As there is a lot more traffic in The Barber Shop than The Darkroom, I hope I'll be allowed to pose this question here. I'm finding myself in a quandary.
It's a very difficult decision, not helped my www.dpreview.com scoring the Olympus XZ-1 highest in individual in-depth reviews, but almost ignoring it in the group comparative tests. My finalists are
Canon Powershot G12 (3.2k RMB best price I can find)
Olympus XZ-1 (3.2k)
Canon Powershot S95 (2.8k max, probably around 2.2 with haggling)
There is so little difference in image quality it's hard to make a decision- although the lens of the xz-1 is undoubtedly the fastest and sharpest available, the sensor is noticeably noisier than the Canons' (which are essentially the same cameras in different skins linked to different lenses), especially at ISOs 800 and above.
So its a choice between lens & sensor, muddied further by Olympus' wonderful, yet quirky JPEG engine, which produces a strange combo of very sharp images, with less ultimate detail- very clever I feel, given most JPEG users aren't pixel-peepers.
Either Canon has it's case- the s95 being a well-made and eminently pocketable camera, the G12 a wonderfully tactile, professional-looking hunk of metal and rubber.
I've read every review I can find and several professional photographers have went for the S95, due entirely to it's size, while mostly user's reviews give a lot of love to Olympus' lens. There are also several threads on forums posing exactly this question, with a tad more members recommending the XZ-1. I know this might seem silly, but the sliding bay doors arrangement really appeals also, given my paranoia about lenses being tarnished and the xz-1 has a std cap.
Any comments are welcome.
It's a very difficult decision, not helped my www.dpreview.com scoring the Olympus XZ-1 highest in individual in-depth reviews, but almost ignoring it in the group comparative tests. My finalists are
Canon Powershot G12 (3.2k RMB best price I can find)
Olympus XZ-1 (3.2k)
Canon Powershot S95 (2.8k max, probably around 2.2 with haggling)
There is so little difference in image quality it's hard to make a decision- although the lens of the xz-1 is undoubtedly the fastest and sharpest available, the sensor is noticeably noisier than the Canons' (which are essentially the same cameras in different skins linked to different lenses), especially at ISOs 800 and above.
So its a choice between lens & sensor, muddied further by Olympus' wonderful, yet quirky JPEG engine, which produces a strange combo of very sharp images, with less ultimate detail- very clever I feel, given most JPEG users aren't pixel-peepers.
Either Canon has it's case- the s95 being a well-made and eminently pocketable camera, the G12 a wonderfully tactile, professional-looking hunk of metal and rubber.
I've read every review I can find and several professional photographers have went for the S95, due entirely to it's size, while mostly user's reviews give a lot of love to Olympus' lens. There are also several threads on forums posing exactly this question, with a tad more members recommending the XZ-1. I know this might seem silly, but the sliding bay doors arrangement really appeals also, given my paranoia about lenses being tarnished and the xz-1 has a std cap.
Any comments are welcome.