SD500 image quality vs competitors

I just want to make a quick comment about SD500. I tried it for a few days and was amazed by its image quality. I didn't know how good this camera was until I tested it along with my SD300 and my new CazioZ750, what amazed me even more is when comparing the samples images of SD500 with other 7MP cameras' side by side on dcresource.com galleries.

I've heard a lot of comments on this forum about SD500 not being very good. I really disagree on that. I believe a fair comparison should be made among the top 7MP cameras on the market, since that's what most people are interested in when shopping for the next 7MP camera. So for those of you who are still questioning about SD500 image quality, take a look at these 100% crops I created out of SD500/Nikon7900/Sony P150 galleries from dcresource.com, you'll see how well SD500 fairs against its competitions. Of course, you may also check out the original images (and other images) of all three cameras here:
http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/canon/powershot_sd500-review/gallery.shtml

http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/nikon/coolpix5900_7900-review/7900/gallery.shtml
http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/sony/dsc_p150-review/gallery.shtml

Note: this comparison may also be considered as SD500 vs P200. P200 should have the same image quality as P150 - at least outdoor that is (click on this link to compare the P150/P200 house images side by side and you'll see they are identical).
http://www.imaging-resource.com/IMCOMP/COMPS01.HTM

I hope this comparison will make those of you disgruntle SD500 owners appreciate this camera a little more. It really deserves more credit than it gets. No camera is perfect, but this one stands head and shoulders above all other current 7MP compact cameras when it comes to image quality.

Canon SD500



Nikon 7900



Sony P150/P200



Canon SD500



Nikon 7900



Sony P150/P200



Canon SD500



Nikon 7900



Sony P150/P200



Canon SD500



Nikon 7900



Sony P150/P200



Canon SD500



Nikon 7900



Sony P150/P200

From the point of view of a complete 'newbie', the SD500 shots look superior against the other 2.

The 7900 look like they are on the soft side. A few people have mentioned that the default setting for the Nikon means that the images are less sharpe than the Canon. Was this the case here?

The p150 seem to have a yellowish tinge.

Can't offer any more than that I'm afraid! I've already decided on the SD500 after weighing up the pro's and con's. It seems to meet my requirements and the general consensus seems to be that it has the best image quality (although the Nikon boys seem to disagree!)

Very nice.
I read your reviews and saw these sample photos before.

Now, can you tell me how to post my image comparison of the SD500 vs the 7900 that shows exactly the opposite?

I really don't know how to post my images like you did and I also want to post them full size if possible.

Regards
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G.T

sd500 looks the best.

you need to upload the images to a hosting server (in my case it's my ISP server), then copy/paste the URL in your message content, as simple as that.

there is a lot of image hosting sites around that allows you to upload small image files free of charge. I forgot the links but you may do a search on this forum or visit some of the forum users galleries to find out.

I was pretty surprised to see the softness of Nikon7900 too after hearing so many raving reviews. If I'm a Nikon7900 owner, I would not be very happy to see those Nikon 7900 gallery shots on dcresource.com, especially when you compare them side by side with the same SD500 images.

Maybe by sharpening the images it will greatly improve the Nikon7900 image quality (I'd love to see some images if anyone can post some), but the point is that manufacturers consider the default camera settings as the best for most people, and the majority of users will only rely on default camera settings or never post-process images with software. You can't blame someone if he/she makes such a judgement on which camera is the best based on the images taken from camera's default settings.

oh, I don't think any free image hosting sites allow uploading full size 7MP pictures (file size too large), you may need to upload them to our own site.

The problem with the dcresouce pictures is that they are all taken in bright sunlight. They are also not "identical" with even similar shots photos being taken at different times of the day.

A lot of the criticism of the SD500 (certainly from me anyway) has been about performance in low light (aperture of F2.8). Taking a photo in bright sunlight is not a great test for a camera. In this case the lens aperture will be quite small, and almost all lenses are sharp in that case.

The real test for a good lens is in difficult lighting conditions. Why we never see such photos on some of these "review" sites is still a mystery to me. The suspicious side of me even wonders if they are not sponsored by the manufacturers or something. Sure the SD500 is good, no question. But when you compare it to the older S series in LOW light, it's a different story.

Also you have grouped the Sony P150 and P200 together as though they are almost the same. The P200 is not just the P150 with a few bells and whistles added. It's a totally different camera really. It's quite a different animal, and produces better pictures IMO.

I don't deny the SD500 is a nice camera. I just think more emphasis should be given to low-light shots so people are not mislead. If people see the good shots in bright light and not-so-good shots in low light and then still buy the camera, then fine, but I just feel many people will be mislead by the dcresource shots.

This is questionable. from what I've read Sony P200 may have a few improvements upon P150, but image quality is not one of them. If you do a side-by-side image comparison on http://www.imaging-resource.com for both P150 and P200, you'll see both cameras have almost the same image quality, espeically the two outdoor house shots are basically identical. One review of P200 even pointed out due to its higher noise reduction P200's image qualit losses a bit sharpness compared to P150. I hope we can see more reviews to confirm this.

