Dmc LX1 VS Canon S80

[whiteboy00025]

I Want All Opinions And If You Have To Go Into Details Go I Dont Mind

Thnks Guys:)

[JTL]

I Want All Opinions And If You Have To Go Into Details Go I Dont Mind

Thnks Guys:)Have you seen the image quality (and I use the term loosely) on the LX1? If you're OK with it, well you're a lot more forgiving than I am!

[BonjiB]

I Want All Opinions And If You Have To Go Into Details Go I Dont Mind

Thnks Guys:)

I personally have affection towards Panasonic cameras. That being said here are my thoughts:

Although it does have a noisy chip that gets rather hairy at ISO 200 or above keep in mind what YOU personally will use the camera for. If you know you won't need the higher ISOs then the LX1 is a fantastic camera. The image stabilized Leica branded lens is something to seriously consider. The S80 does NOT have image stabilization. You also have a little bit more on the far end of the zoom with the lx1 (112mm versus 100mm.) Also the LX1 is a little bit brighter lens with a range of F2.8 - F4.9 whereas the s80 is F2.8 - F5.3. The LX1 also supports both RAW and TIFF modes whereas the s80 does not; whether you care about that or not is up to you.

Now... the question comes down to is the noisy chip worth the added bonuses elsewhere? I'd tell you to go check out some samples (do a side by side at dpreview) and see if the level of noise is acceptable to you then make your decision. A good question to ask yourself is do you take a lot of indoor pictures where the use of a flash is not often an option? Hope this helps.

[coldrain]

I personally have affection towards Panasonic cameras. That being said here are my thoughts:

Although it does have a noisy chip that gets rather hairy at ISO 200 or above keep in mind what YOU personally will use the camera for. If you know you won't need the higher ISOs then the LX1 is a fantastic camera. The image stabilized Leica branded lens is something to seriously consider. The S80 does NOT have image stabilization. You also have a little bit more on the far end of the zoom with the lx1 (112mm versus 100mm.) Also the LX1 is a little bit brighter lens with a range of F2.8 - F4.9 whereas the s80 is F2.8 - F5.3. The LX1 also supports both RAW and TIFF modes whereas the s80 does not; whether you care about that or not is up to you.

Now... the question comes down to is the noisy chip worth the added bonuses elsewhere? I'd tell you to go check out some samples (do a side by side at dpreview) and see if the level of noise is acceptable to you then make your decision. A good question to ask yourself is do you take a lot of indoor pictures where the use of a flash is not often an option? Hope this helps.
No one with a brain can want the LX1 over the S80 because it has RAW or TIFF. RAW and in much less degree TIFF should be able to gain a very little bit in image quality, but the fact is that the image quality of the LX1 is so lousy that that is really a laugable idea, using RAW.

The image quality of the S80 is so much superior it is a no brainer (pun intended I guess). The S80 is a very good camera in about every aspect... And it is amazingly noise free for an 8mp camera, while retaining a lot of detail so it is not hampered by weird noise reduction algorythms like the panasonics.

So, the choice is, do you want image stabilization in a short lens that does not really need it (IS is most useful at longer tele ranges) or do you want an amazing little camera that has very good image quality.

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canons80/page9.asp
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canons80/page10.asp

[whiteboy00025]

ok so i see the points now i would love for some of you guys who know so much more than me.
this is how camera will be used

going to parties
friends and that sort
i will not be blowing up the pics mabey sometimes only to 8x10

i aslo have a worrie that s80 is too big for my pockets and lx1 wont fit because it sticks out.

how important is image stabilization really?
whould iso only matter at night?
looking at dpreview ive notice but i dont know if im right lx1 pics were nosier but sharper and brighter?

so what do u guys think

[BonjiB]

ok so i see the points now i would love for some of you guys who know so much more than me.
this is how camera will be used

going to parties
friends and that sort
i will not be blowing up the pics mabey sometimes only to 8x10

i aslo have a worrie that s80 is too big for my pockets and lx1 wont fit because it sticks out.

how important is image stabilization really?
whould iso only matter at night?
looking at dpreview ive notice but i dont know if im right lx1 pics were nosier but sharper and brighter?

so what do u guys think

I'm not panasonic so i don't wanna come across as "pushing" the lx1. I'm just simply stating what's good about it and some advantages it has over the s80. You are right about the lx1 images being brighter. At the far end of the zoom range the lx1 lets in more light than the s80 (F2.8 - F4.9 vs. F2.8 - F5.3) The image stabilization is one of those "once you've used it you don't wanna go back" kind of things. I personally use a panasonic FZ30 so it's a must have for me because of that monster zoom lens. I can tell you that my dad owns a camera with a 4x and he wishes he had put out a little more to get image stabilization. It depends on how shakey your hands are i guess but at party's and stuff i'm sure a lot of shots will be candid so it's definately something to consider. Blurry pictures suck. The noise issue really only crops up when you're in low light and unable to use a flash (higher iso settings outside at night is a good example.) Now, i'd veture a guess that 95% of my shots are shot at ISO 80 or 100 because when you're outside it's a non issue and when i'm inside i use a sunpak 383 flash which will light up a church. So it's really up to you. Panasonic's/Leica's superior image stabilization will counteract a good bit of blurryness which will help give you sharper crisper images which sort of counteracts that noise issue that seems to upset so many people. Leica lenses are razor sharp. That's the #1 reason i like panasonic. Ultimately it's up to you though.

:: EDIT :: Also, maybe you don't want to limit yourself to the lx1. Panasonics LZ2 is a fantastic camera with IS, a less noisy chip, and a more powerful zoom (6x.) Yeah it's only a 5 megapixel but do you REALLY need 8? I mean i don't know if you're planning on printing larger than 8x10 but it's just another thing to consider. Also with the more powerful zoom you won't need to crop as much so it evens out. The only reason i went with the 8 megapixel fz30 over the 5 megapixel fz20 is the handling improvements. I was fully prepared to buy a 5 megapixel when i first started researching as it's more than enough for 99% of shots/prints.

[Rex914]

Not to knock against IS because it is useful, but the S80's lens is on the wide end, so IS becomes less and less of an issue. I haven't used the camera, but if I can handhold my shots on my junky 2 MP camera at 1/10 s (@ 76mm) and come out fine, I think that on today's cameras, we should at least be able to do that.

The key difference here is in image quality, and DPReview's review showed that the S80 was decidedly better in this important aspect. I like the concept behind the LX1, but it needs a second run before I'd recommend it. It's a first generation, experimental product, and for that, it's pretty good, but next time, all the kinks will be worked out.