"Sunlit" Portrait:
(This is my new "Outdoor" Portrait test - read more about it here.)

High resolution and strong detail, with great color. Contrast is a little high, but pretty good detail in the highlights and shadows.

The extreme tonal range of this image makes it a tough shot for many digicams, which is precisely why I set it up this way, and why I shoot it with no fill flash or reflector to open the shadows. The object is to hold both highlight and shadow detail without producing a "flat" picture with muddy colors, and the PowerShot SD300 did a surprisingly good job for a camera with fairly simple controls.

The shot at right was taken with a +0.7 EV exposure compensation adjustment, which is just slightly dark overall. However, the highlights became much too bright with any further increase in exposure. Midtones are just a little dark here, and contrast a bit high, but the overall result is still very good, particularly for a camera with no contrast adjustment option. All three of the SD300's white balance settings produced good results here, though I chose the Auto setting as the most accurate overall. The Daylight and Manual settings had slightly warmer casts.

Marti's skin tones look very good here, as do the blue flowers in the bouquet. (Many digicams have trouble with this blue, but the SD300 gets them almost exactly right.) Though just slightly dark, color looks good throughout the rest of the frame as well. Resolution is very high, and a lot of fine detail is visible throughout the frame. Shadow detail is moderate, and image noise is low. All in all, an excellent job.

To view the entire exposure series from zero to +1.0 EV, see files SD3OUTAP0.HTM through SD3OUTAP3.HTM on the thumbnail index page.

Excellent resolution and detail, but again, high contrast.

Though contrast is high from the high-key lighting, midtone detail is good, and the overall exposure appears brighter than in the wider shot above. The shot at right was taken with a +0.3 EV exposure compensation adjustment, which keeps midtones about where they should be, but results in bright highlights and dark shadows. Nonetheless, detail is good at both ends of the tonal scale. The SD300's 3x zoom lens helps prevent distortion in Marti's features, though some slight distortion is still noticeable. Resolution and detail are much stronger in this close-up shot, with strong definition in Marti's face and hair.

To view the entire exposure series from zero to +0.7 EV, see files SD3OUTFACAP0.HTM through SD3OUTFACAP2.HTM on the thumbnail index page.

Normal Flash +1.3 EV

Slow-Sync Flash +1.0 EV

Underexposure with the flash in the normal setting, though good exposure with the Slow-Sync mode. Strong warm color cast, though.

The SD300's built-in flash illuminated the subject very well with a +1.3 EV exposure compensation adjustment, but the default exposure proved very dark. (Most cameras need some exposure boost on this shot, but +1.3 EV is a lot more than most require.) The color balance is quite is warm from the background incandescent lighting, though Marti's skin tone and the flower bouquet actually look pretty good. The camera's Slow-Sync flash setting produced similar results, in terms of color, though with slightly more even lighting from the longer shutter speed. I found the best results in this mode with a +1.0 EV exposure compensation adjustment. While the warm cast is a little stronger, I find the more balanced lighting more appealing.

To view the entire exposure series from zero to +1.3 EV in the normal flash mode, see files SD3INFP0.HTM through SD3INFP4.HTM on the thumbnail index page.

To view the same exposure series in the Slow-Sync flash mode, see files SD3INFSP0.HTM through SD3INFSP4.HTM on the thumbnail index page.

Auto White Balance

Incandescent White Balance

Manual White Balance

Good color with all three white balance settings, about average exposure compensation required.

This shot is always a very tough test of a camera's white balance capability, given the strong, yellowish color cast of the household incandescent bulbs used for the lighting, but the SD300 handled it surprisingly well with all three white balance settings I tried. The SD300's Manual white balance setting produced the best results here, as the Auto setting resulted in a warm cast and the Incandescent setting resulted in a slight reddish tint (though results weren't too far off). Marti's skin tone looks very good, and the flower bouquet looks about right as well. The blue flowers do have slight purplish tints to them, but their color is still amazingly good, considering the difficult light source here. The main shot was taken with a +1.0 EV exposure compensation adjustment, which is about average.

To view the entire exposure series from zero to +1.3 EV, see files SD3INMP0.HTM through SD3INMP4.HTM on the thumbnail index page.

ISO Series:
Canon's engineers seem to have done an excellent job with noise control on the SD300, at least as evidenced by these shots, achieving a near-perfect balance between subject detail and noise suppression. At low ISOs, noise is quite low, with very little loss of subject detail. (The blurring in Marti's hair in the ISO 50 shot was caused by a slight head movement during the very long exposure.) At ISO 200, the image softens somewhat, but noise remains at an acceptable level. At ISO 400, the noise is more evident, and the subject detail softer still, but the overall effect is much better than I'd expect from a subcompact digicam at ISO 400.

