Sony DSC-F828 Review: 20. Compared to...: Digital Photography Review

Compared to...

Here we will use our standard color and resolution charts to compare the Sony DSC-F828, Sony DSC-F717, Fujifilm FinePix S7000 Zoom and Canon EOS-300D (Digital Rebel).

Color Chart Comparison

Color charts are shot in daylight, Auto White Balance, +0.3 EV exposure compensation (except the DSC-F828 which required +0.7 EV exposure compensation to achieve the same tone balance). All cameras are given 20 seconds for their white balance systems to settle before the shot is taken (often we will take up to eight shots and select the 'average' AWB result).


Sony DSC-F828	Sony DSC-F717

Fujifilm FinePix S7000	Canon EOS-300D

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

Patch	Sony DSC-F828	Sony DSC-F717	Fujifilm FinePix S7000	Canon EOS-300D
Black	24,24,26	23,22,24	23,26,24	18,20,20
Middle Gray	91,96,104	92,92,94	101,106,109	82,84,83
White	205,210,212	195,193,192	223,223,223	207,207,204
Magenta	184,26,117	180,26,96	239,49,141	193,31,93
Red	185,22,42	170,19,21	233,42,40	182,22,31
Yellow	202,194,31	190,184,45	222,207,36	199,185,47
Green	0,136,83	34,137,76	0,148,45	7,123,58
Cyan	0,158,219	38,160,192	0,178,182	27,142,201
Blue	32,34,108	53,34,106	29,37,105	32,26,100

If we ignore the slightly cool automatic white balance the F828's color balance isn't that dissimilar to the EOS-300D. The luminance response of each color patch being fairly equal with no one color dominating or appearing overly saturated. It's interesting to note the high blue value of the color measured on the green patch (even compensating for cool white balance).

Resolution 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 (to compensate for the white background). Click on the camera name below the crops to download the full resolution chart (large JPEG's).


Sony DSC-F828 (3,116 KB; 8 MP)	Sony DSC-F717 (1,959 KB; 5 MP)

Fujifilm S7000 Zoom (4,482 KB; 12 MP)	Canon EOS-300D (2,241 KB; 6 MP)


Sony DSC-F828	Sony DSC-F717

Fujifilm S7000 Zoom (12 MP)	Canon EOS-300D


Sony DSC-F828	Sony DSC-F717

Fujifilm S7000 Zoom (12 MP)	Canon EOS-300D


Sony DSC-F828	Sony DSC-F717

Fujifilm S7000 Zoom (12 MP)	Canon EOS-300D

Measurable findings (three measurements taken for each camera)

Camera	Measurement	Absolute Res.	Extinction Res.
Sony DSC-F828	Horizontal LPH	1650	* 1950
	Vertical LPH	1550	1950
	5° Diagonal LPH	1000	n/a
Sony DSC-F717	Horizontal LPH	1450	* 1700
	Vertical LPH	1300	* 1700
	5° Diagonal LPH	+ 1000	n/a
Fujifilm FinePix S7000 (@ 12MP output size)	Horizontal LPH	1650	* 1850
	Vertical LPH	1600	* 1850
	5° Diagonal LPH	+ 1000	n/a
Canon EOS-300D	Horizontal LPH	1600	1900
	Vertical LPH	1450	1850
	5° Diagonal LPH	+ 1000	n/a

* Moiré is visible, + Chart maximum, # Jagged diagonals

Definition of terms

LPH	Lines per Picture Height (to allow for different aspect ratios the measurement is the same for horizontal and Vertical)
5° Diagonal	Lines set at 5° diagonal
Absolute Resolution	Still defined detail (below Nyquist frequency*)
Extinction Resolution	Detail beyond camera's definition (becomes a solid gray alias)
n/a	Not Available (above the capability of the test chart)
n/v	Not Visible (not visible on test results)

* Nyquist frequency defined as the highest spatial frequency where the CCD can still faithfully record
image detail. Beyond the Nyquist frequency aliasing occurs.

The DSC-F828's eight megapixel sensor really gets to stretch its legs on our resolution chart, delivering plenty more resolution than the five megapixel DSC-F717 it replaces. It's advantage over the APS sized six megapixel EOS-300D sensor however is less obvious, its bigger photosites mean less work for the lens and cleaner data for the image processing system. The Fujifilm FinePix S7000 in its 12 megapixel image size manages to deliver almost the same resolution as the DSC-F828 although the chart isn't as clean with visible noise 'grain'.

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