Compared to...

Studio scene comparison (vs. EOS 300D, RAW)

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. All crops are 100%. Ambient temperature was approximately 22°C (~72°F). Camera settings:

• Pentax *ist DS: Pentax 50 mm F1.4, Aperture Priority,
  ISO 200, RAW, Manual WB, Default Parameters, Self-Timer
   
• Canon EOS 300D: Canon EF 50 mm F1.4, Aperture Priority,
  ISO 100, RAW, Manual WB, Default Parameters (Parameter 1), Self-Timer
   
• RAW: Adobe Camera RAW 2.4

Pentax *ist DS, RAW	Canon EOS 300D, RAW
ISO 200, 0.6 sec, F9	ISO 100, 1 sec, F9
1,776 KB JPEG (3008 x 2008)	1,917 KB JPEG (3072 x 2048)

Using Adobe Camera RAW 2.4 to convert RAW images from both cameras the differences between the two are much less, you would be very hard pushed to find any more detail in the EOS 300D image (which we couldn't attribute to its slightly higher vertical pixel count). Further evidence if any where needed that the *ist DS can produce great images, but only if you shoot RAW.