9 years in the megapixel race - noise or quality

Róbert Irházy (Birdie) - February 4, 2009. 14:00 (CET)

Kattintson ide a magyar változatért

Subjective evaluation

As I have mentioned before, we have had a 10×15 cm and an A3 sized image of each photos developed in a nearby Fujifilm lab. At submission we have asked the clerks not to alter or use automatic correction on any of the images.

Than we have asked three photographers to evaluate the prints, and put them in order according to the given criterias (10 best and 10 worst): Elek Papp photo artist, photographer, optometrist, Tamás Nagy (Panant) photo enthusiast, and Tamás Gál beginner photographer.
We have given the same tasks to all three of them: pick the best and worst of the images according to color/tone, resolution, noise and the overall quality of the 10×15 cm images.

Let's see the results:

Color/tone
Elek PappTamás NagyTamás Gál
1. G7 ISO100G7 ISO80G9 ISO80
2. G7 ISO80G7 ISO100G9 ISO100
3. G6 ISO50G9 ISO100G7 ISO80
4. G9 ISO100G10 ISO100G6 ISO50
5. G10 ISO100G6 ISO50G7 ISO100
6. G10 ISO200G9 ISO80G5 ISO50
7. G10 ISO80 G10 ISO80 G10 ISO100
8. G9 ISO80 G9 ISO400 G10 ISO80
9. G6 ISO100 G5 ISO50 G7 ISO200
10. G5 ISO100 G10 ISO200 G9 ISO200
... ... ... ...
29. G3 ISO400 G2 ISO200 G1 ISO100
30. G2 ISO200 G10 ISO800 G1 ISO50
31. G1 ISO100 G1 ISO50 G2 ISO200
32. G1 ISO50 G1 ISO200 G1 ISO200
33. G2 ISO400 G1 ISO100 G3 ISO400
34. G10 ISO1600 G2 ISO400 G2 ISO400
35. G9 ISO1600 G1 ISO400 G10 ISO1600
36. G7 ISO1600 G9 ISO1600 G1 ISO400
37. G1 ISO200 G7 ISO1600 G9 ISO1600
38. G1 ISO400 G10 ISO1600 G7 ISO100
It was very hard to make an order according to the colors and tones. With the exceptions of the oldest cameras, the colors and the gradients were nice (it was the easiest to see this on the string rolls). Our evaluators have noticed a saturation drop on the higher sensitivity images, though.
Despite the different amount of experience they had, all three of them have preferred the images of the G5, G6 and newer especially on lower sensitivities. According to our testers, the worst images came from the old G1 and G2 models, and from the newer cameras at very high (ISO1600) sensitivity.
Our tests show a great improvement in colors and tones over the years.
Resolution/details
Elek PappTamás Nagy Tamás Gál
1. G10 ISO80G10 ISO100G10 ISO80
2. G10 ISO100G10 ISO80G10 ISO100
3. G9 ISO80G10 ISO200G9 ISO80
4. G9 ISO100G9 ISO100G9 ISO100
5. G10 ISO200G9 ISO80G10 ISO200
6. G7 ISO80G10 ISO400G10 ISO400
7. G9 ISO200 G9 ISO200 G9 ISO200
8. G10 ISO400 G7 ISO80 G7 ISO80
9. G7 ISO100 G7 ISO100 G7 ISO200
10. G7 ISO200 G6 ISO50 G7 ISO100
...
... G10 ISO1600
... G3 ISO100
29. G3 ISO200 G5 ISO400 G9 ISO1600
30. G3 ISO400 G3 ISO200 G1 ISO100
31. G2 ISO200 G3 ISO50 G1 ISO50
32. G1 ISO50 G3 ISO400 G7 ISO1600
33. G1 ISO100 G2 ISO400 G3 ISO200
34. G2 ISO400 G2 ISO200 G1 ISO400
35. G9 ISO1600 G1 ISO200 G1 ISO200
36. G7 ISO1600 G1 ISO400 G3 ISO400
37. G1 ISO200 G1 ISO50 G5 ISO400
38. G1 ISO400 G1 ISO100 G2 ISO400
During this test we asked them to rank the images according to the fine details of the 500 forint bill. The results were similar to the previous one. The best were the images of the G7, G9 and G10 at low sensitivity, while the worst images came from the G1, G2 and G3. The ISO1600 sensitivity images of the new cameras were rated badly as well. A few photos from other cameras have showed up in the top 10, but they were insignificant (all these tests were blind tests, so the testers didn't know the model name and the sensitivity of the images).
The improvement is clear here..
