An In-Depth Look at 4 Ultra-compact Digicams
by Stephen Caston on July 18, 2005 12:05 AM EST- Posted in
- Digital Camera
General Image Quality
For these pictures, the cameras were reset to their factory default settings. Then, they were set to the highest quality recording setting. The pictures were then taken in Auto mode unless stated otherwise. Portrait-style images have been rotated using Irfanview's "lossless operations". Click on a thumbnail to view the full-size image. All images are in sRGB color space.| Canon SD400 | Nikon S1 |
 Click to enlarge. |
 Click to enlarge. |
 |
 |
| Olympus IR-300 | Sony T33 |
 Click to enlarge. |
 Click to enlarge. |
 |
 |
In the first set of crops above, the Canon SD400 does the best job capturing the highest level of detail. The Sony T33 has the second highest level of detail. Both the Olympus IR-300 and the Nikon S1 produce somewhat fuzzy results. That being said, the Nikon seems to have done a better job capturing subtleties such as the detail in the horizontal blinds where the Olympus image shows no definition. Another point to note is the color differences. The Canon SD400 has produced the most neutral colors out of the bunch while the other three cameras produced warmer tones. The Sony T33 has the most saturated colors out of the pack.
| Canon SD400 | Nikon S1 |
 Click to enlarge. |
 Click to enlarge. |
 |
 |
| Olympus IR-300 | Sony T33 |
 Click to enlarge. |
 Click to enlarge. |
 |
 |
In this second set of crops, the Canon SD400 and the Nikon S1 produce a similarly high level of detail. The Olympus IR-300 does a decent job producing fine details, although it appears that the camera has over-sharpened the image. The Sony T33 sample looks very fuzzy throughout the image. Interestingly, although both the Canon and Nikon cameras show good color reproduction, both the Olympus and Sony cameras have a noticeable yellowish-orange color cast.
| Canon SD400 | Nikon S1 |
 Click to enlarge. |
 Click to enlarge. |
 |
 |
| Olympus IR-300 | Sony T33 |
 Click to enlarge. |
 Click to enlarge. |
 |
 |
Again, in this third sample, the Canon SD400 is able to produce the highest level of detail. The Nikon S1 is able to produce fine details, but the overall image is a bit fuzzy. The Sony T33 is a step down in detail from the Nikon S1 as the image appears fuzzy overall. The Olympus IR-300 is generally able to give the illusion that it can produce images with more detail due to its use of over-sharpening. However, the end result can sometimes look like it does in the sample above. The image looks over-compressed and has JPEG artifacts throughout it. All 4 cameras showed purple fringing in extreme circumstances such as this. However, the Canon SD400 showed the most fringing, followed by the Nikon S1. Both the Olympus and Sony cameras did an impressive job of avoiding purple fringing in almost all circumstances.
Movie Mode
| Canon SD400 | Nikon S1 |
 Click to download. |
 Click to download. |
| Olympus IR-300 | Sony T33 |
 Click to download. |
 Click to download. |
In terms of quality, the Canon SD400 and Sony T33 video clips are much more detailed and clearer than the Nikon or Olympus samples. Remember that you will need a Memory Stick Pro Duo in order to record at the highest quality (Fine) with the Sony DSC-T33. Although the Nikon S1 records video at 640x480, the video is quite blurry and the frame rate is only 15 fps. The Olympus IR-300 records video at a maximum resolution of 320x240 at 15 fps, which is behind the times considering that the other three cameras record at 640x480.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
35 Comments
View All Comments
stephencaston - Wednesday, July 20, 2005 - link
Thanks for catching that Jarred, I've fixed it now.Tujan - Wednesday, July 20, 2005 - link
None of these cameras seem to get that soft lime-green colored square. Top right.What IS the true color of that 'Engineering Bldg.?
_____________
Which,or how well do these cameras work to create DVDs. How to determine this.Wich propietor has the best software. Wich software suite works best with wich camera to do so ? [ ]
.........
Most reviews miss this aspect of features for a camera.I've read for example,codec articles,wich tell of specificities of 'formats,and playback. Generally what you do with your output depends on how you want to use it though.Then what playback device/medium is wished to use. Some formats do not work so well with creation of DVDs.Or authoring. Those wich are most ubiquotous will give you most satisfaction for your camera.
You might think that for example,that favorite movie you caught would be great to send to grandma. You can't capture it again though. However its an extra step to re-process the capture. So quality count of a good camera becomes the question of being able to edit from its usable format.What each uses,and how well it keeps the original intented quality for the use you want it to.
Some Cameras will use the MPEG4 format for example.However the utility of editing this format to DVD is difficult to find exact detail from any reviews. In trying to keep of what you see is what you have using the Camera.
JarredWalton - Tuesday, July 19, 2005 - link
You link for the Sony movie clip is broken. You've got a ".jpg" at the end of the file name. The Canon looks pretty nice, though I'm still holding out for SLR. Give me a few more months....Thatkid - Tuesday, July 19, 2005 - link
number 21 it is possible i actually took a hard looka t my camera as well nikon sometimes uses diffrent metals in there cameras im speaking from my experiance using there profresional cameras and they feel plastic but i did open the bettery lid and its a pretty thick metal shell. But you are right it defenately feels diffrent from the sont and cannon. the sony is brushed stainless teel i belive and is ver hard. the canon sd400 feels great its a small and dense feeling camera. they are very diffrent and when compared to the feel of these cameras it deos feel as if it were plastic but compare it to your mouse of keybaord or some sort of video game controller and youll see its a wierd metal.stephencaston - Tuesday, July 19, 2005 - link
#19, thats interesting. The sample we reviewed definitely felt like plastic and made a plastic sound when I tapped on the shell with my fingernail. It felt nothing like the solid metal of the SD400 or the T33. It didn't even feel cool to the touch after leaving it in air-conditioning like metal should. Perhaps the body is made of a very thin metal surrounded by plastic. Either that or you and I received different versions.PrinceGaz - Tuesday, July 19, 2005 - link
That Canon SD400 certainly looks very nice, not as high a resolution as the top-end SD500 but a bit smaller and lighter than it which is important to me. If I needed a replacement camera, that would be the one I'd go for.It's worth noting that in the UK (and maybe other countries) the Canon SD400 is called the Canon IXUS 50, but apart from the name is otherwise identical.
Thatkid - Tuesday, July 19, 2005 - link
the nikon is made with an all metal body if you want to refrence that see Http://www.nikonusa.com/template.php?cat=1&grp=2&productNr=25529the bottom of the page says in bold compact super slim metal body. i know this also because i own one.
my friend has a SD400 weve done all the posible real life senario test possible night time shooting in clubs both get the same exact looking prints some small discrepensies in color cast in the pictures but other then that same performance on both awsome cameras. one thing this article didnt mention is the annoying yellow cast in all the sony t33 pictures sony may advertise 1000+ shots for the t33 but with flash and normal usage checking you pics and that kinda stuff maybe 100 - 150 shots on one baterry. i had the t33 and returned it when i took a picture of the best buy roof only to find it looking extremly orange.
IceWindius - Monday, July 18, 2005 - link
Canon wins again, go figure. My A85 farking rocks, I love it!ShadowVlican - Monday, July 18, 2005 - link
w00t canon wins again, happy i choose an A95rubikcube - Monday, July 18, 2005 - link
Been in the market for a camera for a while and was considering the digital rebel xt for quality concerns. After I read this review, I decided that the quality wouldn't be that different, so I ran out and bought the SD400. Thanks for the great review.