Praktica 10-X3 Review

The Praktica Luxmedia 10-X3 inherits the same body used in the existing Luxmedia 5203, 6203 and 8003 models, as well as the same lens used in the Luxmedia 8003 - in essence the only differences from that model relating to the higher resolution choice of imager. The Praktica 10-X3 is a ten megapixel camera with a 2.8x optical zoom lens equivalent to 38 - 108mm on a 35mm camera, as well as a 2.4" LCD display. Likely to help keep price and complexity down, this LCD is the sole method of framing images, as the Praktica 10X3 forgoes any form of optical viewfinder. As you might expect from a camera aimed at slightly more advanced users, the Luxmedia 10-X3 supplements its automatic exposure mode with both aperture- and shutter-priority modes that let you unleash your creative side. ISO sensitivity choices include both automatic, and the ability to select an ISO rating from 50 to 200 manually - an unusually low limit that hints at the tradeoff in image noise required to extract 10 megapixel resolution from a tiny compact camera sensor.

Exposures are determined with multi-pattern, center-weighted or spot metering, and shutter speeds range from 1/2000 to 8 seconds. White balance choices include automatic, five manual presets, and a manual white balance function. The Luxmedia 10X3 also includes a four mode internal flash, and can capture MPEG-4 movies at VGA or lower resolution. The Praktica X3 also has a two / ten second self-timer to let you get into your own pictures.

The Luxmedia X3 stores images on Secure Digital / MultiMedia cards, or 32MB of built-in memory. The camera also offers NTSC / PAL video and USB 1.1 computer connectivity - rather slower than many cameras these days, which is a shame given the likely size of the high resolution JPEG files the camera captures. Power comes from two AA batteries, either rechargeable or disposable. Mac users take note - Praktica lists the camera as compatible with only Windows operating systems (you'll be able to open images on your computer with a card reader as a worst case, but may find the USB connection unsupported, and the software bundle Windows-only).