stuck with a choice : Powershot G7 vs Lumix DCM LX2

[kowen]

For some time I've been searching for a camera with this in mind:

budget : around 400$
size : compact

Image quality is kindof important. I want to use my camera for vacationpics
but as a designer it might be handy to have a compact camera with me
with a decent quality for digital work ( till now not using any photography, but that might change ).

After searching a lot, I found these 2 camera's :
Powershot g7 and the Lumix DCM LX2

I'm stuck with choosing between these 2. And maybe there is another alternative ?

(I'm an amateur when it comes down to photography)

[ayhcheung]

No experience with the G7, but having used a LX1 (which differs from the LX2 primarily in terms of screen form factor and sensor), I should warn you that the LX series suffers from serious image noise problems at anything above ISO100. If you're not going to be doing any low-light photography without flash then the LX2 should be fine - it's small and has all the manual controls one could hope for - but otherwise you should probably look at the alternatives.

Alternative cameras to the LX2 and G7 you might want to look at (note - I haven't used any of these, but they're in the same sort of market segment):
-Nikon P5000
-Ricoh GX100

[kowen]

No experience with the G7, but having used a LX1 (which differs from the LX2 primarily in terms of screen form factor and sensor), I should warn you that the LX series suffers from serious image noise problems at anything above ISO100. If you're not going to be doing any low-light photography without flash then the LX2 should be fine - it's small and has all the manual controls one could hope for - but otherwise you should probably look at the alternatives.

Alternative cameras to the LX2 and G7 you might want to look at (note - I haven't used any of these, but they're in the same sort of market segment):
-Nikon P5000
-Ricoh GX100

Thanks. I won't be doing a lot of low-light photography. What I like about the LX2 is it's 16:9 ccd and it's size. The G7 is a bit bigger and has a lower batterylife. I'm a little bit concerned about the LX2 Image Quality though.