Re: largish sensor P&S

Gisle Hannemyr wrote:or models use each type?

acl is over-generalizing. For starters both Canon and Nikon uses CMOS in DSLRs.
AFAIK, Canon uses CMOS in all current cameras, while
Nikon only uses CMOS in the D2X body.

But IMHO, noise correlates more to well size than to technology.
Canon, in general, is using geometries with larger well sizes, and
therefore provides better noise figures. But the Nikon D200, which
packs 10.2 Mpx into an APS-C sized CCD sensor more or less equals the
the 8 Mpx EOS 30D (CMOS) in the noise department.

a) where did I overgeneralise?

b) "Well size" usually refers to number of electrons (full well capacity), I guess you mean pixel size (ie the physical dimensions of a single pixel), which does indeed correlate well with noise (ie larger pixel size implies less noise). And yes you're right, the most important factor in reducing noise is to have a larger pixel size (larger sensor and/or less pixels). I was merely saying that comparison of images from the actual DSLRs mentioned gives the results I stated. The pixel size of the 6mp sensors of the Nikons (D70 etc) is slightly larger than the pixel size of the Canon 20D, so that can't be the reason for the difference in noise levels. As for the D200 vs the 20D, I have spent a considerable amount of time comparing different images from different sources, and I don't agree with you that they are comparable for ISOs above around 600 (eg check the shadows). I don't know why (I have some idea, though). Nevertheless, as I said somewhere else, I have ordered a D200.
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