dlux 3 and x10

I just stole a Dlux 3 from a yard sale. I then noticed it has a very similar spec to the new Fujifilm X10, excep that X10 has fixed aperture and 1080 movie. The pixel count is also differnt but that's not an interest to me.

I ran into a local camera store for a comparison. expected, I found Dlux 3 worked better for me.

1. The first thing I noticed is the focusing accuracy. Because I set them to the largest aperture, the X10's focusing plus its wide aperture performance appeared as an drawback, not an advantage. Using manual focus may show the opposite, but I didn't try.
2. Dlux 3 also shows the edge in noise. Probably due to the high pixel count hence smaller pixel area, the X10 shows much more severe iso boost artifacts. Here Dlux 3 looks much more natural.
3. The movie mode, however, shows the edge of X10. I wasn't expected to see the difference between 720 and 1080.

If you are consider x10 or Lx7, try out dlux 2 or 3, if you can find an used one.