Re: DSLR and P&S Smackdown


"Douglas Johnson" <post@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:erlb94h61bca7r5jfq01hc4qjvnm5ukkka@xxxxxxxxxx
This might be fun. Yesterday, I took two pictures. One with a
Canon SD890IS
and a second with a Nikon D300 with the Nikon 18-200 mm zoom. I've
posted them
at:

http://www.classtech.com/DSLR_PS_Smackdown/

The question is "Which camera took which picture?" and "Why do you
think so?"
They are labeled "A" and "B" for purposes of discussion.

I'll post the answer when the discussion dies down.

The picture isn't much, just a shot of a Mc Mansion being built.
But there is
lots of detail and texture.

Navigation help:
You can click on a thumbnail to get a medium resolution view. Then
you can get
a full resolution view by clicking in the lower center of the
picture or the
download icon in the lower right of the screen.

Methodology comments:
I took the two pictures from the same spot within a few seconds of
each other. I
took the jpegs straight from the camera and loaded them into
Photoshop. I
cropped (not resized) the DSLR picture to match the size of the P&S
picture.
Then I copied each into a new image to eliminate the EXIF data.
Finally, I
saved each as a jpeg at the lowest compression available.

-- Doug

Thanks for posting these, as it clearly shows the advantages and
equivalency of P&S and dSLR.

"A" is the dSLR image, as it shows the usual soft-focus (details
resolved by no less than 3 pixels) and the usual improper exposure and
white-balance of all dSLRs. The mfg's don't have to sell any lens
better than what the sensor can resolve, and in fact intentionally
avoid doing so because then the sensor will start to reveal the lens'
defects. The average consumer out to impress their friends with their
expensive and flashy purchase is none-the-wiser and remains ignorant.
Due to the larger photosites they have a lot more margin of error to
play with. This is why it shows the usual soft-focus effect.
Overpriced L-Glass is no different in this regard. Then too, since the
dSLR has to obtain its exposure setting from a 2nd-hand light-path it
can't often find the proper exposure nor white-balance. This is why
RAW is all the rage with dSLR owners. Rarely does the camera find the
proper exposure. Which varies wildly depending on the focal length of
the lens, whether or not any light/colors is/are entering from the
eye-side of the OVF, etc. They are notorious for not finding proper
exposure. Again, the reason that the dSLR owner demands that RAW be
available so they can correct all the limitations of their dSLR's
light-path and haphazard exposure metering. Most dSLR owners would do
well with pulling out their hand-held light meter from 4 decades ago
to supplement the inherent light-metering problems in all dSLRs.
Interesting too that someone immediately picked out "A" as the dSLR
image due to sensor dust. All combined this becomes way too many
drawbacks for the discerning and experienced photographer.

"B" is the P&S image because it shows sharper details and has proper
exposure and dynamic range. However, this comes at a price. You will
find a slight bit of more noise in a P&S image, and all too often the
P&S firmware will try to obtain as much information as is physically
possible by using more sharpening on the sensor's RAW data. Luckily
the more advanced models allow you to choose the sharpening level for
those who want the most from their camera. On the other hand, the P&S
lens is far superior to any dSLR lens in that it has to be configured
to focus details on much smaller photosites. It can resolve details
down to one photosite. Any flaw determined by the very physics of
light itself will become more apparent. As can be seen in the slight
CA around high-contrasting edges. These can easily be removed or
corrected for in PP. Had the dSLR lens been as accurately figured then
it too would show its similar CA defects. dSLR mfg's can't risk that
or they'll just lose sales, of both lenses and dSLR bodies.

In any case, its nice to see someone comparing them subjectively to
shut the mouths of all the usual newsgroup dSLR fan-boy trolls. Notice
how they are not replying to this thread, lest they reveal themselves
to be the fools that they are. Maybe they'll think twice the next time
they say a P&S camera is worthless. But most likely not, most of them
are just trolls starting an argument, desperate for attention.



.

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