Compared to... (contd.)

Now we'll use the data in our review database to compare the DiMAGE F100's colour and resolution to three other four megapixel digital cameras: the Canon PowerShot S45, Sony DSC-P9, and Olympus C-40Z.

Colour Chart Comparison

Colour charts are shot in daylight, Auto White Balance, EV compensation +0.3 (all cameras), measured light ~10 EV. This test is also dependent on the accuracy of the camera's auto white balance, the colour charts are shot in daylight but some camera's white balance is better than others. All cameras are given 20 seconds to "settle" before the shot is taken.

Minolta DiMAGE F100	Canon PowerShot S45
Sony DSC-P9	Olympus C-40Z

In the table below we're only measuring colour. The RGB values were measured from a VGA reduced image (to average colours, remove noise and eliminate JPEG artifacts) using the Eyedropper tool in Photoshop with a 5 by 5 Average Sample Size.

As you can see color response from these four cameras is quite similar, there are some difference in the level of saturation and tonal balance (black point / white point). It's interesting to note the difference between the colour of the cyan patch between the F100 and the S45, looking at the patches with a human eye I feel that the S45 is closer to the true blue color.

Resolution Chart Comparison

Shots here are of the PIMA/ISO 12233 standard resolution test chart (more of which are available in our comparison database). This resolution chart allows us to measure the actual performance of the lens and sensor system. It measures the ability of the camera to resolve lines at gradually higher resolutions and enables us to provide a definitive value for comparison purposes. Values on the chart are 1/100^th lines per picture height. So a value of 8 equates to 800 lines per picture height.

Studio light, cameras set to auto, all settings factory default. Exposure compensation +0.7 EV for all cameras.

Horizontal resolution	Vertical resolution	5 degree diagonal res.
Minolta DiMAGE F100
Canon PowerShot S45
Sony DSC-P9
Olympus C-40Z

Measurable findings (three measurements taken for each camera):

Definition of terms:

Overall the DiMAGE F100 performed well in our resolution test, delivering notably higher but also cleaner (less moiré) resolution than the now discontinued DiMAGE S404. This puts the F100 fairly high up the resolution rankings for compact / ultra-compact four megapixel digital cameras. Kudos Minolta.