Compared to...
It's unusual but good for the buyer that there are three new five megapixel four times zoom digital cameras entering the market at the same time, and all at similar prices. These are the Canon PowerShot G5, Nikon Coolpix 5400 and Sony DSC-V1. The table below provides a quick side-by-side comparison of features and specifications between each of the cameras. Items which are notably better than the other two are highlighted in green.
Features / Specifications comparison
For anyone who's confused the highlighting of what I think is 'better' or 'worse' is my own personal opinion, your mileage may vary.
Canon PowerShot G5 | Nikon Coolpix 5400 | Sony DSC-V1 | |
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Street price *1 | US: $ 799 UK: £ 679 |
US: $ 799 UK: £ 599 |
US: $ 699 UK: £ 549 |
Body | Magnesium alloy | Magnesium alloy | Magnesium alloy |
Ergonomics | Small hand grip | Best hand grip | Compact hand grip |
Lens zoom | 4x optical, 35 - 140 mm | 4x optical, 28 - 116 mm | 4x optical, 34 - 136 mm |
Zoom steps | 12 steps | 20 steps | 16 steps |
Lens aperture | F2.0 - F3.0 | F2.8 - F4.6 | F2.8 - F4.0 |
Lens thread | With adapter, 58 mm | Various | With adapter, 52 mm |
CCD | 1/1.8" 5.2 megapixel | 1/1.8" 5.2 megapixel | 1/1.8" 5.2 megapixel |
CCD CFA | RGB | RGB | RGB |
Max resolution | 2592 x 1944 | 2592 x 1944 | 2592 x 1944 |
Aspect ratio | 4:3 | 4:3 or 3:2 | 4:3 or 3:2 |
Lower Resolutions |
1600 x 1200 1024 x 768 640 x 480 |
1600 x 1200 1280 x 960 1024 x 768 640 x 480 |
2048 x 1536 1280 x 960 640 x 480 |
Image modes | RAW, TIFF, JPEG *2 | TIFF, JPEG *3 | TIFF, JPEG |
JPEG compression | 3 levels | 3 levels | 2 levels |
Sensitivity | Auto, 50, 100, 200, 400 | Auto, 50, 100, 200, 400 | Auto, 100, 200, 400, 800 |
Focus modes | AF, MF | AF, MF | AF, MF |
Auto Focus | Center area (3 areas horz.) FlexiZone (300 points) |
Auto (5 areas cross) |
Wide area (3 areas horz.) Five Area Selectable |
AF modes | Single AF | Continuous AF (LCD on) Single AF |
Single AF Monitor AF (LCD on) Continuous AF |
AF illumination lamp | White light | No | Laser pattern Night Shot InfraRed |
AF distance | Normal: 50 cm Macro: 6 cm |
Normal: 50 cm Macro: 1 cm |
Normal: 40 cm Macro: 10 cm |
MF assist | Center area magnified | Sharpening | None |
Auto bracketing | 3 images 0.3 - 2.0 EV |
3 or 5 images 0.3 - 1.0 EV |
3 images 0.3 - 1.0 EV |
WB fine tuning | No | Yes | No |
WB manual preset | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Noise reduction | Auto | Auto, can be disabled | Auto |
Exposure modes | Auto, P, Tv, Av, M, C1, C2, Scene, Stitch Assist, Movie | Auto, P, S, A, M, Scene, Movie | Auto, P, S, A, M, Scene, Movie |
Metering | Evaluative Center-weighted avg. Spot AF Spot |
Matrix (256 segment) Center-weighted avg. Spot AF Spot |
Multi pattern (49 segment) Center-weighted avg. Spot |
AE Lock | Yes, SET button | Yes, AE/AF-L button | Yes, AE Lock button |
AE compensation | +/-2 EV in 0.3 EV steps | +/-2 EV in 0.3 EV steps | +/-2 EV in 0.3 EV steps |
Shutter speed | 15 - 1/2000 sec *4 | 8 - 1/4000 sec *4 | 30 - 1/1000 sec |
Aperture priority | Wide: 13 steps Tele: 9 steps |
Wide: 10 steps Tele: 5 steps |
Wide: 10 steps Tele: 7 steps |