Noise
Elek PappTamás NagyTamás Gál
1. G7 ISO80G10 ISO100G7 ISO80
2. G9 ISO80G10 ISO80G7 ISO100
3. G10 ISO100G7 ISO100G9 ISO80
4. G6 ISO50G7 ISO80G6 ISO50
5. G10 ISO80G6 ISO50G10 ISO80
6. G9 ISO100G9 ISO200G5 ISO50
7. G7 ISO100 G6 ISO100 G3 ISO50
8. G2 ISO50 G5 ISO100 G10 ISO100
9. G3 ISO50 G3 ISO50 G9 ISO100
10. G5 ISO50 G2 ISO50 G5 ISO100
... ... ... ...
29. G10 ISO800 G9 ISO800 G9 ISO800
30. G6 ISO400 G6 ISO400 G10 ISO800
31. G3 ISO400 G2 ISO400 G5 ISO400
32. G5 ISO400 G10 ISO800 G3 ISO400
33. G2 ISO400 G1 ISO200 G1 ISO200
34. G1 ISO020 G3 ISO400 G2 ISO400
35. G10 ISO1600 G9 ISO1600 G9 ISO1600
36. G9 ISO1600 G7 ISO1600 G7 ISO1600
37. G1 ISO400 G1 ISO400 G10 ISO1600
38. G7 ISO1600 G10 ISO1600 G1 ISO400
Our testers have more or less agreed don the results of the noise evaluation, no matter how much experience they had. As we can expect, the best images were taken with the newest models (G7, G9, G10), while the worst were the oldest cameras at their highest sensitivities (ISO400). It is important to note, that at A3 size, the ISO1600 sensitivity images of the newest cameras were rated just as badly as the old cameras in their highest sensitivities. The newest cameras (G7 and up) at ISO400 were not considered to be bad images at all, that shows a great improvement in noise handling over the years.
At A3 sized prints despite the common belief newer, higher resolution cameras are better performers, when it comes to image noise.
10×15 cm print (overall)
Elek PappTamás NagyTamás Gál
1. G7 ISO100G7 ISO100G9 ISO80
2. G6 ISO50G9 ISO80G7 ISO80
3. G7 ISO80G7 ISO80G9 ISO200
4. G5 ISO50G5 ISO50G6 ISO50
5. G1 ISO50G9 ISO100G7 ISO200
6. G7 ISO400G10 ISO100G7 ISO100
7. G10 ISO80 G6 ISO50 G7 ISO400
8. G10 ISO200 G2 ISO50 G3 ISO50
9. G7 ISO800 G2 ISO100 G10 ISO80
10. G9 ISO100 G10 ISO400 G10 ISO200
...
29. G1 ISO200 G1 ISO200
30. G7 ISO800 G2 ISO400
31. G1 ISO400 G3 ISO400
32. G3 ISO400 G5 ISO400
33. G1 ISO400 G9 ISO800 G10 ISO1600
34. G10 ISO1600 G10 ISO1600 G1 ISO400
35. G7 ISO1600 G7 ISO1600 G9 ISO1600
36. G9 ISO1600 G9 ISO1600 G7 ISO1600
37. G10 ISO3200 G9 ISO3200 G10 ISO3200
38. G9 ISO3200 G10 ISO3200 G9 ISO3200
This was the toughest part of the test for all three of them. The differences were so subtle, that they could only pick the worst few of the images. It was impossible to pick the best ones. Elek has given up after selecting the last six, since he couldn't see any difference between the rest in the lower segment. Tamás Gál has picked two to be the best, while he thought that the rest were basically identical.
It is clearly visible, that lists contain new and old models as well. Even some photos from the G1 and the G2 made it to the top 10. How big are the differences? They are very-very small. If we are looking at the worst images, it is obvious that those images are there not because of the old camera or the low resolution, but because of the high sensitivity.
Originally we were not planning to show the ISO3200 sensitivity images to our testers, but we eventually did. They were definitely the worst images of the stack, but I would say that they are still acceptable in those cases when the image is impossible to take in a lower sensitivity.
After analyzing the 10×15 cm prints, we can say that the overall image quality does not depend on the resolution, and that a good noise filter can make the difference.
  1. Intro
  2. Native resolution
  3. A3 prints (18 megapixels)
  4. 10×15 cm prints
  5. Subjective evaluation
  6. Conclusion

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