Saturday, 19 November 2011

Sony NEX-7 review: TechRadar labs data

Sony NEX-7 review: TechRadar labs data: Sony NEX-7 review: TechRadar labs data

Image quality and resolution

Our test of the Sony NEX-7 is on the way, but in the mean time we would like to share the resolution chart images and the noise and dynamic range results.

Sony's latest compact system camera was announced in August 2011. Priced at a hefty £900 body only or £1,200 for the 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 lens kit, the NEX-7 features a 24.3 megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor and 2.4m dot OLED electronic viewfinder.

Initial results from the labs data have been compared against the Panasonic Lumix GH2, Olympus E-P3 and Nikon V1, all top of the range compact system cameras from their respective manufacturers.

The results show that all four cameras produce good results, but the Sony NEX-7's raw (after conversion to TIFF) results for both noise and dynamic range show that it's a cut above the competition.

Resolution

As part of our image quality testing for the Sony NEX-7, we've shot our resolution chart with the Sony 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 kit lens mounted.

If you view our crops of the resolution chart's central section at 100% (or Actual Pixels) you will see that, for example, at ISO 200 the Sony NEX-7 is capable of resolving up to around 26 (line widths per picture height x100) in its highest quality JPEG files.

Examining images of the chart taken at each sensitivity setting reveals the following resolution scores in line widths per picture height x100:

Sony nex-7 resolution iso 100

Sony nex-7 resolution iso 100

ISO 100, score: 26 (see full image)

Sony nex-7 resolution iso 200

ISO 200, score: 26 (see full image)

Sony nex-7 resolution iso 400

ISO 400, score: 26 (see full image)

Sony nex-7 resolution iso 800

ISO 800, score: 26 (see full image)

Sony nex-7 resolution iso 1600

ISO 1600, score: 26 (see full image)

Sony nex-7 resolution iso 3200

ISO 3200, score: 24 (see full image)

Sony nex-7 resolution iso 6400

ISO 6400, score: 22 (see full image)

Sony nex-7 resolution iso 12800

ISO 12800, score: 20 (see full image)

Sony nex-7 resolution iso 16000

ISO 16000, score: 20 (see full image)

Raw images

Sony nex-7 resolution iso 100

ISO 100, score: 26 (see full image)

Sony nex-7 resolution iso 200

ISO 200, score: 26 (see full image)

Sony nex-7 resolution iso 400

ISO 400, score: 26 (see full image)

Sony nex-7 resolution iso 800

ISO 800, score: 26 (see full image)

Sony nex-7 resolution iso 1600

ISO 1600, score: 26 (see full image)

Sony nex-7 resolution iso 3200

ISO 3200, score: 24 (see full image)

Sony nex-7 resolution iso 6400

ISO 6400, score: 24 (see full image)

Sony nex-7 resolution iso 12800

ISO 12800, score: 22 (see full image)

Sony nex-7 resolution iso 16000

ISO 16000, score: 20 (see full image)

Noise and dynamic range

We shoot a specially designed chart in carefully controlled conditions and the resulting images are analysed using DXO Analyzer software to produce the graphs below.

JEPG Signal to noise ratio

A high signal to noise ratio (SNR) indicates a cleaner and better quality image.

Sony nex-7 jpeg snr

JPEG images from the Sony NEX-7 have better a signal to noise ratio than the Nikon V1 and compare well with the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH2 and Olympus E-P3. This means the NEX-7 produces a cleaner signal with less image noise than the other cameras.

Raw signal to noise ratio

Sony nex-7 raw snr

Raw images (after conversion to TIFF) from the Sony NEX-7 have a better signal to noise ratio across the sensitivity range than the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH2, Nikon V1 and Olympus E-P3.

For a full explanation of what our resolution charts mean, and how to read them please click here to read the full article.

Dynamic range

Sony nex-7 jpeg dr

This chart shows that the Sony NEX-7's JPEGs capture a wide tonal range across the sensitivity range, showing a far greater tonal seperation than the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH2, Nikon V1 and Olympus E-P3.

Raw dynamic range

Sony nex-7 raw dr

This chart indicates that the Sony NEX-7's raw images (after conversion to TIFF) capture a wide tonal range across the sensitivity range, beating the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH2, Nikon V1 and Olympus E-P3 by a wide margin.

For more more details on how to interpret our test data, check out our full explanation of our noise and dynamic range tests.


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