dpreview throws the gauntlet: Stop the Megapixel Wars

In what is clearly the most high profile slap in the face of the irresponsible Megapixel Wars, dpreview's recommendations from both the "enthusiast group" and the "premium compact group" include ZERO digital cameras with more than 12-megapixels. That's right ZERO. No G10, no P6000, no Sony W300, no FX150, no Coolpix S710is, no nada!

dpreview reviews enthusiast cameras
But let's put this nano-rant in perspective. dpreview has just posted their enthusiast compact camera group test. This is a rather strange grouping of compact RAWsumers like the Canon G10, Panasonic LX3 and Nikon P6000, and compact "fun-zooms" like the Canon SX110is, Panasonica TZ5, and Kodak Z8612is. Strange, since this could have been two separate group tests, but we can assume this was done for organizational purposes - its like two group tests in one :)

This is a 13-page test, with the conclusions on page #13. Those who have used the Panasonic LX3 (distortion warts and all) probably "felt" this already, but they got "validation" when dpreview wrote this:

"with the LX3 easily our preferred choice"

Spoiler Alert! Oops! Too late :-)

SuperZoom Wars
This was not a surprise to anyone following the battle between the Panasonic TZ5 and the Canon SX110is, as they were both crowned fun-zoom co-champions, offering photographers and consumers alike the philosophically practical choice of AA vs LiIon.

The Kodak Z8612is did better than expected, in that it was actually mentioned by dpreview :-) How many of you knew it even existed before this review? Kodak has not been building bad cameras, it's just a combination of their marketing and their horrible horrible horrible way of announcing cameras as if they don't want anyone to know about them. Case in point, they FORGOT to tell anyone that the Z1015-IS actually had RAW when it was announced.

Ouch for Ricoh
Poor Ricoh! It can't get a dpreview-break. The R10 was torn to shreds - to put it mildly. The R10 is a mid-range compact with a 28-200mm equivalent lens, a 1/2.3" sensor, but no RAW.

More Reviews
For more reviews of some of the aforementioned cameras, be sure to check the Compact Reviews Organizer.

Best Prices
+ Panasonic LX3K (black): $400 with free shipping at J&R World, $419 with free ship at Amazon, $420 with free ship at B&H Photo

+ Panasonic LX3S (silver): $400 with free shipping at Amazon, and B&H Photo.

+ Canon G10: $415 with free 2-DAY shipping at Amazon, and $420 with free EXPRESS shipping at B&H Photo, and $413 with free FedEx Ground at OneCall.com.

+ Panasonic TZ5: $220 with free shipping at B&H Photo (all three colors). Also the TZ5K (black) is $225 with free 2-DAY shipping at Amazon

+ Canon SX110 IS: $200 with free shipping at Amazon