Canon SD450 vs. Panasonic DMC-FX9, PLEASE HELP!

[ms123d]

Hi... I'm looking for an everyday use (non professional) compact digital
I currently own a Canon S410 and was looking at these two.

Budget: 300-400
Couple quick ?s: Are they both USB 2.0 and what are your personal thoughts on these cameras (if you own them or have seen them personally)

I read reviews for both and both seem great. I always liked Canons but I was drawn by the OIS system from Panasonic (does it really work as well as advertised?) I'm not looking to make big printouts therefore super quality isnt an issue here... just everyday comfortable use in natural light AND night time

My biggest complaint with my current S410 is it's horrible in low lighting with no flash (I try not to use flash even in low lights... ruins the picture).. very blurry. Hoping Panasonic is better?

Please help! Thank you very much

[Jason25]

The Fuji F10 seems to be the low-light, no-flash king right now in the compact market. You might look into that one, or it's successor, the F11.

[ms123d]

Thank you.. but I'm looking for comparison between SD450 and DMC-FX9

Anyone else have comments/suggestions/opinions?

I'm looking to sell my S400 soon so I'd like to know which one is getting the better consumer reviews.

Thank you.

[ms123d]

any other owners of SD450 or DMC-FX9 have opinions about their camera?

[coldrain]

The panasonic will be a bit less blurry because of the IS, IF the subject stays still. Else with a moving subject it will have motion blur. That is why he recommended looking at a Fuji.
The FX8 (5mp)is less noisy (compared to the FX9 (6mp))

[ms123d]

thanks for the info

but isnt the FX9 higher megapixel than FX8? also, isnt it a newer model? how is it possible for the FX9 to be more noisy than FX8?

[David Metsky]

but isnt the FX9 higher megapixel than FX8? also, isnt it a newer model? how is it possible for the FX9 to be more noisy than FX8?

Because megapixels aren't everything.

With the same size CCD, the FX9 is trying to put more pixels than FX8. This results in more noise since you're asking an already pushed CCD to do an awful lot. You'll have to look at the images yourself to decide if the extra noise in some situations is worth the extra megapixels.

Extra pixels don't make for a better camera, they just make for more pixels.

-dave-

[ms123d]

i see

im not a very nick picky person when it comes to quality so i guess thats not too bad (its not unbearable is it?)... another question i had was that ive heard larger lcds crack easily but then again other people have said no... i was wondering if there was anyone out there who can give me some input with their own experience using digital cameras with lcds between 2-3".

[coldrain]

So you are not picky about noise but you want to boast about 1mp more? Hmm. Anyway, look at the full resolution sample shots of the reviews here and see just how noisy the FX9 is compared to the SD450.

[ms123d]

thanks for the input...
Well... I wasnt looking to boast about 1 more mp.... i would rather the fx9 was like 4-5mp and be cheaper if i had it my way ... but since there was no other choice i was just wondering what the big difference was... my big thing was that my canon s400 sucks in low light with no flash so i was drawn by the IS of the FX9 hoping it was worth it... I looked at the comparisons (no SD450 so saw the SD400, probably same?) and I wasnt bothered much by the noise... so I guess it's a toss-up between SD450 and FX9 for me