Panasonic or Ricoh?

[back alley]

i had a grd, great street camera when set to 'snap' mode. lovely lens, good feel in the hands.
i just bought a lx3, perfect zoom for me 24 to 60. i like both ends of that range. lens seems great. it is slick to hold but i put an old luigi wrist strap on it and that problem was solved and it still fits in my (baggy) jean's pocket.
you can't go wrong with either...for me, this time around i wanted a short zoom and raw so i went for the lx3...and right now they are priced very nicely.

 

[Matus]

I am also considering the GRD III. I had the camera in hand briefly - really well build - fits perfectly in hand. The photos I have seen are very nice and the 21 mm converter does a very good job too (photos remain sharp and undistored).

On the zoom side of P&S - the XZ-1 seems to me a more interesting camera than LX5. Not that the LX5 would not be a good camera, but the XZ-1 delivers unbelievable good RAW files (sure you see noise, but the detail is incredible - see below comparison to GXR - both cameras at the base ISO - raw files from DPreview). Also - the XZ-1 has a built-in 3 stop ND filter (just like the Fuji X100) and it the battery can be charged directly inside the camera via USB cable from a computer.

Yet - I have read about some issues with XZ-1. I guess Olympus will figure them out soon (or maybe did already).

So - now the RAW file comparison - please note that both RAW files have been processed with RawTherapee and PS CS3 afterwards. This is the best detail I managed to get out (I am no expert though):

I have just searched and found a comparison (in japanese) of several compact digital cameras - it includes:
- Olympus XZ-1
- Canon G12
- Canon S95
- Nikon P7000
- Panasonic LX-5
- Ricoh GRD III
Google translation can be seen HERE