Compared to... Prosumer

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%.

Additionally: We also have a side by side comparison of the Canon EOS 300D and Sony's eight megapixel DSC-F828 as part of that camera's review, click here.

Canon EOS 300D vs. Canon PowerShot G5

Because of the difference in aspect ratio between these two cameras (3:2 vs 4:3) the EOS 300D actually has only a 104 pixel vertical resolution advantage (just 5%). So despite the sensor pixel count difference (six versus five megapixels) the actual vertical resolution should be very similar, you can simply imagine the EOS 300D as being able to capture more image area at the left and right sides of the image (240 pixels each side).

So to make this comparison more interesting I attempted to achieve a similar vertical framing with the G5 shot as the EOS 300D, as you will see below.

Camera settings:

• Canon EOS 300D: Canon EF 50 mm F1.4, Aperture Priority, ISO 100, JPEG Large/Fine,
  Auto WB, Default Parameter 1 (Contrast +1, Sharpness +1, Saturation +1)
   
• Canon PowerShot G5: Aperture Priority, ISO 50, JPEG Large/Super-Fine,
  Auto WB, Default Parameters

Canon EOS 300D	Canon PowerShot G5
ISO 100, 1 sec, F10	ISO 50, 1/3 sec, F5
2,577 KB JPEG (3072 x 2048)	2,236 KB JPEG (2592 x 1944)

First of all it is worth remembering that this comparison was carried out with the G5 set at ISO 50, there is no way the G5 could keep noise down in the same way the EOS 300D does even at ISO 100 let alone higher sensitivities (see this page). It's clear to see the differences in image processing between the two, the G5's images have a harder more processed appearance with more visible artifacts and more visible noise. Color balance and tonal response are surprisingly similar, surprising unless you remember that both of these camera's feature Canon's "DiGiC" processor. In some crops the G5 does appear to be resolving more detail than the EOS 300D, that is an eye-opener in itself. Overall however I'm still comfortable in saying I prefer the EOS 300D image's D-SLR look to the G5's harder prosumer camera output.*

* Note that it would be possible to get a little closer to the look of the EOS 300D image by reducing sharpening on the G5, although it only provides on step of adjustment.