Steve'sDigicams

cohagen · Jun 17, 2004, 10:46 AM

Am I the only one that thinks the DSC-W1 sample pics are not very good at all?

I've been trying to decide between W1 and S500 and to me the sample pics of the S500 are so much better. What are your opinions? I feel like the Sony W1 images are too bright, and the whites come out way to bright. Any light surface with sun hitting it just comes out too bright of a white to me. All the canon shots look great to me.

What's the deal? I feel like it is obvious the canon images look soooo much better. Am I crazy?

Here are some links to sample pics on Steves and DC Resource:

http://www.steves-digicams.com/2004_...0_samples.html

http://www.steves-digicams.com/2004_...1_samples.html

http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/ca.../gallery.shtml

http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/so.../gallery.shtml

ohenry · Jun 17, 2004, 10:54 AM

I wouldn't put too much emphasis on web images. Are you viewing them with a calibrated monitor? Also remember that images placed on the web are never as good as the full size image that hasn't been compressed for web viewing. Another aspect to consider is that the images were taken by different photographers, under different conditions, etc. I don't know which camera produces better images, so I won't speculate further. Just my 2 cents.

cohagen · Jun 18, 2004, 1:03 PM

nobody has opinions of the sample pics from these cameras? :roll:

Deane Johnson · Jun 18, 2004, 1:11 PM

cohagen wrote:

Quote:

nobody has opinions of the sample pics from these cameras? :roll:

The W-1 shots look just fine on my monitor. I can't figure out what you're talking about.

What monitor calibration procedures have you done?

Deane

cohagen · Jun 19, 2004, 12:46 AM

Deane Johnson wrote:

Quote:

cohagen wrote:

Quote:

nobody has opinions of the sample pics from these cameras? :roll:

The W-1 shots look just fine on my monitor. I can't figure out what you're talking about.

What monitor calibration procedures have you done?

Deane

well i mean relative to the s500...

you didn't find all the w1's shots to be a bit too white? especially objects that are light colored with sunlight on them. like the classic red brick building in steve's sample pics. it comes out pale light red on the w1 and on the s500 it comes out a rich dark red. what do you think?

i just feel like the s500's image quality is much better than the w1. i'm trying to figure out what camera to get. i like the big lcd on the w1 and the excellent video capabilities and manual features, but it just does not seem to come close to the s500 in image quality. maybe i am wrong? please help

Deane Johnson · Jun 19, 2004, 9:09 AM

I can see where you're coming from as I look at the test photo. My experience is that these photos are hard to use to make solid judgements about a camera. For instance, if you look at the same photo taken by the Sony T-1, it is washed out much more than the W-1. However, in practice, the T-1 takes beautiful pictures, except for it's tendency to wash out highlights.

What I look for in the specific picture example you linked to is whether or not it blocks up the highlights on the white window frames and what the sharpness seems to be when looking at the street signs. These two things on the W-1 look good.

I have never used a W-1, so I'm only going by what I see in the sample pictures. I would recommend looking at some other results from the W-1. I checked pBase, which can sort photos by camera used. Here are some W-1 photos.

http://www.pbase.com/cameras/sony/dsc_w1

I'm not suggesting either camera you mentioned is good or bad, as I have used neither. I'm just suggesting that comparing the photos in Steve's samples have to be done carefully as they are straight out of the camera and have no post processing, or special camera settings applied.

Deane

normc · Jun 20, 2004, 7:04 AM

You might be too quick to judge? Sony cameras have often been regarded as having too much color and high contrast. After the 505v Sony reconized this and put staturation and contrast controls within the camera software. I have a new W-1 and I fully expect that I will be altering these default setting more to my liking as I begin to use the camera. It takes time to learn a camera's functions. Along with staturation and contrast the WB functions are a major concern. I have "forgot" that my camera was set for a cloudy day and gone out later in sunshine and then still later discovered my error on my computer screen.

A nice feature of the W-1 is that the menu is very usable in bright light. This means that you can access the WB, staturation, and contrast while out in the field. I have not yet tested these settings on my camera to see if the results are visable in the nice large LCD? If so it will be a big plus.

