DxO mark tests the GH1 sensor and compares it with the Canon 7D sensor!
“The GH1 even outperforms a hypothetical four-thirds sensor cut from a
(wider) Canon EOS 7D sensor (with the same pixel size). With its 50%
larger sensor surface (corresponding to 9 DxOMark Sensor points), one
would expect the 7D to have outperformed the GH1 by 9 points. Instead,
it achieves a DxOMark score of 64.9 — only slightly more than 1 point
above the GH1’s score of 63.6.
Except for the Olympus E410 and Olympus E510 (both released in early
2007), which have a DxOMark Sensor score of about 50, most four-thirds
sensors have a DxOMark Sensor score of about 55. The GH1 outperforms
them all with a DxOMark Sensor score of 63.6.
The GH1 outperforms other four-third sensors in terms of Low-Light ISO
(772 for the GH1 vs 571 for the Olympus E3, the second-best performer)
and Dynamic Range (11.6 for the GH1 vs 10.8 for the Panasonic DMC L10,
second-best performer).
Canon 7D’s performance is similar to the G1’s at ISO settings up to
800, and similar to the GH1’s at ISO settings from 3200. The GH1
outperforms the 7D for ISO settings up to 800.”
source: DxO mark
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Recent comments
Comment from Leon: Last time I check, the DxO Mark for GH1 ...
Comment from Duarte Bruno: Last time I checked there were a lot of ...
Comment from joesiv: I agree DXO obviously doesn't take cruci...
Comment from Mark: DxOMark measurements are subjective and ...
Sceptic
3 years ago |WHAT!?!?!
They can’t be serious? When i compare my friends GH1 to my E-P1, both RAW, I get “nicer” results without banding issues that the GH1 has. Whats this about beating a 7D? Why even bother talking about cutting a 4/3 size sensor from a canon APS-c sensor? There is NO WAY that a GH1 will out-perform a 7D in objective image quality. It seems the many people that doubt the results from DxO are correect in doing so..
I mean really? c’mon.
I am only human and the above rant is speaking IMHO. I totally understand that i can be wrong and accept it
CRGuy
3 years ago |Your headline is misleading and is unsupported by the body of the article, just like how a supermarket tabloid does to attract readers. Nowhere in the DXOMark test does it say that the GH1 sensor beats the 7D sensor. Your 1st paragraph only cites a *hypothetical* comparo between the GH1 sensor and a *same-sized* sensor using the 7D technology, not the 7D sensor itself, which, as was stated, has twice the area as the GH1 sensor. Your last paragraph states the actual results from the test, not the hypothetical matchup. In any case, many experts still doubt the methodology and science behind the DXOMark tests, they have always been controversial.
Chow
3 years ago |Well this only proves the DxO tests are bullshit..
reverse stream swimmer
3 years ago |Finally a measurement that will silence the Canonites noisy ramblings!
The DxO ranking is based on raw data, making it possible to compare sensor technology utilized in individual cameras.
What we can see is that the larger the sensor is, the higher the DxO-mark score is. Just look what the immense 40.4 mm x 53.9mm sensor does. Liekwise we will see that the Sony, Nikon and Canon FF135 cameras are one step below the MF cameras. Let’s forget about the few APS-H cameras, but remarkable is the results for the APS-C Nikon D90, which is the best in its class.
Of course all the DX 1.5x cameras performs better than the Canons smaller 1.6x APS-C cameras, since the DX sensor is larger than the Canon sensor. Actually, Canon should have used the APS-H sensor for it’s EOS-7D, if going for a higher DxO score than what it just got.
Interesting here is the fact that Canon 7D is having the same pixel pitch as the current crop of Four Thirds cameras. And with the new GH1 sensor, it seems that Panasonic is the king of the hill in sensor technology, well at least compared to Canons latest generation in their 7D camera.
The GH1 sensor is the first in a new generation of sensors, that are optimized for video, having more supporting electronics integrated on the sensor chip. We will most likely see refinements of this sensor on a yearly basis, but it’s encouraging to see that it today is at least on par with the competition.
Mark
3 years ago |DxOMark measurements are subjective and it’s best to read the link below before trying to interpret results.
http://www.dxomark.com/index.php/eng/DxOMark-Sensor/DxOMark-metrics
As they capture RAW images before the demonsacing process then any noise recorded should also be before noise reduction is applied.
And the noise levels measured are not indicative of the types:
I.e. Chroma (Colour blotches) vs Luminance (Grain).
And how the noise is distributed:
I.e. Randomly (Easier to remove) vs Patterned (Such as vertical or horizontal banding).
BTW: The pixel density of the Image Sensor used in the Canon 7D (5.4 MP/cm²) does exceed that of Panasonic GH1 (5 MP/cm²)!
See dpreview for image sensor specifications:
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/specs/Canon/canon_eos7d.asp
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/specs/Panasonic/panasonic_dmcgh1.asp
Despite advances in image processor technology such as gapless micro lens assembly and noise control algorithms.
Smaller light collecting photo diodes create more noise…. It’s simply a physical constraint.
What concerns me more about the information provided on DxOMark is that it appears as though not all camera manufacturers calibrate ISO values equally.
It would have you believe that most manufacturers are cheating and using far lower values than what the setting would otherwise indicate!
Refer to this comparison between E-3 vs 40D vs D300…
From what I can tell, actual ISO values are set as multiples of a base ISO value which is dependant on the image sensor design.
For example:
The CMOS sensors included in the D300 has a Base ISO value of 145.
So it’s likely Nikon are using this Base ISO values in place of the camera ISO setting for Lo 1 and 200 and then multiple gains there after.
In which case the ISO 400 setting should be = 145 x 2 = 290 and ISO 800 setting should be = 145 x 4 = 580.
And this appears to be very close to what the DxOMark ISO Sensitivity test recorded ISO 200 (288) and ISO 400 (571).
I think as long as the user of the D-SLR is aware of these differences it can certainly help with composing shots for desired noise control effect.
One final point:
The photographers skill, choice and quality of lens used and other camera performance criteria and image processing techniques will contribute more to overall image quality than a minor technical difference about noise / dynamic range / colour depth recorded in RAW Image files…
joesiv
3 years ago |I agree DXO obviously doesn’t take crucial things like banding into account.
However, I’m very happy to see that the GH1 sensor is finally a fourthirds sensor that is competitive in dynamic range. This is big for me, and I hope future Panasonic sensors exhibit such results.
Oh, and reverse stream swimmer, DXO measured the results for the GH1 in 4:3 mode, which make it exactly comparable to other fourthirds cameras. So it’s results don’t match with what you’re saying that it’s only sensor size that DXO is measuring. Though, it seems that theoretical performance is connected to sensor size, there is great variance still.
Look at some point and shoots like the Canon G11, which has as good and better in some cases DR than most fourthirds bodies :S
Duarte Bruno
3 years ago |Last time I checked there were a lot of reports saying the banding was gone…
Leon
2 years ago |Last time I check, the DxO Mark for GH1 is 63.6, G1 is 53, and 7D is updated to 65.8.