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

High resolution and pretty good detail, though very warm color and high contrast.

• Exposure compensation: +0.7 EV, about average.
• Contrast/Tone: High, strong highlights and very dark shadows, with dark midtones.
• White Balance: Auto and Daylight settings nearly identical, both quite warm.
• Color accuracy: Mediocre, dark blues with purplish tints, dark greens and yellows. Very warm overall color cast.
• Skin tones: Warm and orange.
• Resolution/sharpness: Pretty good, though details are quite soft in Marti's face (possibly due to focusing over any noise reduction).
• Shadow detail: Pretty good, moderate noise

To view the entire exposure series from zero to +1.3 EV, see files T33OUTAP0.HTM through T33OUTAP4.HTM on the thumbnail index page.

Contrast Series:

Contrast Series
Low	Normal	High

Saturation Series:

Saturation Series
Low	Normal	High

Stronger resolution and detail, but again, high contrast.

• Exposure compensation: +0.3 EV, less than average.
• Exposure/Tone: Contrast again high, resulting in harsh skin tones. Very hot highlights, though fair midtones.
• Detail: Stronger detail and increased resolution, though some softening from lens distortion and noise reduction.
• Distortion: Strong corner softness in the top corners, but 3x zoom lens prevents any strong geometric distortion of Marti's features.

To view the entire exposure series from -0.3 to +1.0 EV, see files T33FACAM1.HTM through T33FACAP3.HTM on the thumbnail index page.

Normal Flash High Intensity

Slow-Sync Flash High Intensity

Slight underexposure, and strong warm color cast.

• Exposure: Slightly dim at the High intensity setting, and dark at the normal setting as well. Slow-Sync mode is slightly brighter, but still a bit dim, even at High intensity.
• Flash balance with room lighting?: Mediocre, noticeable warm cast in normal mode, very strong cast in Slow-Sync mode.
• Color: Red skin tones, dark colors in bouquet.

To view the entire exposure series at the High, Normal, and Low intensity settings in the normal flash mode, see files T33INFH.HTM, T33INFM.HTM, and T33INFL.HTM on the thumbnail index page.

To view the same exposure series in the Slow-Sync flash mode, see files T33INFSCH.HTM, T33INFSCM.HTM, and T33INFSCL.HTM on the thumbnail index page.

Auto White Balance

Incandescent White Balance

Warm color balance with both white balance settings tested, though average exposure compensation required.

• Exposure: +1.0 EV, about average.
• White Balance: Incandescent best overall, though still warm. Auto setting much warmer.
• Color: Pink/orange skin tones, blue flowers dark and purple, warm greens.

To view the entire exposure series from zero to +1.7 EV, see files T333INTP0.HTM through T33INTP5.HTM on the thumbnail index page.

ISO Series:
The T33 produces moderate noise even at its ISO 100 setting, though details are softer overall. At ISO 200, noise increases, but details actually sharpen slightly. ISO 400 produces high image noise, with a very pronounced pattern.

Auto White Balance

Daylight White Balance

Nearly accurate color, with high resolution. Strong blurring in the right corners though.

• Sharpness/Detail: Pretty good overall.
• Sharpness in Corners: Strong blurring in the right corners, slight blurring on the left side.
• Color: Auto white balance setting most accurate, though white values have slight magenta tint. Daylight setting is warm.
• Detail lost to anti-noise processing?: Moderately high, noticeable in the brick patterns.

High resolution and a lot of fine detail, though weak definition. High contrast limits the dynamic range, and strong blurring in the right corners of the frame.

This image is shot at infinity to test far-field lens performance, and to present a near-infinite range of detail to the camera. NOTE that this image cannot be directly compared to the other "house" shot, which is a poster, shot in the studio.

• Sharpness/Detail: A lot of visible fine detail, though less definition than with most 5.0-megapixel digital cameras.
• Sharpness in Corners: Strong blurring in the right corners of the frame.
• Color: Good overall color, though reds are slightly flat.
• Dynamic Range: Limited, especially on the highlight end.
• Detail lost to anti-noise processing?: A fair amount, in the brick patterns.

Resolution Series:

ISO Series:

Sharpness Series:

Contrast Series:

Contrast Series
Low	Normal	High

Saturation Series:

Saturation Series
Low	Normal	High

Color Series:

Color Series
Black & White	Sepia

Lens Zoom Range

A good 3x zoom range.

