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Waterproof cameras test 2012 - part I

21 June 2012
Robert Olech

6. Quality of photos and movies on dry land

Dry land photos quality

In order to assess pictures taken on dry land we shoot a photo of two sceneries at different speeds. Comparing the appropriate crops at 1:1 scale we are able to assess more or less accurately how well particular cameras fare here. Of course you must take into account the fact that such an assessment is always subjective up to a point. That’s why looking at the crops below you are welcome to verify our marks and correct them according to your personal needs and preferences.

Let’s start with the „P” mode scene, taken outside at ISO 100, 200, 400 and 800 speed and the focal length set at about 35-40 mm. For comparison we chose fragments taken from the centre and from the edge of the frame.

Waterproof cameras test 2012 - part I - Quality of photos and movies on dry land



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ISO 100
D20
Waterproof cameras test 2012 - part I - Quality of photos and movies on dry land Waterproof cameras test 2012 - part I - Quality of photos and movies on dry land
XP50
Waterproof cameras test 2012 - part I - Quality of photos and movies on dry land Waterproof cameras test 2012 - part I - Quality of photos and movies on dry land
TG-820
Waterproof cameras test 2012 - part I - Quality of photos and movies on dry land Waterproof cameras test 2012 - part I - Quality of photos and movies on dry land
FT4
Waterproof cameras test 2012 - part I - Quality of photos and movies on dry land Waterproof cameras test 2012 - part I - Quality of photos and movies on dry land
ISO 200
D20
Waterproof cameras test 2012 - part I - Quality of photos and movies on dry land Waterproof cameras test 2012 - part I - Quality of photos and movies on dry land
XP50
Waterproof cameras test 2012 - part I - Quality of photos and movies on dry land Waterproof cameras test 2012 - part I - Quality of photos and movies on dry land
TG-820
Waterproof cameras test 2012 - part I - Quality of photos and movies on dry land Waterproof cameras test 2012 - part I - Quality of photos and movies on dry land
FT4
Waterproof cameras test 2012 - part I - Quality of photos and movies on dry land Waterproof cameras test 2012 - part I - Quality of photos and movies on dry land
ISO 400
D20
Waterproof cameras test 2012 - part I - Quality of photos and movies on dry land Waterproof cameras test 2012 - part I - Quality of photos and movies on dry land
XP50
Waterproof cameras test 2012 - part I - Quality of photos and movies on dry land Waterproof cameras test 2012 - part I - Quality of photos and movies on dry land
TG-820
Waterproof cameras test 2012 - part I - Quality of photos and movies on dry land Waterproof cameras test 2012 - part I - Quality of photos and movies on dry land
FT4
Waterproof cameras test 2012 - part I - Quality of photos and movies on dry land Waterproof cameras test 2012 - part I - Quality of photos and movies on dry land
ISO 800
D20
Waterproof cameras test 2012 - part I - Quality of photos and movies on dry land Waterproof cameras test 2012 - part I - Quality of photos and movies on dry land
XP50
Waterproof cameras test 2012 - part I - Quality of photos and movies on dry land Waterproof cameras test 2012 - part I - Quality of photos and movies on dry land
TG-820
Waterproof cameras test 2012 - part I - Quality of photos and movies on dry land Waterproof cameras test 2012 - part I - Quality of photos and movies on dry land
FT4
Waterproof cameras test 2012 - part I - Quality of photos and movies on dry land Waterproof cameras test 2012 - part I - Quality of photos and movies on dry land


In the first stage the Fujifilm XP50 is the weakest - already from ISO 100 the camera gives photos which look as if you painted them in watercolours because of aggressive anti-noise algorithms. Other models deal definitely better here among whose the Olympus TG-820 comes to the front.

The following crops of the same scenery are mainly a test of the cameras’ optics. The first fragment allows us to assess the chromatic aberration level and the way a camera’s software deals with the automatic correction of that aberration. The second crop shows an almost extreme frame corner, where the resolution decrease is the most pronounced and the vignetting- the highest due to imperfections of optical path.

