Camera showdown - can you REALLY tell your camera?

[zollo]

I have been amusing myself trying to work out which photo is from which camera on this site

in the case of an iphone 4s and nikon d600 (have both) i got 100% in favour of d600 but...
it gets a lot more difficult with say canon 6d and nikon d600, my first attempt was a tie 50/50!

Post how you go!

http://camerashowdown.com/

[arthurking83]

Kind'a silly really .. but funny none the less.

I was expecting to see images where you actually try to compare the differences between cameras abilities ... ISO colour whatever!

In reality it's just a random selection of images that can't be compared in meaningful any way.

It can't be used as a legitimate method of camera quality in any way as images appeal more to your senses .. rather than using a measure of analysis in the selection process.

If they wanted to produce a less random people's choice then they should have removed the emotional aspect of image appeal by making each pair of comparable images of the exact same scene.

I did the 6D - D600 comparison, and simply randomly selected an image for each choice .. no thought whatsoever went into which image actually was better ... result 7/10 votes went to the D600, which could be assumed that the D600 was the better camera. But nothing could be further from the truth.

[zollo]

"The site is trying to function as a Pepsi Taste Challenge for photography and is more of a game than a way to quantify a camera's photographic potential. Without going out and taking the exact same composition with the same settings and similar lenses, Camera Showdown can never provide an absolutely precise comparison, but the site is still fun to play with to see if your gear prejudices are warranted"

just for fun really

[ameerat42]

It's like quantities of sand really - hard to get it clear.
I'd have to make like the carpenter, and shed a bitter tear.

[Kym]

Our Camera Club had a comp last year, we all had the same model camera ... A el-cheapo disposable film camera, no focus, aperture or anything.

The better composed images won. They all had light leaks, and poor sharpness etc.

So it gets down to the 'tog and not the gear, but a good 'tog will get much more out of good gear

[arthurking83]

FWIW: I also tried the comparison between a Nikon D70 and D3s.

According to my personal taste the D70 is the clear winner getting 8/10 of my votes!


There is no indication that this is more of a game than a serious attempt at gear review(of sorts) .. they seem to have the site setup on the serious side as a resource for comparing gear.

From their main page:

Can you tell which camera takes better pictures?
Camera Showdown is a new way to compare cameras by pictures taken rather than by camera features or specs

and ....

We start by gathering photos from across the web. We then attempt to find similar photos based on tags, image orientation and EXIF settings.

(pretty idiotic method of doing so really!)

[zollo]

Haha AK, I guess you could say then that the evolution between d70 and d3 has not been in level with the asking price, and further, it proves that the photographer is still the driving force behind a good photo


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[Mark L]

I did the 6D - D600 comparison, and simply randomly selected an image for each choice .. no thought whatsoever went into which image actually was better ... result 7/10 votes went to the D600,

Did the same one, and simply chose all the photos on the left. 8/10 for 6D. Most be right.
It could be the new Solitaire!

[JM Tran]

Got 70/30 when picking the 5D2 over D600, and 70/30 again when picking 5D2 over D700

[Analog6]

The images should be identical and tyaken at the same time for a true comparison. This is inane and meaningless. Successes will be random.

[arthurking83]

Haha AK, I guess you could say then that the evolution between d70 and d3 has not been in level with the asking price, and further, it proves that the photographer is still the driving force behind a good photo .....

LOL! wish it were true, but the reality was that I chose all the non HDR images in my voting!

And there's the point .. they're not comparing images of similar quality/type/level.

How can you compare a a non HDR image made with one model of camera with a HDR image made with another .... when the idea is to (supposedly) compare cameras.


Just like Analog says ... the success of a camera is always going to be random.

[AVALANCHE]

Sorry to dampen the fun, however I have to agree with above...

Cameras are no different really to paintbrushes. When you see a magnificent painting does anyone ask the artist what brush they used? No. It's no different for cameras. The photographer can be considered an artist and when, like a paintbrush they understand the tool they are using they can leverage it to create compelling images.

I agree, something like a comparitive test and having to choose which one was taken with what camera instead may have worked...then again, who really cares for that stuff except the people trying to sell you gear anyway and the folks from these camera companies instead? haha.

[Lance B]

These sorts of comparos are a quite lame. In good light, almost any camera will take a good photo. It's when you are in a dimly lit area needing high ISO, or one with high contrast which need high DR, or one where you need fast accurate AF, or where you need to crop heavily, or need a certain set of pro features or most importantly all of these combined, that the high spec DSLR will come into it's own. It's like when we have people saying that all you need is a P&S for your once in a lifetime overseas holiday for your snaps, and this is probably quite right for most scenes, but it is when you need some or all of these features listed above that you wished you had your high spec DSLR for that once in a life time shot as you may never visit that landmark again.