looking to get an a95, i have a few technical questions

[xdjoynerx]

ive done some extensive research into this camera and i want to get it, but i have some concerns that need some answers... and i am not new in any way to digital photography. ive owned a sony mavica, sony v1, canon a300, a60, s50, g2, and some other random cameras in there (noobs need not apply here, same with review hunters. you wont find the information i need)

1) barrel distortion. imo its VERY high. 2%.

most of the cameras ive owned are at 1% and i cant seem to find any others that even break the 1.5 barrier. it would be helpful if some experienced photographers that own the a95 could tell me how noticeable a full 2% of distortion is noticeable at wide angle. if it is noticeable that will be a problem for me. any one that can post full wide angle shots would be appreciated also.

2) lens sharpness

im not sure why canon put such a small lens in there, but how does the lens sharpness compare to the s50 and s60.

3) narrow lens

7.8mm (like 38mm, 35mm equiv)... will this be a problem for panoramic shots trying to fit in the entire scene, or do you also think it will not be noticeable. 7.8mm is one of the most narrow angle lenses ive seen come on a compact digital camera

4) iso sensitivity...

this is a tough one, but any of that could give me a comparison would be appreciated.

ie. take 2 pics of the same subject with 2 different cams in aperture priority at the lowest fstop and draw up a comparison of the shutter speeds you could get

example: a95 - 400@2.8 = 1/25th and canon g2 = 400@2.8 = 1/30th etc... you get the idea


i would appreciate it also if any owners could post their pics in here.

[Jon]

1) What are you basing this on? Reviews or your own testing?

2) "Not sure why Canon put such a small lens in there" - They're putting essentially the same lens (real) FL range lens in most of their P/S models. Lenses are so "real FL" short because the sensors are smaller than normal 35 mm frames..

3) Personally, I use PhotoStitch. If you want wide from Canon, you'll need to look at the Pro1 or a DSLR. The difference between the A95's 38 mm EFL and the A85's 35 mm EFL is minimal.

4) Not sure what you want to know here? The ISO range for this camera is 50-400. Any two cameras, properly adjusted, should need the same exposure when at the same ISO and same subject, barring horrendous light absorption within the optics. A comparison like you seem to be asking for would be meaningless unless you happened to know the other camera very well. It also assumes that the shutter speed used is exactly the reported number, not a precisely-controlled "proper" shutter speed (say 1/27, or 1/28) which is rounded to the reported number when written into the EXIF data.

[xdjoynerx]

1) What are you basing this on? Reviews or your own testing?

2) "Not sure why Canon put such a small lens in there" - They're putting essentially the same lens (real) FL range lens in most of their P/S models. Lenses are so "real FL" short because the sensors are smaller than normal 35 mm frames..

3) Personally, I use PhotoStitch. If you want wide from Canon, you'll need to look at the Pro1 or a DSLR. The difference between the A95's 38 mm EFL and the A85's 35 mm EFL is minimal.

4) Not sure what you want to know here? The ISO range for this camera is 50-400. Any two cameras, properly adjusted, should need the same exposure when at the same ISO and same subject, barring horrendous light absorption within the optics. A comparison like you seem to be asking for would be meaningless unless you happened to know the other camera very well. It also assumes that the shutter speed used is exactly the reported number, not a precisely-controlled "proper" shutter speed (say 1/27, or 1/28) which is rounded to the reported number when written into the EXIF data.

1) based on dpreviews tests

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/CanonA95/Samples/distortion/IMG_8832-001.jpg

Barrel distortion - 2.0% at Wide angle
Equiv. focal length: 38 mm

2) yes, they essentially all have the same fl, but trying to compact the lens into such a small package makes it suffer from barrel distortion and i would think also lens sharpness. this lens is MUCH smaller than the a80's which has the same size sensor. (which is why im asking if the performance suffers because of this. the only canons with lenses this small are the older s series and the elphs. the previous a series use a bigger, wider lens)

