Best Cameras in Low Light

Panasonic model leads in low light

If compact digital cameras have one Achilles' heel in reviews, it is that few are great performers in low light -- such as indoors, at night or at dusk. The top-rated Canon PowerShot S95 (*Est. $330), discussed in the Best Compact Cameras section, is one of the best low-light shooters in its price range. Some top-rated ultra-zoom cameras (discussed in our separate report) also do a great job. Here are some other alternatives that manage to wring nice photos out of little light.

Experts often pit the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5 (*Est. $370) directly against top-rated Canons in reviews -- either the Canon PowerShot S95 or the more advanced Canon PowerShot G12 (*Est. $380), discussed in our Advanced Digital Cameras section. Like these Canons, the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5 is more sophisticated than most pocket cameras. But testers find it's not as easy for point-and-shooters as the Canon cameras are, a drawback that relegates the Panasonic to runner-up status in reviews.

In many ways, the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5 is very similar to the aforementioned Canons. Like the Canon PowerShot S95, the Panasonic has a big, sharp 3-inch LCD screen, 3.8x optical zoom, 720p HD video and "an insane amount" of manual control for such a tiny camera, says Tim Moynihan at PC World. But the S95 offers most of that manual control through its intuitive lens ring; with the Panasonic, you've got various levers, dials and touch-screen commands to deal with. The Panasonic has a hot shoe like the Canon PowerShot G12, but no optical viewfinder. One important advantage: the Panasonic allows you to use optical zoom while you shoot video, while the Canon models do not.

With a lens that starts at 24 mm and f/2.0 maximum aperture (the Canons start at 28 mm and f/2.8), experts say you can achieve things with the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5 that you can't with most other pocket cameras -- namely, a nice wide angle, shallow depth of field for portrait shots, and a big light-gathering opening for (theoretically) the best possible photos in dim light. In reality, though, testers' low-light shots were either just as good or better with the Canons. Imaging-Resource.com's testers had trouble with the Panasonic's auto white balance turning people's skin green in low light, and CNET's Lori Grunin noticed yellow splotches at certain ISO settings in living-room light. Both testers also had problems with the camera's JPEG images (such as too much noise suppression killing fine details) in all light levels. Both worked around these problems by shooting in RAW format and processing the photos later on their computers, but that's a labor-intensive step. In short, experts say the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5 needs more hand-holding than the Canons to turn out a great photo.