Auto White Balance

Daylight White Balance

Manual White Balance

Accurate color, with high resolution and strong detail. Bad blurring in the corners though.

While all three of the SD300's white balance settings tested performed pretty well here, I chose the Manual setting as the most accurate overall, based on the white value of the house trim. The Daylight and Auto settings resulted in ever-so-slight warm casts, but results were still very good. Resolution is very high, and detail is strong in the tree limbs, front shrubbery, and house front. Details are reasonably sharp in the center of the frame, but soften a lot in the corners from some lens distortion. (This seems to be an unfortunate consequence of making subcompact wide-angle zooms with Canon's high-index aspheric lens technology. It's remarkable that they can make such compact lenses, but the distortion levels just isn't up to those of larger optics.)

High resolution and strong detail, but high contrast limits the dynamic range. Once again, very soft corners though.

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.

This is my ultimate "resolution shot," given the infinite range of detail in a natural scene like this, and the SD300 captures a lot of fine detail. The leaf patterns in the front shrubbery and in the tree limbs above the roof show a lot of fine detail, as does the brick pattern on the house front. Details are just slightly soft overall though, and the corners of the frame are very soft indeed. The bright sunlight causes the camera to lose essentially all detail in the bright white paint surrounding the bay window, a trouble spot for many digicams. Detail is only marginal in the shadow area above the front door as well, further evidence of a limited dynamic range. The table below shows a standard resolution and quality series, followed by ISO and color effects series.

Resolution Series:

ISO Series:
As before, a good balance between image noise and subject detail. Noise levels are marginally acceptable even at ISO 400, although the camera can't manage a fast enough shutter speed to expose properly at that high an ISO, with lighting this bright.

Color Effects Series:

Color Effects Series
Neutral Color	Vivid Color	Black & White	Sepia	Low Sharpening

Lens Zoom Range

A good 3x zoom range.

I routinely shoot this series of images to show the field of view for each camera, with the lens at full wide angle, at maximum telephoto (3x, in this case), and at full telephoto with the digital zoom enabled. The SD300's lens is equivalent to a 35-105mm zoom on a 35mm camera. That corresponds to a moderate wide angle to a pretty substantial telephoto. Following are the results at each zoom setting.

	Wide Angle
	3x Telephoto
	3x Digital Telephoto

Auto White Balance

Daylight White Balance

Manual White Balance

Slightly warm color, but still good results. High resolution and strong detail.

This shot is often a tough test for digicams, as the abundance of blue in the composition frequently tricks white balance systems into producing a warm color balance. Both the SD300's Auto and Daylight settings produced slightly warm color balances, while the Manual setting produced a cooler, more magenta cast. I preferred the warmer skin tones of the Auto and Daylight settings, so I stuck with the Auto setting for the main shot. Though the warm cast creates slight purplish tints in the blue background and gives the blue robe a greenish tint, overall color still looks good. Resolution is very high, and detail is strong in the models' accessories and instruments. The embroidered bird wings on the blue robe also show a lot of fine detail. (The original data file for this poster was only 20MB though, so cameras like the SD300 are capable of showing more detail than the poster has in it.)

Standard Macro Shot

Macro with Flash

A very small macro area with great detail. Flash has trouble up close though.

The SD300 performed very well in the macro category, capturing a minimum area of only 1.22 x 0.92 inches (31 x 23 millimeters). Resolution is very high, showing a lot of fine detail in the dollar bill, coins, and brooch. Details are softer on the coins and brooch due to the close shooting range, but the particles of dust on top of the coins are actually very well defined. Details soften toward the corners of the frame, but are fairly sharp on the dollar bill. (Most digicams produce images with soft corners when shooting in their Macro modes.) The SD300's flash has trouble at such close range, overexposing the top of the frame and leaving the bottom in shadow. (Definitely plan on using external lighting for your closest macro shots with the SD300.)

Auto White Balance

Daylight White Balance

Manual White Balance

Good overall exposure and color.

Though just slightly cool overall, with magenta tints, the SD300's Manual white balance setting produced the best results here, as the Auto and Daylight settings were slightly warm. Exposure looks about right, and the SD300 distinguishes the subtle tonal variations of the Q60 target well. The large color blocks are all pretty good. The SD300 shows the usual Canon tendency to pull cyans towards more pure blues, apparently part of how they deliver such nice sky colors. There are minor hue-shifts in yellows and oranges, but these are sight indeed, and reds are more accurate than average. Overall, very nice color rendition. The shadow area of the charcoal briquettes shows good detail, with moderately low noise.

