Questions Regarding the Canon G10 v. Pan. Lumix DMC-LX3

jd callow · Apr 11, 2009

My father in-law is debating betweent he Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3 and the Canon G10. In an effort to help him out I found this site that has a series of comparative images:

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If you zoom in on the images you will see a great deal of colour fringing on the Canon. Are these representative of the Canon or are the Canon images badly represented?

The 50% increase in pixels seems to be negated by the colour fringe and the superiority of the Panasonic lens seems to be very apparent. Are there other opinions, am I wrong? I'd love to give him some good advice. At this point I'd recommend the Panasonic.

ann · Apr 11, 2009

jd.

i have looked at the g10 for a basic travel trash camera. I like the way the controls are set up. I would like to find a panasonic to handle . Some of the panasonic's have a small toggle switch for function, which i don't like. However, that may only be true with several panasonic that students have that i have looked at.

the reviews i have found indicate the usual problems with this type of camera, anything above iso of 400 is very noisie. Which may or may not be an issue for your father-in-law.

sorry i can't be more helpful,

donbga · Apr 14, 2009

jd callow said:
My father in-law is debating betweent he Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3 and the Canon G10. In an effort to help him out I found this site that has a series of comparative images:

Dead Link Removed

If you zoom in on the images you will see a great deal of colour fringing on the Canon. Are these representative of the Canon or are the Canon images badly represented?

The 50% increase in pixels seems to be negated by the colour fringe and the superiority of the Panasonic lens seems to be very apparent. Are there other opinions, am I wrong? I'd love to give him some good advice. At this point I'd recommend the Panasonic.

Hi John,

I have the G10 and I've not noticed the color fringing shown in the example you shared. I think the Panasonic is marginally better than the G10 but over all I liked the G10 better. Realistically anything over about 400 ISO will have more image noise but if exposed properly it isn't that bad. After all it's a tiny sensor and shooting at an ISO of 1600 is still pretty amazing to me.

Another reason I decided on the G10 was my intent to use a Canon 430 EXII flash which works wonderfully. I have an ETTL flash extension that allows off camera flash while maintaining ETTL exposure control.

Not sure if this helps but it's my 2 cents worth,

Don Bryant

jd callow · Apr 15, 2009

Don,
It helps. Thank you.

Kerik · Apr 15, 2009

I've got the LX-3 and love it. But it may be too fiddly for a more "mature" person. I think it's a great "photographer's" digital P&S. I like how wide and fast the lens is, but many might find the long end too short to catch the grandkids playing soccer.

jd callow · Apr 15, 2009

Kerik,
He is a amateur cinematographer and one of his former P/S's was a Rollie 35s so he is has some photographic chops. It was your pictures with that camera and some research that prompted me to recommend the LX to him. As you've noted it is the limited focal length which is the downside. No grandkids and none planned.

What I'd like to know is what is the distance from subject for a head and shoulder portrait?

mrladewig · Apr 16, 2009

I also have the LX-3 and have the same opinion as Kerik. Its a great photographer's P&S camera. It really seems well thought out in regards to features and organization. The lens is excellent. But there are times when I'm using the LX-3 where I would wish for a longer telephoto end of the range. But I can't say that I would rather have the G10. The size difference is such that the LX3 is pocketable when the G10 really isn't. The faster and wider lens of the LX-3 work really well for me.

The distance for the LX-3 for a head and shoulders portrait would be pretty close to the distance you would need for a 50mm lens on 35mm format depending a bit on the ratio you select. In other words, it may be closer than you would want to be and it could result in some distortion of facial features. For this particular application, the G10 might be the better camera since it offers the equivalent of a 105mm lens (if I remember correctly) on the long end, getting you into the typical 85-135mm range typically used for head and shoulder portraits.

However, the 24-60mm equivalent range of the LX-3 is well suited to full length and environmental portraiture, if that is your thing.

sanking · May 15, 2009

I am considering getting one of these cameras and have it converted for infrared use. Any thoughts on whether one or the other might work best for the infrared conversion.

And BTW, is the sensor size the same on both of G10 and DMC-LX3?

Sandy

jd callow · May 15, 2009

I wound up recommending the LX3, based upon lens quality, camera size (it is intended to be a compact) and there seemed to be sufficient evidence that they may have pushed the pixel density on the Canon a little bit too far.

