I think alot of people are confused about two aspects of digital image quality, just as I once was. I think a brief discussion on this may be helpful for others. I believe it has alot to do with the friendly controversies between which camera is better, the FZ28 or SX10.
You can take 3 different camera makes and models, all with the EXACT same resolution AND sensor size, and under controlled lighting conditions and mountings, take the same photos, and when you compare them, you will see plenty of differences. Not counting the focal differences of different lenses, you will see varying degrees of 1) NOISE and the varying 2) RESOLUTION QUALITY, which is affected by the sensor, the processor's handing of the data, compression methods, etc., but NOT in regard to how many megabytes. And if you don't know how to tell the difference, or have a program to help tell you, you can easily confuse the two.
Generally, if you zoom into an image at 200% or more, NOISE is going to look like fine, grainy specs all over the image, especially in the darker areas. It can really mess a photo up. Resolution quality issues will look like jaggy, stair-step edges of images that should be round, like eyes, pupils, buttons on clothing, car wheels, etc. Also known as 'pixelation'. The better the resolution QUALITY, not size in MBs, the more round and smooth such things will look in higher (digital) zoom levels.
Pixelation levels, or 'resolution quality' as I term it, CANNOT be determined by a camera's megapixel size, name brand, lens, etc. It is only, only going to be known and realized either by taking photos yourself with the camera and examining them, or by reading a review with test images and close crops. Even then, with the review, the camera was under a very controlled situation which you can and will never duplicate. So in my opinion, since you are going to be spending a few hundred dollars, you need to test drive the the camera yourself for at least a couple days.
Before I explain more about these issues, I want to say that while the FZ28 clearly, undoubtedly had superior noise-control over the SX10, it is the SX10 that has slightly better resolution quality. Both cameras have 10 MB sensors, and again, resolution quality does not have anything to do with how many megabytes produced. Keep that in mind. When I took my pile of test photos from both cameras, I saw the SX10 produced very slightly 'smoother' images than the FZ28, but noise was worse. To me, noise is the bigger enemy. And I could only see that the FZ28's resolution quality was slightly less as good as the SX10 when I zoomed in to 200% and more. Thats translates into a small issue, because even if you print an 8x10 photo, you are very unlikely to notice it. However, you WILL notice noise issues greatly with an 8x10. And if you only look at your photos on the computer monitor or your LCD television, you are not going to notice anything, unless you zoom in to 200% and more, which never looks good anyway, even from a $3000 DSLR. Trust me. So what I am trying to say is, I think what some people may perceive as a noise issue with the FZ28 may actually be it's marginally less resolution quality, which as I explain, is not a big issue at all. Many may think its a noise issue, which would be a big issue, but its not a noise issue. This is how I know:
I use several good image processing programs in my hobby, and one of them is LightZone. Lightzone has a feature where you can remove the noise in an image, and then capture and save it, just the removed noise, as a NEW image. This is known as 'Noiseography' and is a new artistic technique others have come up with. The resulting noiseograph image, often looking like a weird ghost-like, fuzzy representation of the original image, can be colored and altered into strange and beautiful images. The more noise the original image is tainted with, the better the noiseograph. A very clean, sharp original image with produce a very weak or non-existant noiseograph. Get it? So when I take my images from the FZ28 and FX10 and produce noiseographs, for the most part, I get MUCH better, usable noiseographs from the SX10, and the FZ28 originals produce noiseographs that I can barely even see at all. That, in my book, puts to rest the dispute of which camera is noisier. Keep in mind I am talking about only ISO 100 images, which is all I shoot in, save for the occasional ISO 200, but I never go beyond that, because of the noise issue ANY non-DSLR will, will, will produce. All those megepixels crammed into such a small sensor on the non-DSLR's, is going to make noise.
Now to show you a sample of what I mean, here are two photos of my daughter's eyes. One taken with the FZ28, the other with the SX10. Both are indoor flash shots, ISO 100, handheld. Notice the SX10 has a more noisy, splotched image.
Above: Canon SX10. 300% Crop. ISO 100
Above: Panasonic FZ28. 300% Crop. ISO 100
4 comments:
Thank you SOOO much. I have been trying to decide between these two cameras. Every review I have seen of the FZ28 keeps appearing as more noise to me and the SX10 just always looks a little clearer. Your pictures here are the first I've actually seen that show the FZ28 to look better.
In the long run, I guess I have to just trust all the reviewers such as yourself, which keep saying the image quality of the FZ28 is as good or better, and stop relying on the "lab" pictures which to me say otherwise.
i thinks that the SX10 has slightly better resolution because its image sensor is 1/2.3'' while FZ28 is 1/2.33''
Sensor sizes do not automatically mean ANYTHING will be better, or worse. It all depends on the processor and firmware of a camera, which deals with the sensor data. There are countless camera models out there from, say, 4 and 5 years ago, which have physically larger sensor sizes, or equal to, modern camera sensor sizes, yet you already know today's camera will generally have MUCH, MUCH better image quality. Thats because processors and software have so much improved, as well as the number of pixels on a sensor. Make no mistake, the physical sensor size of one camera over another's automatically means NOTHING, and the true victor can only be known by your hands-on testing of the models.
Hi John, I also want to see the difference in noise, but I don't understand how you did "where you can remove the noise in an image, and then capture and save it, just the removed noise, as a NEW image" with lightzone. I still can't choose between the FZ28 and the SX10IS. Do you think the follow up of the FZ28 will come soon, because then it's maybe better to wait, it looks like panasonic is not producing then anymore. What is your opinion?
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