Digital Photography Review
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| Minolta DiMAGE X | Canon PowerShot A20 |
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| Canon Digital IXUS 300 (S300 ELPH) | Nikon Coolpix 775 |
In the table below we're only measuring colour. The RGB values were measured from a VGA reduced image (to average colours, remove noise and eliminate JPEG artifacts) using the Eyedropper tool in Photoshop with a 5 by 5 Average Sample Size.
| Patch | Minolta DiMAGE X |
Canon
PowerShot A20 |
Canon
Digital IXUS 300 (S300) |
Nikon Coolpix 775 |
| Black | 22,22,22 | 17,17,17 | 21,21,21 | 16,20,19 |
| Middle Gray |
91,91,91 |
88,91,91 |
98,98,98 |
97,98,98 |
| White | 210,210,210 | 205,206,202 | 213,213,209 | 202,204,200 |
| Magenta | 206,30,89 | 194,33,99 | 204,38,112 | 219,31,83 |
| Red | 199,22,33 | 188,22,30 | 201,30,40 | 212,17,9 |
| Yellow | 225,198,70 | 198,185,26 | 206,193,31 | 187,189,39 |
| Green | 1,148,97 | 19,124,57 | 25,131,63 | 0,156,77 |
| Cyan |
0,162,243 |
25,145,200 |
30,155,209 |
0,186,214 |
| Blue |
43,39,84 |
23,27,88 |
24,30,93 |
26,41,100 |
As you can see the DiMAGE X manages to white balance well (the white, gray and black patches are perfect). It exhibits strong reds but weak blues, I was surprised to see so much blue 'leaking' into the solid green patch.
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 1/100th 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.
| Horizontal resolution | Vertical resolution | 5 degree diagonal res. |
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| Minolta DiMAGE X | ||
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| Canon PowerShot A20 | ||
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| Canon Digital IXUS 300 (S300 ELPH) | ||
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| Nikon Coolpix 775 | ||
Measurable findings (three measurements taken for each camera):
| Camera | Measurement | Absolute Res. | Extinction Res. |
| Minolta DiMAGE X | Horiz LPH | 750 | 900 |
| Vert LPH | 750 | * 1000 | |
| 5° Diagonal LPH | 700 | 900 | |
| Canon PowerShot A20 | Horiz LPH | 820 | * 1000 |
| Vert LPH | 800 | 1050 | |
| 5° Diagonal LPH | 800 | 900 | |
| Canon Digital IXUS 300 | Horiz LPH | 820 | *1000 |
| Vert LPH | 800 | 1050 | |
| 5° Diagonal LPH | 800 | 900 | |
| Nikon Coolpix 775 | Horiz LPH | 750 | * 950 |
| Vert LPH | 750 | 1000 | |
| 5° Diagonal LPH | 800 | 900 |
* Moiré is visible
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) |
image detail. Beyond the Nyquist frequency aliasing occurs.
It's really not good news, the DiMAGE X recorded the lowest resolution measurements of any modern 2 megapixel digital camera. For horizontal resolution it's almost the same as Nikon's Coolpix 775 but vertical resolution is notably less. I'm afraid to say that the innovative lens system just can't deliver enough resolution for the 2 megapixel sensor.
From:
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/MinoltaDimageX/
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