The results in the tests below mirror those seen above in other test shots. The test series are repeated here without further comment, for the benefit of our more quantitatively-oriented readers.

ISO Series:

Color Effects Series:

Color Effects Series
Neutral Color	Vivid Color	Black & White	Sepia

Low-Light Tests

Excellent low-light performance. Good color and exposure, with low image noise, at the darkest light levels of this test. Good low-light autofocus as well.

The SD300 produced clear, bright, usable images down to the 1/16 foot-candle (0.67 lux) limit of my test, with good color at the 100, 200, and 400 ISO settings. At ISO 50, images were bright down to the 1/8 foot-candle (1.3 lux) light level, though the target is visible at the lowest light level of the test. Noise is fairly low in most shots, and even at ISO 400, image noise is lower than I expected. Autofocus performance is also excellent, with the camera able to focus down to 1/4 foot-candle with no AF assist, and in complete darkness with the AF-assist light enabled. Since city street-lighting at night generally corresponds to a light level of about 1 foot-candle, the SD300 should do very well for after-dark photography in typical outdoor settings. The table below shows the best exposure I was able to obtain for each of a range of illumination levels. Images in this table (like all sample photos) are untouched, exactly as they came from the camera.

(Note: If you'd like to use a light meter to check light levels for subjects you might be interested in shooting, a light level of one foot-candle corresponds to a normal exposure of two seconds at f/2.8 and ISO 100.)

	1 fc 11 lux	1/2 fc 5.5 lux	1/4 fc 2.7 lux	1/8 fc 1.3 lux	1/16 fc 0.67 lux
ISO 50	15 sec f2.8	15 sec f2.8	13 sec f2.8	6 sec f2.8	3.2 sec f2.8
ISO 100	15 sec f2.8	13 sec f2.8	6 sec f2.8	3.2 sec f2.8	1.6 sec f2.8
ISO 200	13 sec f2.8	6 sec f2.8	3.2 sec f2.8	1.6 sec f2.8	1/2 sec f2.8
ISO 400	6 sec f2.8	3.2 sec f2.8	1.6 sec f2.8	1/1 sec f2.8	1/4 sec f2.8

Flash Range Test

A weak flash, dim at 8 feet, and with significant falloff from 9 feet on.

In my testing, the SD300's flash only barely illuminated the test target at 14 feet, showing significant decreases in intensity from the nine-foot distance on. Below is the flash range series, with distances from eight to 14 feet from the target.

8 ft	9 ft	10 ft	11 ft	12 ft	13 ft	14 ft
1/60 sec f4.9	1/60 sec f4.9	1/60 sec f4.9	1/60 sec f4.9	1/60 sec f4.9	1/60 sec f4.9	1/60 sec f4.9

ISO-12233 (WG-18) Resolution Test

High resolution, 1,200 lines of "strong detail." Slightly high barrel distortion at wide angle.

The SD300 performed about average on the "laboratory" resolution test chart for its 4-megapixel class. It started showing artifacts in the test patterns at resolutions as low as 1,000 lines per picture height vertically, and about 800 lines horizontally. I found "strong detail" out to at least 1,200 lines. "Extinction" of the target patterns didn't occur until about 1,500 lines. Here's a sample image with the camera's Low Sharpness setting.

(Norman Koren's Imatest program reports average resolution here of 1072 line widths per picture height, and 1,283 LW/PH when normalized to a one-pixel sharpening radius.)

Geometric distortion on the SD300 is a bit less than average at the wide-angle end, where I measured approximately 0.7 percent barrel distortion. The telephoto end fared quite a bit better, as I measured approximately 0.09 percent pincushion distortion (about two pixels' worth). Chromatic aberration is virtually nonexistent, as I couldn't really find any strong pixels of coloration. (This distortion is visible as a very slight colored fringe around the objects at the edges of the field of view on the resolution target.) What is obvious here is the incredible blurring in the corners of the image, worst at wide angle, but bad at any focal length. - This extreme corner softness is the one significant flaw in what is otherwise an excellent digicam.

Resolution Series, medium focal length

Wide Angle	"Fine" JPEG	"Normal" JPEG	"Economy" JPEG
2,272 x 1,704	SD3RES2272F	SD3RES2272N	SD3RES2272E
1,600 x 1,200	SD3RES1600	-	-
1,024 x 768	SD3RES1024	-	-
640 x 480	SD3RES0640	-	-

 

Resolution Test, Zoom Series

2,272 x 1,704 (Fine, Wide Angle)	SD3RESW
2,272 x 1,704 (Fine, Telephoto)	SD3REST