Compared to... Panasonic DMC-TZ3

Below you will find a studio comparison between the Canon PowerShot TX1 and the Panasonic DMC-TZ3 at ISO 400.

Studio scene comparison (@ ISO 400)

• Canon PowerShot TX1: Program AE mode, ISO 400, Default Image Parameters,
  Manual white balance, +0.33 EV compensation

• Panasonic DMC-TZ3: Program AE mode, ISO 400, Default Image Parameters,
  Manual white balance, +0.33 EV compensation

• Lighting: Daylight simulation, >98% CRI

Canon PowerShot TX1	Panasonic DMC-TZ3
ISO 400, 1/320 sec, F5.0	ISO 400, 1/320 sec, F4.4
3,011 KB JPEG	2,188 KB JPEG

At ISO 400 we see the usual difference in approach to noise reduction; the Panasonic looks washed out and the color smearing/bleeding is obvious; the TX1 looks sharper but noisier (thankfully Canon hasn't turned the DIGIC III noise reduction up too far) and shows obvious NR artefacts. Neither is great, but to be honest I was surprised how good the TX1's ISO 400 is; it's perfectly acceptable for smaller prints, though I'd not use it for anything important.