Aussie bloke said:

Aussie bloke said:

Also you have grouped the Sony P150 and P200 together as though

Click to expand...

they are almost the same. The P200 is not just the P150 with a few
bells and whistles added. It's a totally different camera really.
It's quite a different animal, and produces better pictures IMO.

Click to expand...

Well I don't own the P150 so I won't get into a debate about whether the P150 or P200 is better. To me the P200 pics look nicer, but I guess that is subjective.

The main point I wanted to make is that they are DIFFERENT, and when comparing pics from several cameras I'm not sure it is accurate to label a photo as "P150/P200". Either it is a P150 shot or a P200 shot.

I won't link directly to photos on imaging-resource, as I don't think they'd like that but look at the large close-up portraits in each of these P150 and P200 samples. (For example P15FACLCAP0.JPG vs P200OUTFACMP0.JPG)

http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/P150/P15THMB.HTM

http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/P200/P200THMB.HTM

To me they are quite different. The P150 has what has been referred to by some as the "oil-painting" look. Well which is nicer is a personal opinion I guess, but they are certainly very different anyway.

Cheers.

I took a look at those two pages, some indoor shots of both P150 and P200 show some slight color differences (may have to do with various settings, time, etc), aside from that both cameras are pretty much the same in terms of detais and sharpness.

The bottom line is that you happened upon a "good" SD500. I'm not putting down your post or the camera, but anytime a camera does an outstanding job, then those results can only speak for that particular unit and no others. Otherwise how do you explain others getting a "bad" SD500 that doesn't fare too well? By "others" I mean persons who are capable and/or professional photographers and who know what they are talking about and know how to put a camera like this point-and-shooter thru its paces. So with all the controversy over the capabilities of the SD500 flying back and forth among

the "experts", there must therefore be something "amiss" with the SD500. And I believe that that "something" is Canon's quality control. The SD500 is one of the best in its class -- in theory and design, but not in across-the-board usage and reliability as to consistently good output. So I'm happy to hear that you are among the "fortunate" 50% who have an SD500 that will serve you well for years to come.

I did hear some stories about people getting "bad" units of SD500, CNet reviewer seems to be one of them.

The CNET review of the SD500 certainly indicates that Canon is having quality control issues with the SD500. The following editor's note is at the beginning of the review:

Editor's note: Subsequent to our original review, we tested a second unit of the SD500 which delivered much better photo quality. We don't know what was wrong with the first unit, but we are convinced those results were atypical.

http://reviews.cnet.com/Canon_PowerShot_SD500/4505-6501_7-31288472-2.html?tag=top

Apparently those "atypical" results are not so atypical, considering the number of complaints that have been posted in the forums.

Charles said:

So with all the
controversy over the capabilities of the SD500 flying back and
forth among
the "experts", there must therefore be something "amiss" with the
SD500. And I believe that that "something" is Canon's quality
control. The SD500 is one of the best in its class -- in theory
and design, but not in across-the-board usage and reliability as to
consistently good output. So I'm happy to hear that you are among
the "fortunate" 50% who have an SD500 that will serve you well for
years to come.

Click to expand...

I have had two SD500s. One had very good optics. THe second was very mediocore. They seem to have a quality control issue with the camera.

can you post some images from both SD500s so we can see the difference?

Bestco,

How do you post images in your messages?

i'll enter this thread just to say that if you're relying on dcresource images you have a serious problem to start. the images have all sorts of things wrong, from camera movement, to wind movement (at one point somebody was arguing that an out of focus palm was a camera problem when it was clearly wind in one picture that was not present in another). These are NOT taken with great care and should not be used to make any arguments whatsoever. If you want to demonstrate the primacy of the sd500, get the other cameras and take the pictures yourself.

IMHO, YMMV, etc

bestco said:

Aussie bloke said:

bestco said:

Also you have grouped the Sony P150 and P200 together as though

Click to expand...

they are almost the same. The P200 is not just the P150 with a few
bells and whistles added. It's a totally different camera really.
It's quite a different animal, and produces better pictures IMO.

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

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fbx

Yes could people with these "good" and "bad" cameras please post some images so we can see if it is the camera or something else. Preferably originals.

Without examples the discussions will just go around in circles endlessley.

Cheers.

pardon me, you're discussing the etchells site. there a different problem exists. in any case the advice--test them yourself--is good advice still.

fbx said:

IMHO, YMMV, etc

bestco said:

Aussie bloke said:

fbx said:

Also you have grouped the Sony P150 and P200 together as though

Click to expand...

they are almost the same. The P200 is not just the P150 with a few
bells and whistles added. It's a totally different camera really.
It's quite a different animal, and produces better pictures IMO.

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

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fbx

Click to expand...

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fbx