Canon S100 or Panasonic LX5. Which one to buy???

saabuldin

I am struggling between the 2 cameras. I dont really care if LX5 is bigger and if S100 does not have hotshoe. I just want to know which of the 2 is better in image quality, full manual functionality and focus speeds and aperture.

Which one do you think is better. Any advice, pros and cons and whatever you think would help me make the decision would be very helpful.

Thanks in advance.

just to add, The lX5 has bigger sensor. Better shutter speed range. does this make it better in real world use.

If you prefer the Nikon p300 or Olympus XZ-1. Please say why you would choose one of these 2.

jmphotocraft

S100 is the most pocketable. I had a Panasonic TS-1 and I never really liked the colors, but I am used to Canon color as I have their DSLRs. Samples of LX-5 images have the same Panasonic colors to my eye. I don't think they look as natural.

Nikon P300 is just a less capable copy of the S100 - no front control ring. This is a very useful feature on the S100.

divamum

I have an s95, the previous generation Canon. It would be hard to overstate what a fabulous little camera it is - I never hesitate to use it, even in situations that would challenge some dSLR's. Sure, it's a PnS, but an amazingly capable one. The s100 has built on it with added features and (I believe) extra zoom range. The s series are just incredible small cameras.

Dogdots

I bought my hubby the Canon s100 for Christmas and it's a great little camera. I even find myself grabbing it to take photos

Internaut

S100 for pocketability and quality of Canon's JPEGs. Being the owner of a couple of Panasonic cameras, I've never really liked their SOOC output. Another very nice alternative to the LX-5 is the Olympus XZ-1 and this will produce very nice JPEGs. Like the LX5, the Olympus camera isn't pocketable.

Allan FG

I have a S90 which is back 2 generations now and it has been just a great camera. You can take some really wonderful images with it. There are two things I really love about this camera, the front control ring and its size. This camera is so small you can always have it on you.

David_S85

We have an S95, and I find the shots from it almost as clean as from my dSLR (40D). The portability can't be beat. The S100 has many improvements and if I could, I'd upgrade.

DavidTO

I've had the s90, s95 and now the s100. I love the camera. The only issue I have is that I was excited about the GPS tagging my photos, but it takes so long to lock in on the satellites that I'm long done snapping and have turned it back off and put it in my pocket. So I just leave that off to save battery. I wish it worked, though. I guess you can leave it in a constant mode, but hardly seems worth the battery drain for me. The fast burst is cool as is the 240fps, even though it's at a low resolution.

Samples (snapshots, so don't go crazy critiquing them!):






This last one is an experiment that didn't necessarily work out, but I thought it was worth sharing for showing the DOF in action.

brancaleone

Canon or Panasonic?
Definitely I'm partial to Panasonic, I have a Z7s. In my humble opinion the Panasonic software is pretty close to the Leica one, the Elmarit lens is a close as it can be to the original Elmar glass. The autofocus works well in low light conditions, color are brilliant, well saturated, 12mgp are good enough, and the intelligent scene system works well in many situations. I vote Panasonic.

DsrtVW

I just bought the S100 today and so far I am quite pleased with it. main reason for buying it was small size and RAW capability. The Manual controls are great with the twist ring on the lens for f stop and control dial for shutter. I am a devoted Nikon DSLR shooter but I have always like the Canon PnS. I would have considered the Nikon P300 but it does not do RAW