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We shoot a specially designed chart in carefully controlled conditions and the resulting images are analyzed 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 Canon EOS Rebel SL1 with the Panasonic G5, Canon EOS Rebel T4i, Sony Alpha a58 and Nikon D3200.
JPEG signal to noise ratio
This chart shows that the Canon EOS Rebel SL1's JPEG files have a similar signal to noise ratio to those from the Panasonic G5 and Canon EOS Rebel T4i, while producing slightly greater ratios than the Nikon D3200 at every sensitivity, and slightly weaker ratios than the Sony Alpha a58 at ISO 400 and above.
This means that we can expect the Rebel SL1 to produce cleaner JPEG images than the Nikon D3200, but noisier images than the Sony Alpha 58 at higher sensitivity values.
Raw signal to noise ratio
The signal to noise ratios of the TIFF images (after conversion from raw) from the Canon EOS Rebel SL1 are stronger than those from the Sony Alpha a58 at every sensitivity setting, and stronger than the Panasonic G5 and Nikon D3200 at ISO 400 and above. The Canon EOS Rebel SL1's TIFF images show weaker signal to noise ratios than those from the Canon EOS Rebel T4i after ISO 100.
This means that, with the exception of the Canon EOS T4i's images, the Rebel SL1 produces cleaner raw images (after conversion to TIFF) than the competing cameras.
JPEG dynamic range
The Canon EOS Rebel SL1's JPEGs show more dynamic range than those from the Panasonic G5 at every sensitivity setting. They show weaker dynamic range than those from the Sony Alpha a58 and Nikon D3200 at ISO 100-800, after which point the results are very similar. The Canon EOS Rebel SL1's JPEGs produce very similar dynamic range to the Canon EOS Rebel T4i.
A high dynamic range means a camera can capture a wide range of tones from deep shadows to bright highlights in a single shot.
Raw dynamic range
Here we can see that TIFF images (after conversion from raw) from the Canon EOS Rebel SL1 again show greater dynamic range than TIFFs from the Panasonic G5 at every sensitivity. The Rebel SL1's TIFFs show similar dynamic range to the Canon EOS Rebel T4i's at ISO 100, but the Rebel SL1's have greater range at ISO 400-1600, and at ISO 6400-12800. The Canon EOS Rebel SL1's TIFFs show weaker dynamic range than the Sony Alpha a58's at lower sensitivities, but at ISO 800, 1600 and 12800 the Canon EOS Rebel SL1 comes out on top. The Nikon D3200's TIFFs beat the Canon EOS Rebel SL1's for dynamic range at every sensitivity except ISO 800 and 6400.
