Compared to... five 8mp's
On this page we will examine the feature / specification differences between the five current eight megapixel prosumer digital cameras as well as some results from our testing / our experiences with the cameras. On the next page you will find our standard studio comparison.
Primary specification / feature differences
| Canon Pro1 |
Nikon Coolpix 8700 |
Olympus C-8080 WZ |
Konica Minolta DiMAGE A2 |
Sony DSC-F828 |
|
| Sensor CFA | RGB | RGB | RGB | RGB | RGBE |
| Lens zoom | 7x | 8x | 5x | 7x | 7x |
| Zoom type | Motor, ring | Motor, lever | Motor, lever | Mechanical, ring | Mechanical, ring |
| Zoom wide (eq.) | 28 mm | 35 mm | 28 mm | 28 mm | 28 mm |
| Zoom tele (eq.) | 200 mm | 280 mm | 140 mm | 200 mm | 200 mm |
| Zoom steps | 40 steps | 31 steps | 18 steps | Infinite | Infinite |
| Stabilized | No | No | No | Yes, CCD | No |
| ND Filter | Yes | No | No | No | No |
| Lens aperture | F2.4 - F3.5 | F2.8 - F4.2 | F2.4 - F3.5 | F2.8 - F3.5 | F2.0 - F2.8 |
| Normal focus | 50 cm | 50 cm | 80 cm | 50 cm | 50 cm |
| Macro focus | 3 cm | 3 cm | 5 cm | 13 cm | 2 cm |
| Metering modes |
Evaluative |
256 seg Matrix |
Digital ESP Spot Multi-spot CW avg. |
300 seg Multi |
Multi-pattern CW avg. Spot |
| Sensitivity | ISO 50 - 400 4 steps |
ISO 50 - 400 4 steps |
ISO 50 - 400 9 steps |
ISO 64 - 800 5 steps |
ISO 64 - 800 5 steps |
| Continuous | 2.5 fps 5 frames |
2.5 fps 5 frames |
1.6 fps 5 frames |
2.7 fps 3 frames |
2.5 fps 7 frames |
| Movie clips |
640, 15 fps |
640, 30 fps 320, 15 fps Limited |
640, 15 fps 320, 15 fps 160, 15 fps Streaming |
544, 15/30 fps 320, 15/30 fps Limited |
640, 30 fps 640, 16 fps 160, 8 fps Streaming |
| Color space | sRGB Adobe RGB |
sRGB | sRGB | sRGB Adobe RGB |
sRGB sYCC |
| Image params | Sharpness +/-1 Contrast +/-1 Saturation +/-1 |
Sharpness +/-1 Contrast +/-1 Saturation +/-2 |
Sharpness +/-5 Contrast +/-5 Saturation +/-5 Hue +/-5 |
Sharpness +/-1 Contrast +/-5 Saturation +/-5 |
Sharpness +/-1 Contrast +/-1 Saturation +/-1 Color mode |
| LCD | 2.0" Tilt/Twist 235,000 pixels |
1.8" Tilt/Twist 134,000 pixels |
1.8" Tilt 134,000 pixels |
1.8" Tilt 113,000 pixels |
1.8" Tilt 134,000 pixels |
| EVF | 235,000 pixels | 235,000 pixels | 240,000 pixels | 922,000 pixels | 235,000 pixels |
| Histogram | Record review Playback |
Live view Playback |
Live view Direct live view Record review Playback |
Live view Record review Playback |
Live view Record review Playback |
| Storage | Compact Flash | Compact Flash | xD-Picture Card Compact Flash |
Compact Flash | MS Pro Compact Flash |
| Connectivity | USB 1.1 | USB 1.1 | USB 2.0 | USB 2.0 | USB 2.0 |
| Timelapse | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No |
| Remote control | Supplied IR | Optional wired | Supplied IR | Optional wired | Optional wired |
| Dimensions (mm) | 118 x 72 x 90 | 113 x 105 x 78 | 124 x 85 x 99 | 117 x 85 x 114 | 134 x 91 x 156 |
| Weight (g) | 640 | 512 | 724 | 654 | 906 |
From a specification / features point of view all of the cameras provide a very good range of photographic control and features. If we were to pick out one or two cameras I would probably put the Konica Minolta DiMAGE A2, Nikon Coolpix 8700 and Sony DSC-F828 at the top. I'm also a big believer in the significant advantages of mechanically linked zoom rings and the DiMAGE A2 and DSC-F828 are the only two cameras here which offer that.
Performance differences
| Canon Pro1 |
Nikon Coolpix 8700 |
Olympus C-8080 WZ |
Konica Minolta DiMAGE A2 |
Sony DSC-F828 |
|
| Startup | Below Average | Below Average | Very Good | Good | Good |
| AF speed | Average | Average | Good | Good | Good |
| Off to taken | Average | Below Average | Good | Good | Very Good |
| Shot to shot | Good | Average | Average | Good | Good |
| Continuous | Average | Average | Average | Average | Good |
| File Write | Below Average | Average | Average | Good | |
| Battery Life | Below Average | Average | Good | Very Good |
One camera appears to shine through from a performance point of view and that's the Sony DSC-F828 which was almost always responsive to use and delivers a more 'real time' photography experience. The Olympus C-8080 Wide Zoom also performed very well, its sub one second startup time is a real eye opener.
Image quality differences
| Canon Pro1 |
Nikon Coolpix 8700 |
Olympus C-8080 WZ |
Konica Minolta DiMAGE A2 |
Sony DSC-F828 |
|
| Resolution | Very Good | Average | Very Good | Below Average | Good |
| ISO noise | Average | Average | Good | Good | Above Average |
| Auto WB | Average | Very Good | Good | Average | Average |
| Flash perf. | Good | Average | Good | Poor | Average |
| Night exp. | Good | Good | Good | Average | Good |
| Macro | Average | Very Good | Good | Good | Average |
| Distortion | Average | Average | Average | Average | Average |
| Vignetting | Below Average | Average | Good | Below Average | Above Average |
| Fringing | Average | Average | Average | Average | Poor |
| Add. issues | None | None | None | Soft images | Green hue shift |
It's interesting that the cameras from Nikon and Canon both delivered an average performance and the Olympus C-8080 Wide Zoom comes through strong with low noise, good white balance, good image processing and a quality lens which exhibits virtually no problems. The Sony DSC-F828 and Konica Minolta DiMAGE A2 performed the least well, although the DSC-F828 delivered good results in most of the tests its strong purple fringing issue can't be ignored. The DiMAGE A2's 7x zoom lens is showing its age and really can't deliver consistently high resolution to this tiny eight megapixel sensor.
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