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Sony TX7 vs. Canon S90

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Tom Hoots

Tom Hoots

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OK, so this is how we begin to comprehend any given camera's general image quality -- by comparing it out in the real world with other cameras. So, this is the big test: Comparing the TX7 to the top Canon "pocketable" camera, the S90.

And, this pretty well shoots down any hope that the TX7 might actually be able to compete with the S90. I'll post a few shots, but all of them are in this DPReview gallery:

http://www.dpreview.com/galleries/4330317199/photos

Let's start with the usual "brick house" shot:









You can see the camera in the file name for each one. The differences aren't too noticeable as they show here, but as you click on them, to make them larger, you see quite a bit more resolution in the S90 shot -- and better contrast and color in the Canon shot, too, as far as I'm concerned.

A couple more image pairs:









Generally, you're seeing something akin to the WX1's "red shift" in the TX7 shots -- just not anywhere near as severe as the WX1.









Again, click on the pictures to enlarge them. Go ahead and download the originals, and pixel-peep all you want. These are all untouched, straight-out-of-the-camera originals.

In the end, I'd say that I would prefer the S90 image quality over the TX7's, every time. But, the TX7 isn't exactly "bad" -- the color and contrast are mainly "different" from the S90, and the images can either hold their own "as is," or they can be easily tweaked in post processing -- it's not like you have to "darn near rebuild them from scratch" like you have to do with the WX1's pictures.

So, enjoy, learn, discuss -- and I'll be glad to answer any questions you may have!

Tom Hoots
http://thoots.zenfolio.com
 
pierce1979 said:
Do you have any low light comparisons?
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No, or "not yet" at any rate. However, you can check out a test I did with the S90, the Panasonic LX3, and the Sony WX1, here:

http://thoots.zenfolio.com/p916892765

Aside from color, I would expect the TX7 to be very similar in quality to WX1.

However, the concept here is very simple: The Sony Exmor R sensored camera will be used in "Hand-held Twilight" mode, which will basically slay any other small-sensored camera using a high ISO setting. So, pay attention to the clearly-labeled "Hand-held Twilight" shots from the WX1 in the comparison test mentioned above.

Tom Hoots
http://thoots.zenfolio.com
 
BertIverson said:
BertIverson said:
So I guess, for me, it's TX7 features/size vs S90 low ISO IQ.
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Yep, pretty much sums it up. I'm now thinking that "maybe" the Samsung TL350 might be a good compromise between the two above. I've already sold my S90 with no real regrets. I don't need the absolute best IQ, and certainly not enough to give up all the great features of the TX7 or perhaps Sammy TL350.

Thanks for posting these, Tom. The first pic showed the biggest difference to me in the sharpness arena. As for the color shifts, not a real big deal to me, especially since my vision is red/green defficient. :)
 
I feel that you are comparing apples to oranges here. The S90 has a much bigger sensor (less pixel density) for one thing. The other is that the TX7 has a 'non extending' 'folded' lens, behind a clear window. It has been my experience in the past that any camera designed like that suffers a bit in image quality when compared to an 'extending lens' type of arrangement.
--
Have a SAFE and HAPPY 2010 !

Bob the Printer
 
Bert said:
Great comparison. The S90 definitely looks best. Must be some technical reason why the Exmor R lowest ISO is 125. So I guess, for me, it's TX7 features/size vs S90 low ISO IQ.
Click to expand...
Yes, pretty much. Though, let's do just a little bit of work on one of the TX7 images. Then resize it, and compare it to a "just resized" S90 version:

TX7:



S90:



That's just doing one bit of "auto contrast and color" with my editor, plus a bit more unsharp mask on the TX7 shot than the S90 shot, applied after resizing. Oh, and I actually straightened the S90 shot. :-)

But, this is a relatively high-resolution size, and the TX7 really doesn't suffer much in comparison to the S90. You can quibble about the color, though I certainly didn't "try to match" the S90 color -- bottom line, you could tweak that further, pretty easily, if you wanted to. Otherwise, the contrast and the detail are pretty close -- I suppose you could try to sharpen even a bit more detail out of the TX7 shot if you wanted to.

At any rate, that's not bad for such a small, really-pocketable camera -- a little post-processing work can yield quite decent results, if you want to really try to compete with something like the S90. Otherwise, the native results at least aren't basket-cases like the WX1's typical output.

Tom Hoots
http://thoots.zenfolio.com
 
Bob the Printer said:
I feel that you are comparing apples to oranges here. The S90 has a much bigger sensor (less pixel density) for one thing. The other is that the TX7 has a 'non extending' 'folded' lens, behind a clear window. It has been my experience in the past that any camera designed like that suffers a bit in image quality when compared to an 'extending lens' type of arrangement.
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Oh, sure -- no disagreement with you there. It just an attempt to quantify how much different the TX7 is, compared to the pretty high standard of the S90.

