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Monday, July 31, 2017

The Camera Question, Priscilla Beach Theatre, Priscilla Beach, Manomet, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA



Regular followers of this blog know of my fondness for all things related to Priscilla Beach Theatre. You also know that I have tried many different cameras/lenses over the years in my search for the ideal combination of equipment - major goals being sharpness, silent operation, lens reach and speed, and affordability.

For this post, I decided to present a direct comparison using four different cameras.  I took the same photo with the same settings from the same spot with each camera and then, in post-processing, cropped/enlarged the same section for comparison.



The subject scene is a rear projection image on stage as viewed and photographed from the front row of the balcony.

The first camera: a Sony WX500.  It is a pocket sized point and shoot with a tiny sensor (size: 1/2.3" - about pinkie fingernail size - 6.17 x 4.55mm - MSRP $350).



This is the cropped/enlarged area left of center above the stairway. (Sony WX500).



The second camera: a Sony RX100M2.  It also is a pocket sized point and shoot but with a sensor size of 1" (about thumbnail size - 12.8 x 9.6mm - MSRP $750).



This is the cropped/enlarged area left of center above the stairway. (Sony RX100M2).



The third camera: a Canon T2i DSLR - Sensor size APS-C (about postage stamp size - 22.2 x 14.8mm - MSRP $800+lens).



This is the cropped/enlarged area left of center above the stairway. (Canon T2i).



The fourth camera, a Canon 6D  DSLR - Sensor Size Full Frame - (the size of an old 35mm film camera negative - 36x24mm - roughly 1.5" x 1" - MSRP $2300 including 24-105mm lens).



This is the cropped/enlarged area left of center above the stairway. (Canon 6D).

The results speak for themselves. The two DSLRs produce generally sharper images but are too noisy in a quiet theatre setting to suit me.  The two point-and-shoots are virtually silent but the images are not as sharp and rich.

So, all factors considered, I think I'll stick with the Sony RX100M2 for a while longer until the "perfect" device reveals itself to me.



Hard to believe but, this is the third season on the newly renovated Barn Stage. If you want to reminisce, visit the following link to my blog posts from the early days of the 2014 renovation through construction to completion in July 2015 (at this link).

Come out and support this extraordinary resource in our community!



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