Pictur e Quality

The biggest test of them all

Every camera tested had an impressive level of picture quality. The GoPro and HX-A500E were comparable, framerate limitations aside, giving sharp images with rich colours.

The AX100 footage was surprisingly pleasing with excellent skin tones and image stabilisation, while the FZ1000’s lovely footage is amazing for its price bracket. The GH4’s images are even better with very good detail, extremely sharp lines and deep colours but, when it comes to picture quality, there is one true king…

The standard of image from theEOS-1D C is remarkable. Due to recording in the high-quality MJPEG format, each frame captured is a 4K-sized (eight megapixel) JPEG image. Pause it at any point and you have a photograph with, as far as we could tell, no difference except size between a still from the video and one taken in the camera’s photo mode. The images are film-like too, and though there are, inevitably, rolling shutter issues, the Canon is genuinely excellent in low light.