Sandy,

Here are some links you may find useful:
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http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/panasonicdmclx3/

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canong10/

ken rockwell reviews both cameras as well:
http://www.kenrockwell.com/canon/g10.htm

You'll have to search for the Panasonic.

ann · May 15, 2009

sandy,

you might check over here

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i have seen several images from the g10 there.

they are very helpful folks.

i am still trying to figure out which of these little "guys" as well. i am concerned about the toggle switch on the LX3, as i have large hands and am wondering about the ease of use.

sanking · May 15, 2009

JD, Ann,

Thanks for the comments and links. I have a G9 and really like it so the G10 would be easy to get used to. But I like the wider angle of the LX3 and from the reviews I have seen it appears to have a slight edge in sharpness. But I have been really impressed with the G9!!

Sandy

sanking · May 17, 2009

Well, thought about the infrared conversion more and decided to do with an APS sensor Canon Xsi 12.2 mp. Makes sense since I already have a number of lenses for the Canon 50D. Price of the camera is a tad more than for the Panasonic LX3 and Canon F10, and conversion is a bit more, but since I already have several lenses for the Canon, and don't care about size, the Xsi makes more sense to me.

Sandy

donbga · May 17, 2009

sanking said:
Well, thought about the infrared conversion more and decided to do with an APS sensor Canon Xsi 12.2 mp. Makes sense since I already have a number of lenses for the Canon 50D. Price of the camera is a tad more than for the Panasonic LX3 and Canon F10, and conversion is a bit more, but since I already have several lenses for the Canon, and don't care about size, the Xsi makes more sense to me.

Sandy

Makes sense to me. Any thoughts about where you will send your camera for conversion?

Don

ann · May 17, 2009

interesting decision. i have been toying with both of those cameras as a possiblity for an " in my pocket camera", but the sensor size has been putting me off.

Yesterday, i did some research about the xsi but wanted to go see one up close and personal. thinking perhaps it might be a big large for the "pocket".

i had also ran some research on the simga dp1 which has the aps sensor size, but that seems to be the only positive thing i have found about this particular camera.

jd callow · May 18, 2009

My father in-law is visiting from the UK and has his LX3 in tow. The camera is a gem, the images it produces are excellent.

sanking · May 18, 2009

Well, I have had second thoughts about doing this with a new Xsi camera since the conversion will void the warranty. I would be in for over $1000 with the cost of the camera and the converson and if something went wrong I would be up a creek.

Sandy

Don Bryant said:
Makes sense to me. Any thoughts about where you will send your camera for conversion?

Don

ann · May 18, 2009

sandy,

you might want to check out MAXMAX for something.

i got a coverted fuji s9100 from them a few years ago.

i happened to be out running errands this afternoon and stopped into the local "wolf" and checked out the xsi100 but deceided it was to big for an in your pocket camera. they didn't have a pansonic but had a canon g10.

still looking but not in a huge hurry.

won't it be nice to be able to walk in and say, i like this body but want it in this color and this type of clutch, and oh yes leather instead of cloth seats.
i suppose this comment is showing my age lol lol

sanking · May 18, 2009

What is MAXMAX?

The Panasonic G1 is available in red, blue and black.

http://www2.panasonic.com/webapp/wc...l?storeId=11301&catalogId=13251&itemId=292233

Looks like a real nice little camera, but pricey for the features.

Sandy

ann said:
sandy,

you might want to check out MAXMAX for something.

i got a coverted fuji s9100 from them a few years ago.

i happened to be out running errands this afternoon and stopped into the local "wolf" and checked out the xsi100 but deceided it was to big for an in your pocket camera. they didn't have a pansonic but had a canon g10.

still looking but not in a huge hurry.

won't it be nice to be able to walk in and say, i like this body but want it in this color and this type of clutch, and oh yes leather instead of cloth seats.
i suppose this comment is showing my age lol lol

ann · May 18, 2009

sorry, http://maxmax.com/
their speciality is IR photography, conversion, etc. they have a wide variety of cameras already converted for IR work.

very cute little red camera.
did hassy offer some colors years ago? don't think it lasted long if they did.
then there was some company that made all sorts of strange colors for sx-70's.

i am wishing for a small camera, with reasonable megpixels and an aps sensor; silly me

sanking · May 19, 2009

After more thought I finally decided to have my Canon G9 converted. I had given it to my wife after she lost her Pentax point and shoot but the compexity of working with digital controls exasperated her so she suggested that she would like to have another easy to operate film camera.

