
Compared to... contd. Colour Patches
We've chosen to compare the D30's colour with two of
the nearest competition plus the Coolpix 990 (our current top compact
prosumer digital camera). Lens used on the D30: Canon EF 28-70mm F2.8
L.
We're only measuring colour below. RGB values below were
taken from a VGA reduced image (to average colours and eliminate JPEG
artifacts) using the Eyedropper tool in Photoshop with a 5 by 5 Average
Sample Size.
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Canon
EOS-D30
|
Nikon
D1 |
FujiFilm
FinePix S1 Pro |
Nikon
Coolpix 990 |
| Patch White |
207,199,202 |
192,195,195 |
202,204,200 |
201,201,201 |
| |
|
|
|
| Middle Gray |
100,99,101 |
101,105,106 |
91,93,91 |
104,104,104 |
| |
|
|
|
| Patch Red |
203,35,42 |
157,40,58 |
225,24,28 |
223,52,58 |
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|
|
|
| Patch Green |
15,138,56
|
48,123,51
|
12,130,58 |
5,149,63 |
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|
|
|
| Patch Blue |
32,28,110 |
46,39,105 |
35,30,117 |
60,50,112 |
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Interesting, the D30 had a (very) slight pink cast in
white but otherwise performed well, knocking on the door of the S1's excellent
colour reproduction (nearly).

Resolution Charts
Shots here are of the PIMA/ISO 12233 standard resolution
test chart (more available for comparison in our cameras database). How
to read the charts: All values are 1/100 th lines/picture height. So the
"10" value equates to 1000 lines/picture height.
Notes: Fujifilm S1 Pro sample shot at 6 megapixels (interpolated)
thus crops will look much bigger than the other 3 megapixel cameras.
Measurable findings (three measurements taken for each camera):
| Camera |
Measurement |
Absolute Res. |
Extinction Res. |
Canon
EOS-D30 |
Horiz LPH |
1100 |
1350 |
| Vert LPH |
1150 |
1300 |
| 5o Diagonal LPH |
1000 |
n/a |
Nikon
D1 |
Horiz LPH |
1100 |
1300 |
| Vert LPH |
1150 |
1250 |
| 5o Diagonal LPH |
900 |
n/a |
FujiFilm
Finepix S1 Pro |
Horiz LPH |
1300 |
1450 |
| Vert LPH |
1200 |
1400 |
| 5o Diagonal LPH * |
1000 |
n/a |
Nikon
Coolpix 990 |
Horiz LPH |
900 |
1300 |
| Vert LPH |
900 |
1400 |
| 5o Diagonal LPH |
900 |
n/a |
* Visible moiré artifacts
Definition of terms:
| LPH |
Lines per Picture Height (to allow
for different aspect ratios the measurement is the same for horizontal
and vertical) |
| 5o Diagonal |
Lines set at 5o diagonal |
| Absolute Resolution |
Still defined detail (below Nyquist
frequency*) |
| Extinction Resolution |
Detail beyond camera's definition
(becomes a solid gray alias) |
| n/a |
Not Available (above the capability
of the test chart) |
| n/v |
Not Visible (not visible on test
results) |
* Nyquist frequency defined as the highest spatial frequency where the
CCD can still faithfully record
image detail. Beyond the Nyquist frequency aliasing occurs
No real surprises here, the D30 performs just better
than the D1 (not by much though and I'm sure that point will be argued
ad infinitum) and quite a bit better than the 990. Note the D30's moiré
pattern on the horizontal resolution and 45 degree crop, never actually
seen this in a "real life" image though... Interesting, Fujifilm's
S1 Pro still rules the resolution roost, chart lines are still defined
down to 1300 lines per picture height horizontally which is very impressive
for a 3.2 megapixel CCD (remember, "interpolated" up to 6 megapixels).
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