Waterproof cameras test 2012 - part I - Quality of photos and movies on dry land

ISO 100
D20
Waterproof cameras test 2012 - part I - Quality of photos and movies on dry land Waterproof cameras test 2012 - part I - Quality of photos and movies on dry land
XP50
Waterproof cameras test 2012 - part I - Quality of photos and movies on dry land Waterproof cameras test 2012 - part I - Quality of photos and movies on dry land
TG-820
Waterproof cameras test 2012 - part I - Quality of photos and movies on dry land Waterproof cameras test 2012 - part I - Quality of photos and movies on dry land
FT4
Waterproof cameras test 2012 - part I - Quality of photos and movies on dry land Waterproof cameras test 2012 - part I - Quality of photos and movies on dry land
ISO 200
D20
Waterproof cameras test 2012 - part I - Quality of photos and movies on dry land Waterproof cameras test 2012 - part I - Quality of photos and movies on dry land
XP50
Waterproof cameras test 2012 - part I - Quality of photos and movies on dry land Waterproof cameras test 2012 - part I - Quality of photos and movies on dry land
TG-820
Waterproof cameras test 2012 - part I - Quality of photos and movies on dry land Waterproof cameras test 2012 - part I - Quality of photos and movies on dry land
FT4
Waterproof cameras test 2012 - part I - Quality of photos and movies on dry land Waterproof cameras test 2012 - part I - Quality of photos and movies on dry land
ISO 400
D20
Waterproof cameras test 2012 - part I - Quality of photos and movies on dry land Waterproof cameras test 2012 - part I - Quality of photos and movies on dry land
XP50
Waterproof cameras test 2012 - part I - Quality of photos and movies on dry land Waterproof cameras test 2012 - part I - Quality of photos and movies on dry land
TG-820
Waterproof cameras test 2012 - part I - Quality of photos and movies on dry land Waterproof cameras test 2012 - part I - Quality of photos and movies on dry land
FT4
Waterproof cameras test 2012 - part I - Quality of photos and movies on dry land Waterproof cameras test 2012 - part I - Quality of photos and movies on dry land
ISO 800
D20
Waterproof cameras test 2012 - part I - Quality of photos and movies on dry land Waterproof cameras test 2012 - part I - Quality of photos and movies on dry land
XP50
Waterproof cameras test 2012 - part I - Quality of photos and movies on dry land Waterproof cameras test 2012 - part I - Quality of photos and movies on dry land
TG-820
Waterproof cameras test 2012 - part I - Quality of photos and movies on dry land Waterproof cameras test 2012 - part I - Quality of photos and movies on dry land
FT4
Waterproof cameras test 2012 - part I - Quality of photos and movies on dry land Waterproof cameras test 2012 - part I - Quality of photos and movies on dry land


It is clear that the Canon and the Olympus deal with the chromatic aberration correction the worst; however the latter can still boast of the best image quality on the edge of the frame because in fact the crops from the shots taken by the TG-820 are most detailed across the ISO range. The Panasonic equals the Olympus only at ISO 100 and the Canon and the Fujifilm fare definitely the weakest because in all frame edge crops you can notice a strong deterioration of the image.

The third test trial was conducted on scenery photos’ crops taken at ISO 400, ISO 800, ISO 1600 with the focal length set at the equivalent of about 90-100 mm. It will allow to assess the degree of image degradation at high speeds and the optical properties at the other extreme of focal lengths ranges.