I considered several conversions but eventually decided to go with the Infrare-Only conversion at 830 nm offered by www.maxmax.com. Their service looks to be very professional, and they guarantee turn-around in 1-2 business days.

Sandy King

ann · May 19, 2009

i have found maxmax to be very helpful and hope you are happy with the results.

on another note, i have had several folks tell me that they really prefer the g9 over the g10, have you had the opportunity on your camera search to have an opinon?

sanking · May 19, 2009

Ann,

I reviewed the difference between the G9 and G10. There are two features about the G10 that attract me, the compensation knob on the left and the wider angle lens. THe G10 also has 14.7 mp compared to 12.4 mp for the G9 but I doubt that one could see the difference in practice.

The only major decision I had to make was to choose between the conversion options, which are UV+Visible +Infrared, Infrared-Only at 715nm, or Infrared-Only at 830nm. The first option would require purchase of a number of filters. Conversion to 830 nm results in loss of two stops but gives more dramatic look than 715 nm so I decided for 830 nm since I usually use my cameras on a tripod anyway whenever possible.

The bottom line is that I have the G9 already and have been pleased with the results so having it converted is a fairly inexpensive way to play around with infrared. So even if this does not work out as well as I hope it won't be such an expensive mistake.

Sandy

ann said:
i have found maxmax to be very helpful and hope you are happy with the results.

on another note, i have had several folks tell me that they really prefer the g9 over the g10, have you had the opportunity on your camera search to have an opinon?

ann · May 19, 2009

makes sense.
i have a fuji s9100 that i got from maxmax that i use for IR, i have to use a filter, i have been using their ldp but am not sure i am happy with the colors, and then i have a filter that allows me to take "regular" type images.
another nice thing about the fuji is i can hand hold if needed.

with my d100 and a wratten 87 it is tripod only , black and white and long exposures.

but have been trying to find a "in the pocket" point and shoot for those times i don't want to carry around a lot of equipment. That is why i asked about the differences between the two. I do like the way the g10 is set up, but as i haven't had an opportunity to look at the panasonic i am not ready to purchase anything.

sanking · May 19, 2009

Ann,

As far as I can tell there is no difference in handling between the G9 and G10. I have held both of them and the basic controls and feel are the same on both models.

There is a pretty big differnce in feel between the Lumix LX3 and the G10. The LX3 is quite a bit thinnier and would fit in a pocket easier. On the other hand, the G9 and G10 have a viewfinder that is very useful when shooting outdoors in the sun.

Sandy

ann said:
That is why i asked about the differences between the two. I do like the way the g10 is set up, but as i haven't had an opportunity to look at the panasonic i am not ready to purchase anything.

pellicle · May 20, 2009

Ann

ann said:
with my d100 and a wratten 87 it is tripod only , black and white and long exposures.

as a keen IR fan (still searching for a HIE replacement) I understand your issues with exposure times on the D100. I'm waiting to get back home to hack my Coolpix 990 to be IR compatible (turns out that its quite simple compared to DSLRs) It will become my previsualisation and light metering rig for 35mm and LF IR photography.

If you are considering the G10 then perhaps a Panasonic G1 will be not much different yet will give you advantages that the G10 has not. Despite being a Canon owner I'm now trying to get my hands on a OM-1 (and 21mm 50mm and 100mm lenses) so that I can do IR with that, and share lenses with my G1. So far the FD lens by adaptor experience has been really good. With the light weight of the bodys it makes a great hiking rig and I get to use the lenses differently on each body.

It makes a mean macro rig with a few cheap extension tubes. This image is "toe of my boot" balanced and "live view" focused while kneeling on the ground.

its got a bigger sensor than the G10 and you get to use the kit lens too (with good Image Stabilisation)

just food for thought

Questions Regarding the Canon G10 v. Pan. Lumix DMC-LX3

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