Most people think I'm crazy for owning more than one camera. I generally have either 2 or 3. This hobby gets kind of pricey, so I don't usually get too many cameras. I usually buy cameras only if I can get something out of it (big surprise, I know).
In any case, my constant conflict between having many cameras and having useful cameras means a couple of things: I wish I had access to more cameras than I do, and also, I'm able to compare anything that comes across my apartment. A few weeks ago before getting rid of my Canon 7D, I compared high ISO performance between the Canon 7D (with dual Dig!c 4 processors, released Q3 2009 (somewhat important)), the Canon S100 (with single Dig!c 5 processor, released Q3 2011) and the Fujifilm X10 (with single EXR processor, released Q4 2011).
Now, this is only an ISO test. It's not supposed to determine the best camera, which is very easy to figure out just by looking at the price tags. Given the sensor size differences, these are three very different cameras with very different purposes. I just thought it might be interesting to see how these cameras handle noise. It might be slightly unfair to test out these 3 cameras together, but I had them in my apartment, and I was actually curious to see how a tiny 1/1.7" sensor would hold up to a much bigger APS-C sensor.
All three photos were shot at 35-ish mm (given how tricky it was to pick an exact length, though I did my best to have equivalent focal lengths on all cameras), at ISO 3200 (the highest the X10 can shoot without compromising resolution), at F/4 (the aperture of the 7D's kit lens at the focal length) with a shutter speed of 1/60 of a second. I took the RAW files out of each camera and synchronised the white balance on all three files (3100K in case you care about this stuff at all), and exported the files as is. The white balance adjustment is the only editing I did, in order to get the most accurate colour and noise representation possible.
Before showing the pictures, a few interesting facts (well, interesting for me, anyway): all three cameras use CMOS sensors, and all three cameras were the first to use those particular sensors. The 7D was the first Canon SLR to use the APS-C 18MP sensor later found in the T2i, T3i and 60D; the S100 is the first to use the 1/1.7" 12MP sensor (and the way things are going, it'll be the only camera to use that particular sensor given the new G1X uses something slightly on the more massive side); and the X10 uses a newly-designed 2/3" 12MP sensor later found on the Fujifilm X-S1.
So, finally, the 7D shot:
It looks pretty good. To be as fair as possible, I used the EF-S 18-135mm kit lens. Given you can't change the lenses on the compact cameras, I thought it only fair not to use my L lens here.
Next, the S100.
Also looks good.
Finally, the X10 shot.
Unsurprisingly, also looks nice. What I find really strange is that the 7D and S100 files are 8MB and 7MB, respectively, while the X10's file size is only 4MB. I'm not sure how this happens because it seem to have pretty much the same colour and range as the, say, the S100.
In any case, at this size, the files all look more or less the same. So, let's crop.
The 7D.
Good.
The S100.
A bit grungy-looking.
The X10.
A bit grungy-looking, as well.
So, even at 2 1/2 years old, the 7D easily has the best ISO performance of the bunch. I really wish I'd taken shots at ISO 6400 and 12,800 to compare, but I didn't have that foresight for some reason. The 7D has much bigger sensor, with a pixel size of 4.3 micrometers (whereas the S100 has a 1.86 micrometer pixel size, and X10 has, I think, 2.09 micrometer pixel size). Not only that, the dual Dig!c 4 processors are able to handle anything captured by the sensor very easily. The 7D has the best dynamic range and clearest ISO performance.
The tougher decision is whether the X10 or the S100 has the better ISO performance. The X10 seems to have a bigger noise pattern than the S100, which, in cleaner areas, like the white part of the Blu-ray cover, gives the pictures a neater look, though makes the busier areas, like the battery and coins, look a bit blurrier. Looking at the speaker part, though, on the bottom right, the X10 definitely has better dynamic range, with deeper blacks and more detail in the shadow areas.
It's a tough call, and maybe my shot isn't the most representative. In terms of practical use, though, the X10 can go to higher ISO 6400 and 12,800, though only at reduced resolutions (6 and 3MP, respectively), while the S100 can have full 12MP shots at ISO 6400 and be quite usable. I think pushing these cameras more would be pointless, as nobody really pushes these cameras to their limit except idiots like me.
It's a tough call. What do you guys think?
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