Good resolution and detail (though some artifacts), with good overall color.

The extreme tonal range of this image makes it a tough shot for many digicams, which is precisely why I set it up this way, and why I shoot it with no fill flash or reflector to open the shadows. The object is to hold both highlight and shadow detail without producing a "flat" picture with muddy colors, and the Finecam L4v did a fairly good job, albeit with somewhat high contrast.

The shot at right was taken with a +0.3 EV exposure compensation adjustment, which is actually a fair bit lower than what the average digicam requires here. The lower midtones are a little dark as a result of the high contrast, but still show pretty good detail. I chose the Auto white balance as the most accurate overall, though the resulting image had a slight reddish cast, as did the Daylight setting. The Manual setting produced warmer results, with a yellow cast.

Marti's skin tones are pretty natural here, but the blue flowers in the bouquet are a bit dark. (Many digicams have trouble with this blue, often producing purplish tints in it. The L4v actually did very well with the color, rendering it only slightly dark, and with no sign of the usual "purple problem.") Color looks good throughout the rest of the frame as well, though the red flowers are on the verge of oversaturation. Resolution is high, although with what appear to be some noise-related artifacts, and some flattening of hair detail due to anti-noise processing. Detail is quite good even in the shadows, although there's a bit of noise there as well. A nice job overall.

To view the entire exposure series from -0.3 to +1.3 EV, see files L4VOUTAM1.HTM through L4VOUTAP4.HTM on the thumbnail index page.

More defined detail and higher resolution, but once again rather high contrast.

Overall results here are similar to the wider shot above, in terms of exposure and color, and the L4v's 3x zoom lens helps prevent distortion of Marti's features. Midtones are again dark, and overall contrast is high, but detail is still moderate in the shadows. The shot at right was taken with a +0.3 EV exposure compensation adjustment. Detail and resolution are stronger in this close-up shot, with pretty good definition. Image noise is again a little high in the shadows.

To view the entire exposure series from -0.3 to +1.0 EV, see files L4VFACM1.HTM through L4VFACP3.HTM on the thumbnail index page.

Normal Flash +0.7 EV

Slow-Sync Mode -0.3 EV

Good intensity and coverage with the built-in flash, with good color as well. Poor match with room lighting in slow-sync mode though.

The L4v's built-in flash illuminated the subject very well here, requiring only +0.7 EV of exposure compensation to produce a bright exposure with good color, a bit less than is usually required for this shot. Colors are excellent, and the illumination is fairly even (although it looks like there's some falloff in the left corners). Shooting in slow-sync mode, the room lighting swamped the flash exposure, the shot actually requiring an exposure cut of -0.3 EV. The longer exposure allowed in a great deal of the room lighting, producing a very yellow cast. (Some cameras have their flashes balanced to match the color of indoor lighting more closely, and adjust their auto white balance setting accordingly. Like most cameras though, the L4v doesn't do this.)

To view the entire flash exposure series from -0.3 to +1.3 EV, see files L4VINFM1.HTM through L4VINFP4.HTM on the thumbnail index page. To see the slow-sync flash exposure series from -0.7 to +0.3, see files L4VINFSM2.HTM through L4VINFSP1.HTM.

Auto White Balance

Incandescent White Balance

Manual White Balance

Virtually identical results from all three white balance settings: All have a slight yellow cast.

This shot is always a very tough test of a camera's white balance capability, given the strong, yellowish color cast of the household incandescent bulbs used for the lighting. All three of the L4v's relevant white balance settings had just a little trouble here, producing nearly identical slight yellowish color casts in the images. I chose the Auto setting for the main image here, but it was really a toss-up between the three of them. While the color cast is noticeable, I'd say that it's within acceptable bounds, producing a fairly accurate representation of the original scene, preserving the "mood" of the warm, incandescent room lighting. The exposures at right were taken with +1.0 EV of exposure compensation, right about average for this shot among the cameras I've tested.

To view the exposure series for these images, from 0 through +1.3 EV exposure compensation adjustment, see files L4VINAP0.HTM through L4VINAP4.HTM for the auto white balance setting, L4VINTP0.HTM through L4VINTP4.HTM for the incandescent white balance setting, L4VINMP0.HTM through L4VINMP4.HTM for the manual white balance setting, all on the thumbnail index page.

ISO Series:
Noise is reasonably low here at ISO 80, but becomes quite noticeable at ISO 160, and objectionable at ISO 320. (I personally wouldn't consider the L4v's images usable at ISO 320.)

Auto White Balance

Daylight White Balance

Manual White Balance

So-so resolution, but good color.

