Updated (August, 2010): Compare the Canon PowerShot S95 vs Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3

Canon PowerShot S90

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vs

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3

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Reasons to buy the Canon PowerShot S90

	Really small
	Compact 100x58x30 mm

	High ISO (boost)
	12,800 ISO

	Thin
	1.2"

	Light-weight
	198 g

Reasons to buy the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3

	Wide angle lens
	24 mm

	Really small
	Compact 109x60x27 mm

	24p movies
	For that film look

	Great macro
	1 cm

differences

Advantages of the Canon S90

Lower noise at high ISO

185 ISO

94 ISO

The S90 has a slight edge (1 f-stop) in low noise, high ISO performance

Better image quality

46.0

39.0

Around 20% better image quality

Significantly less shutter lag

430 ms

770 ms

More than 40% less delay when taking photos

Significantly lighter

198 g

265 g

Around 30% lighter

Better boost ISO

12,800 ISO

6,400 ISO

The S90's boost ISO is 1 f-stop better

More dynamic range

11 EV

10.8 EV

0.2 f-stops more dynamic range

Better color depth

20.2 bits

19.6 bits

Distinguishes 0.6 more bits of color

Slightly less startup delay

2100 ms

2300 ms

Around 10% less delay when turning on

Learn more about
the Canon S90

Advantages of the Panasonic DMC-LX3

Much better wide angle

24 mm

28 mm

More than 10% better wide angle

Supports 24p

Yes

Get that real film feel

Larger sensor

1/1.6" 8.3x6.2mm

1/1.7" 7.6x5.7mm

Around 20% larger sensor

Higher resolution movies

720p @ 24fps

480p @ 30fps

Shoots high resolution HD (720p) video but at a lower frame rate

Much longer battery life

380 shots

220 shots

More than 70% more shots per battery charge

Supports an external flash

Yes

An external flash often produces better looking flash images

Thinner

1.1"

1.2"

More than 10% thinner

Much longer exposures

60s

15s

4x longer exposures

Shoots slightly faster

2.5 fps

0.9 fps

Around 3x faster continuous shooting

Faster max shutter speed

1/2000s

1/1600s

20% faster max shutter speed

Learn more about
the Panasonic DMC-LX3

recommendations

Relative to the best recent pro digicams, and ignoring price

Canon PowerShot S90

44	vs	43
Explain scores

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3

Too close to call! Snapsort considers these cameras too competitive to make a clear recommendation.

similarities

Compared to recent compacts

Common Strengths

Common Weaknesses

	Very wide aperture
	f/2.0

Very large sensors

S90:	1/1.7" 7.6x5.7mm
DMC-LX3:	1/1.6" 8.3x6.2mm

	RAW support
	Better editing

	Good image stabilization
	Lens

Heavy

S90:	198 g
DMC-LX3:	265 g

	Neither camera stitches together panoramas
	You could stitch photos in post

Poor dynamic range

S90:	11 EV
DMC-LX3:	10.8 EV

	Lower-end sensor types
	CCD

Significant startup delay

S90:	2100 ms
DMC-LX3:	2300 ms

	Neither has in-camera HDR
	You could do HDR manually

	Neither camera can take 3D photos
	No 3d support

Poor color depth

S90:	20.2 bits
DMC-LX3:	19.6 bits

Slow continuous shooting

S90:	0.9 fps
DMC-LX3:	2.5 fps

Above average noise at high ISO

S90:	185 ISO
DMC-LX3:	94 ISO

	No touchscreens
	More buttons

Poor movies

S90:	480p @ 30fps
DMC-LX3:	720p @ 24fps

Large

S90:	100x58x30 mm
DMC-LX3:	109x60x27 mm

Low image quality

S90:	46.0
DMC-LX3:	39.0

Poor zoom

S90:	3.8x
DMC-LX3:	2.5x

Compared to recent pro digicams

Common Strengths

Common Weaknesses

Very small

S90:	100x58x30 mm
DMC-LX3:	109x60x27 mm

Thin

S90:	1.2"
DMC-LX3:	1.1"

