Compact camera advice needed. Stick with Canon or go Lumix?

[PhilNUK]

Hi, in relation to the thread where I mentioned my Ixus75 died due to cat pee I am now looking for a new camera.
Thing is as we all know the market is flooded with new ones all the time.
I have a few that are of interest to me.
Canon Ixus 90
Lumix FX 37
Lumix FX 500

Now I have only had Sony and Canon digital cameras up till now. I don't like the Sony range and can't be doing with getting the memory stick format again.

I had a look at the Ixus 90 in Jessops today and it felt nice and solid, but they have opted for a dial on the back rather than a cursor, which I might get used to, but it was very sensitive at first. The screen was stunning.
The reason I am interested in Lumix is due to the Leica lenses to be honest. The FX 500 has the touch screen and a wide angle lens which is a bonus. Shame it doesn't support RAW, but it allows full control over Exposures etc.
The FX37 is a new update to the FX35, which had good reviews and seems to be more similar to the Ixus as in more basic than the FX 500 is.

decisions decisions. I did a search and didn't see much about the Ixus 90. So if anyones picked one up recently then it would be great to hear your thoughts.

[TarMoo]

I bought a Canon 10mp IXUS 85 with my daughter as she wanted a new small camera. This camera is very compact, but taking a few test shots I found that the picture noise is quite bad with indoor shots. In fact my old Canon 7mp IXUS 850 is a lot better.

My impression is that 7 megapixels is probably optimum for these small compact cameras. Image stabilisation and face recognition are nice to have features

[senu]

Originally Posted by TarMoo

I bought a Canon 10mp IXUS 85 with my daughter as she wanted a new small camera. This camera is very compact, but taking a few test shots I found that the picture noise is quite bad with indoor shots. In fact my old Canon 7mp IXUS 850 is a lot better.

My impression is that 7 megapixels is probably optimum for these small compact cameras. Image stabilisation and face recognition are nice to have features

Totally agree, anything more , even ISO 400 is noisy also they make bigger file sizes and add to pre-existing Shutter lag

[Twadger]

I'm just waiting for Jessops to get the new Panasonic DMC-LX3 in stock so I can take a look.

Sounds interesting with the F2 24-60mm Leica lens, and I'm glad they've resisted the temptation to go higher than 10 mp.

[adskin80]

Just bought the Ixus 90 last week.

Got it off Jessops.com with 5% voucher code and 3% through quidco. Total price £169, not bad considering it's £209.99 instore.

I too was looking at the Lumix range, I opted for the Canon though after reading many reviews. But physically, I loved how small it is, the screen is awesome!!! The dial you do get used to.

The test shots I have done, albeit not many have turned out good. But I will wait until I go to Vegas next week to try the camera out fullya nd post some results when I return.

Face detect and Image stabiliser I'm impressed with as my old NIkon 5900 didin't have these features.

As with everything this is my opinion of the camera, and you should make your own decision, but I can recommend the camera.

[LFC_SL]

Originally Posted by TarMoo

My impression is that 7 megapixels is probably optimum for these small compact cameras. Image stabilisation and face recognition are nice to have features

I am of the opinion 6-7 mp is about right until technology moves on in compact cameras

My G9 is fine at iso 80~200. At 400 only gets away with noise due to raw mode. Above that its bleurgh

[PhilNUK]

cheers Adskin. It's now £179 in store which is why I was so tempted.
Thanks very much for the replies.