Why you can trust TechRadar We spend hours testing every product or service we review, so you can be sure you’re buying the best. Find out more about how we test.
We shoot a specially designed chart in carefully controlled conditions and the resulting images are analysed using DXO Analyzer software to generate the data to produce the graphs below.
A high signal to noise ratio (SNR) indicates a cleaner and better quality image.
For more more details on how to interpret our test data, check out our full explanation of our noise and dynamic range tests.
Here we compare the Sony HX300 with the Olympus SP-620UZ, Fuji X-S1, Sony HX200V and Canon PowerShot SX40 HS.
JPEG signal to noise ratio
As we can see from this chart, the Sony HX300 produces JPEG images with relatively weak signal to noise ratios, compared to the other cameras here, with the HX300's images starting out the weakest of the group at ISO 80-800. At ISO 1600 the HX300's JPEGs show an almost identical signal to noise ratio than those from the Olympus SP-620UZ, but are weaker than the others, and at ISO 3200 they are stronger than the Fuji X-S1 and Sony HX200V, but still slightly weaker than the Canon PowerShot SX40 HS. At ISO 6400 and 12800, the Sony HX300's JPEGs boast a stronger signal to noise ratio than those from the Fuji X-S1, but they are weaker than those from the Sony HX200V. The other cameras' sensitivity ranges don't stretch as high.
JPEG dynamic range
The Sony HX300's JPEGs show stronger dynamic range scores than signal to noise ratios, relatively speaking. The HX300's JPEGs significantly outperform those from the Olympus SP-620UZ at every sensitivity setting, and outperform the Sony HX200V at ISO 100, 400, and 3200, and achieve near-identical results at ISO 200, 800, 6400 and 12800. The Sony HX300's JPEGs show greater dynamic range than the Canon PowerShot SX40 HS at ISO 100, 200 and 3200, but are weaker at ISo 400-1600. The HX300's images show less dynamic range than the Fuji X-S1's at lower sensitivities, but at ISO 1600 and above they are much stronger.
