Resolution Chart Comparison

We have chosen to compare the Digilux 2 to the Canon PowerShot 5 as a high quality five megapixel, the Nikon D70 as a 'budget priced' six megapixel digital SLR and the Olympus C-8080 Wide Zoom as our reference eight megapixel. All of the cameras here are cheaper than the $1800 Digilux 2.

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 15 equates to 1500 lines per picture height.

Studio light, cameras set to auto, all settings factory default. Aperture selected for optimum sharpness. Exposure compensation +0.7 EV to +1.3 EV.

Leica Digilux 2	Canon PowerShot G5
Nikon D70	Olympus C-8080 Wide Zoom
Leica Digilux 2	Canon PowerShot G5
Nikon D70	Olympus C-8080 Wide Zoom
Leica Digilux 2	Canon PowerShot G5
Nikon D70	Olympus C-8080 Wide Zoom
Leica Digilux 2	Canon PowerShot G5
Nikon D70	Olympus C-8080 Wide Zoom
Leica Digilux 2	Canon PowerShot G5
Nikon D70	Olympus C-8080 Wide Zoom

Measurable findings (three measurements taken for each camera):

Definition of terms:

Thanks to cleaner image processing and a sharp lens the Digilux 2 produces just slightly more resolution than the PowerShot G5 on our resolution chart, and is clearly better at avoiding the interpolation artifacts which we see in the G5 crops. For the money you can get even more resolution by going for the six megapixel Nikon D70 (and plenty left over for lenses) or the eight megapixel Olympus C-8080 Wide Zoom.