The L4v's Auto white balance did the best job here, producing the most accurate white value on the house trim and good overall color. The Daylight setting also produced good results, though with a slight yellow cast, but the Manual setting was rather cool and bluish. Resolution isn't quite as good, and the image has more artifacts than I would expect from a four-megapixel camera. Still, the tree limbs above the roof and house front show good detail, if somewhat soft with low definition. The corners of the frame have even softer details, but the effect isn't overly strong.

Lower resolution than I'd expect from a 4 megapixel camera. Overexposure with the default setting and high contrast limit dynamic range severely.

This image is shot at infinity to test far-field lens performance. NOTE that this image cannot be directly compared to the other "house" shot, which is a poster, shot in the studio. The rendering of detail in the poster will be very different than in this shot, and color values (and even the presence or absence of leaves on the trees!) will vary in this subject as the seasons progress. In general though, you can evaluate detail in the bricks, shingles and window detail, and in the tree branches against the sky. Compression artifacts are most likely to show in the trim along the edge of the roof, in the bricks, or in the relatively "flat" areas in the windows.

This is my ultimate "resolution shot," given the infinite range of detail in a natural scene like this, and I didn't feel that the L4v captured as much detail as I'd expect to see from a four-megapixel camera. The tree limbs over the roof and fine foliage in front of the house show pretty good detail, but the finest detail is lost to a "chunkiness" in the image. Details are slightly soft throughout the frame, with strong corner softness in the top left corner. (Corner softness is present in the other three corners as well, but not as strongly.) The slight overexposure at the camera's default settings caused it to lose practically all of the detail in the bright white paint surrounding the bay window, a trouble spot for many digicams. Despite the overexposure though, detail is also lower than I'd expect in the shadow area above the front door, evidence of a very limited dynamic range. Overall color looks quite good though, despite the bright exposure. The table below shows a standard resolution and quality series, followed by ISO, sharpness, saturation, and color series.

Resolution Series:

ISO Series:
The L4v's images are on the noisy side. Even at ISO 80, some noise is visible (despite what looks like attempts to control it with anti-noise processing that loses a fair bit of detail in the process), and at higher ISO settings it becomes quite distracting. - I wouldn't actually consider the ISO 320 setting as usable for most picture-taking.

Sharpness Series:
The L4v's in-camera sharpening adjustment covers a good range, but seems to still add a little sharpening, even on its "low" setting. - I'd prefer to see the overall range shifted somewhat toward the lower end of the scale.

Saturation Series:
The L4v's color-saturation adjustment provides a useful range of settings...

Saturation Series
Low	Normal	High

Color Series:

Color Series
Normal	Black & White	Sepia

Lens Zoom Range

A typical 3x zoom range.

I routinely shoot this series of images to show the field of view for each camera, with the lens at full wide angle, at maximum telephoto (3x, in this case), and at full telephoto with the digital zoom enabled. The L4v's lens is equivalent to a 35-105mm zoom on a 35mm camera. That corresponds to a moderate wide angle to a medium telephoto. Following are the results at each zoom setting.

Auto White Balance

Daylight White Balance

Manual White Balance

Very good color with the Daylight white balance. High resolution, though bright exposure and high contrast.

This shot is often a tough test for digicams, as the abundance of blue in the composition frequently tricks white balance systems into producing a warm color balance. The L4v's Auto was somewhat tripped up by this obstacle, producing a yellow cast. The Manual setting did the opposite, producing a rather cool image. Daylight white balance, however, produced nearly accurate results, though with a slight warm, reddish cast. Still, skin tones looked best with the Daylight setting, as did overall color (despite slight purplish tints in the blue background and in the deep shadows of the blue robe). Contrast is quite high in this shot, resulting in rather hot highlights on the models' faces. Resolution is pretty good, and detail is strong in the embroidery of the blue robe, as well as in the necklaces, flower garland, and instruments. That said, details are slightly soft, and the high contrast and apparent anti-noise processing obscures definition in the finer details.

Standard Macro Shot

Macro with Flash

Mediocre macro performance: A large macro area, but good detail. Flash throttles down, but with strong falloff in the corners.

The L4v did worse than average in the macro category, capturing a large minimum area of 6.45 x 4.84 inches (164 x 123 millimeters). Resolution is high, with pretty good detail in the dollar bill, coins, and brooch, though details aren't terribly well-defined. Some slight corner softness is visible in all four corners, and details are a bit soft throughout the center of the frame as well. Exposure is a little bright here, and contrast is high. Color is nearly accurate, though slightly warm and yellow. The L4v's flash throttles down a little too well for the macro area, with strong falloff in the corners of the frame. Overall, the L4v probably won't be your first choice for macro shooting.

