Canon Powershot S95 vs Nikon Coolpix P7000 vs Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5

	Canon Powershot S95	Nikon Coolpix P7000	Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5
Sensor	• 1/1.7" Type CCD • 10 million effective pixels • Primary Color Filter	• 1/1.7" Type CCD • 10.1 million effective pixels • Primary color filter array	• 1/1.63" Type CCD • 10.1 million effective pixels • Primary Color Filter
Lens	• 3.8x optical zoom • 28-105mm (35mm equiv.) • F2.0-4.9	• 7x optical zoom • 28-200mm (35mm equiv.) • F2.8-5.6	• 3.8x optical zoom • 24-90mm (35mm equiv.) • F2.0-3.3
Image stabilization	• In-lens stabilization	• In-lens stabilization	• In-lens stabilization
Battery life (CIPA)	• 200 shots (approx)	• 350 shots (approx)	• 400 shots (approx)
Video mode	• MOV [H.264 + Linear PCM (stereo)] • (HD) 1280 x 720 @ 24 fps • (L) 640 x 480 @ 30fps • (M) 320 x 240 @ 30fps • Miniature Effect (HD, L) 6fps, 3fps, 1.5 fps	• MOV [H.264 + Linear PCM (monaural)] • HD: 1280 x 720 @ 24fps • VGA: 640 x 480 @ 30fps • QVGA: 640 x 480 @ 30fps	• AVCHD Lite 1280 x 720 pixels @ SH: 17 Mbps/ H: 13 Mbps/ L: 9Mbps) US: 720p 60 (from 30fps sensor output) Motion JPEG: 1280 x 720 pixels @ 30fps • 4:3: 640 x 480 pixels, 320 x 240 pixels @ 30 fps • 16:9: 848 x 480 pixels @ 30 fps
Movie REC button?	• No (shutter button initiates video in movie mode)	• No (shutter button initiates video in movie mode)	• Yes (shutter button also initiates video in movie mode)
Rear screen	• 3.0 inch PureColor LCD II (TFT) Display • 461K dots	• 3.0 inch LCD • 921k dots • 100% coverage in playback mode (97% in live view)	• 3.0 inch TFT LCD Display • 460K dots
Viewfinder	• No	• Built-in, optical	• Optional electronic DMW-LVF1  • Optional optical DMW-VF1
Metering modes	• Evaluative (linked to Face Detection AF frame) • Center-weighted average • Spot	• Multiple • Center-Weighted • Spot	• Intelligent Multiple • Center Weighted • Spot
Flash	• Yes, built-in • 0.5 - 6.5m (Wide/ISO Auto) • 0.5 - 3.0m (Tele/ISO Auto)	• Yes, built-in • 0.2m - 6.2m (Wide/ISO Auto) • 0.5m - 5.1m (Tele/ISO Auto)	• Yes, built-in • 0.8 - 7.2m (Wide/ISO Auto) • 0.3 - 4.4m (Tele/ISO Auto)
Orientation sensor	• Yes	• Yes	• Yes
Connectors	• USB 2.0 High speed • AV Output (NTSC/PAL) • HDMI mini connector • DC Input	• USB 2.0 High speed • AV Output (NTSC/PAL) • HDMI mini connector • DC Input	• USB2.0 High speed • AV Output (NTSC/PAL) • miniHDMI • DC Input
Dimensions	99.8 x 58.4 x 29.5 mm	114.2 x 77.0 x 44.8 mm	109.7 x 65.5 x 43.0 mm
Weight (body only)	Approx. 193g (0.4 lb.)	Approx. 310g (0.7 lb.)	Approx. 233g (0.5 lb.)

Canon Powershot S95 - Pros

• Very good image quality, particularly at lower ISO settings
  
• Generally well optimized JPEGs with good color response
• High ISO performance good up to ISO 800 (and higher if processed from RAW)
• Sharp 28-105mm (equivalent) zoom range with effective stabilization
• Fast, responsive operation, and impressive buffer
• Good LCD screen - bright and high-contrast
• Exposure preview live view and accurate virtual histogram
  
• Effective manual controls (including excellent Control Ring)
• Face detection / tracking AF modes
• Compact, very well constructed

Canon Powershot S95 - Cons

• Tendency to underexpose when presented with large highlight areas (such as sky)
• AWB can deliver different color rendition depending on screen composition
• Fringing can be a problem around high-contrast edges (like foliage against a bright sky)
• No control over noise reduction (although noise is well controlled by default)
• Optical zoom and AF unavailable in movie mode
• Flash underpowered (but this is far from unusual)
• Manual focus preview too low res to be useful (and tends to give the false impression of being in focus)
• Lack of 'proper' grip can make handling awkward (especially one-handed).
• Relatively poor battery life

Nikon Coolpix P7000 - Pros

• Very good image quality, particularly at lower ISO settings
• Excellent video mode - including external mic socket, optical zoom and AF
• High ISO performance excellent up to ISO 800 (and higher if processed from RAW)
• Good flash metering
  
• Versatile (and sharp) 28-200mm (equivalent) lens
• Exceptional amount of manual control possible
• Good LCD screen - very high-resolution
• External mic socket and inbuilt stereo microphone
• RAW capability with decent RAW conversion software included
• Well-featured in-camera RAW conversion
• Useful electronic virtual horizon
• Well-proportioned hand grip
• Good battery life

Nikon Coolpix P7000 - Cons

• Bafflingly unuseful 'Fn' button
• 'Button lag' a depressing aspect of virtually any menu interaction
• Poor optical viewfinder (bordering on pointless)
• Occasional underexposure issues when presented with bright areas in a scene
• Unpleasantly yellow colors under tungsten lighting
• Bulky compared to competition (and lacks the articulated LCD screen of Canon's similarly-sized G-series)

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5 - Pros

• Very good image quality, particularly at lower ISO settings
• Versatile video mode and good video quality (although sensor blooming is an issue in some situations)
• High ISO performance very good up to ISO 800 (and higher if processed from RAW)
• Reliable focus and white balance (although colors can be rather cool in daylight)
  
• Extremely bright F2-3.3 lens
• Useful 24mm equiv. wide angle to 90mm (equivalent) range
• Accessible, quick-to-use manual controls
• Useful external aspect ratio switch
• High-resolution 16:9 and 3:2 aspect ratio modes (thanks to multi-aspect sensor)
• Exceptional amount of customization options
• Face recognition works well (more than just a gimmick)
• Decent handgrip (much better than LX3)
• iA mode very handy for snapshots
• Compact, very well built

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5 - Cons

• Poor buffer in RAW mode, rather uninspiring continuous shooting performance in general
• Color rendition can be rather cool
• Sensor blooming can be a problem in some video shooting situations (albeit extremely occasionally)
• LCD screen gives poor indication of actual exposure/color (especially outdoors)
• Rear dial can be rather awkward to manipulate with cold/gloved fingers
• 'silver on silver' rear control labels virtually unreadable
• Menus lengthy and can be confusing (in PASM modes)
• AF mode switch easy to knock by accident
• Fiddly lens cap design (we'd prefer an equivalent to Ricoh's LC-1)