My Panasonic vs. Canon S3IS vs. ???!

[R.ticle One]

Hello everyone, I'm glad to be here at this forum. I am a new digital camera owner, and I ended up going with a Panasonic DMC-LZ5. A review I found:

http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/LZ5/LZ5A.HTM

It has 6x optical zoom, 6MP, image stabilization (IMO, a requirement), a 2.5 inch lcd, good movie mode - in short, it has a lot of great features, however, I am still not one hundred percent happy with it.

As some examples: I could use more zoom. I could definately do with better low light performance. The LCD, while an acceptable size, has pretty poor resolution. There is also definate LCD lag when panning across a room or outdoor area to focus on a subject. Slow flash recharge times. Some images dissapointingly un-crisp and/or noisy. No manual controls (though I am still learning), I am artistically inclined, and would not mind more control.

I have been eyeing the Canon S3IS as an alternative - my main concern: would I cope well with an LCD half an inch smaller?

And I do really like the ability to preview a multitude of thumbnail versions of shots on the Panasonic - can anyone tell me if the Canon has such a capability?

My subject matter has, as of this time, included: people, animals, macro insects and flowers, leaves, water droplets, sports, subway and train stations, high light, low light, sunsets, and umm...a lot of things.

I do require very good macro, and fast startup time. I am just torn between, should I keep this camera and learn to work with it's little quirks, or would I be much happier with the Canon S3IS's quality and performance?

The rule of thirds grid which the Panasonic features is very important to me, I do believe that the Canon has it too.

Does anyone know if the Canon offers in camera photo trimming/cropping?

And I am still in the camp which prefers double A battery acceptance.

I really, really appreciate your help, and look forward to responses. Thanks so much!

R.ticle One

[Photo-John]

I tell most people to keep the camera they have and work on their photography skills. However, there are a couple of things you mentioned that make me think you might benefit from having the Canon instead of the Panasonic - exposure controls and longer zoom. The main thing is the manual exposure controls on the S3 IS - it's got everything. With the S3 IS you will never be limited by exposure controls only by the natural limitations of the aperture, shutter speed, and ISO settings.

I actually have an S3 IS here, for testing. Just got it a couple of days ago. I don't notice any lag on the LCD refresh. That's very impressive. It does still have noticeable shutter-lag, though. That's something you'll have to deal with on any compact digital camera.

The S3 IS also has the same grid that you like on your Pansonic. And although it is smaller it will display up to 9 thumbnails at a time. Since I don't really use the LCD for composition or image editing, I don't think a smaller LCD is that big of a deal. I like a big LCD, but camera controls are more important, I think.

Let me know if you have more questions. And if it helps, here's a link to a page where you can compare the Canon S3 IS to the Panasonic DMC-LZ5 >>

It looks like we don't have any user reviews yet for your camera. So if you would post a review, I would appreciate it. Here's a link to that page:

Read and write Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ5 digital camera reviews >>

Hope that helps. And I hope you'll share photos and your own experience here. Everyone has something to offer and we all still have things to learn