The DSC-T33's focal length range of 38-114mm equivalents is typical of most point & shoot digital cameras. It corresponds to a moderate wide angle to a modest telephoto.

	Wide Angle
	3x Telephoto
	Digital Telephoto

Auto White Balance

Daylight White Balance

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

• White Balance: Auto setting slightly cool, though Daylight setting is warm. Skin tones best with Daylight setting.
• Color: Overall color warm and reddish, with purple tints in blue background and robe, but good skin tones.
• Sharpness/Detail: Good detail and resolution, though a bit of noise.
  
  
  
  

Standard Macro Shot

Macro with Flash

An average macro area with good detail, moderate flash performance.

• Minimum Macro Area: 2.67 x 2.00 inches (68 x 51 millimeters), about average.
• Softness in corners?: Some, but actually less than average. (Most cameras get fairly soft corners in macro mode.)
• Flash performance in macro mode?: Throttles down a little too much, with strong falloff in the corners.

Auto White Balance

Daylight White Balance

Good overall exposure and color, though slightly warm.

• White balance: Auto setting most accurate, though a little warm and yellow. Daylight setting has much stronger warm cast.
• Color Accuracy: Pretty good, despite warmth. Bright red and blue blocks slightly "hot," but overall saturation is pretty good.
• Shadow detail and noise: Limited detail in the briquettes, moderate 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:

Contrast Series:

Contrast Series
Low	Normal	High

Saturation Series
Low	Normal	High

Saturation Series
Black & White	Sepia

Low-Light Tests

Poor low-light performance, barely sensitive enough for average city street lighting (about one foot-candle).

• Exposure limit: One foot-candle at ISOs 200 and 400, and in Night mode. (About as bright as typical city street lighting at night.) At ISO 100, images were quite dim even at one foot-candle.
• Autofocus Limit: A bit below 1/8 foot-candle unassisted, and to less than 1/16 foot-candle with AF assist. (About 1/8 to 1/16 the brightness of typical city street lighting.)
• White Balance: Strong pink cast.
• Noise Levels: Moderate to high, even at ISO 100.
• Detail loss to anti-noise processing?: A fair amount, even at one foot-candle.
• General Notes:

(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 100	1 sec f3.5	1 sec f3.5	1 sec f3.5	1 sec f3.5	1 sec f3.5
ISO 200	1 sec f3.5	1 sec f3.5	1 sec f3.5	1 sec f3.5	1 sec f3.5
ISO 400	1/1 sec f3.5	1 sec f3.5	1 sec f3.5	1 sec f3.5	1 sec f3.5
ISO 100	2 sec f3.5	2 sec f3.5	2 sec f3.5	2 sec f3.5	2 sec f3.5

Flash Range Test

Quite dim at eight feet, with decreasing intensity from there.

• Flash range at telephoto lens setting: Less than eight feet.

8 ft	9 ft	10 ft	11 ft	12 ft	13 ft	14 ft
1/50 sec f4.4 ISO 100	1/50 sec f4.4 ISO 100	1/50 sec f4.4 ISO 100	1/50 sec f4.4 ISO 100	1/50 sec f4.4 ISO 100	1/50 sec f4.4 ISO 100	1/50 sec f4.4 ISO 100

ISO-12233 (WG-18) Resolution Test

Good resolution, 1,200 lines of "strong detail." Very high barrel distortion at wide angle, moderately high distortion at telephoto. Low chromatic aberration, particularly at telephoto, but blurring in the corners.

• Resolution: 1,200 lines both vertically and horizontally.
• Artifacts begin at: ~1,000 lines.
• Extinction point: ~1,650 lines.
  
  
• Barrel/Pincushion distortion: 1.01 percent barrel at wide angle, 0.6 percent pincushion at telephoto.
• Chromatic Aberration: Low at wide angle, very low at telephoto.
• Corner Sharpness: Moderate to strong blurring in the corners, depending on the zoom setting (on the left at telephoto, on the right at wide angle).

Resolution Series, medium focal length

Wide Angle	"Fine" JPEG	"Normal" JPEG
2,592 x 1,944	T33RES2592F	T33RES2592N
2,048 x 1,536	T33RES2048	-
1,280 x 960	T33RES1280	-
640 x 480	T33RES0640	-

 

Resolution Test, Zoom Series

2,592 x 1,944 (Fine, Wide Angle)	T33RESW
2,592 x 1,944 (Fine, Telephoto)	T33REST

Sharpness Series: