Digital Cameras - Kodak DC-215 Test Images
(Original test posting: 11/26/99)
| We've begun including links in our reviews to a Thumber-generated index page for our test shots.
The Thumber data includes a host of information on the images, including
shutter speed, ISO setting, compression setting, etc. Rather than clutter
the page below with *all* that detail, we're posting the Thumber index so
only those interested in the information need wade through it! ;) |
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Outdoor
portrait: (231k) Absolutely excellent
color and tone, with accurate skin tones and great saturation in the
brightly colored flowers. The image is somewhat "soft" though, even
relative to other 1 megapixel cameras. (Looks fine when printed up to
about 4x6 inches, but soft beyond that.) Exposure was fairly accurate,
requiring only +0.5EV compensation for our main
shot (231k). The table below shows the results of
exposure adjustments from 0 to +1.5 EV
Exposure Variations:
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Closer
portrait: (194k) Again, absolutely
excellent color and tone, with accurate, pleasing skin tones. Also
somewhat "soft" though, with lower detail. Exposure was fairly accurate,
requiring only +0.5EV compensation for our main
shot (194k). The table below shows the results of
exposure adjustments from 0 to +1.5 EV
Exposure Variations:
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Indoor
portrait, flash: (236k) Very good color
balance, and balance between the room light and that from the onboard
flash. Interestingly, sharpness and resolution here are noticeably better
than on the outdoor shots above as well. |
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Indoor
portrait, no flash: (217k) This scene
is a very tough test of a camera's white balance capabilities, given the
strong yellow cast of the household incandescent lighting it's shot under.
Although the DC215 has no manual options for different white balance
settings, it did very well in this test, producing a well-balanced image
with just the right level of warmth to suggest the lighting it was shot
under. The light background usually requires some exposure compensation,
and we elected to use +0.5EV of adjustment for our main shot (217k). As we boosted
the compensation higher, a somewhat reddish tinge crept in, as seen here at +1.0EV (272k). The
table below shows a range of exposure settings from 0 to +1.5 EV. Exposure Compensation series:
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House
shot: (513k) This subject is a good
test of camera resolution. Contrary to the outdoor portrait tests, the
DC215 did fairly well here, easily on a par with other 1.0 megapixel
cameras we've tested. Also, unlike some higher-resolution digicams, the
DC215 takes very good shots in its lower-resolution mode, for those times
you're just looking for a picture to email. The table below shows samples
from the camera in all resolution/image quality modes. Resolution/Quality series:
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Far-Field
shot: (366k) This image is shot at
infinity to test far-field lens performance. NOTE that this image cannot
be directly compared to the other "house" shot, which is a poster, shot in
the studio. The rendering of detail in the poster will be very different
than in this shot, and color values (and even the presence or absence of
leaves on the trees!) will vary in this subject as the seasons progress.
In general though, you can evaluate detail in the bricks, shingles, and
window detail, and in the tree branches against the sky. Compression
artifacts are most likely to show in the trim along the edge of the roof,
in the bricks, or in the relatively "flat" areas in the
windows. Again, absolutely beautiful color and tone, but the DC215's lens loses sharpness for objects at infinity. Consequently, the image here is rather soft relative to other cameras we've tested. The table below shows examples of all combinations of image size and quality. Resolution/Quality series:
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Lens Zoom Range (new): Drat!
It seems we missed shooting this test with the DC215. Too bad, as it's a
bit unusual in its zoom range, relative to most other cameras. Most
digicams with zooms run from a moderate wide-angle to a moderate
telephoto. The DC215, by contrast, runs from a fairly wide wide-angle
(equivalent to a 28 mm lens on a 35mm camera) to just a bit longer than a
"normal" lens (equivalent to a 58 mm lens on a 35mm camera). This makes it
good for shooting images in close quarters, particularly indoors.
