Canon SD4000 or Panasonic FX75
 

Howdy! I need some feedback on a choice between 2 pocket sized digital cameras.

Canon SD4000
Canon releases IXUS 300HS premium compact with manual control: Digital Photography Review

Panasonic FX75/FX70
Panasonic announces DMC-FX75/FX70 with F2.2-5.9 lens: Digital Photography Review

I'm using it as my every day carry around camera (when I don't feel like packing the 5D2 and 7D around).

What is important to me is:
1) low-ish light shooting (ie, inside - without flash, yes I know everything in this category technically sucks)
2) movie mode

Questions
1) The Canon has a backlit CMOS, which supposedly makes it less noisy in low light. Is this marketing hype, or will it make a difference? It's also got an extra f0.2 at the wide end. I do a lot of non-flash "lower light" shooting with my pocket cam, so everything helps. I'd much rather go with the 24mm lens on the Panny, but if the Canon has a significant advantage in low light, it wins.

2) Which movie mode should be better? Canon with H264 Quicktimes, or Panny with AVCHD Lite?

I can afford to wait a couple months (the Panny isn't out till August) if there is anything else coming down the pipe shortly.

May be worth a look at Sony (yeah, not much in the manual control department, thank you Sony!).

Personally have the DSC HX5V and DSC TX7 - full 1080 AVCHD (no "lite", or 720, last years models had that and I never did find acceptable importing to Vegas...). Backlit CMOS does make a difference, but the overall camera design comes into play. Sony also added SDHC compatibility this year, so no more proprietary MS format.

Sony tends to have a lot of "intelligent auto" with minimal user override, but the results aren't bad, and the 1080 video would have been top of the heap from a high end consumer cam 3-4 years ago. Not bad for "pocketable".

As bonuses they do have some "trick" modes that stretch the low light/difficult light capability in still mode, you have to learn how to use them though, and they aren't what I'd call intuitive - but fairly effective.

Re: Canon SD4000 or Panasonic FX75
 

My old ex wanted me to buy her a "good" pocket video camera for her birthday, and I went with the Canon SD4000IS. Although she has some issues with focus-hunting, I still think the first (and only) video she's shot so far looks pretty good, at least for a camera like this. This she shot last Saturday:

YouTube - Anja-Lisa Wood at Rauma Kulturhus - Åndalsnes 2011

-- peer

Re: Canon SD4000 or Panasonic FX75
 

I bought an S95 as soon as they came out. Loving it! :)