G9 upgrade to G12 or S100 for concert video?

[ZUrlocker]

I've used a Canon G9 for concert video / photos for several years and have found it to be quite good. However, in low-light photos are not great; there's a lot of noise at high ISO. That said, the video quality is truly impressive and the sound is excellent even at loud volumes. Nonetheless, I have been considering "upgrading" my G9 to something more recent that I hope would do a better job in low-light.

The S100 looks to be quite compact (which is important since I need to be discrete at some venues) and photos look good, but concert videos on YouTube appear to have clipped (distorted) sound in about half the cases, presumably at volumes over 100db. Some G12 videos are also distorted, but fewer. I can't tell if these cameras have the same or different mics or audio characteristics. If there's anyone who has used a G9 and subsequently purchased an S100 or G12, I would love to know what your experience with concert videos has been.

I have also considered the Fuji X10, but its videos seem somewhat weak, going in and out of focus in concert videos.

Any advice is appreciated.

Here's a link to some of the videos/photos I've shot incl Joe Bonamassa, Grateful Dead, AC/DC, Jimmy Vaughan, James Durbin, Elvin Bishop, BB King, Kenny Wayne Shepherd etc. (You'll need to scroll back a bit.)

http://www.guitarvibe.com/2010/04/joe-bonamassa-live.html
http://www.guitarvibe.com/2009/02/alejandro-escovedo-live-acoustic-show.html
http://www.guitarvibe.com/2009/06/the-dead-at-shoreline.html
http://www.guitarvibe.com/2010/07/jimmie-vaughan-at-antones.html
http://www.guitarvibe.com/2010/08/acdc-live-video-photos.html
http://guitarvibe.com/gigs/

thanks in advance!
--Zack

 

[PaulRivers]

The microphone on the s100 is not great for concert video. To be fair, neither is the lx5's microphone.

 

[wakeskier]

The microphone on the s100 is not great for concert video. To be fair, neither is the lx5's microphone.

The S100 definitely distorts, the LX5 doesn't distort, but the vocals can get drowned out a bit during heavy bass... CCD sensor also gets lots of streaks from bright lights

I'm still looking for a great camera for concert videos... still have not found the perfect one yet

 

[PaulRivers]

The microphone on the s100 is not great for concert video. To be fair, neither is the lx5's microphone.

The S100 definitely distorts, the LX5 doesn't distort, but the vocals can get drowned out a bit during heavy bass... CCD sensor also gets lots of streaks from bright lights

I'm still looking for a great camera for concert videos... still have not found the perfect one yet

In the last comparison I saw, someone took video with both and they both distorted. Whether the lx5 distorted less or not I'm not sure, just that neither was perfect at loud concerts.