Welcome to the battle of the Titans, in one corner the replacement of last years surprise the new kid on the block the Sony HX9V, in the second corner with a reduced mega pixel count the Canon SX230 and her cheaper GPS-less twin the SX220, in the third corner we meet the champion of many years the new Panasonic ZS10 / TZ20 now with a MOS sensor and as surprise contestants the Nikon D7000 and 3 other DSLR cameras I was interested in.
This comparison is made possible by the great work from Jeff Keller,
DCRP Founder/Editor.
Check out his reviews and original photos and if you want to purchase something he is grateful if you click on the vendors from his review site.
Thank you Jeff
Let´s get ready to rummmmbleeeeeeeee.
I added the Fuji FinePix F550EXR to this comparison courtesy of dcresource.com
After viewing the
images I first decided against it. Either the tester had a faulty camera or the lens from the F550 is very bad. I never saw so much corner softness and distortions before. But then checking the dcresource.com website it was stated:
"After taking sample photos with the Fuji FinePix F550EXR, I had assumed it was defective, due to the strong blurring on the right side. Fuji examined the photos and said the camera was not defective, so here's the gallery for you!"
If this is the kind of camera you can get by chance from Fuji ... but see for yourself (scroll down until after the food court sign to see them all).
In this posting I will take original size and quality crops from several pictures and display them in an order that the SX230 picture is always on top, HX9V always the second and ZS10 / TZ20 is always the third, after that you see what camera the pictures are from.
Press the page up or down key to easy flip between 2 pictures.
When I choose a crop, what is important for me?
First the detail in bright and dark areas, then how the camera handles high contrast situations, what might be recovered in dark areas and what can be improved by sharpening or other post processing, how is the over all composition, are there blown out areas, how is the noise in dark areas.
Enjoy you pixel peeping and remember how
you will normally watch your pictures.
Update: I already have 3 unhappy visitors who dislike what they see, from:
WOW they look horrable! to
wow, the ones with the grass (below the boat pics) show what was already shown with the preproduction camera: the hx9v has huge problems with detail. very disappointing :-( and
Grass, fruits in the photo from SONY awful art painting Picasso. In terms of noise Canon better. But Canon Chromatic aberration is worse.
I can not have unhappy visitors, so how to make them happy again?
Why don´t we compare these horrible results with the actual darling of reviewers?
Bring on the Nikon D7000 with the F3.5-5.6, 18 - 105 mm VR Nikkor lens for $1499
And now the big question? Are the pictures 4 times better? Can we make out the single grass stalks, does the fruit look fruitier? Will we have clear, crisp unsmudged, beautiful pictures what blow these puny point and shoot cameras out of the way?
You be the judge
Thanks to the great work from
DCRP Review we can now compare identical photos from the
Canon PowerShot SX230 HS,
Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS10 and the
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX9V side by side. Get the originals at these links. Compare
Nikon D7000 pictures, compare
Sony A55 pictures.
There are over 150 image crops to compare and the overall size is over 27 MB, so loading them all might take a while.
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| Fuji FinePix F550EXR |
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| Nikon D7000 |
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| Sony A55 |
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| Sony NEX-5 |
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| Panasonic GH2 |
We interrupt this comparison for a short commercial.
If you enjoy this comparison with a DSRL remember whe have 2 on this blog already.
