The battle of the cameras...

One of the professors in my department asked me to recommend a camera to buy for the program he's in charge of. I love my Canon G12, but wanted to find something different since I frequently use my camera to take pictures for functions in our department. I did some research and came up with the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5. I used to have a Lumix, but it was stolen when I was robbed last December. It was my first "step up" from a very basic Kodak and I loved it. The images were very sharp, most likely from the Leica lens.

Here's a comparison in body styles. The G12 is bulkier and heavier and has an automatic lens cover.

The Lumix is slimmer and much lighter. One of the features I don't like about it is the lens cover. My old Lumix used to have a string attached to the lens so I never had to worry about losing it. This one doesn't and I know a student is going to use it to take pictures of concrete experiments and that lens is going to disappear.

So I took both cameras to Zilker Botanical Gardens in Austin and just started shooting. I took pictures in the auto mode, shutter priority and aperture priority. All the auto pics turned out mediocre at best, so I haven't posted any of those. All the photos are take in either shutter speed or aperture priority and none have been edited in Photoshop...other than resizing them because I always take very large pictures. In each of the sets of photos, the Canon shot is always first.

I was able to get closer long-distance shot with the Canon, but I actually like the Lumix shot better.


Same thing with this one.


These are pretty much the same, but I like the background better on the Lumix shot.


The Lumix photo definitely looks greener...I think the Canon pic looks more realistic. But that could have been because of the setting I had it on.


Pretty much the same, but I like the Lumix one better because of the vivid green lily pads.


I think the Canon did a better job on this one...


Almost identical...


I like the darker Lumix shot better, but again...that's just because of the setting I had it on.


I think I like the Lumix better on this one...


I think I like the Canon better here...


The Lumix shot is a little darker, but they're similar...


The Canon is a little sharper on this one...


The Canon wins on this one...


And again on this one...


These almost look like the exact same shot. (By the way, these daisies are kind of nasty looking, right? They need to be rated 'R'.)


Another tie on this one...


And on this...


This was a long distance shot and the Canon definitely wins on clarity...


On this photo, I was trying to accomplish the "satiny" look of the waterfall rather than crystal clarity. I achieved it on both, but I think the Canon did a better job.

I was a little disappointed in the garden. It was pretty and peaceful, but it didn't have nearly the variety of tropical plants like the one in San Antonio. I did a post on that a couple of years ago which you can see here. I took those pictures with my old Lumix which made for quite a colorful display.

There were a couple of weddings taking place while I was there. It IS a pretty area for an outside wedding and this weekend has been absolutely beautiful with lower temps and no humidity.

The group from "behind". Haha! In know...I'm terrible! I do like the color of the groom's vest!

Here was the other party's bridesmaids...

Well, the day involved a lot of walking so I was glad my ride was waiting when I got back to the main gate. Haha! I asked the driver if there was a pool inside.

So...back to the cameras. At right around the same price of $500, I would say they're pretty much identical in quality. I think the G12 is a little easier to change aperture and shutter settings...the Lumix is a bit more confusing in that regard. But I just know that lens cover is going to disappear one of these days.