4) what i want to know is how the sensitive sensor is. 400 iso on one camera is not the same as 400 on another (when it comes to digital)

ie. my canon s50 is twice as sensitive to light at 400 then the v1 is at 800. meaning i can get the same shutter speeds and same exposed image at 200 iso with the s50 as i could get with the v1 at 800. using the exact same settings shooting the exact same object. i figure if it varies that much from manufacturer to manufacturer it must vary some what between sensor to sensor within the same company. having a camera with a sensor thats more sensitive than others in its class is important to me as i dont use the flash....... ever. the faster shutter speeds i can get in 400 the better. the 1/25th 1/30th thing was just an example, i wasnt trying to relate that to any thing in real life, obviously the difference would have to be bigger than that to notice. just trying to help you guys understand what im talking about.

[Jon]

2) yes, they essentially all have the same fl, but trying to compact the lens into such a small package makes it suffer from barrel distortion and i would think also lens sharpness. this lens is MUCH smaller than the a80's which has the same size sensor. (which is why im asking if the performance suffers because of this. the only canons with lenses this small are the older s series and the elphs. the previous a series use a bigger, wider lens)


The A95 has the identical FL lens of the A80, a real 7.8-23.4 mm/38-114 mm equiv. zoom. Same max f/ stop as well. That's actually longer than the lens on the S60 (5.8-20.7 real mm).

4) what i want to know is how the sensitive sensor is. 400 iso on one camera is not the same as 400 on another (when it comes to digital)

ie. my canon s50 is twice as sensitive to light at 400 then the v1 is at 800. meaning i can get the same shutter speeds and same exposed image at 200 iso with the s50 as i could get with the v1 at 800. using the exact same settings shooting the exact same object. i figure if it varies that much from manufacturer to manufacturer it must vary some what between sensor to sensor within the same company. having a camera with a sensor thats more sensitive than others in its class is important to me as i dont use the flash....... ever. the faster shutter speeds i can get in 400 the better (noise is filtered out in post processing)

Yeah, well, Sony . . . I'm sorry, but I haven't been very impressed with Sony quality. They have wonderful "gee whiz" factor, but frequently come up short in the quality department in those I've dealt with. And the differences in readings you get between a Sony and a Canon may just as easily be in manufacturer's bias toward over/under-exposure at a given ISO. I do know that my D60 and 20D have essentially the same exposure settings at the same ISO and same conditions. But if you're really concerned about sensor noise and low-light performance you should be looking at a larger-format sensor, even if that drives you up into the DSLR range.

[xdjoynerx]

any more opinions?

[DNHayashida]

any more opinions?

Get a digital SLR.
No P&S camera is going to address all of your concerns, where a DSLR will. If barrel distortion is a big deal for you, a DSLR will allow you to change the lens. Choose wisely and you can have close to zero barrel distortion. Wide angle - again a DSLR allows you to change the lens, so you can go as wide as your pocketbook allows you to. The lens that comes with a Digital Rebel goes to 18mm (29mm in 35mm film terms). High ISO performance - most DSLRs go up to 1600 ISO with much less noise than a P&S at 400 ISO.

Tradeoffs are most DSLRs are bigger and heavier, but if that stops you then your other concerns weren't really that important. DSLRs also require more post proccessing, pictures are less sharpened and less color saturated in camera. The camera manufacturers decided that most people who buy DSLRs want to do those steps themselves. Cost, but check out the prices of a Digital Rebel, they are dropping quickly.
Darryl Hayashida

[xdjoynerx]

well im really looking for an all around package. i want a 300d or 10d, but i want a camera that i can take with me every where i go.

im also looking at the s70 now. it seems like an even better over all package for me. and its not significantly more money (maybe a hundred bucks?)

i wont have the swivel, which i loved with my g2.

but with the image quality and features of a g6 i think ill be alright :wink:

s70 left, g6 right (the exposure is slightly different, and the s70 has less aggressive sharpening, so ignore that)

the image quality, resolution, and detailed captured are identical. :)

50 iso

http://img127.exs.cx/img127/7038/s70g650.jpg

pretty amazing they can achieve this kinda image quality and pack so many features in such a small package.

[xdjoynerx]

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