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| the Sony and Panasonic picture have a higher dynamic if you compare the front and side wall |
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| Fuji FinePix F550EXR |
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| Nikon D7000 |
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| Sony A55 |
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| Sony NEX-5 |
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| Panasonic GH2 |
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| Fuji FinePix F550EXR |
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| Nikon D7000 |
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| Sony A55 |
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| Sony NEX-5 |
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| Panasonic GH2 |
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| check out the detail in the shadow area |
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| Fuji FinePix F550EXR |
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| Nikon D7000 |
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| Sony A55 |
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| Sony NEX-5 |
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| Panasonic GH2 |
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| the ZS10 is a bit soft here |
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| Fuji FinePix F550EXR |
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| Nikon D7000 |
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| Sony A55 |
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| Sony NEX-5 |
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| Panasonic GH2 |
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| they look all good to me |
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| Fuji FinePix F550EXR |
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| Nikon D7000 |
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| Sony A55 |
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| Sony NEX-5 |
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| Panasonic GH2 |
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| the HX9V captures good the detail like the brown foot stool? |
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| Fuji FinePix F550EXR resized from the 8MP original to 16MP |
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| Fuji FinePix F550EXR 8MP (binned mode?) |
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| Nikon D7000 - and here is it where the much bigger sensor shows the real strengths |
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| Sony A55 - a big difference to the D7000 |
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| Sony NEX-5 |
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| Panasonic GH2 - different lighting - overhead lamps are on |
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| corner crop - the HX9V keeps it nice and sharp |
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| Fuji FinePix F550EXR |
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| Nikon D7000 |
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| Sony A55 |
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| Sony NEX-5 |
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| Panasonic GH2 |
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| center crop - they are all looking good |
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| Fuji FinePix F550EXR |
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| Nikon D7000 |
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| Sony A55 |
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| Sony NEX-5 |
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| Panasonic GH2 |
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| look at the windows and the white water |
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| the hedge and grass has a bit more detail here |
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| HX9V and ZS10, the smothering smoother kills off a lot green detail here |
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| Fuji FinePix F550EXR |
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| Nikon D7000 |
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| with 28mm instead of 24 the Canon is closer and therefor can pick up a bit more detail (hand rail wires). |
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| the horizontal wires (in this 90 degree rotated pictures) look cleaner in this picture |
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| Fuji FinePix F550EXR |
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| Nikon D7000 |
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| the TZ20 struggles here with the roof and shows lots of noise |
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| Nikon D7000 |
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| Nikon D7000 |
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| very nice detail pick up from her HX230 here |
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| the smothering smoother goes for a beauty shot here and eradicated the "imperfections" of the pear skin |
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| Nikon D7000 - different framed and different fruit order - for my eye worse than the P&S cameras |
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| Nikon D7000 - different framed and different fruit order |
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| Sony A55 - the little SX230 sure shows more detail |
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| the TZ20 is a bit soft here |
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| Nikon D7000 - different framed and different fruit order - for my eye worse than the P&S cameras |
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| Sony A55 - for my eye worse than the P&S cameras |
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| the TZ20 has some noise problems here too |
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| Nikon D7000 |
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| best controlled fringing from the bunch |
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| Nikon D7000 |
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| not too much difference, Nikon included |
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| Nikon D7000 |
check out the area under the little roof of the menu and the detail in the wall above. (you might need to adjust the angle of your monitor for full detail)
also check out the store sign, what camera can make out the neon tubes behind it best.
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| SX230 shows some purple fringing on the top of the window frame |
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| Fuji FinePix F550EXR |
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| Nikon D7000 |
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| Sony A55 |
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| Sony NEX-5 |
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| Panasonic GH2 |
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| on the left side of the shot were no people, so we have here instead a shot from the right side, same distance |
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| Fuji FinePix F550EXR |
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| Nikon D7000 - oh come on, you can´t do that better Nikon? |
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| Sony A55 |
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| Sony NEX-5 |
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| Panasonic GH2 |
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| just to compare Sony HX5 original size crop |
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| just for fun: HX5 resized, shadows and sharpness adjusted |
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| can you see any big difference between these shots? |
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| the TZ20 shows again a bit of grain |
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| Nikon D7000 |
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| Sony A55 |
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| Sony NEX-5 |
OK, I spend the whole day working on this post and doing some serious comparison, here is my gist.
Panasonic is the looser for me in this contest, pictures less pleasing, wrong sensor, too expensive not enough progress.