Good luck with your selection.

Cybershot455 · Jun 21, 2004, 2:21 AM

Cohagen,

If you see the W1 images as awful then don't buy the camera, you'll always have that doubt in the back of your mind that you could have bought something better.

I too used loads of Steve's images to judge cameras for a recent upgrade. As others have said different monitor settings/quality can have a huge difference on the way we see the images....as does personal preference.

Bear in mind downloading 5MP images and then viewing full screen can enable you to see faults that would never be noticed unless you were printing images to 1m wide. Many PC programs do not display them correctly when you "fit to screen" either. I'f you've printed them out you printer/imk could be a factor.

I have to say I do not see the faults you mention to any degree.

However I would buy the Canon if you really like its images.

David

cohagen · Jun 23, 2004, 11:44 AM

Thanks for the replies everyone

Yes I know IE resizes pictures poorly so I do save them to disk and then use the picture and fax viewer in XP.

Deane Johnson, thanks for the link to pbase.com, that is a great site. I was able to see a whole lot of s500 pictures and a few galleries of w1 pics.

After now spending more time looking at sample pics from both cameras, I still have the same conclusion. I feel like the s500 takes a lot nicer pictures IMHO.

But... there are not too many sample pics on the net of the W1, and... I still have not seem pictures that are like for like, same day, same time, back to back same photos.

Theoretically, shouldn't it be pretty easy to look at a decent sample of pics from both cameras, even if they are all completely different shots from different people, and make ajudgement on which is better. For instance, Steve on this site has used both, can't he make a judgement on which is better in his opinion? Isn't it obvious ordo we all think thecameras images are that similar? I don't think so. I think they are pretty different.

Let me know what you guys think.

Brandon

slipe · Jun 23, 2004, 12:56 PM

Tools>Internet Options>Advanced>Multimedia and uncheck "Enable automatic image resizing". There is no need to download the image to view it full size. If you download them you can blow up portions, but that is busy compared to just viewing them full screen on IE.

You could probably tweak up the saturation and get images you like better. Most cameras anymore give you enough control to get output close to what you like. The Canon shots are definitely more saturated, but I have no idea which is closest to the actual scene.

I always shoot with minimum contrast and sharpening, so I'm accustomed to flat images from the camera. But they post process better that way. If you don't want to mess with the default settings and like the Canon pictures better get the Canon. But if I were interested in the movies and wanted the better LCD I would buy the W1 from a place with a good return policy. If you can't get images from the camera you like exchange it for the S500.

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Jun 17, 2004, 10:46 AM	#1
cohagen Junior Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Posts: 4	Am I the only one that thinks the DSC-W1 sample pics are not very good at all? I've been trying to decide between W1 and S500 and to me the sample pics of the S500 are so much better. What are your opinions? I feel like the Sony W1 images are too bright, and the whites come out way to bright. Any light surface with sun hitting it just comes out too bright of a white to me. All the canon shots look great to me. What's the deal? I feel like it is obvious the canon images look soooo much better. Am I crazy? Here are some links to sample pics on Steves and DC Resource: http://www.steves-digicams.com/2004_...0_samples.html http://www.steves-digicams.com/2004_...1_samples.html http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/ca.../gallery.shtml http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/so.../gallery.shtml

Jun 17, 2004, 10:54 AM	#2
ohenry Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2003 Posts: 1,676	I wouldn't put too much emphasis on web images. Are you viewing them with a calibrated monitor? Also remember that images placed on the web are never as good as the full size image that hasn't been compressed for web viewing. Another aspect to consider is that the images were taken by different photographers, under different conditions, etc. I don't know which camera produces better images, so I won't speculate further. Just my 2 cents.

