To compare real-life performance we shot the same scene with all three cameras within a few minutes of each other using their best quality JPEG settings and an aperture of f8 in Aperture Priority mode. The crops are taken from the far left portion of the originals and presented here at 100 per cent.

The main image was taken with the Panasonic FZ30 at 11mm f8 (52mm equivalent); the original JPEG measured 3.32MB. Viewed at 100 per cent, all three models show similar levels of detail, although the Canon 350D's result has lost some highlight detail due to its metering selecting the same exposure as the FZ30, despite a slightly higher sensitivity of 100 ISO.

Panasonic DMC-FZ30 - 1/320, f8, 80 ISO

Fujifilm FinePix S9500 Zoom - 1/250, f8, 80 ISO

Canon EOS-350D with 18-55mm EF-S - 1/320, f8, 100 ISO

For further, in-depth tests covering the test camera's resolution, CCD noise levels, chromatic aberration, purple fringing, corner sharpness, wideangle and telephoto geometry, wideangle and telephoto uniformity, and macro performance, visit Camera Labs here.