Canon did show that less can be more and gets the finest details, if you look on top of the bridge, you can see the thin handrail wires or the way it captures extra detail in the pear shot.
The Sony show some good detail and sharp photos but looses the detail in the low contrast areas like the fruits. It would be interesting to see if you switch to food mode if ther more detail gets picked up.
Naturally the Nikon is the top dog especially when the light is less than bright but for me there is no 4 times the quality or resolution and no way that combination would fit in my pocket. Also I am pretty impressed how much detail the little p&s cameras pick up.
Snapshot from 2011-4-4 Amazon Germany - no HX9V is listed so far
If the cameras all had the same features I would pick the Canon (if I would judge just for the detail).
But they don´t, reading again through the SX230 info and checking a couple reviews, comparing all the features and playing a bit with the SX210 (who is the identical from the outside to the SX230 except for the zoom rocker and the on switch) there is no way I would choose the Canon over the Sony. Before choosing the SX220 I would rather get an HX5 (what I already have).
But that is just me, I always had a soft spot for the underdog, especially when you know that overall he can blast the competition away with his unique features.
If you are interested in the Canon and do not need a GPS then the SX220 is a very tempting offer.
Please read this post to understand why the results look that way.
I just took some time and reviewed the the original photos from all 5 cameras on my 120" full HD screen (see my Epson blog).
First in full screen, then zoomed in to match 16:9, then zoomed in to 50% and then further zoomed in to original pixel size (the projector pixel match the photo pixel).
The Canon pictures have a bit too cold tone for my taste, Panasonic and Sony have an overall more pleasing color space.
Except for the church photo there is nearly no visible difference in all 5 cameras up to 50% and in original size it is still not much (I was checking the scenes where people were in similar spots on all 4 photos).
Also the pears what look worse from the Sony camera, when I compare to the D7000 or the A55 I see not too much difference. The HX9V likes to smooth out imperfections and the pears fell victim to that decision.
There is a big difference between watching the photos zoomed in from 40cm on a 15" screen to watching them from 3.5 meter on a 120" screen.
It is like looking at the brochure from something to being there and seeing it with your own eyes.
In case of doubt, print out a couple if that is how you view your pictures and compare then or put a slide show of the pictures on your lcd or plasma tv., rename the pictures that the same motive comes after another and be sure to include the Nikon. Then sit back and tell me if you see a difference.
If you want to send Sony and Panasonic a message, go buy the Canon SX220 instead, because nothing tell these people better that the megapixel race is plain stupid then lots of users buying the camera with the least megapixels.
And finally:
Don´t get mad pixel peeping, resized to the way you use the photos and with a little post processing it´s all good. Enjoy a nice session, discover something new every time you and your camera go out, take that crazy snap shot even if it is crocked and fuzzy in the end it is just all about fun and memories.
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| on my 15" screen this is pretty much original size |
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| Bart the 3mm big jumping spider comes for a visit on top of my notebook lid - Sony HX5 original size crop |
WOW they look horrable!
ReplyDeletewow, the ones with the grass (below the boat pics) show what was already shown with the preproduction camera: the hx9v has huge problems with detail. very disappointing :-(
ReplyDeleteGrass, fruits in the photo from SONY awful art painting Picasso. In terms of noise Canon better. But Canon Chromatic aberration is worse.
ReplyDeletethanks for the comparison. regarding "And now the big question? Are the pictures 4 times better?": i don't think the question is if the pictures are 4 times better. i rather think the question is: why are the pictures of the hx9v not better? what's causing this effect? can it be reduced by choosing lower MP (i'm going to take pics in 16:9 anyway). i'm not saying that all pictures are bad, most of them are very good. i'm really curious as to why this blocking occurs.
ReplyDeleteLofi007 look at my post about the Airy Disk and the size of the Sony sensor and you have your answer
ReplyDeleteI'm somewhat in agreement with the DigitalVersus folks regarding the HX9V here:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.digitalversus.com/sony-cyber-shot-hx9v-p360_10599_16.html
At normal viewing or on an HDTV the images will look fine just as they will when printed on normal "p & s" size prints.
