the Sony RX1 RIII, and now this Panasonic L10 along the older RX100 / LX10 / LX100 / G7X of 10 years back. Wow.

If I wasn't on the FF path now I'd really consider a compact upgrade!

Edited 16 hours ago16 hr by bghazzal

8 hours ago, bghazzal said:

Design seems very similar, need to see how Nauticam handles it

Pietro Cremone of Nauticam Italy wrote about it days ago.

IMHO, this camera takes away any chance from mirrorless GoPros. It is a real camera with a mechanical shutter, and even though it is not video-oriented, it has DPAF and professional Panasonic codecs. Just like on the LX100, you will be able to mount the WWL.

I'm still dreaming of a new GM1 like camera. Now an used GM1 costs more than 10 years ago

I don't think it's a very relevant comparison to compare the L10 with the Gopro ILS because those are two vastly different products for different use and customers. You can compare it to a RX100 or any compact camera but action cam are not comparable to compact expert cameras. Action cam by default are not photo dedicated and have been since a long time consistently bad at replacing compact and smartphones for photos. And for video there are things that you easily do with an action cam that cannot be easily done with a compact and the opposite is also very true. Different tools for different jobs.

That being said, the LX100 mark I was called a baby GH4 at the time because of its good video performance. The L10 might be a baby GH7. I enjoyed a lot my time with the LX100 for several years of video before moving to the GH5s.

Edited 4 hours ago4 hr by eocean-eu

I agree with you, but I compared them because several people thought that just slapping an M43 lens on it would be enough and that they had created the perfect compact underwater camera. Nothing could be further from the truth.

59 minutes ago, Davide DB said:

I agree with you, but I compared them because several people thought that just slapping an M43 lens on it would be enough and that they had created the perfect compact underwater camera. Nothing could be further from the truth.

The entire setup (camera with Canon 8-15mm fisheye, rectilinear WA lens plus dome/wetlens or macro lens plus port) will be almost the same, no matter whether you mount a real (MFT) camera or the GoPro with its tiny sensor.

I find the GoPro with the fixed WA lens interesting for someone who wants a tiny UW camera, the interchangeable MFT lens version is too weak to use it UW as a system camera...