Samsung Galaxy S2 vs. Canon compact camera comparison

The camera of the Samsung Galaxy S2 is that good, that I did a few comparison shots with my Canon compact cameras, a Canon Powershot SX230 and a S95.

left SGS2 - right SX230

It is quite amazing, how close the SGS2 gets to the SX230. In the sky, the smaller dynamic range of the SGS2 becomes visible. And in 100% view, the SX230 shows more detail. But for a phone, this is quite a good picture quality.

left SGS2 - right SX230

Here it gets even better. You have to look very closely to see, which one is from a phone and which one is from a compact camera.

left SGS2 - right S95

Now this scene is very difficult for a compact camera and would be so even for a DSLR, so I took the S95 instead of the SX230. Of course the SGS2's photo lacks a bit of the drama which the S95 could catch quite well. But hey, this is comparing a phone's camera to one of the best compact cameras ever made. And though you probably would not print a poster from the SGS2's shot, it is quite a good picture.

In general, the SGS2 offers a very good camera replacement for all the situations, where you have just your phone with you.

Fujifilm Finepix F770EXR review: testing for corner softness

Last year, the Fuji Finepix F550EXR has been beaten by the Canon PowerShot SX230hs  in my test. In between, Fuji brought a small upgrade with the F600/660, which should solve the problem of too dark movies in low light. But  problematic lens construction remained the same since the F300, and so did the problem with the border and corner softness.
This year Fujifilm released the new F770EXR which brings a new lens, a 20x zoom with 25-500mm. Such extreme zoom ranges are usually at the expense of image quality, so the expectations regarding image quality has been rather low. But despite the even larger focal range compared to it's predecessor, the first shots I saw on the internet, looked quite promising, much better than what I knew from the F550EXR.

A first test with a hedge demonstrated a significantly better result than last year with the F550. The corner and edge blurring is only minimal and for a zoom lens these are absolutely normal. The very good SX230 is not better in that area even zoom lenses of system cameras that cost more than the F770 alone are not free from it.
So this has been a very encouraging first test. Fuji got the main problem of the last F-generation under control, so I am looking forward to further testing of the F550.

Comparing video quality of SX210is, SX230hs and F550EXR

I am thinking about replacing my Canon Powershot SX210is with either it's successor SX230hs or the Fujifilm Finepix F550EXR. As I don't own a camcorder anymore, one of my cameras has to offer sufficient video quality. Here are my test videos, SX210 first:

This is the same video from the F550

 

And here the video from the SX230

The SX230 is a great camcorder replacement, whereas the F550 is a mixed bag. The F550's video quality is better then any Fujifilm camera's I had before. And I would consider it's pure video quality higher than the SX210's, but it's autofocus is less reliable after zooming. Anyway, the SX230 is the clear winner here.