Compare pears from Canon and SONY, or search for the top ropes on the bridge in the photo SONY, compare the stones on the road. What kind of photos have more details? The answer is obvious. Certainly the HX9V many strengths, but 12mpix CMOS 1 / 2, 3 sensor in the CX230 is better than 16mpix CMOS 1 / 2, 3 from Sony. Or maybe the problem is not in the sensor, and noise reduction technology? I did not consider the Canon as a purchase before. And incidentally, these cameras are still rivals Nikon S9100 and Olympus sz-30mr (like technology in Olympus "Pixel Mapping", a cleaning broken Pixel, which inevitably appear during use)
ReplyDeleteand fujifilm finepix 550exr????
ReplyDeletereducing the pixel count to 12MP was sure the right step from Canon
ReplyDeleteJoe, this comparison is great. It shows that Canon PowerShot SX230 HS is superior in image quality to Sony DSC-HX9V when pictures are shot at the maximum available resolution. What makes me wonder: what if the resolution in Sony gets reduced to 10MPix (3,648 x 2,736) or even lower to 5MPix (2,592 x 1,944)? Would the image quality improve? I'd like to see this kind of experiment.
ReplyDeleteAlso it would be nice if Fuji FinePix F550EXR was present in the comparison. I dig a little bit and I found very promising results from F550EXR, especially with RAW (more results can be obtained starting from here).
The last thing: on Sony website in a specification at the section 'Exposure System' can be found following information: "Noise Reduction : Clear RAW NR / NR Slow Shutter". My question is: how playing with this option affects taken pictures? I think it's vital to investigate this matters.
hi pawel, i added some more to the end of this post regarding the hx230. the weak part from the hx9v is the too much mp sensor what sony counters with some clever image processing - but there are limits. i had a look at the samples from your links and they are all useless since they are mostly in the below 1mp resolution. every cheap plastic camera makes good pictures when you resize them this much. as for the sony, read my post about 4 mp and being happy - it is all there what you need to know about the high mp on a tiny sensor cameras.
ReplyDeleteas for : Noise Reduction : Clear RAW NR / NR Slow Shutter this is just advertising mumbo jumbo.
ReplyDeleteJoe, I read again this post and I found the answers to all my questions, thanks.
ReplyDeleteRegarding links to Fuji's F550EXR photos in my previous comment: only about 44% is below or near 1 Mpix (47 from 108), the rest 56% (61 from 108) have much higher resolution ranging from 3 to 16 Mpix (I have them all downloaded to my HDD so I run a simple script in Python to compute this statistics). I also found this gallery, take a look. On some photos grass looks better, on others as bad as shot with HX9V.
The last question: what do you think about RAW processing presented here?
Pawel, the gallery pic with the cat is just 6MP and for ISO 400 it is very bad if you check the cat´s head. I like the design of the F550EXR very much but found Fuji cameras were always on the lower end of the comparison. I had my run in with a Finepix S2000HD and compared th the HX1 it was like a Lada Niva compared with a Range Rover. see here: http://hx1-insider.blogspot.com/2009/08/movie-time-la-mer.html
ReplyDeleteThe best RAW file can not produce more much more detail because of the big mp tiny sensor size. I think raw in these cameras same as an aperture, what takes even more light away, are utterly useless.
Sorry I can not help you there. - but if you decide for that Fuji, let me know.
after watching this comparison pics, i decided for the canon sx220
ReplyDeletethanks!
glad i could help you to make up your mind, i hope lots of other people do the same and Sony gets the message
ReplyDeleteThe Fuji S2000HD did not use their EXR technology so it is not a basis to judge the F550EXR.
ReplyDeleteThe Canon begins at 28mm. That is significantly less wide angle coverage than 24mm. With scenics and family group portraits for example, the Canon is seriously handicapped as compared to the Sony and Fuji.
