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Today’s photograph is of the center of the Southern Oregon University campus. Britt Hall is the building in the background. A few months back this stone sculpture was placed in the grass. It must be a nightmare for the grounds crew trying to mow the lawn. While interesting to look at, it isn’t that beautiful except when it rains and the rocks turn a dark color. Despite the blue sky in the photo, it was actually raining lightly as I took the picture.
This morning I decided to do a side-by-side camera comparison to see if I need both an LX3 (Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3) and an S3 (Canon PowerShot S3 IS) or if I can do away with one. I took both cameras outside and set them next to each other on my deck railing. The first thing I noticed before even taking the pictures is that I like everything better on the LX3. It is much smaller, lighter, has a better view screen, features a higher-quality casing, includes a much better lens cap, and just feels better in every way.
Next I took a picture with each at the widest angle setting possible.
The above is the LX3 result on wide angle.
The above is the S3 result on wide angle.
The most obvious difference is the wide angle on the LX3 is wider than that on the S3. While this is great for landscape photography, it also provides some benefits for indoor and portrait photography. For instance, I can take self portraits of the entire family (four people) without a tripod with the LX3. I can barely hold my S3 camera outstreched with one hand (due to size and weight) for a self portrait, let alone have it capture more than two people in the image.
The second difference in the above two photos are the colors are a bit better with the LX3. Perhaps this is just because the LX3 captured more of the grass than the S3, but, to me, the greens of the grass look greener in the LX3 picture. The red-green distinction of the tennis court is also nicer looking in the LX3 photograph. The clouds also look a bit better in the LX3 photo. Maybe that is because they aren’t quite as close, but they seem less grainy in any event.
Conclusion: For landscape photography I’m usually going to get better results with the LX3.
Next, I zoomed both to max (3.6X for LX3, 12X for S3) and got the following:
The above is the LX3 result on 3.6X optical zoom. (The manual says it can go up to 4.5X optical zoom, but my settings must not have been right to get to 4.5X.)
The above is the S3 result on 12X optical zoom.
These images aren’t very comparable given the difference in zoom. I should have done a photo with the S3 at about 3-4X zoom for better comparability. However, on maximum zoom the LX3 photograph is far crisper and clearer, the colors are much better, and the image isn’t even remotely grainy like the S3 image on 12X zoom.
I haven’t needed to take many pictures with 12X zoom. Most of the times I have used maximum zoom on my S3 the results have not been good. The images are usually blurry and/or grainy like you see here (even though the camera was at rest so there were no jitters on my end). Is 12X zoom nice to have on occasion? Yes. Is holding on to my S3 for those rare opportunities worthwhile? Probably not… So if you are looking for an S3 at a good price…
Yesterday my new Panasonic DMC-LX3 arrived in the mail. I’ve been looking for a smaller camera than my Canon S3 for a while. Although I have enjoyed the quality of my S3 pictures, lugging it around with me hasn’t been fun so I rarely take it out and hence I have missed many great shots. So I purchased the LX3 thinking that I would use it half the time when I needed portability and the S3 the rest of the time when I needed zoom and other features. After a day with the LX3 I’m thinking I can probably sell my S3 as I can’t imagine very many situations in which I will ever choose it over the LX3. The LX3 has far more features, the photo quality seems just as good, if not better, and–to my surprise–the LX3 actually has a 4.5X optical zoom (even though it is advertised as 2.5X).
I’ve been chomping at the bit for 24 hours to take some pictures outside, but it has been raining nearly non-stop. Thanks to the LX3’s size I put it in a pocket and brought it to the YMCA with me today. During a brief break in the rain I took today’s photograph behind the YMCA. I haven’t touched this picture in Photoshop or any other photo-enhancing software. This is what the LX3 gave me with a quick point and shoot–rich color, high quality, and a nice looking photo. So far, so good. Stay tuned for more LX3 images.
As witnessed on a snowy morning on Ridge Road… I thought I was in heaven.
Thanks to the recession and budget cuts, this is the final year for 5th Grade Orchestra. The venue for tonight’s concert was the Ashland Middle School Gym. The wall in the back looks like the Ashland High School Gym because the high school is temporarily using it while their gym is rebuilt.
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