Waterproof cameras test 2012 - part I - Quality of photos and movies on dry land

ISO 400
D20
Waterproof cameras test 2012 - part I - Quality of photos and movies on dry land Waterproof cameras test 2012 - part I - Quality of photos and movies on dry land
XP50
Waterproof cameras test 2012 - part I - Quality of photos and movies on dry land Waterproof cameras test 2012 - part I - Quality of photos and movies on dry land
TG-820
Waterproof cameras test 2012 - part I - Quality of photos and movies on dry land Waterproof cameras test 2012 - part I - Quality of photos and movies on dry land
FT4
Waterproof cameras test 2012 - part I - Quality of photos and movies on dry land Waterproof cameras test 2012 - part I - Quality of photos and movies on dry land
ISO 800
D20
Waterproof cameras test 2012 - part I - Quality of photos and movies on dry land Waterproof cameras test 2012 - part I - Quality of photos and movies on dry land
XP50
Waterproof cameras test 2012 - part I - Quality of photos and movies on dry land Waterproof cameras test 2012 - part I - Quality of photos and movies on dry land
TG-820
Waterproof cameras test 2012 - part I - Quality of photos and movies on dry land Waterproof cameras test 2012 - part I - Quality of photos and movies on dry land
FT4
Waterproof cameras test 2012 - part I - Quality of photos and movies on dry land Waterproof cameras test 2012 - part I - Quality of photos and movies on dry land
ISO 1600
D20
Waterproof cameras test 2012 - part I - Quality of photos and movies on dry land Waterproof cameras test 2012 - part I - Quality of photos and movies on dry land
XP50
Waterproof cameras test 2012 - part I - Quality of photos and movies on dry land Waterproof cameras test 2012 - part I - Quality of photos and movies on dry land
TG-820
Waterproof cameras test 2012 - part I - Quality of photos and movies on dry land Waterproof cameras test 2012 - part I - Quality of photos and movies on dry land
FT4
Waterproof cameras test 2012 - part I - Quality of photos and movies on dry land Waterproof cameras test 2012 - part I - Quality of photos and movies on dry land
ISO 3200
D20
Waterproof cameras test 2012 - part I - Quality of photos and movies on dry land Waterproof cameras test 2012 - part I - Quality of photos and movies on dry land
XP50
Waterproof cameras test 2012 - part I - Quality of photos and movies on dry land Waterproof cameras test 2012 - part I - Quality of photos and movies on dry land
TG-820
Waterproof cameras test 2012 - part I - Quality of photos and movies on dry land Waterproof cameras test 2012 - part I - Quality of photos and movies on dry land
ISO 6400
TG-820
Waterproof cameras test 2012 - part I - Quality of photos and movies on dry land Waterproof cameras test 2012 - part I - Quality of photos and movies on dry land


The longer focal length is definitely favourable for the Panasonic which fares the best here. Both in the centre and on the edge of the frame it gives you a decent image quality up to the value of ISO 1600. The Canon D20 also deserves our praise which, although its quality decreases on the edge, it performs decently well on the edge of the frame at higher speeds. In the case of the Olympus and the Fujifilm you can notice effects of strong anti-noise filter so the number of details on the presented crops leaves a lot to be desired.

Dry land movies quality

All of the tested cameras offer a possibility of recording Full HD 1920×1080 pix movies. Small wonder their quality when it comes to the detail rendering is pretty much similar. Despite that fact on Olympus and Fujifilm movies you can notice too little precision when it comes to the autofocus and the image is often defocused as a result. Such an effect can become even more pronounced during the change of the focal length. Apart from that the colouring and exposition of video clips in these two cameras aren’t on the highest level and we definitely like the movies registered by the Canon and the Panasonic more, with indicating the former as the better one because its colouring seems more pleasant to the eye.

Below we present several test movies which allow you to compare the possibilities of the tested cameras.

Canon PowerShot D20
Waterproof cameras test 2012 - part I - Quality of photos and movies on dry land
Waterproof cameras test 2012 - part I - Quality of photos and movies on dry land

Fujifilm FinePix XP50
Waterproof cameras test 2012 - part I - Quality of photos and movies on dry land
Waterproof cameras test 2012 - part I - Quality of photos and movies on dry land

Olympus Tough TG-820
Waterproof cameras test 2012 - part I - Quality of photos and movies on dry land
Waterproof cameras test 2012 - part I - Quality of photos and movies on dry land

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FT4
Waterproof cameras test 2012 - part I - Quality of photos and movies on dry land
Waterproof cameras test 2012 - part I - Quality of photos and movies on dry land