Tom Hoots
http://thoots.zenfolio.com
 
Tom your comparison sets are invaluable. Many thanks and please keep it up.
--


The FZ50: DSLR handling of a bright Leica 35-420mm lens that's this good: http://www.flickr.com/groups/panasonicfz50/pool/ (slideshow always good)
[Tomorrows camera is better and smaller than todays]
 
First I apologize for discussing the HX5V on TX7 thread but these two cameras use the same sensor (I think). When I go to Imaging Resource and compare TX5 to HX5V at ISO 125, the HX5V seems to look better (using "Still Life"). Furthermore, the HX5V seems equal to the S90 even comparing ISO 125 vs ISO 80. I am confused. I think I am trying to convince myself to get HX5V but the S90 pics that Tom posted showed the S90 to be clearly superior at ISO 80/125. Feel free to ignore this post :-)
Bert
 
BertIverson said:
First I apologize for discussing the HX5V on TX7 thread but these two cameras use the same sensor (I think). When I go to Imaging Resource and compare TX5 to HX5V at ISO 125, the HX5V seems to look better (using "Still Life"). Furthermore, the HX5V seems equal to the S90 even comparing ISO 125 vs ISO 80. I am confused. I think I am trying to convince myself to get HX5V but the S90 pics that Tom posted showed the S90 to be clearly superior at ISO 80/125. Feel free to ignore this post :-)
Click to expand...
Well, I think I see what you're saying, but I see some areas where the S90 is indeed better than the HX5 in the IR 'still life' shot. And there's not a whole lot of difference between the HX5 and the TX5, which is now available to compare, instead of the TX7. There may be the tiniest wee little bit of difference in contrast between them, but just that.

However, "the real world" generally seems to be quite a bit different than the IR controlled tests, so in the end, we just need to see what the HX5 will do out in the real world. We won't have to wait too much longer....

Tom Hoots
http://thoots.zenfolio.com
 
For me Auto WB isn't correct until grass and road surface are spot on. Always it seems they are pushed blue slightly. How accurate do you percieve each camera to be comparing captured shot on the cameras screen to the grass and road it's just captured?
--


The FZ50: DSLR handling of a bright Leica 35-420mm lens that's this good: http://www.flickr.com/groups/panasonicfz50/pool/ (slideshow always good)
[Tomorrows camera is better and smaller than todays]
 
Tom Hoots said:
Marti58 said:
RAW ?
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Beats me. I'm about as anti-RAW as they come. I want photography to be a "hobby," not a "punishment." :-)
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well i dont think RAW is a punishment it will often show better what a sensor is capable of as the camera processing is minimum.

how many times you can read in reviews of camera's that RAW offers better results then JPEG or they advise to shoot in RAW....( see in how many Sony reviews there is a pointer to that )

not offering the RAW option whilst many competators do is not smart IMHO.

people make often a big deal out of PP work which is in my opinion overstated....its a part of modern Photography.

as you have made this shots and posted straight out of the camera, you can do the same with a RAW example ( no PP needed ) for a comparison shot.

i agree with you the S90 is way better in this shots.....plain and simple.

PP is like the Darkroom in the old day's.

--
All my Post Processing is done with Capture NX2

http://www.flickr.com/photos/marti58/
 
Marti58 said:
people make often a big deal out of PP work which is in my opinion overstated....its a part of modern Photography.
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Well, I just reject the notion that post-processing essentially "can't be done" with JPEG images as it can be done with RAW images. I have no problem with doing some minor adjustments to JPEG images, but to me, RAW requires you to "paint the whole picture" every single time for every single picture you ever take. I just prefer to find cameras that produce JPEG output that appeals to me, and making minor adjustments if necessary.
Member said:
i agree with you the S90 is way better in this shots.....plain and simple.
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Yep, but it should, with its much larger sensor and lower pixel density.

Tom Hoots
http://thoots.zenfolio.com
 
Tom Hoots said:
Marti58 said:
people make often a big deal out of PP work which is in my opinion overstated....its a part of modern Photography.
Click to expand...
Well, I just reject the notion that post-processing essentially "can't be done" with JPEG images as it can be done with RAW images. I have no problem with doing some minor adjustments to JPEG images, but to me, RAW requires you to "paint the whole picture" every single time for every single picture you ever take. I just prefer to find cameras that produce JPEG output that appeals to me, and making minor adjustments if necessary.
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well using RAW in your S90 will make the distance even bigger.

working in JPEG will give less room and i think every shot will have different PP corrections as well, RAw just gives more room to do so.

i did lots of JPEGs myself with my H1 and other camera's and i still prefer to give every shot a treatment to my personal liking ( as no camera will give me that straight out of the camera ).

for RAW i pritty much can do all in batch processing as i have a nice database for camera's lenses ect to handle my workflow.

for me no straight out of camera shot will give me the result i want no matter what brand, some are closer then others thats the main difference for me.
Tom Hoots said:
Tom Hoots said:
i agree with you the S90 is way better in this shots.....plain and simple.
Click to expand...
Yep, but it should, with its much larger sensor and lower pixel density.

Tom Hoots
http://thoots.zenfolio.com
Click to expand...
--
All my Post Processing is done with Capture NX2

http://www.flickr.com/photos/marti58/
 
Tom Hoots wrote:
Marti58 wrote:
RAW ?

Beats me. I'm about as anti-RAW as they come. I want photography to be a "hobby," not a "punishment."

well i dont think RAW is a punishment it will often show better what a sensor is capable of as the camera processing is minimum./

RAW IS a punishment ... more ... it's waste of lifetime!
Confessing for ARM = Anti-Raw-Movement .
 
Knallberto said:
RAW IS a punishment ... more ... it's waste of lifetime!
Confessing for ARM = Anti-Raw-Movement .
Click to expand...
guess thats your opinion .....even if it improves image quality.

if you dont care about image quality you could keep using a camera from lets say 5 years ago.

as the image at the size you post them here don't need more then 2/3 MP.

--
All my Post Processing is done with Capture NX2

http://www.flickr.com/photos/marti58/
 
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