Image Quality

100, 400, 1600 ISO. The photos were taken using the basic lens, the 18-55 mm. Compared to a macro lens and the 24-70 used subsequently (see the comparable photos shown at the end of the article), the photos are not quite as sharp, especially in the corners.

Despite this, these images are of excellent quality and would satisfy all sensibilities. Photographs take at 1600 ISO show some logic noise (comparable to grain in very sensitive film cameras, and less esthetic) for such sensitivity, but the image remains perfectly usable. Between 100 and 200 ISO, we have absolutely nothing to add. The colors are faithful, contrasts are impeccable and the exposure was only found wanting when taking pictures indoors without flash, something that a retouching of the levels in Photoshop could soon remedy. Over and above this, the increase in sensitivity sometimes disrupts the colorimetric, but this is nothing the amateur photographers need worry about. Only the most demanding professional would complain about such details, such as the gray, which sometimes becomes tinged with magenta (but remember that the camera is not destined for this use). The hexamegapixel resolution allows you to make terrific A4 enlargements and the dots it produces at A3+ are quite acceptable (the original resolution allows for 17 x 26 cm prints at 300 dpi, without any interpolation, or 35 x 52 at 150 dpi).

You will notice that Canon has "kept its cool" as regards color-matching, in other models the colors have been too warm. Here the tones of the images are warm, it's true, but overall they are fairly neutral.

As for sharpness, obviously this depends upon the lens used. The standard 18-55 mm produces detailed, refined images. The level of detail is not outstanding, however. On the other hand, a 60 mm macro lens will produce results that are truly hallucinatory. So in short, it's impossible to generalize on this point, even though the results are very high quality.