Updates: new scores for digital SLRs

We've just tidied up our ongoing survey of SLR and micro four-thirds cameras.  We haven't got rid of any tests, as some older models are still on sale, but we wanted to account for the recent improvements in performance at high ISO sensitivities.  That's why we've adjusted the final score of a lot of the kit we've tested.

At the end of 2008, the Nikon D90 caused something of a stir in the usually calm world of digital SLRs.  It wasn't the apperance of a video mode (which wasn't actually that useful) but the quality of the photos it produced.  By using the same sensor as the semi-professional D300, it allowed a wider group of consumers to enjoy sharp photos at up to 3200 ISO, while most of its competitors struggled to get above 1600 ISO.  At the time, it was well the five star rating we gave it.

Since then, this sensor has continued to appear to in other models, starting in the Nikon D5000, and then the Pentax K-x.  After years of using relatively unsophisticated CCD sensors, Sony--which, ironically enough, manufactured Nikon's CMOS sensors--finally made the switch on its own cameras with the Alpha 500 and 550.

Canon has also got involved, with the EOS 500D representing a large improvement on the previous generation, while the first results we've seen from the EOS 7D are very encouraging indeed.  The quality of this new generation of CMOS sensors is clearly becoming a new standard, even on entry-level options.


Score Updates

As a result, we have adjusted the final scores of all the cameras we've tested to better differentiate the performance of different models.  As a rule, all of the old guard, where image quality was very limited above 800 ISO, have lost a star: the Pentax K20D goes down to four stars; the Canon EOS 1000D, EOS 450D and Pentax K-m all go down to three stars.

The 'sub-scores' for image quality, which we introduced in the summer have also been revised in those tests that have them, with the five-star standard now reserved for the EOS 500D and K-x.

The only exceptions to this rule are the micro four-thirds Panasonic GH1 and GF1.  Their ability to handle electronic noise puts them on a level with 2008's SLRs, and with their sensors 50% more dense in photosites, it's no surprise.  However, they compensate for that with some other advantages.  The GH1 is a real hybrid that can stand in for a camcorder, filming with a fluid autofocus and very reasonable sound.  With its flat lens, the GF1 isn't much bigger than an expert compact, but has all the optical benefits of a larger sensor and interchangeable lenses.  That means both of them hold onto their five-star rating, despite only gaining four stars for image quality,helped along by their excellent kit lenses.

Finally, the G1, which doesn't have much of an advantage over an SLR, falls back to three stars with the rest of them.

> Product Survey: Digital SLRs and Cameras with Interchangeable Lenses

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