Are 1/2.3-inch compact camera sensors always bad compared with a DSLR?
Asked 9/10/2012
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I use a DSLR and am considering an inexpensive compact camera in the $100–250 range. Many of these have 1/2.3-inch sensors.
Can a camera with a sensor that small deliver image quality that is at all comparable to a DSLR with a mid-level or entry-level lens? In particular, at ISO 100 or 200, are results still reasonably good, or will the difference from a DSLR be very obvious?
Also, does a smaller sensor make lens design easier or cheaper? Put another way, does a larger sensor require a more expensive lens to achieve similar image quality?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
13y ago
2 Answers
7
It depends on your perception. In absolute terms, the quality is drastically better on a DSLR. Modern small sensors show noise and muddied details even at their base ISO when you look at pixels.
Now take a DSLR image and one from a small-sensor camera and print a 4x6 out of it and you will see fewer differences. You might even consider them close.
Remember than image noise is not the only difference. Dynamic-range is probably the most noticeable when looking at small prints and most small sensors have much less dynamic-range than a DSLR.
The only way for you to judge is to look yourself at sample images from a small sensor camera you may like. Here is a gallery from the Nikon P310 which is one of the nicer small-sensor cameras. If these do not seem good enough, you will have to consider something with a larger sensor, which nowadays does not have to be a DSLR.
Small sensors are difficult on lenses. You need less glass but the density of pixels means that a camera with a small sensor has small pixels and those require the lens to resolve better. Most small cameras are diffraction limited very quickly which is why the rarely close down beyond F/8 and some simulate aperture with an ND filter to avoid stopping down the lens.
Originally by user1620. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user1620
13y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Not always bad, but definitely a compromise.
Compared with a DSLR, a 1/2.3-inch compact sensor usually has lower image quality overall: less dynamic range, more visible noise and smeared detail when viewed closely, and much less ability to create shallow depth of field. Even at ISO 100–200, the difference can be obvious at pixel level, though it may matter less in small prints like 4x6.
So whether you’ll “miss” your DSLR depends on how you view and use the images. For casual shooting, web use, and small prints, a good compact may be acceptable. If you expect DSLR-like files, especially for low light, tonal range, or background blur, you’ll notice the gap.
Small sensors do help camera and lens design in some ways: they allow much smaller, lighter, cheaper cameras and make extreme zoom ranges practical. But they are not automatically an image-quality advantage, and small pixels can place high demands on lens quality and are diffraction-limited at wider apertures.
Best advice: judge with real sample images from the specific compact you’re considering, because quality varies between models.
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AI13y ago
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