olympus, canon or panasonic?????

Help! I am looking for digital point and shoot and narrowed it down to 3. Which is better? Olympus Stylus 1010, Canon SD870 or Panasonic Lumix TZ5? I like them all but am looking for the best. Please help me.:mad2:

Those are three very different cameras - especially the Panasonic. The Olympus and Canon are somewhat comparable - they're both pocket point-and-shoots. But the Panasonic, with it's 10x zoom lens, is really a superzoom in a small package. It's a little too big for most pockets, though. Of the three, the Panasonic will be the most powerful. But if you want a pocket camera, I'd go with the Canon. Canon almost always has the best image quality. And I can vouch for the quality of the SD870 IS. Last year I reviewed the Canon SD850 IS (Canon PowerShot SD850 IS Pro Review), which has the same sensor, and I loved it.

I do like the Olympus point-and-shoot cameras. I've tested a few and taken some great pictures with them. But the image quality usually isn't as good as Canon. However, the Olympus Stylus 1010 is a 10-megapixel camera and that might balance out the image quality issues. And it has a 7x zoom lens, so as far as the lens goes, it offers a compromise beween the Canon and Panasonic.

So the question is, what are the features you really care about? What kinds of pictures are you going to be taking? And which camera will help you accomplish waht you want? Since the cameras represent a range of options, and only you know how you take pictures, you're going to have to make the decision. Tell us more about what you want to do with your new camera and maybe we can offer some more advice. In the meantime, you should look through our Pro Review section. We don't have reviews for these exact camera models. But we have reviews for the Panasonic TZ3, a couple of Olympus Stylus cameras, and a very recent Panasonic pocket camera. Reading those reviews will give you more of an idea about each company and camera line.

Digital Camera Pro Reviews >>

I hope that gives you some direction. I expect you'll have more questions. So I'll be checking back :)

Thanks for the input. I have decided to purchase the canon sd870is as I felt this was good for me since I already have a Nikon D80 and just wanted a point and shoot for those times that I did not want to carry the SLR. I really appreciate your advice. :p

Happy to help :)

Please post reviews for your D80 and the SD870 IS, once you get to know it. We especially need reviews for the SD870 IS. But any and all camera and accessory reviews are important. Your reviews are the foundation of PhotographyREVIEW.com.

Thanks in advance for posting your reviews. Hope you'll stick around and share your photos and experience with us :)