Slow max shutter speed

S90:	1/1600s
DMC-LX3:	1/2000s

	No viewfinders
	Can only preview photos on the screen

	Slower contrast detection autofocus
	slower focusing

	Poor maximum light sensitivity
	3,200 ISO

	Capture low resolution images
	10 MP

	No flip-out screens
	Less flexible

	No OLED screens
	LCD

	Neither has an external mic jack
	Limited to the in-camera mic

Low resolution screens

S90:	461k dots
DMC-LX3:	460k dots

dxomark

Image quality data for the Canon S90 provided by DxOMark
Image quality data for the Panasonic DMC-LX3 provided by DxOMark

competitors

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5

Pro digicam

$455

Shoots faster continuously

Has slightly less shutter lag

Is thicker

Is significantly heavier

Compare the Lumix DMC-LX5 vs the PowerShot S90

Compare the Lumix DMC-LX5 vs the Lumix DMC-LX3

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX7

Pro digicam

$348 - $399

Has a slightly wider aperture

Has slightly better image quality

Is thicker

Is much heavier

Compare the Lumix DMC-LX7 vs the PowerShot S90

Compare the Lumix DMC-LX7 vs the Lumix DMC-LX3

Canon PowerShot S110

Pro digicam

$399

Records higher quality movies

Takes significantly higher resolution photos

Slightly worse macro focusing

Compare the PowerShot S110 vs the PowerShot S90

Compare the PowerShot S110 vs the Lumix DMC-LX3

Canon Powershot S100

Pro digicam

$285 - $299

Has slightly better image quality

Records higher quality movies

Slightly worse macro focusing

Compare the Powershot S100 vs the PowerShot S90

Compare the Powershot S100 vs the Lumix DMC-LX3

Canon PowerShot S95

Pro digicam

$461 - $602

Has slightly wider dynamic range

Has in-camera HDR

Has a slower max shutter speed

Has slightly more shutter lag

Compare the PowerShot S95 vs the PowerShot S90

Compare the PowerShot S95 vs the Lumix DMC-LX3

Canon PowerShot G9

Pro digicam

Takes significantly higher resolution photos

Has slightly less startup delay

Lacks boost light sensitivity

Is thicker

Compare the PowerShot G9 vs the PowerShot S90

Compare the PowerShot G9 vs the Lumix DMC-LX3

Sony Cybershot DSC-RX100

Pro digicam

$648 - $760

Has a much larger sensor

Is much less noisy at high ISO

Is thicker

Significantly worse macro focusing

Compare the Cybershot DSC-RX100 vs the PowerShot S90

Compare the Cybershot DSC-RX100 vs the Lumix DMC-LX3

Nikon Coolpix P300

Pro digicam

Higher resolution movies

Much better wide angle

No RAW support

Much smaller sensor

Compare the Coolpix P300 vs the PowerShot S90

Canon PowerShot G11

Pro digicam

Much longer battery life

Has a flip-out screen

Much larger

Significantly narrower aperture

Compare the PowerShot G11 vs the Lumix DMC-LX3

Leica D-LUX V-Lux 3

Pro digicam

Smaller

Lighter

Significantly narrower aperture

Significantly smaller sensor

Compare the D-LUX V-Lux 3 vs the Lumix DMC-LX3

Leica D-LUX 4

Pro digicam

Slightly smaller

Lighter

Smaller sensor

No boost ISO

Compare the D-LUX 4 vs the Lumix DMC-LX3

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX2

Pro digicam

Smaller

Less startup delay

Significantly narrower aperture

Significantly smaller sensor

Compare the Lumix DMC-LX2 vs the Lumix DMC-LX3

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Canon PowerShot S90

vs

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3

Reasons to buy the Canon PowerShot S90

Reasons to buy the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3

recommendations

Relative to the best recent pro digicams, and ignoring price

differences

Advantages of the Canon S90

Advantages of the Panasonic DMC-LX3

recommendations

Relative to the best recent pro digicams, and ignoring price

similarities

Compared to recent compacts

Compared to recent pro digicams

dxomark

competitors

Shared Competitors

Advantages

Disadvantages

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX7

Canon PowerShot S110

Canon Powershot S100

Canon PowerShot S95

Canon PowerShot G9

Sony Cybershot DSC-RX100