Just my 2 cents worth... I'm no pixel peeper and I shoot my "important" photos with my Sony DSLR, but I have taken close to 1,000 pics with my ZS10 and deleted no more than a dozen due to displeasure with the camera's results (deleted hundreds more due to my shoddy composition, etc!). This is an upgrade from my ZS3 and I found it very worthwhile. I've found that the ZS10 delivers on just about everything Panasonic promised. Its fast to start-up, to focus, and to shoot. The vibration reduction is rock solid... I shot hand-held concert video at Ultra Music Fest last week at full zoom, plus 2x digital (approx 36x) and there is no jumpiness whatsoever. The new sensor also resolved the purple flaring that drove me nuts in videos. My favorite part is the ability to shoot photos during video with no skipping in the video (unlike my Canon SX20 and 30 would).. best of all you can even clip low res photos right out of the video during playback! As far as pictures go, I've found the colors to be a bit punchier than the ZS3 and for snap-shooting and sharing I do like that. The 5 fps mode is great for kids and pets and the IA mode continues to work very well. I do not like the IA results in low-light without flash because the ISO JUMPS really high (upwards of 1,000) and the pictures become terribly noisy so I shoot either in P mode or with the flash turned on. This is a rather slow lens and a really tiny sensor so it's no surprise that lower light without a flash is not its strong point... but then again, no camera with these specs will be great in low-light, no matter the manufacturer.
ReplyDeleteFor comparison, I did purchase the Nikon 9100 because it was comparable to and released before the ZS10 and I was impatient. I had very high hopes, but ended up returning it because of consistently blurred pics and focusing issues. Not to bash Nikon, but my experience with it was not good. I noticed several others posted around the net about similar issues (see bestbuy.com comments for example), so I hope Nikon can address the issues, because it is an otherwise very good camera.
Thanks for the the test ! It's interesting.
ReplyDeleteI am balanced between the HX9V and the TZ20 but it seems that the HX9V have better results with interesting other features (HD video a 50 images per seconds).
Hey, aren't you Jeff who did this article :
ReplyDeletehttp://www.dcresource.com/reviews/comparisons/2011-compact-gps-ultra-zoom-cameras
GREAT AND VERY INTERESTING WORK!!! THANKS A LOT!!
ReplyDeleteI'm rather dissapointed by the pixel-race too. I need a replacement for my Pana TZ5 broken some weeks ago. I've been waiting for such a test to decide...
But it is still hard to decide :-(
If I understand the "bottom line", all machines are quite good in "normal" viewing situations (and not pixel-peeing).
Sure, Pana TZ20 is the looser...
Still I think I'll go for it. Why???
- It has some nice features like good GPS.
- WAF: my wife already knows Pana interface.
- Not THAT more expensive than others (even less expensive than SONY HX9V).
- And MOST IMPORTANT for me: unless unexpected surprise, this is the only model to propose an Underwater Marine Case (I'm a diver).
Are other models proposing such a Marine Case?
As far as I know, Ikelite is studying the "possibility" to offer such a case for HX9V, nothing is yet sure...
THANKS again for this nice work!!!
Jorge
thanks Jorge, the Canon has a marine case too. And if you want to stay with Panasonic, how about the model from last year? cheaper and better IQ but no full HD and no active mode video stabilisation. life is full of tough choices ... ;)
ReplyDeleteJorge, I forgot to ask at what ISO you shoot underwater? If you need 400 and above you will not be happy with the SZ10
ReplyDeleteHi Joe,
ReplyDeleteI'm a divemaster, but I've never offered me a "great" machine. I prefer to enjoy the moment, I'm not a "serious underwater photographer". The only machine I've ever had with underwater case is a CANON PowerShot A80. My tests showed that many times the "Auto" mode resulted in better shots than trying to do an "intelligent manual setup". The fault to the photographer or to this old machine? :-(
So I've mainly restricted myself to:
- Flash/No flash. Spare light sometimes.