Auto White Balance

Daylight White Balance

Manual White Balance

Very good color, but a slight overexposure and very high contrast.

The L4v's Auto white balance setting produced the best results here, as the Daylight setting had a strong yellow cast and the Manual setting a lesser yellow cast. (Color balance is a hint reddish with the Auto white balance, but the white value is the best overall.) The exposure is a bit too bright, and contrast is high, but the L4v still manages to distinguish the subtle tonal variations of the Q60 target. Colors are bright and very vibrant in the large color blocks, and the additive primary colors (red, green, and blue) are too saturated. The shadow area of the charcoal briquettes shows limited detail, and noise is moderate.

ISO Series:
At ISO 80 here, the blocks on the MacBeth(tm) chart are quite smooth-looking, but checking the edges reveals that the smoothness is due to noise suppression, rather than a lack of noise in the first place. - As a result, fine detail suffers somewhat, as we saw in several of the images above.

Low-Light Tests

Pretty good low light images, capable of shooting under average city street lighting at night. Limited autofocus performance though. Warm color balance, but fairly low noise for the most part.

The L4v produced clear, bright, usable images down to the 1/4 foot-candle (2.7 lux) light level at all three ISO settings. (You could arguably use some of the shots taken at the lower light levels, but the lighting is quite dim.) Color balance is slightly warm, and becomes progressively warmer as the light level decreases. Noise is pretty low at the ISO 80 setting, high at ISO 160, and very high at ISO 320. The biggest limitation of the L4v's low light capability is its autofocus performance: It works reliably only to about two foot-candles, and marginally at one foot-candle. In a typical night scene, there'll often be brighter reflections within the frame that the camera will be able to focus on, but for the most part, you'll need to use the L4v's manual focus option for night shooting. The table below shows the best exposure I was able to obtain for each of a range of illumination levels. Images in this table (like all sample photos) are untouched, exactly as they came from the camera.

(Note: If you'd like to use a light meter to check light levels for subjects you might be interested in shooting, a light level of one foot-candle corresponds to a normal exposure of two seconds at f/2.8 and ISO 100.)

Flash Range Test

Good flash range, but a little ISO "cheating" to get there.

In my testing, the L4v's flash illuminated the test target all the way out to 14 feet, although intensity decreased noticeably from 11 feet on. Like many digicams these days though, the L4v "cheats" a little bit by boosting its ISO rating to achieve the longer flash range. My EXIF file-header reader showed an odd variation between ISO 120 and 160 that didn't seem consistent with the distance to the target, but that did seem to somewhat track the apparent brightness of the images. Below is the flash range series, with distances from eight to 14 feet from the target.

8 ft	9 ft	10 ft	11 ft	12 ft	13 ft	14 ft
1/ 60 secs F4.7	1/ 60 secs F4.7	1/ 60 secs F4.7	1/ 60 secs F4.7	1/ 60 secs F4.7	1/ 60 secs F4.7	1/ 60 secs F4.7

ISO-12233 (WG-18) Resolution Test

Decent resolution, 1,050 lines of "strong detail." High barrel distortion at wide angle.

The L4v performed fairly well on the "laboratory" resolution test chart, though somewhat below my expectations for a four-megapixel camera. It started showing artifacts in the test patterns at resolutions as low as 600 lines per picture height, in both horizontal and vertical directions. I found "strong detail" only to 1,050 lines in both directions. "Extinction" of the target patterns occurred around 1,200-1,250 lines.

Optical distortion on the L4v is quite high at the wide-angle end, where I measured approximately 1.2 percent barrel distortion. The telephoto end fared much better, as I couldn't even find a full pixel of distortion. (There was actually about a half-pixel of barrel distortion, corresponding to a distortion level of about 0.02%.) Chromatic aberration is very low, showing only about two or three pixels of very faint coloration on either side of the target lines. (This distortion is visible as a very slight colored fringe around the objects at the edges of the field of view on the resolution target.)

Resolution Series, Wide Angle

Wide Angle	"Fine" JPEG	"Normal" JPEG
2,304 x 1,728	L4VRESWLF	L4VRESWLN
1,600 x 1,200	L4VRESWMF	-
1,280 x 960	L4VRESWSF	-
640 x 480	L4VRESWTF	-

Resolution Test, Telephoto

2,304 x 1,728 (Fine, Tele)

L4VRESTLF