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Panasonic GF1 versus Sony W170

GF1 @ ISO 100	Sony W170 @ ISO 100
GF1 @ ISO 200	SonyW170 @ ISO 200
GF1 @ ISO 400	SonyW170 @ ISO 400
GF1 @ ISO 800	SonyW170 @ ISO 800
GF1 @ ISO 1600	SonyW170 @ ISO 1600
GF1 @ ISO 3200	SonyW170 @ ISO 3200

It was a little frustrating working with the 10 MP Sony W170 and its limitations. I still have a Sony W1 and it is a better camera than the W170 for offering manual controls despite being several years older than the W170.

Due to the W170 offering only program auto mode, I used its exposure as the reference to set the GF1. I zoomed the W170 to a mid-range setting with the same framing as with the high ISO test and used the same f4.5 aperture as on the GF1. Since the Sony is in program mode, I set the GF1 to aperture priority to compare relative accuracy and quality of exposure.

The GF1 clearly sees into the shadows better than the digicam, or, rather, the Sony W170 is underexposing. While I think the two are close in resolution quality at ISO 100, the Sony starts dropping off even at ISO 200 and by ISO 400, the contest is clearly over.

These comparisons are why so many photographers have desired a compact camera that does not give up much to a DX SLR. While I think its clear from the high ISO tests that the GF1 will not equal a really good DX SLR for quality (think Canon 40D or Nikon D300), it is far and away superior to any tiny sensor digicam. Add in the ergnomics that cater to the needs of a serious photographer and the GF1 blows away the digicam competition except in size and portability, as the pictures below show.

The samples above were taken with both cameras mounted to my Gitzo tripod with the self-timer mode used. The self-timer mode is especially important with the W170, because it has so little mass that merely trying to release the shutter will induce vibration that will blur the photo at slow shutter speeds.

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