Lumix LZ8 or...

[werdna]

So I recently learned about the Panasonic LZ8 and specs wise, it seems like a great little camera (848x480 video, manual controls, 5x zoom) and its at a great price. My only worry is that it is somewhat lacking on the image quality side. How do you think it compares to the A590 and other canon point and shoots?

[KCook]

There are reviews of both on Steves site. I downloaded sample shots for some pixelpeeping. I would say both have decent IQ. As a long time Canon fan I can't believe I'm saying this, but the LZ8 results are more to my taste. It applies a bit of sharpening, for a more crisp look. And the A590 saturates color a little more than I like. Caution, I didn't bother to look through the camera controls. If the A590 has a more "natural" color setting and a "sharpen" setting that could well level the playing field.

Download and print samples for both cameras. Then make your own judgment. Ideas on what the "perfect" picture looks like vary a great deal from person to person.

Kelly