Compared to... D-SLR's

Studio scene comparison

This is our standard studio scene comparison shot taken from exactly the same tripod position within minutes of each other. Lighting: 2 x 800W studio lights with dichroic daylight filters bounced off a white ceiling reflector. Crops magnified 200%.

Canon EOS 300D vs. Nikon D100

To make this comparison fair the EOS 300D image was shot at ISO 200, to match the D100's lowest ISO sensitivity. I also chose to lock the D100's sharpness and tone to the 'Standard' setting to avoid it selecting soft sharpening or a low contrast tone using the 'Auto' settings.

Camera settings:

• Canon EOS 300D: Canon EF 50 mm F1.4, Aperture Priority, ISO 200, JPEG Large/Fine,
  Auto WB, Default Parameter 1 (Contrast +1, Sharpness +1, Saturation +1)
   
• Nikon D100: Nikkor EF 50 mm F1.4 D, Aperture Priority, ISO 200, JPEG Large/Fine,
  Auto WB, Standard Sharpening, Standard Tone, Color Mode I (sRGB)

Canon EOS 300D	Nikon D100
ISO 100, 1 sec, F10	ISO 200, 1/2 sec, F10
2,577 KB JPEG (3072 x 2048)	2,792 KB JPEG (3008 x 2000)

The EOS 300D does deliver slightly more detail than the D100 but it's sharpening artifacts (halos around detail) are also more visible than the D100 which uses a relatively modest level of sharpening by comparison. Noise levels are lower in the EOS 300D image however don't forget that the D100 image was taken at ISO 200 (its base sensitivity). Once more it's worth noting the EOS 300D's visible speckles.