Lumix LX5 vs Oly XZ-1 - need a new compact!

[heshanj]

so i need a new compact digital, and im thinking of getting one of the 'high-end' compacts in the market right now. ive narrowed it down to these two. i'd love to get the fuji x10 actually, but thats a bit out of my budget range.

so after reading reviews on both these.. well actually i mainly read the dpreview reviews on both these.. it seems like there's only one point on each that im not sure about.. and since im sure there are lot of u guys who own one of these, u can advise me better than dpreview?

the Lumix - the biggest negative on the Cons list on dpreview is the LCD screen. they say its hard to use in bright light, and worse, the picture shown on the screen isnt that accurate. that reminds me of a lumix my friend used to have (a lower end one) and i always thought that the camera was good, but the pics it shows on the LCD look horrible. have to upload to see if its good or not. for me, thats quite a big turn off. so, LX5 owners.. is this true? is it that bad, or is it exaggerated?

the XZ-1 - high ISO performance? i read that anything about ISO 400 looks pretty bad. i dont generally shoot at high ISO, but on digital, i'd like to be able to bump it up without really degrading the shot. is the high ISO performance worse than other cameras in this range (for example, worse than the LX5)? i mean, i dont expect wonders from the small sensor, but i'd like to know if its on par wth competition, or below

and well, if any of u guys have owned or used both of these, any recommendations? or would u really recommend i save up an extra $100 (or a bit more) n go for the fuji x10? thanks for reading!

 

[ptwong]

LX5 owner here. LCD does suck but on the whole ok la. How often do u shoot in super bright environment. Pic quality is good. Need to learn to use the menu setting to fully utilise it's potential.

Got consider Canon g12 or S100?
Or else save for x10!!

 

[heshanj]

thanks for the reply bro. no, im ok with the screen fading a bit in bright environment.. i think most screes will struggle a bit, and thats ok. problem is, i heard that even in indoor conditions, the screen itself shows like a low-res image, and not very accurate - like,when u preview the shot, it looks kinda bad.. but when upload it looks fine. but from ur experience it seems fine, so i guess its not a big deal

i consider the canon's also.. but i prefer the lumix over the S100.. faster aperture at the tele end, among a few other things.. and the G12 is a bit big for my liking.
im seriously considering saving up for the x10, though - looks fantastic.. and exactly wat im lookin for. haha. greed is taking control

 

[NDividualistic]

was an ex LX5 user (and a current X10 user as well) well, i do agree you cant reply on the screen to give you the final image u took. Bt I feel the difference is not tat big thou...If worry abt screen fading issue (most of the cam get screen fading in bright environment), get a EVF, tat what i did. JPEG quality is definitely better than RAW.

I rather u top up a bit more to get the X10. Better IQ, handling, maual zoom etc. If you are canon user, get the Canon G1X instead of s100, bigger sensor than normal compact cam (including x10), which mean better IQ and noise performance.

But still, given a choice i will still go for X10! :bsmilie: (if you are worry abt the orbs issue, Fujifilm will change the sensor in May so its not a big issue)

 

[buzzmario]

yu say compact so it to be compact. s100 is compact.

 

[heshanj]

thanks for the replies. but like i said in my 2nd post, S100 has some features that turned me away so S100 isnt gonna be it.

i think im seriously considering saving for the X10 now. wat do u mean the orbs issue? gotta google now haha. so guess i have to buy it after may, to get a new sensor one.. hmm

 

[heshanj]

i just did some reading on the fuji x10 'orb' or 'blooming' issue. rather shocking that. i probably wont be buying it right now, but if i do buy it before the new sensor is released, i should get it replaced for free, right? yeah i know i should call fuji myself, haha. any of u guys using X10 and notice this problem a lot? now i got a bit more to think about...

 

[pinholecam]

There is also the Pentax Q (~$700+ with 47/1.8 prime).
Main advantage is that its and ILC. So you can bring over the lenses to the next model of the camera.

All the cameras you listed are in the end just pns small sensor cameras with more or less similar limitations to high ISO.
The XZ-1 has a fast lens f1.8 to f2.5
The LX5 has a f2-3.5 lens.

o/p are all about similar.

Personally, I'd use them all w/o an expectation of pixel peeping an ISO performance above ISO800.
Yes, they all look not as good compared to APS-C or m4/3 at pixel peeping levels at all ISO and if your tolerance is low.
But they are all more portable.

 

[heshanj]

thanks for the tip. i'll check out the pentax Q. but after getting some opinions from X10 users, who state that the blooming issue really isnt an issue, im seriously considering the X10. almost decided in fact. i'd say the ISO performance on the X10 is better than the rest? from wat ive read, at least

the Q looks pretty compact, and that i like. but for this camera, portability is wat im looking for. some m43 cameras i really dont find as portable as i need.. so in the cases where i want quality, i dont mind taking the DSLR.. (my 500D isnt that big haha) - its odd how sometimes pentax gets such little attention.. i had no idea about the pentax Q. haha. thanks again. but still leaning towards the X10 a lot!

 

[heshanj]

actually, looking at some video reviews, the pentax Q looks really compact! makes the X10 look quite bulky in comparison! haha. wonder if either one will fit in a (fairly large) pocket

 

[waladjam]

Hi,

i'm a Canon user and an amateur photographer. I'm happy with LX5. I heard the price now is cheaper and worth buying one surely no regret!. I find it's very handy. i carry along with me everyday i go to work. You may visit my flickr photostream for some samples of my recent shots to view at www.flickr.com/photos/walj.

cheers.

Walj :thumbsup:

 

[heshanj]

thanks bro. nice shots on ur flickr

 

[icebear78]

i think the main advantage of XZ-1 is the fast lens from WA to telephoto.. 1.8-2.5

IMO that's quite uheard of for most "fast lens" compact cameras. That was what swayed me towards Olympus. I previously had an S90 and that was F2 WA to 5.6 for telephoto..

looking forward, i was comparing the XZ-1 to S100, what put me off was the higher price of S100 and the F5.6 telephoto, poor battery life. On the plus side for S100, GPS and smaller size overall. finally decided on XZ-1. i could live with the slightly larger size, pop out lens cap and NO GPS.. in return i got faster lens from WA to telephoto, longer battery life, option to add adaptors (for teleconverter, CPL, ND, etc). hope my 0.02 cents helps.

 

[cheersjy]

Hi, I am a XZ-1 user.
Yes, XZ-1 uses a heavier noise reduction which will smudge the fine details starting from ISO400.
However, if you can change to shoot raw in low light condition, XZ-1 raw image offers one of the best details.
The bright lens also keep the ISO lower on XZ-1 compared to other cam.
You can see from the image comparison below at ISO800 (JPG vs RAW, XZ-1 vs LX5).

In addition, straight out of camera jpeg of XZ-1 hardly needs further PS. Colour is full and nice. LX5 colour has a tint of blue and is cooler - not very pleasing for portrait.
However, preference for colour is very subjective and personal

Oh, if you shoot video often, then LX5 will be more suitable. XZ-1 suffers from AF hunting in video mode.