Compared to...

Here we will use our standard color and resolution charts to compare the Fujifilm FinePix S7000, Sony DSC-F828, Minolta DiMAGE A1 and Canon PowerShot G5.

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).

Fujifilm FinePix S7000	Sony DSC-F828
Minolta DiMAGE A1	Canon PowerShot G5

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.

Here you can see that there is an imbalance in the S7000's color response, specifically it responds more strongly to reds (the red and magenta patch show this) than it does to blue or green. Also note that the cyan patch has too much green and not enough blue leaving it looking a little 'muddy'. In some samples we took this led to the red channel clipping (reaching 255) earlier than we would expect.

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).

Resolution comparison at 12 MP

Fujifilm S7000 Zoom (4,482 KB; 12 MP)	Sony DSC-F828 (3,116 KB; 8 MP)

Fujifilm S7000 Zoom (12 MP)	Sony DSC-F828

Fujifilm S7000 Zoom (12 MP)	Sony DSC-F828

Fujifilm S7000 Zoom (12 MP)	Sony DSC-F828

Resolution comparison at 6 MP

Horizontal resolution	Vertical resolution	5 degree diagonal res.
Fujifilm FinePix S7000 (1,656 KB; 6 MP)
Minolta DiMAGE A1 (2,489 KB)
Canon PowerShot G5 (1,985 KB)

Measurable findings (three measurements taken for each camera)

Camera	Measurement	Absolute Res.	Extinction Res.
Fujifilm FinePix S7000 (@ 12 MP output size)	Horizontal LPH	1650	* 1850
	Vertical LPH	1600	* 1850
	5° Diagonal LPH	+ 1000	n/a
Sony DSC-F828	Horizontal LPH	1650	* 1950
	Vertical LPH	1550	1950
	5° Diagonal LPH	900	n/a
Fujifilm FinePix S7000 (@ 6 MP output size)	Horizontal LPH	1450	* 1700
	Vertical LPH	1400	* 1700
	5° Diagonal LPH	+ 1000	n/a
Minolta DiMAGE A1	Horizontal LPH	* 1300	* 1450
	Vertical LPH	* 1150	* 1450
	5° Diagonal LPH	900	n/a
Canon PowerShot G5	Horizontal LPH	1450	* 1650
	Vertical LPH	1350	* 1700
	5° Diagonal LPH	+ 1000	n/a

Definition of terms

Compared to the other cameras the S7000 actually fairs quite well with more resolution than most five megapixel digital cameras at the 6 MP setting. Switching up to the 12 megapixel image size does appear to deliver more resolution.