Outdoors, you may sometimes wish for a longer telephoto. (For reference,
the outdoor house pictures above were shot with the lens all the way at
the telephoto end of its range.) The DC210 predecessor to the DC215 had
essentially the same lens, and was very popular with real estate agents
interested in interior shots of houses. |
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"Musicians"
poster: (349k) Very nice, natural
color. Good skin tones in all three models, just-right color otherwise
too. Detail on this shot is well within the mainstream for 1.0 megapixel
cameras. As before, the table below shows examples of all combinations of
image size and quality. Resolution/Quality series:
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Macro
shot: (292k) In Macro mode, the DC215's
focus is fixed at 8 inches, and the zoom is fixed at its telephoto
position. You thus don't get as much framing flexibility as you would with
a camera that had autofocus capability, but the minimum capture area of
2.23 x 3 inches (57 x 76 mm) is quite adequate for shots of small
household objects, and is about typical of moderately-priced digicams. The
flash isn't actually rated for use this close, but nonetheless does a
fairly good job of throttling-down to expose close-up subjects, as shown
here (355k). (The direct
reflection from the silver dollar can hardly be counted against the
camera's flash capability...) |
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"Davebox" test
target: (246k) If there's anything amiss with
a camera's color rendition, this test will smoke it out! As noted earlier,
the DC215 has amazingly good color for an inexpensive digicam, once again
borne out by this test. There's just a slight yellowish cast to the entire
picture, but the overall color accuracy is among the best we've seen at
any price(!). Tonal range is also surprisingly good. The table below has
the standard range of resolution/quality samples.. Resolution/Quality series:
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Low-Light Tests As noted in the main review, Kodak's official ratings for the DC215 indicate that it should be usable down to a light level of about 6 foot-candles (66 lux, or a rating of 9.5 EV in our previous terminology). In our own tests, we found that the DC215 worked well down to about 4 foot-candles (44 lux, or EV 9.0 in our previous system), but required the exposure compensation to be boosted a bit to achieve that level (and in fact benefited from a modest boost even at 8 foot-candles). It even produced a usable, albeit dark, image at a light level of 2 foot-candles. The table below contain samples shot at a range of light levels from 8 foot-candles down to 1 foot-candle (10EV to 7EV). Exposure Compensation series:
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Flash Range Test (New) (This test was added in August 1999, so cameras tested before that time won't have comparison pictures available. As we go forward though, all the new models will have similar tests available.) Kodak specifies a maximum range for the DC215's on-board flash of 8.8 feet (2.7 meters) in telephoto mode. This agreed well with the results of our own tests, which showed the flash being adequately bright out to about 9 feet, but then fading fairly quickly after that point. The table below shows the results we obtained with the DC215's onboard flash, at distances ranging from 8 to 11 feet Flash Range/Distance:
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ISO 12233 ("WG-18")
resolution target: (249k) The DC215 actually
performed somewhat better on our resolution test than we'd expected,
representing a significant improvement over the earlier DC210. Visual
resolution was approximately 600 lines per picture height in both vertical
and horizontal directions, although there was some aliasing at that
frequency. Performance at wide angle and telephoto focal lengths was about
the same. As before, we noted that the DC215 produces very good image
quality in its low-resolution mode, making it well-suited for
picture-taking for use in email or on the web. The tables below contain
resolution/quality series for both wide angle and telephoto zoom
settings. Wide Angle Resolution/Quality series:
Telephoto Resolution/Quality series:
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Viewfinder accuracy/flash uniformity
target: The optical viewfinder on the DC215 was slightly better than
average in its accuracy, showing 90% of the final image area at both telephoto (82k) and wide angle (76k) lens settings.
As we have come to expect with Kodak digicams, the LCD viewfinder was 100%
accurate at both wide (74k)
and telephoto (79k)
settings. Flash uniformity was good at the telephoto end of the lens'
range, but showed moderate falloff at the edges with the lens set to wide
angle. We now routinely measure lens distortion as part of our camera testing. The DC215 did quite well in this respect, showing only modest barrel distortion of 0.5% at wide angle, and none at all in telephoto mode. Chromatic aberration was also very slight, estimated at about one pixel, or 0.1%, based on the slight color fringes around objects at the edges of our resolution test target. |
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