Canon Vs Panasonic

[kpdesigns]

I was looking at the sample gallery shots from the Canon A95 and the shots from the Panasonic FZ3 and the Panasonic seems to have alot more noise in the images. Are Panasonics more noisy in general compared to the Canons?

[GlennD]

One reason for more noise in the Panasonic is because it has a smaller sensor, 1/3.2" vs. 1/1.8". The larger sensor allows the use of larger pixels which gather more light, reducing noise.

In every case I can think of, larger sensors mean less noise which enables you to use higher ISO speeds with good results.

Glenn