Many photographers use the Internet and photographic magazines when researching a digital camera purchase. To ensure you are getting the right advice, it’s worth checking how each publication or website carries out its camera reviews. Since April 2005 all cameras and lenses tested at Photo Review have been subjected to Imatest evaluation, which uses a test target/software evaluation system developed by Norman Koren in Boulder, Colorado (USA).

 

Many photographers use the Internet and photographic magazines when researching a digital camera purchase. To ensure you are getting the right advice, it’s worth checking how each publication or website carries out its camera reviews. Since April 2005 all cameras and lenses tested at Photo Review have been subjected to Imatest evaluation, which uses a test target/software evaluation system developed by Norman Koren in Boulder, Colorado (USA).

The Imatest system provides objective measurements for the following aspects of imaging performance:
ø¢â‚¬ ¢ Image sharpness and the camera’s ability to record fine detail (modulation transfer function or MTF);
ø¢â‚¬ ¢ Chromatic aberration;
ø¢â‚¬ ¢ Colour recording quality, tonal response and colour noise;
ø¢â‚¬ ¢ Camera tonal response and dynamic range.
We don’t have enough space to publish the Imatest graphs in our magazine reviews. Instead they are posted in the Tech Focus section of this website with each camera review, where they are available to subscribers as soon as the review is posted (which is before the magazine reaches the newsstands).
Click here for a more detailed explanation of Imatest.
In addition to image quality, Photo Review camera tests include an examination of innovative features, shutter speed, build quality and ease of use. Photo Review is the only publication that quotes imager area dimensions in millimetres for all cameras reviewed, allowing buyers to calculate the actual size of photosites. This is the best indicator of potential picture quality.