GH4, G9, RX10 IV comparison at ISO 6400

Androole wrote:

To my eyes there is certainly more detail in the G9 shot than the others (you can see it most clearly in the text on the label).

Yep, that’s what I’m seeing and again not even zooming, just looking on a 10 inch ipad.

I try not to pixel-peep JPEGs, though, since a) I would always be disappointed and b) for me, JPEGs are only for quick sharing, not for photos that I really care about. Obviously you should tailor your tests for your specific usage, though, and if you mainly prefer the output of JPEGs, that is what matters.

Absolutely. A comparison like this say much more about the jpeg engine than the actual sensor. However, since the OP shoots jpeg only, he is correct evaluating jpegs instead of raw.

However, the fact that the G9 is at 1/250s instead of 1/200s means that you are giving up 1/3 stop of light. While 1/3 stop is not particularly noticeable, when comparing sensors that are nominally 2/3 to 1 stop apart, it obviously degrades that difference significantly.

Actually, this is arguably more important than the ISO setting itself, some even say there is no ,,exposure triangle,, in digital, and all that matters is the total amount of light hitting the sensor, no matter what ISO setting.

As you say, your test was not intended to be scientific, but an easy way to improve the consistency and validity of your results is to just put the cameras in M mode and shoot with the exact same settings. If the brightness is different, you can match that in post to see the ramifications on image quality. At least that way you know you are giving the cameras the same amount of light. No need for guesswork, then.

That’s good advice.