NX100 vs Nikon D80
To start the quality tests we will take a quick look at the NX100 vs a full DSLR, the Nikon D80 in a few different settings.
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| D80 | NX100 |
Here is a crop of the same scene taken on each camera. The NX100 was equally as good as the D80 in this situation.
| D80 | NX100 |
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In these pictures you can see that the NX100 does an excellent job keeping up with the D80 and seemed to get more accurate color representation compared to the D80 which tended to over saturate.
ISO Comparison
In this test we will increase the ISO one step each time from 100 up to 1600. For comparison, we took pictures of the same scene with the D80 to try and get an idea of just how the NX100 stacks up. Each camera was sitting on a tripod with the settings adjusted accordingly for the lighting. We then cropped the picture down to a very small portion so that we can really see the strengths and weaknesses.
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| D80 – 100 ISO | NX100 – 100 ISO |
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| D80 – 200 ISO | NX100 – 200 ISO |
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| D80 – 400 ISO | NX100 – 400 ISO |
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| D80 – 800 ISO | NX100 – 800 ISO |
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| D80 – 1600 ISO | NX100 – 1600 ISO |
As we can see from these side-by-side photos, at low ISO the NX100 is just as sharp as the D80 and the overall colors are actually a little better, though white balance has a lot to do with that.
As ISO increases, the NX100 steadily loses quality until 1600 has a noticeable amount of noise, as opposed to the D80 which retains its composure fairly well all the way up to 1600 where it still is not too bad.
Keep in mind that these are highly magnified crops and we are essentially pixel peeping at 10% of the total picture. When looking at the entire picture, even at 1600, the NX100 is not bad unless you are staring at shadows and such.
Ultra High ISO
In the previous test we used what most people would use for the majority of situations. However, the NX100 is capable of pushing the ISO even higher to 3200 and even 6400.
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On the left we have 3200 and the right 6400. As you can see, image quality degrades exponentially at these settings. Both 3200 and 6400 in my opinion are fairly useless on the NX100 and at this point you only have a few options. Either set ISO lower and use a tripod/set the camera on something so that you can use a slower shutter speed, or get the flash addon.
Would like to have seen this compared more to the Canon G12 or G1 X. This is informative to see how it compares to an older DSLR, but the D80 has been discontinued since 2008. You’re also comparing a 10.2MP DSLR, to a 14.6MP point and shoot. The overall look at the camera is good, however the comparison seems a bit useless
The focus was not really on NX100 vs D80 but more on mirrorless vs DSLR. Because this camera is aimed at someone looking to upgrade from a standard point and shoot they can get an idea of how this less-expensive option stacks up to the full DSLR. Besides, the D80 can still take excellent pictures.
As far as 10.2 vs 14.6MP, we are talking massive vs more massive. The only benefit is that you can crop the NX100 further while maintaining clarity. Once you resize down to a usable level the MP difference is negligible.
I would have loved to compare to a more modern DSLR, high-end point and shoot, or another mirrorless but resources are limited.