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Panasonic announced the Lumix DMC-FX500 today which is due to hit the shelves sometime in May. This comes days after Canon's announcement of the new SD770 & SD790 ultra compact models from their very popular IXUS series due for release at the end of April. The battle in this category of pocket camera is hinged around a larger 3.0-inch LCD screen and various takes on anti-shake systems. The Lumix DMC-FX500 steps it up with a touchscreen and a 25-millimeter ultra-wide-angle lens, something very desirable and hard to find in this size of camera, but the real question is noise. Does anyone have experience with either of these camera's predecessors in low light conditions without a flash? Given that this type of camera is more frequently becoming the choice for those who don't want the responsibility and hassle of lugging their expensive digital SLR to a live show or random party on a big night out.
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Comments
I can say with near certainty that a)both cameras will have terrible noise problems, and b)The Canon's noise reduction will be a lot better. I own the daddy to this Lumix (LX-2), and all recent Panasonics have had terrible NR with a smeary, watercolor-like quality. On the other hand, the Lumix is far more likely to have good manual controls and RAW support (which would be the best for NR).
Bottom line: Big cameras are big for a reason. Don't take pictures of important projects with anything smaller than a softball.
I had a Canon sd630. 3"lcd, 5mpx. low light conditions were horrible without the flash. enough noise to take it out of "serious intermediate" class. Other than that, awesome camera. Took great pictures when there was enough light. large lcd was great for showing portfolio pics and reviewing work out of the studio.
Unfortunately, it broke. Then realized I could get the new Nikon equivalent (coolpix s51) for a little bit more than the cost to repair the Canon. Haven't run it through the ringer yet, but it is shaping up to be a fine camera.
Ditto Ben on the bottom line. Wouldn't use them for catalog shoots. Make great general-use cameras.
I have a Kodak V550, a 5 MP pocket camera from about 2.5 years ago that was a precursor to these. A friend of mine who worked in Kodak Support told me the problem with small cameras with high megapixels is that the image sensor can pick up flaws in the lens. A problem I've had with the camera is that the flash has to be extremely bright to compensate for its small size, and almost always takes terrible indoor pictures. I haven't tested any of the newer pocket cameras, but it seems to me like these two problems might be difficult to overcome.
The predecessor Lumix DMC-FX100 is a lot of noise in low-light.
Although its not the best camera I've ever owned, the past 2 years I have owned the Casio Exilim have been great. This camera is still the slimmest on the market and is fairly sturdy (i've dropped it quite a bit) and the best part is that I can bring it along as an afterthought and i barely notice it in my back pocket and its always there when I need it.
I have a Lumix DMC-FX100. It's 12 megapixels, and this one is only 10...
Anyway, the DMC-FX100 gets a lot of noise, low light or no. It has a noise reduction setting, but I usually just leave it off and handle it in Photoshop, which works beautifully.
...but if that's the worst part of a 12 mp ultra-compact camera with a wide-angle Leica lens, I'm okay with it.
There aren't ANY compact cameras on the market today with acceptable noise characteristics...esp. after Fuji axed the F31.
I would kill for a manufacturer to say "screw it! megapixels are antithetical to low noise!" and produce a 3-6 MP ultra-compact camera with a usuable ISO 800 or 1600 AND a wide, fastish lens.
3MP in the early Canon dSLRs was more than enough for 8x10's so it's still enough today.
Sigh.