Quote Originally Posted by sebkom
..

A friend of mine suggested that I buy Lumix LX3 as its compact sized and you can change its lens....
I don't think you can change the lens on the Lumix LX3.

Apart from that here's my 2 centimes worth:

A camera is a compromise between:

- Image quality. If the sensor is bigger (like in a DSLR) it collects more light and the image is more beautiful
- Picture-taking potential. Everybody dreams of having just one lens that does close-ups of flowers (macro) and landscapes (wide-angle) and sports (telephoto) and sharp pictures at night (available light). A lens like that for a DSLR would be huge and very expensive. So on a DSLR you can change the lenses but that means carrying them around with you
- Portability. Ideally you need a camera that is small and flat so you can stick it in a pocket. The architecture of a DSLR imposes a camera back with mirror box and lens on the front so it certainly isn't flat

I've given up on point-and-shoots like the LX3. I prefer the image quality of the DSLR.

Most of the time when I'm out I have a bag which can carry a basic DSLR with plastic zoom lens. This combination is light and doesn't bother me.

I have my Smartphone with me all the time (Sony Satio). This includes a real point-and-shoot camera with a fixed focal length f2.8 lens, vibration reduction, etc. This is good enough for most pictures I might see when I don't have a DSLR with me