- Macro if needed.
- Some videos (quite poor with this machine!!!).
My ISO are mainly "Auto" ISO then... No quite informative :-)
So I want a modern camera now with marine case. Being a "serious" diver (although an "amateur" photograph) I consider other solutions like Ikelite. Their marine cases are more expensive, but are rated for 60 meters. Constructors' solutions are rated for 40 meters generally. 40 meters may seem enough for many people, but this is not the case for me. I know for sure that light is not great at that deep, but many times I've hesitated taking my 40 m. marine case to take pictures of a wreck lying at 50 meters under the surface... So I'm ready to pay more for a Ikelite... if they construct a marine case for HX9V one day.
Also, having a "underwater mode" is sometimes useful, even if some PC post-processing is almost always a needed step.
I'm going to consider Canon as you kindly suggest, I wonder if Mr. Ikelite will interest on HX9V, but for the moment Pana TZ20 with underwater mode and a not so expensive marine case could be interesting for divers.
Here in France where I live the TZ20 + marine case is sold about 600 euros.
TZ10 + marine case: 460 euros. Good option except for the video, and even if I have a good Pana camcorder Full HD I think that these new cameras are quite good for small videos.
Thanks for your attention, and sorry if I cannot be more informative on serious underwater pictures!
Jorge in that depth go for the TZ8 or TZ10, you bet better pictures.
ReplyDeleteIf you mostly use an external light or flash the TZ20 should do OK.
Check out some reviews about these "oldies"
Also with that price difference, it would be no question for me.
http://www.lesnumeriques.com/duels.php?ty=1&ma1=60&mo1=1018&p1=7907&ma2=60&ph=1
Hi Joe,
ReplyDeleteAt 50 meters under the sea you'd better use a flash or some external light :-) Specially in Bretagne or the Mediterranean see.
A flash is not always a good solution, because if the water is not so clear you may have "multiple spot reflections" due to small particles. External light is often a good solution.
To come back to the oldies... is me or the differences are not SO visible between old TZ10 and TZ20? I mean, in the comparative page you've pointed out, many of the images seem quite similar. I'm not sure someone could tell if not seeing side by side. Am I so bad judge? Do I need glasses? :-(
Macro "component" is more clear for TZ10.
Low light is really worse for TZ20. But I've tried some quick Gimp image manipulation, and then again the differences are not so clear (YES: TZ10 remains better even with this image manipulation).
But for me it is not so clear that TZ10 is THAT better?
And TZ20 provides:
- better responsiveness (focus time reduced by 3!!!). I hate when my kids are already gone when the camera finished focusing! :-(
- Better video, as you've already pointed.
- Better GPS they say...
YES: 160 euros more for TZ20 "marine pack" compared to TZ10 solution...
Have to think more about this.
Many thanks for your valuable advice, and if some other divers over there have some experience on these machines, their advices are welcomed (I mean, on the machines compared here by Joe).
Chau!
Jorge the improvement 720 to 1080 does not double in quality or resolution as most people think. Mostly it is less then 15%, if at all. The real resolution captured from nearly all 1080 capable cameras is less than 700 lines. http://www.digitalcamerainfo.com/ has this in detail in their tests.
ReplyDelete"The ZS10 features unremarkable sharpness results, offering just 450 lw/ph of sharpness vertically and 550 lw/ph of sharpness horizontally. "
http://www.digitalcamerainfo.com/content/Panasonic-DMC-ZS10-Digital-Camera-Review/Video.htm
I remember all the comparisons TZ10 vs HX5 and the TZ10 was better in low light then the HX5. Photo and video, not much but you could see a difference. The HX9V is worse then the HX5 in low light because of the less light the sensor gets. Panasonic did not put a BSI sensor in the TZ20 and that is why, even with less pixels than the HX9V, the sensor gets less light and the low light performance is so bad.
see http://hx9v.blogspot.com/2011/01/sony-hx9v-think-4mp-not-16mp-and-be.html for more info
Why don´t you find a shop where you can return the camera, then get them both (with the marina case) and take them both for a test(dive).
