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Superzoom camera group: Real world comparisonBelow you'll find the second set of our 'real world' comparison shots taken with each of the cameras in the group. Click on the thumbnail to see the full image.
Night Shot comparison (ISO 1600)
ISO 1600 night shot 100% crops:
The only way to squeeze a 10x or 12x zoom range into the small dimensions of the cameras in this test is using a very small imaging sensor. These sensor, especially combination with the fairly slow lenses on the cameras in this test, need a lot of light to turn out good results at their base sensitivity. However, as light levels begin to fall things become much more difficult. At ISO 1600, which is the highest setting that all the contestants offer (some go even higher) none of the results are nice to look at but nevertheless vary quite significantly between cameras. The Panasonics produce very noisy but (relatively) detailed output whereas Canon and and Samsung opt to smudge the noise (but unfortunately almost all detail too) away and generate extremely soft and smeared images. Sony and Olympus are located somewhere in the middle ground. Despite all the noise blurring the Olympus and Samsung also create a lot of chroma (color) noise. It's visible on the Panasonics too but less so. None of the contenders are producing anywhere near the level of detail they achieved in good light, though most will produce a (just about) acceptable print at a small size (the Panasonics are are best in this regard, the Olympus the worst). Low light flash portrait comparisonBelow you'll find the final set of our 'real world' comparison shots taken with each of the cameras in the group. Click on the thumbnail to see the full image. One of the most common uses for compact cameras is for social 'snaps' of friends and family, and in anything but the brightest light this means using flash. This test allowed us to not only check each camera's flash performance, but also to find out how well they cope with focusing and face detection in more challenging conditions (in a dimly lit bar). In the resultant shots we're looking first and foremost for accurate focus and exposure and pleasing color balance (flash can produce very cool / bluish results - not ideal for flattering skin tones). We're also looking at how well the red-eye reduction works (some cameras use a simple 'preflash' system, others actually find and remove red-eye once the picture has been taken, and some even do both). Red-eye reduction is useful but less critical than overall color/focus/exposure as it's easy to remove in post processing (and most printing labs do it for you automatically).
In terms of exposure all of the cameras in this test have done a fairly decent job but there is some variation with the Panasonic ZS3 turning out a slightly darker sample shot than the rest. There is variation in skin tones as well but all are within acceptable limits, the Samsung being a tad warmer than the rest and the Olympus at the cooler end of the scale. The differences are largely due to how the cameras interpret the scene they are capturing (and if you shoot in 'P' mode instead of full Auto and you can also manually interfere and set the flash settings you deem more appropriate). All cameras increase sensitivity for the flash shot but some only very slightly (Panasonic ZS3 to ISO100) and others a lot (Canon SX200 to ISO640). The more ISO is increased the more detail in the image is being destroyed by the camera's noise reduction processes. On the other hand these camera's tiny flashes in many situations need the increased sensor sensitivity to be able to illuminate the scene adequately. The ZS1 is the only camera whose auto mode chose to opt for a long exposure time (Slow Flash) in order to capture a degree of ambient light. The Sony produces the best overall result here showing pleasant skin tones, good exposure and, thanks to keeping the ISO low, good detail. Flash shot 100% crops:
In the 100% crops you can see the higher ISOs detrimental effects on fine detail. All the cameras do fairly well at this test, with none of them blowing out the skin tones. Red-eye is pretty much a non-issue here with all cameras doing a very decent job at removing the phenomenon in their Auto modes. The Olympus Stylus 9000 consistently failed to focus correctly in these conditions. |
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