The noise levels seem remarkably good at the higher ISO settings, in spite of more and presumably smaller pixels than the Panasonic predecessor (I'm assuming that these images were not washed through any other NR software). Moore's Law seems to hold (at least for now) for digital sensors as well as for computers. I guess a digital sensor and it's accompanying image processing engine are a specialized kind of computer, so this makes sense at some level.
What do you think, in five more years when ISO 6400 digital images are as clean as a whistle and digital cameras are capable of making beautiful images in moonlight alone, the manufacturers will stop adding built-in flashes to them?
The noise levels seem remarkably good at the higher ISO settings, in spite of more and presumably smaller pixels than the Panasonic predecessor (I'm assuming that these images were not washed through any other NR software). Moore's Law seems to hold (at least for now) for digital sensors as well as for computers. I guess a digital sensor and it's accompanying image processing engine are a specialized kind of computer, so this makes sense at some level.
What do you think, in five more years when ISO 6400 digital images are as clean as a whistle and digital cameras are capable of making beautiful images in moonlight alone, the manufacturers will stop adding built-in flashes to them?
Manufacturers are now finding out they can smooth the noise out very effectively but there is a cost in definition.
The images are straight out of the camera; only a copyright notice has been added to the metadata - the image data itself is unchanged.
I zoomed on the images and saw noise in the sky at ISO 400, granted better than most Panasonic's to date. Not that it is bad, in fact it is as good as a Canon ProRebel XTi. I was really hoping for almost no noise at ISO 400 and very little at ISO 800, but of course this is zooming in to the picture which will not show up on the normal print, and the pro reviewers will think this is a wonderful camera for Panasonic's second try at a DSLR. If I was in the market for a DSLR, I would definetly buy this camera over the Canon, Nikon and Pentax. I just wish Panasonic would break their association with Olympus, I really do not like their cameras and this has stemmed from my experiences with their SLR's back in my film days and I have seen nothing from them yet that has changed my mind. Every Olympus I have seen, digital that is, are noisy, slow, with a lot of minor problems. I think Panasonic has the ability to make fantastic DSLR's if they would just get rid of Olympus's influence. I know that Panasonic has come up with a new type of sensor, and maybe we will see it on future DSLR's. As a old retired Professional, I have grown tired of lugging around lots of lenses and that is why I opted for the FZ30. Yet, this new L10 may make me think about it pretty strongly, it is a beautiful camera and seems to take care of the noise problem pretty well as compared to its competition. I think Panasonic has a big winner on it's hands and will seriously challenge Canon, Nikon for market share. I can tell you one thing if this L10 works similar to my FZ30, then it is a much easier camera to use than either the Canon or Nikon's. My personal opinion of course.
I zoomed on the images and saw noise in the sky at ISO 400, granted better than most Panasonic's to date. Not that it is bad, in fact it is as good as a Canon ProRebel XTi. I was really hoping for almost no noise at ISO 400 and very little at ISO 800, but of course this is zooming in to the picture which will not show up on the normal print, and the pro reviewers will think this is a wonderful camera for Panasonic's second try at a DSLR. If I was in the market for a DSLR, I would definetly buy this camera over the Canon, Nikon and Pentax. I just wish Panasonic would break their association with Olympus, I really do not like their cameras and this has stemmed from my experiences with their SLR's back in my film days and I have seen nothing from them yet that has changed my mind. Every Olympus I have seen, digital that is, are noisy, slow, with a lot of minor problems. I think Panasonic has the ability to make fantastic DSLR's if they would just get rid of Olympus's influence. I know that Panasonic has come up with a new type of sensor, and maybe we will see it on future DSLR's. As a old retired Professional, I have grown tired of lugging around lots of lenses and that is why I opted for the FZ30. Yet, this new L10 may make me think about it pretty strongly, it is a beautiful camera and seems to take care of the noise problem pretty well as compared to its competition. I think Panasonic has a big winner on it's hands and will seriously challenge Canon, Nikon for market share. I can tell you one thing if this L10 works similar to my FZ30, then it is a much easier camera to use than either the Canon or Nikon's. My personal opinion of course.
Hi Bear - I hope you don't mind me saying so, but your opinions (which are very interesting) are, well, how can I put it - rather contradictory? You wish Panasonic wasn't influenced by Olympus (implying that they are - again I'm not sure that's correct) but you think the L10 is a winner
The noise issue you speak of has a lot to do with image processing and Panasonic beats its own path with Venus Engine (III in the case of L10).
I don't think Olympus uses the Panasonic engine - the characteristics of the L10 and E-510 that I compared would certainly suggest this.
Well I'm not saying but I'm thinking this bodes very well for a new sensor that may be in another soon to be released camera....hhmmmm??
Having the L10 and E-3 has been very illuminating, in more way than one. It demonstrates that the E-410 and E-510 have a tendency to produce JPEGs with darker lowlights. They also under expose by around half a stop compared to the newbies.
I'm still looking at the noise issue, but so far I feel there is a slight improvement at high ISOs and E-3 3200 ISO is certainly not a waste of time.
So, a slight high ISO noise improvement plus improved shadows does add up to a promising impression so far.
So, a slight high ISO noise improvement plus improved shadows does add up to a promising impression so far.
Ian
Ian,
I just shot some pictures on a independent movie production set at night using the E-510. I used ISO 1600 with a 25mm f/1.4 lens. The pictures were good but could have been great if the camera had just a bit more control of chroma noise and didn't band. So if you're saying that the new sensor and electronics in the L10 and E-3 are better than the Live MOS in the E-410/510, then it would be good news indeed.
Panasonic Lumix DMC-L10 review image samples
Re: Panasonic Lumix DMC-L10 review image samples
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