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<strong>Imatest</strong> <strong>Documentation</strong><br />

Fuji S7000<br />

UL<br />

LR<br />

Fuji S9000<br />

Konica-Minolta<br />

DiMAGE A2<br />

6/12* 22 2014 1853 1912 1625 — 5.21<br />

3040<br />

-17<br />

-22<br />

1137<br />

1202<br />

1567<br />

1591<br />

1241<br />

1230<br />

1388<br />

1446<br />

2.67<br />

2.04<br />

4.52<br />

4.62<br />

DPR. 13mm f/5.6 ISO 200 (a high ISO speed<br />

for a compact; somewhat noisy).<br />

Oversharpened. *SuperCCD diagonal pixel<br />

array; 6 megapixels orig; 12 used for<br />

measurement. Uses interpolation to increase<br />

pixel count. UL = upper left; LR = lower right<br />

(the usual) ROIs. Softness on the left was<br />

noted by dpreview.com. Edge falloff is<br />

considerable.<br />

9.1 -3 2233 2534 2233 2242 — DPR. "Prosumer" 21 mm f/5.0 ISO 80.<br />

Impressive performer.<br />

2616 -13 1554 1979 1669 1814 0.41 7.49<br />

8 8 1829 1696 1611 1537 — 4.71<br />

2448 -3 1500 1580 1403 1432 1.29 4.37<br />

DPR. 13.3mm f/5.0 ISO 64.<br />

Sony DSC-F828 8 9 1949 1751 1694 1617 — 4.69 DPR. 22.3mm f/5.0 ISO 64. 8 megapixel. Noisy<br />

at ISO speeds above 64. Superb lens.<br />

2448 5 1884 1763 1669 1627 0.11 4.65<br />

Sony<br />

DSC-P150<br />

7 9 1696 1689 1622 1537 — 4.37 DPR. 15.1mm f/8 ISO 100. Stopped down well<br />

beyond optimum aperture.<br />

2304 -8 1331 1504 1340 1427 1.9 3.95<br />

Interpretation of MTF50<br />

What MTF50 do you need? It depends on print size. If you plan to print gigantic posters (20x30 inches or over), the more the<br />

merrier. All the cameras in the above tables can make excellent 8.5x11 inch (letter-size; A4) prints. At that size the best of them<br />

wouldn't look much better than the 4 megapixel Canon G3 (or any other high quality 4 megapixel camera).<br />

With fine lenses, careful technique, and a little extra sharpening, my 6.3 megapixel Canon EOS-10D (corrected MTF50 = 1335<br />

LW/PH) makes very good 12x18 inch prints. Prints are quite sharp from normal viewing distances, but pixels are visible under a<br />

magnifier or loupe; the prints are not as sharp as the Epson 2200 printer is capable of producing. Prints made with the EOS-20D<br />

(corrected MTF50 = 1581 LW/PH) are have a slight edge: I'd call them excellent.<br />

Softness or pixellation would be visible on 16x24 inch prints made from the EOS-10D. The EOS-20D would perform slightly better,<br />

and several of the cameras listed in the table— especially the full frame (24x36mm sensor) DSLRs— perform even better.<br />

The table below is an approximate guide to quality requirements. The equation for the left column is<br />

MTF50 in<br />

Line Widths/inch<br />

on the print<br />

150<br />

110<br />

80<br />

MTF50(Line Widths / inch on the print) =<br />

MTF50(LW/PH)<br />

Print height in inches<br />

Quality level— after post-processing, which may include some additional sharpening<br />

Excellent— Extremely sharp at any viewing distance. About as sharp as most inkjet printers<br />

can print.<br />

Very good— Large prints (A3 or 13x19 inch) look excellent, though they won't look perfect<br />

under a magnifier. Small prints still look very good.<br />

Good— Large prints look OK when viewed from normal distances, but somewhat soft when<br />

examined closely. Small prints look soft— adequate, perhaps, for the "average" consumer, but<br />

definitely not "crisp.".<br />

Example of using the table: My Canon EOS-10D has MTF50 = 1335 LW/PH (corrected; with standardized sharpening). When<br />

I make a 12.3 inch high print on 13x19 inch paper, MTF50 is 1335/12.3 = 108 LW/in: "very good" quality; fine for a print that size.<br />

Prints look excellent at normal viewing distances for a print this size.<br />

This approach is more accurate than tables based on pixel count (PPI) alone. Pixel count is scaled differently; the numbers are<br />

around double the MTF50 numbers. The EOS-10D has 2048/12.3 = 167 pixels per inch (PPI) at this magnification. This table<br />

should not be taken as gospel: itwas first published in October 2004, andit may be adjusted in the future.<br />

Some observations<br />

There has been a good deal of skepticism about 7+ megapixel compact digital cameras. They live up to expectations for sharpness,<br />

34 of 451

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