Canon SD1300 - Noise comparison

More testing of the new SD1300. A simple ISO 400/800 test in very low light. Both cameras were at full zoom and this is the full scene resized to web (ISO800 SD1300).


100% crops from ISO400


100% crops from ISO800


No need to really comment. The SD1300 has a higher level of noise, or more noise suppression, in my opinion. Not much, but there is also not a real significant improvement in the sensor of the SD1300. Actually I would maybe go as far as there really is not big difference

If you want to compare the full sizes, click on these links: SD1300 ISO400, SD1200 ISO400, SD1300 ISO800, SD1200 ISO800.

SD1300 - Ongoing review

A few posts ago I wrote that Canon had released a new camera, the Canon PowerShot SD1300IS. Although it is not quite the same camera, it is likely the "replacement" camera to the SD1200 that I have and have written about so many times. Since I like that one, and use it as my camera I always carry around, I decided to try out the new SD1300IS. So over the next week or so, I will post raw photos and videos from both.

So what's different? A brief comparison would be:

SD1200	SD1300
10Mpixels	12Mpixels
35-105mm(3x)	28-112mm(4x)
Optical viewfinder	Only LCD

I know there is more differences, but these are the basic ones, and for some losing the optical viewfinder is enough reason for not looking at the new camera (even if we are gaining a slightly larger LCD at 2.7" instead of 2.5"). But for me, I do not use the optical viewfinder on these small cameras, so I do not care about that one. What I really like is the 28mm (wide angle) lens. And since they bumped up the zoom to 4x, you are not losing out in the long range anyway.

The cameras are really the same size and weight (give or take a little). And with the exception of the redesigned power button, they buttons and so are all in the same place. And to no surprise, almost all menu options are the same....

As you can see, the screen is really not that different. My bet is that the viewfinder is removed to save cost for Canon and not really for anything else. So, in operation I directly noticed that the SD1300 is more likely to chose one step higher ISO to compensate for camera shake. This is likely going to produce more keepers, but maybe at the cost of more noise? I will compare that another day.

Here are some shots with links to the direct JPEG from the camera first. All shots shown here is from SD1300.

SD1200 JPEG SD1300 JPEG

SD1200 JPEG SD1300 JPEG

SD1200 JPEG SD1300 JPEG

SD1200 JPEG SD1300 JPEG

SD1200 JPEG SD1300 JPEG - "auto mode"

SD1200 JPEG SD1300 JPEG - "program mode, -1 exp comp"

SD1200 JPEG SD1300 JPEG

SD1200 JPEG SD1300 JPEG

If you decide to buy (or try) the new camera, and you like to shop over at Amazon, please consider going through this link below: If you got something special you want me to try (or compare) please post it in a comment to this blog and I will (try to) do it. :)

New HX5V samples

Yet some more sample photos taken by the new Sony DSC-HX5V camera. You can find them here. At first when I was looking at them I was a little disappointed, but then I looked at the other newly posted samples, taken of the same subjects (check here) and realized that the other cameras did not do as well... I guess this whole pixel peeping deal is not supposed to be done. When I get my own HX5V I am going to do some prints at Costco instead of do pixel-peeping.

New HX5V samples

New samples from the Sony HX5V camera. The site "DC Fever" has some samples here. Most seems to be ISO 400 and I think they look pretty good. The other site is from Sony (here) and the two (official?) samples are both ISO125. This is one of them:

The two samples are ISO125 and I unfortunately I think that they show a little too much of noise reduction...

Back to basics....

Time for my trusty Canon XSi and Sigma 105mm on a walk. Sure takes nice photos... :)

Some more S90 photos

Have the Canon S90IS for one more day. Here are some shots from a walk...

Not too shabby, I think.

S90 vs SD1200

Sure, why not. I know it is not quite fair to pin the Canon SD1200IS against the more expensive and slightly larger Canon S90IS, but I had the chance to borrow the S90 from a co-worker and instead of just taking photos with it, I also brought along the SD1200. I had little time, so I decided to take a walk and take all photos in "auto" mode, i.e. the green rectangle on the Canon cameras. I did try to compose the shots as similar as possible. In the end of this "review", there are links to all photos, direct out of the camera. I also put together a 100% crop comparison of the ISO series, and some random crops from some other photos. Note that full auto (green rectangle) means that not always the same ISO was used. But, it shows what happens if you do go auto with both cameras.

The result? Surprisingly little difference actually. The S90 has about 1 stop ISO advantage, i.e. ISO 800 on the S90 is about the same noise level as the ISO400 on the SD1200. But that is almost it. And... here are my pros and cons on the S90. Have in mind that I have only used this camera for a day or so.

Pros

• Nice build, nice screen
  
• Nice lens (F/2.0 at wide)
  
• Nice with extra, configurable, wheel around lens
  
• Manual controls

Cons

• Horrible button placement on top for one handed operation, power and shutter is not right position
  
• Scroll wheel on back, easy to move by mistake (like G11)
  
• Compared to SD1200 camera, heavier and larger
  

If this was my only camera, I would be annoyed with the button placement at first, but probably get over it. If it is only used sometimes, I think I would continue to be annoyed. Overall, even with my comments, it is a nice camera.

Ok, some photos... Always the S90 first, SD1200 second.
Photo-04:

Photo-08:

Photo-14:

Photo-20-ISO800:

There are more photos, and the last one has ISO100-1600 also. They can be downloaded here:
Photo-01 S90 - Photo-01 SD1200
Photo-02 S90 - Photo-02 SD1200
Photo-03 S90 - Photo-03 SD1200
Photo-04 S90 - Photo-04 SD1200
Photo-05 S90 - Photo-05 SD1200
Photo-06 S90 - Photo-06 SD1200
Photo-07 S90 - Photo-07 SD1200
Photo-08 S90 - Photo-08 SD1200
Photo-10 S90 - Photo-10 SD1200
Photo-11 S90 - Photo-11 SD1200
Photo-12 S90 - Photo-12 SD1200
Photo-13 S90 - Photo-13 SD1200
Photo-14 S90 - Photo-14 SD1200
Photo-15 S90 - Photo-15 SD1200
Photo-16 S90 - Photo-16 SD1200

Photo-20 S90 ISO 100 - Photo-20 SD1200 ISO 100
Photo-20 S90 ISO 200 - Photo-20 SD1200 ISO 200
Photo-20 S90 ISO 400 - Photo-20 SD1200 ISO 400
Photo-20 S90 ISO 800 - Photo-20 SD1200 ISO 800
Photo-20 S90 ISO 1600 - Photo-20 SD1200 ISO 1600

And here is a photo with 100% crops. The first are the ISO 100-1600 series, and then from the other photos. S90 on the left.


Now, if I only has the new Canon SD1300IS to compare these two with :) The SD1300 is the upcoming "replacement" for SD1200, but not quite. 2 more megapixels, no optical viewfinder, and lens starts at 28mm like the S90.