Bulb | No | Yes & Timed up to 10 mins | No |
Continuous @2592 x 1944 |
1.3 fps, max 6 frames 1.8 fps, max 7 frames |
2.5 fps, max 7 frames 1.3 fps, max 17 frames |
2 fps, max 3 frames |
Record review | Flick record/play dial | Press QUICK twice | Press review button |
Image Params | Contrast (3) Saturation (3) Sharpening (3) |
Contrast (3) Saturation (5) Sharpening (4) |
Contrast (3) Saturation (3) Sharpening (3) |
User memories | 2 | 2 | 1 |
Remote control | Included InfraRed | Optional wired | Optional wired |
LCD | 1.8" Flip-out and twist 118,000 pixels |
1.5" Flip-out and twist 134,000 pixels |
1.5" Fixed 123,000 pixels |
Play magnification | Up to 10x, very fast | Up to 6x | Up to 5x |
Histogram | Record review, Playback | Playback | Live view, Record review, Playback |
Flash | Built-in | Built-in | Pop-up |
External flash | Hot-shoe | Hot-shoe | Hot-shoe |
Misc. | ND Filter WB Bracket Focus Bracket Manual Flash power JPEG to RAW in review Time lapse |
BSS, AE-BSS WB Bracket Multi-Shot 16 cont. Ultra HS cont. 5 shot buffer cont. |
NightFraming NightShot mode |
Battery | Canon BP-511 (8.1 Wh) Lithium-Ion rechargeable |
Nikon EN-EL1 (4.8 Wh) Lithium-Ion rechargeable |
Sony NP-FC11 (2.8 Wh) Lithium-Ion rechargeable |
Battery life | 4 hr 33 mins | 3 hr 06 mins | 2 hr 39 mins |
AC adapter | Supplied (Charger) | Optional | Supplied (Charger) |
Storage | Compact Flash Type I/II | Compact Flash Type I/II | Memory Stick Memory Stick Pro |
Storage supplied | 32 MB Compact Flash | 32 MB Compact Flash | 32 MB Memory Stick |
Microdrive supported | Yes | Yes | n/a |
Orientation sensor | Yes, images tagged | No | No |
Weight inc battery | 481 g (17.0 oz) | 380 g (13.4 oz) | 291 g (10.3 oz) |
Dimensions | 121 x 74 x 70 mm (4.8 x 2.9 x 2.8 in) |
108 x 73 x 69 mm (4.3 x 2.9 x 2.7 in) |
99 x 65 x 57 mm (3.9 x 2.6 x 2.2 in) |
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Auto WB | Average | Above average | Below average |
ISO noise levels | High | Average | Low |
Fringing | More than average | Below average | Less than average |
Lens distortion | Below average | Below average | Less than average |
Startup speed | 4.2 sec | 3.9 sec | 3.2 sec |
Write speed | Average | Slow | Fast |
Operation speed | Average | Average to Slow | Fast |
AF speed | Average | Below Average | Fast |
*1 | Prices correct at time of publication |
*2 | During record review you can convert any image shot as JPEG to RAW |
*3 | Nikon have stated that they will provide RAW format support in a Firmware update available sometime in Spring 2004 |
*4 | Fastest shutter speeds only available with limited aperture range |
A quick look down the specs and we can see that features wise its between the Canon G5 and Nikon 5400. Performance and value come from the Sony DSC-V1, it's noticeably faster in operation and some $100 cheaper than the other two, it's also smaller and lighter. Clearly if you're looking for a shutterbug's camera with lots of features then you should be thinking of the G5 or 5400, everyone else should have the DSC-V1 at the top of their list. How does image quality compare, click on Next...
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