Here are a few images that accurately reflect the abilities
of any given camera model. The images are altered only in
terms of size and sharpness after reduction and by the JPEG
compression used. Unless otherwise mentioned, assume that
any marbling or artifacts visible in the images are due to
the compression required to display them here. We feel however,
that they still faithfully represent the results we experienced.
STILL LIFE PHOTO
This subject is photographed in a room that has a mix of fluorescent and incandescent light, but which is not brightly lit. The camera's flash is used to add fill light. The backdrop is 1.95 m (6.5 ft) from the camera.
With the zoom set to the wide angle end, and the sensitivity
set to 80 ISO, the lowest sensitivity, the photos of this
subject show some light fall off in the corners. Allowing
the camera to adjust the sensitivity as necessary —
Auto ISO — allows it to increase the sensitivity to
100 ISO, sufficient to produce a well and evenly lit image.
Photo Information
Format:
JPEG
Aperture:
f3.3
Exposure:
Program
Shutter Speed:
1/30 sec.
Res.:
3072 x 2304
Flash:
On
Quality:
SHQ
ISO:
Auto (100)
File Size:
3.21 MB
Focal Length:
36 mm (35mm Eq.)
Inspection of the image at 100%
on a monitor, reveals a complete absence of noise, even in the
darker areas. The sharpness is good and generally uniform with
the exception of the extreme corners which are a bit softer.
Colours are well rendered, looking natural and well saturated.
ZOOM PHOTO
Now we zoom in on a specific area. The intent is to test the sharpness of the image at the zoom's maximum setting. The camera remains at the same distance as with the preceding photo.
At the maximum telephoto setting of the zoom, the aperture
available to the camera is f5, but the camera only increases
the sensitivity to 100 ISO. As a result, the image is a touch
darker than what the camera produced at the wide angle end.
Still, there is no trace of noise and the sharpness is excellent.
The fibre of the of photographic envelope is visible, as well
as the weave underlying the fabric of the developing frame
behind.
Photo
Information
Format:
JPEG
Aperture:
f5
Exposure:
Program
Shutter Speed:
1/100 sec.
Res.:
3072 x 2304
Flash:
On
Quality:
SHQ
ISO:
Auto (100)
File Size:
3.28 MB
Focal Length:
180 mm (35mm Eq.)
MACRO PHOTO
The Stylus 780 offers 2 macro modes. According to the manual,
the Standard Macro mode allows the camera
to focus on a subject at a minimum distance of 20 cm
(8 in.) when the zoom is at the wide angle end, and 60 cm
(23.6 in.) at the telephoto end.
In fact, it is possible to have the front element of the
lens only 12 cm (4.68 in.) from the subject at the wide
angle end, making it possible to capture a field of view of
13 cm (5.07 in.).
The second mode, Super Macro,
locks the lens at the wide angle end and allows the camera to
focus on a subject that is 3 cm (1.17 in.) distant. In
turn, the camera captures a field of view of 3.3 cm (1.28 in.).
BUILDING PHOTO
This image is our outdoor test. The architecture of the building, in particular the angled girders, immediately show the presence of jaggies. The shadowed entrance can also often reveal the quality of the exposure.
The image the camera captures is excellent. The ESP metering
achieves a perfect balance, resulting in an image that contains
details in both shadows and highlights. Similarly, sharpness
is good overall, and it is only in the extreme corners of
the frame that some loss of sharpness becomes detectable.
Photo
Information
Format:
JPEG
Aperture:
f3.3
Exposure:
Program
Shutter Speed:
1/640 sec.
Resolution:
3072 x 2304
Flash:
Off
Quality:
SHQ
ISO:
80
File Size:
2.92 MB
Focal Length:
36 mm (35mm Eq.)
Moreover, there is no detectable
barrel distortion, nor is there any chromatic aberration, even
on near the edges of the frame.
ZOOM PHOTO
Zooming in on the entrance of the building, the
shadowed entrance takes on a greater importance for the metering
and can cause an overexposure of sections that are directly
lit.
The observations made here about the wide angle shot are
just as applicable for the telephoto shot shown further below.
The level of detail the camera captures is excellent be it
in the shadows or in the highlights. Moreover, sharpness is
homogeneous and with the wide angle shot, there is no trace
of pincushion distortion nor of any chromatic aberration,
although some strong contrast are present in the image.
Photo Information
Format:
JPEG
Aperture:
f5
Exposure:
Program
Shutter Speed:
1/200 sec.
Resolution:
3072 x 2304
Flash:
Off
Quality:
SHQ
ISO:
80
File Size:
3.36 MB
Focal Length:
180 mm (35mm
Eq.)
NIGHT PHOTO
Since this camera is capable of long exposures, a photo taken at night is included here.
Aperture: f4.7; shutter
speed: 4 sec., 200 ISO.
To capture night time images,
the Stylus 780 is equipped with a Night Scene
mode that is capable of exposures as long as 4 seconds. And,
while the camera leaves control over the white balance to
the user, the ISO sensitivity setting is under the control
of the mode.
During this test, the white balance was first set to Auto,
and the resulting images were quite yellow. To take into account
the urban lighting, the white balance was then set to incandescent
(tungsten).
Surprisingly, the resulting images
turned too blue tinted. More trial and error led to this image,
captured with the white balance being set to Daylight Fluorescent,
and resulting in an image with colours that are close to reality.
Because of the relatively dark subject, the
camera elected to use a sensitivity setting of 250 ISO, producing
a reasonably bright image. The camera applies noise reduction
to all long exposures, and the final image contains very little
residual noise while retaining a very good level of sharpness.
As is the case with all cameras equipped with image stabilization,
it is imperative that the stabilization system be turned off
while the camera is mounted on a tripod as it can cause the
opposite effect, and cause a blurred image.
Test Photos
