Originally Posted by
rkkwan
Lower pixel density generally means less digital noise at high ISO setting. But that depends on specific models.
Panasonic and Canon indeed are the leaders in compact digital cameras. Leica designs Panny's lenses, and their optical stabilization is also top notch. You generally can't go wrong with either brand.
Thanks. I'm gonna take a good look at the Panny's. Seems like the Canon's haven't really advanced much in the zoom department and I'd really like to jump up to 8/10/12x optical in a similar form factor. Going from a several year old 4mp elph I'm not really concerned about how many megapixels it has, as any new model will be at least 8mp and that's twice as much and more than sufficient for my needs.
Really, I'm most concerned about picture quality, image stabilization and zoom. I'd also like HD (1280x720) video recording with the ability to zoom while recording. Features like red eye detection/correction are nice but not as important to me.