Hi Joe,
ReplyDeleteI live in Paris: not so easy to take both cameras to the sea and make a "real test" :-(
I'll have to rely on reviews and tests...
I was really "hot" for the Pana TZ20/ZS10. But the more I read about it, the less it appears as a good choice... And I was really ready to give it a chance!!! :-(
Perhaps the "wise choice" will be old Pana TZ10 + marine case, and wait for a future great machine, if constructors finally stop the "pixel-race" or find a really good sensor.
I'm going to contact Ikelite to see if they finally plan or not a marine case for Sony HX9V.
I'll tell you about the final decision...
Many thanks for youy really valuable advices,
Jorge
Great Job, Thx a lot.
ReplyDeleteSo for me the question is whether I opt for the canon or the older zs7/tz10. I guess its very similar quality at ISO100 and 200, higher the canons gets better, but the zs offers 25mm + 16:9 or 3:2 which is a great advantage!
Using the 28mm of the sx with 3:2 is only 30mm or 32mm with 16:9!
Chris
aah, the city of lights - Jorge the main reason the the retarded MP race is to drive the users to the new mirrorless cameras. Because then they need lenses, a bigger flash, filters etc. - and yes, keep me posted.
ReplyDeleteChris find a store and check them both out, I handled a SX210 and did not like the layout and design at all. Or wait a bit, there are other cameras with a 12MP BSI sensor see the big comparison here
Jorge there is the Ikelite 6211.05 Underwater Housing for Sony H55 & HX5 Cameras what should work with the HX9V also
ReplyDeleteHi Joe,
ReplyDeleteIs there any issue with posts? I've tryed to answer here 4 times already. At first it seems to work, I get a message also telling ùe is OK, but then the post disappears...
Best regards, Jorge
Since a lot of people are excited about the "better" image quality of the Canon SX230 I made a "fair" comparison myself: I took the full size still-life images from the Imaging Resource Comparometer and scaled them to 1440 x 1080 (I have a full HD display on my computer) using GIMP.
ReplyDeleteSince there were no HX9V-Images I used the HX7V ones.
Result: I always prefer the Sony images to the Canon ones. The higher the ISO the more clear cut the advantage of the Sony is imho.
Jorge, maybe this post with all the images gets too big? otherwise I have no Idea, but you can try answering in my personal log...
ReplyDeleteRauchbier your findings are similar to mine.
Joe,
ReplyDeletethanks a lot for this great comparison.
I for myself own a TZ10 - a great camera at direct sun light. A poor camera at low light and at video. Therefore i always look for the ideal traveller P&S with huge zoom. E.g. i like the multi format sensor of the TZ10, but i can not find this feature at TZ20 !?
Nevertheless, my TZ10 dont takes very good pictures with standard settings. But if you tweak the settings one can get really good images ooc. E.g. stopping the cam at ISO400 is a good idea and great setting which i miss on Sony cams.
What i try to say is: Hx9 delivers a lot new settings (i think they are new, arent they?) like sharpness, contrast and saturation. Maybe picture quality gets even more better when one tweaks this settings.
What do you think?
Bernd, you can always tweak the settings to optimize them. I have my HX5 set to ISO 125. But the HX1- HX9V and HX100X in camera 3 step settings are a bit too simple for my taste. The Sony CMOS sensor has a good dynamic range, so I prefer to meter optimal for white and get the details out of the shadow at home via pp as I do with saturation, contrast and sharpness etc. It is amazing what you can get out of the pictures with a little playing around. (see my HX5 blog for samples)
ReplyDeleteHi Joe,
ReplyDeleteI have tried again, my post was lost again... :-(
Perhaps this blog is getting too heavy with the images, my post was too long (?) or links are not allowed? (I posted a link to Ikelite site for Sony marine cases). Any idea on this issue?