Jun 18, 2004, 1:03 PM	#3
cohagen Junior Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Posts: 4	nobody has opinions of the sample pics from these cameras? :roll:

Jun 19, 2004, 9:09 AM	#6
Deane Johnson Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Posts: 98	I can see where you're coming from as I look at the test photo. My experience is that these photos are hard to use to make solid judgements about a camera. For instance, if you look at the same photo taken by the Sony T-1, it is washed out much more than the W-1. However, in practice, the T-1 takes beautiful pictures, except for it's tendency to wash out highlights. What I look for in the specific picture example you linked to is whether or not it blocks up the highlights on the white window frames and what the sharpness seems to be when looking at the street signs. These two things on the W-1 look good. I have never used a W-1, so I'm only going by what I see in the sample pictures. I would recommend looking at some other results from the W-1. I checked pBase, which can sort photos by camera used. Here are some W-1 photos. http://www.pbase.com/cameras/sony/dsc_w1 I'm not suggesting either camera you mentioned is good or bad, as I have used neither. I'm just suggesting that comparing the photos in Steve's samples have to be done carefully as they are straight out of the camera and have no post processing, or special camera settings applied. Deane

Jun 20, 2004, 7:04 AM	#7
normc Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2002 Posts: 394	You might be too quick to judge? Sony cameras have often been regarded as having too much color and high contrast. After the 505v Sony reconized this and put staturation and contrast controls within the camera software. I have a new W-1 and I fully expect that I will be altering these default setting more to my liking as I begin to use the camera. It takes time to learn a camera's functions. Along with staturation and contrast the WB functions are a major concern. I have "forgot" that my camera was set for a cloudy day and gone out later in sunshine and then still later discovered my error on my computer screen. A nice feature of the W-1 is that the menu is very usable in bright light. This means that you can access the WB, staturation, and contrast while out in the field. I have not yet tested these settings on my camera to see if the results are visable in the nice large LCD? If so it will be a big plus. Good luck with your selection.

Jun 21, 2004, 2:21 AM	#8
Cybershot455 Senior Member Join Date: May 2003 Posts: 180	Cohagen, If you see the W1 images as awful then don't buy the camera, you'll always have that doubt in the back of your mind that you could have bought something better. I too used loads of Steve's images to judge cameras for a recent upgrade. As others have said different monitor settings/quality can have a huge difference on the way we see the images....as does personal preference. Bear in mind downloading 5MP images and then viewing full screen can enable you to see faults that would never be noticed unless you were printing images to 1m wide. Many PC programs do not display them correctly when you "fit to screen" either. I'f you've printed them out you printer/imk could be a factor. I have to say I do not see the faults you mention to any degree. However I would buy the Canon if you really like its images. David

Jun 23, 2004, 11:44 AM	#9
cohagen Junior Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Posts: 4	Thanks for the replies everyone Yes I know IE resizes pictures poorly so I do save them to disk and then use the picture and fax viewer in XP. Deane Johnson, thanks for the link to pbase.com, that is a great site. I was able to see a whole lot of s500 pictures and a few galleries of w1 pics. After now spending more time looking at sample pics from both cameras, I still have the same conclusion. I feel like the s500 takes a lot nicer pictures IMHO. But... there are not too many sample pics on the net of the W1, and... I still have not seem pictures that are like for like, same day, same time, back to back same photos. Theoretically, shouldn't it be pretty easy to look at a decent sample of pics from both cameras, even if they are all completely different shots from different people, and make ajudgement on which is better. For instance, Steve on this site has used both, can't he make a judgement on which is better in his opinion? Isn't it obvious ordo we all think thecameras images are that similar? I don't think so. I think they are pretty different. Let me know what you guys think. Brandon

Jun 23, 2004, 12:56 PM	#10
slipe Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Indian Rocks Beach, FL Posts: 4,036	Tools>Internet Options>Advanced>Multimedia and uncheck "Enable automatic image resizing". There is no need to download the image to view it full size. If you download them you can blow up portions, but that is busy compared to just viewing them full screen on IE. You could probably tweak up the saturation and get images you like better. Most cameras anymore give you enough control to get output close to what you like. The Canon shots are definitely more saturated, but I have no idea which is closest to the actual scene. I always shoot with minimum contrast and sharpening, so I'm accustomed to flat images from the camera. But they post process better that way. If you don't want to mess with the default settings and like the Canon pictures better get the Canon. But if I were interested in the movies and wanted the better LCD I would buy the W1 from a place with a good return policy. If you can't get images from the camera you like exchange it for the S500.