Compared to...

Studio scene comparison (RAW)

For a (more) level playing field for comparison we also shot our studio scene in RAW mode with each camera and converted it using Adobe Camera RAW. Because Adobe Camera RAW applies different levels of sharpening to different cameras (this confirmed) we had to use the following workflow for these conversions:

  • Load RAW file into Adobe Camera RAW (Auto mode disabled)
  • Set Sharpness to 0 (all other settings default)
  • Open file to Photoshop
  • Apply a Unsharp mask: 80%, Radius 1.0, Threshold 0
  • Save as a TIFF (for cropping) and as a JPEG quality 11 for download

This is our standard studio scene comparison shot taken from exactly the same tripod position. Lighting: daylight simulation, >98% CRI. Crops are 100%. Ambient temperature was approximately 22°C (~72°F). Camera settings as per previous pages.

The 1000D RAW files have been converted using a beta version of Adobe Camera Raw that may not reflect the camera profile used in the final release.

Sony DSLR-A200 (RAW) vs. Canon EOS 1000D (RAW)

Sony DSLR-A200 (RAW)
Canon EOS 1000D (RAW)
2,926 JPEG (3872 x 2592)
3,318 KB JPEG (3888 x 2592)

Switching to our benchmark RAW converter, Adobe Camera RAW, equalizes image processing between the two cameras and allows us to get a much better idea of the level of detail actually captured. Both cameras produce detailed and clean images although there is a small but visible resolution and per-pixel sharpness advantage on the Canon which is probably due to what appears to be a slightly lighter Anti Alias Filter. Admittedly it would be virtually impossible to spot the difference at print size though.