Best regards, Jorge
Jorge maybe there is a word limit. Next time make a copy of you post before you hit the Post Comment button. There is no problem with links, maybe you need to split a too long post in to 2 or 3 chunks.
ReplyDeleteHi Joe,
ReplyDeleteYes, I've kept a local version of my post.
Short version: Ikelite people confirmed me last Friday that for the moment they don't know if they'll be offering a marine case for HX9V.
Best regards, Jorge
Hi Joe and guys, I have five cameras on my minde:
ReplyDeleteTZ20, S9100, SX230, F550 and HX9.
Purpose of use:
General and travel pictures.
THE BIG QUESTION IS:
Which one should i go for???
Tanks in advance.
Hi, jus went throu more reviews and TZ20 is out of question. Four cameras left to choose from.
ReplyDeleteThanks.
good hunting Tom, let us know who and why your winner will be
ReplyDeleteHello,
ReplyDeleteI've seen something on DPReview that caught my eye :
From the HX9V manual here:
http://www.monmouthweather.co.uk/HX9V/contents/06/02/25/25.html
"Sharpness
Adjusts the sharpness of the image.
1. MENU [Sharpness] desired mode
(－) Softens the image.
(Standard)
(＋) Sharpens the image."
So maybe with the sharpness set to the minimum those grass artifacts would be less visible and with luck detail would compare to that of the Canon SX230.
Not that this artifacts are visible at 100% but if I can choose the amount of post processing on HX9V I think I'll crank it down a bit ...
Can you post some images taken with the normal setting and the softnest setting to compare (with a PP crop of a too much NR'ed portion of the image, of course :-) ).
Thanks in advance
I own a TZ2 but it broke. I also sold my Canon HF100 Camcorder cause it's too big to carry around all the time. 3 Months ago I wanted to buy the TZ10 the I heard about the TZ20 and waited for it to come out. The I read all the bad reviews. Thanks for your pictures I definitely wont get the TZ20 now. But the HX9V looks good. The videos are also a lot better then on the TZ20. Almost comparable to my old canon.
ReplyDeleteYosoy you need to ask somebody who has the HX9V like in the dpreview forum to check that for you. The artifacts in the grass come from smearing and have nothing to do with sharpness. But then who cares for grass in the background? It is not important as long you object is clear and sharp, at least for me.
ReplyDeleteglad I could help you Anonymous
Joe, I ended up buying Sony SLT-A55VL (with DT 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 SAM kit lens). I purchased it today for 920 $. In my country, which is Poland, it's quite a bargain, normal price starts from 1117 $. OK, I'm going back to reading a manual ;)
ReplyDeleteReagards
Just shot some shots with my new HX9v. In good light, generally looked great. Great gizmos like panorama, better than I can do with my D3 and Photoshop (or at least 10 times easier & smoother). But under low light, noise reduction really blocks things up and causes problems to the point you probably wouldn't want to enlarge any. Haven't tried playing with settings yet though. Other than low light and figuring out their download software, looks very promising!
ReplyDeleteAm really perplexed between hx 9v and canon sx 230. the canon one is said to have clearer image and seems having a faster shutter speed than hx9v.
ReplyDeletethe features hx has overcomes over the canon. but stil am thinking the image quality..hmmmmm
photo blog, check out the eoshd.com links I just posted. He compares the SX230 also with the HX9V. That should help.
ReplyDeleteJoe, please consider to buy that Sony again. It is a wonderful cam.
ReplyDeleteHi Joe,
ReplyDeleteMade a short film to see what the HX9v can do. It's an amazing little camera...
www.vimeo.com/25088008
merciless comparison with the canon sx230..
ReplyDeletehttp://forums.dpreview.com/forums/readflat.asp?forum=1010&thread=38905514