In the end, this is the only way to go for powering your LX5. I did try a couple of third party items at a much lower cost than this but:
- The camera sleep mode does not fully work, so battery drain ends up being higher than it should.
- The remaining battery life indicator does not appear on the screen, which is not at all helpful.
I ended up trying two of the cheaper batteries because after a short period of use the LX5 'bricked' them. Couldn't get them charged and the camera reported 'cannot use this battery'. Not worth the time messing about. Returned them both.
So, this is the only one that really does the job, but one star off for the outrageous price from Panasonic.