panasonic lumix dmc-fx0 vs. canon powershot sd550/500

[boardersdc]

so i'm trying to decide between these two cameras. currently i have a kodak easyshare ls7430, and its pretty bad. 4 megapixels, not too good image quality and a way too strong flash which overexposes a lot of the time.


after much research i've found that both these panasonic and canon models are good. however i've read user reviews on pcworld.com that the lumix has issues with noise on high shutter speeds (400 and up) but the canon powershot has minimal manual controls.

i'm looking for the best image quality overall in low light, using the flash, color etc.

the lumix also has image stablization, so i dont know if that weighs out the noise that people have reported??

anyone with experience with these cameras please help. thanks

 

[Big Mike]

Try a head to head comparison at www.dpreview.com

The seem to be fairly similar. The Lumix does have IS, which is a plus. The Canon has a slightly bigger senor (1/1.8 vs 1/2.5). Neither seems to have manual controls. I'm guessing that the Canon has slightly better image quality...but may be wrong. Both LCD screens are the same size but the Lumix screen has better resolution.

The noise issue with the Lumix is probably on ISO over 400, and not shutter speed. Actually, just about any digi-cam like these will have noise problems with ISO 400 or higher.

 

[karlghunt]

I have a panasonic lumix fx01 and its great. If people took the time to read the manual it says that the camera is set to vivid by default and in low light this can cause noise but if you set it to natural there is no noise at least not that i can see without a magnifying glass. I used to have a canon ixus 40 but it got stolen it was a decent camera. I was a bit dubious about buying a panasonic but the built quality is exceptional right down to the cover over the usb port. If you would like me to email you some pictures I have taken feel free to ask me.