The Hunt for the Best Ultra-Compact Camera
by Stephen Caston on October 5, 2004 12:05 AM EST- Posted in
- Digital Camera
Resolving Fine Lines
For our resolution test, we reset all cameras to their default settings and then used the highest resolution and quality setting. The cameras were set between +0.7 - 1.3 E.V. For more information, refer to our Testing Procedures page. Below are 200% crops of the test. Click on a crop to see the full chart.| Canon S410 +1.0 EV |
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| Casio Z40 +0.7 EV |
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| Pentax S40 +1.3 EV |
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Both the Canon S410 and The Pentax S40 are able to retain line definition up to the 12 mark before artifacts begin to appear. However, we should point out that the Pentax S40 begins to show artifacts a bit earlier than the Canon S410. Both cameras move to extinction by the 14 mark. The Casio Z40 is only able to make it to the 11 mark before the lines lose their definition. Extinction occurs around 13.
| Canon S410 +1.0 EV |
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| Casio Z40 +0.7 EV |
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| Pentax S40 +1.3 EV |
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In the vertical crop, the Canon S410 performs a bit better than in the horizontal crop. It is able to hold its resolution a little past the 12 mark. Also, the lines appear much sharper. The Casio Z40 looks about the same with detail at 11 and extinction at 13. It is important to note that in both Casio crops, moiré becomes visible just after the 11 mark. The Pentax S40 shows a slight improvement in the vertical crop. Extinction occurs at 14.
All of these cameras showed impressive resolution performance. However, the Canon S410 has a bit of an advantage over the Pentax S40 with its cleaner image and slightly higher resolution. The Pentax S40 is the runner up with exceptional resolution followed by the Casio Z40 with decent resolution and some visible moiré.
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stephencaston - Wednesday, October 6, 2004 - link
#11: For the continuous drive section of the specs, we use the results of our test. Canon is rated at 2.5 fps, but we found that in the highest resolution and SuperFine mode, we were able to take 3 shots at 2.8 fps.Thanks, I'll add a little note in the specs table.
flexy - Tuesday, October 5, 2004 - link
i love my S230 with its 640x480 video capability. Believe me, once you get started with vids and a good editing program like Vegas you wont get back and pics are only the bonus :) And all that fun with such a tiny cam :)I consider the picture quality/optics of the Canon Powershots "ok" - if you consider it's a shoot and point and not a SLR with hyper-great image quality/zoom etc.
Its picture quality is 'overall good' - a great allround camera with nice features (esp. the vids :). I would prefer my S230 (or newer) any time over a big/bulky camera.
Pros:
nice 640x480 vids
IQ good for a point/shoot
size
stylish
Cons:
weak zoom
xand - Tuesday, October 5, 2004 - link
Also, the continous drive information for the cannon in the specifications table is wrong.xand - Tuesday, October 5, 2004 - link
The "best pictures" of this lot of cameras are almost a given; the S410 has a sensor of the same generation with an area of 38.2mm(1/1.8"), as compared to the others, which have 24.7mm (1/2.5") sensors.What would be more interesting would be a comparison of newer cameras by major manufacturers; generally they now all come with 1/2.5" sensors, including the new canons.
stephencaston - Tuesday, October 5, 2004 - link
#8, Unfortunately, we were limited by which cameras we could choose and the S4i was unavailable at the time. However, we feel that the S40 is comparable to the other two cameras with respect to exposure options, size, etc. The S4i would have been a good option and we would have included it if it was available.rliao - Tuesday, October 5, 2004 - link
How come the S4i wasn't reviewed? Isn't it more of an appropriate comparison?SleepNoMore - Tuesday, October 5, 2004 - link
I looked at the Canon S series - they are very nice - almost bought one - THEN I found the Pentax Optio 33WR (now it's upgraded to 4 MP and called the Optio 43WR).It's WONDERFUL.
First of all, it's highly water resistant, has gaskets all through it.
Has about 13 programmed modes but I never need them really I just point and shoot and things look great. White balance is always right on.
Panorama/stitch modes, close-up modes, etc.
Takes SD cards.
Quicktime movies are a bit cheesy (320 X 160) it's more the sound I have issues with than anything but most of the time it's acceptable.
I'm guessing the Pentax 43WR goes for around 280 bucks - havent checked lately.
If you want a camera you can take skiing, snowboarding, to the beach or stand out in the rain without worrying about damage to the electronics, this is the one. It's also not gooney looking (i.e. bright yellow etc) like some other water resistant cameras.
stephencaston - Tuesday, October 5, 2004 - link
#5 thanks, I have fixed the mistakeGumbico - Tuesday, October 5, 2004 - link
Actually, the S410 only allows 3 mins of vid time. That's my only gripe about this camera.TheAudit - Tuesday, October 5, 2004 - link
I have the Canon and I couldn’t be happier. I’ve never been one to read through a manual and this camera was easy enough to figure out so I did not have to do so. I am always surprised at how crisp the pictures are. Of course, I am not a professional photographer but this camera provides everything that I want in a camera – good pictures and small size because I hate carrying stuff around.