The crops are taken from the original images, saved as High Quality JPEGs in Photoshop CS2 and presented here at 100%. Each number represents 100 lines per picture height (lpph), so a figure of 20 means a resolution of 2000 lpph.

In terms of resolving power, the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX1 at 15mm f4 delivers 1950 and 2000 lpph of horizontal and vertical resolution respectively. These figures are measurably lower than those taken for the Canon PowerShots SX1 IS and SX10 IS, along with Panasonic’s FZ28, which isn’t surprising, given each has 10 Megapixels to the Sony’s 9. While the difference is measurable under these conditions though, it’s important to also compare the real-life results you’ll see on the previous and following pages.

Like most compacts and superzooms, diffraction is an issue for the Sony HX1. At the focal length tested, the best result was measured at f4, close to the maximum aperture of f3.5. As the aperture was closed, the resolution steadily decreased until we measured 1600 lpph at f8. Most compacts with smaller sensors and high resolutions suffer from the same effect, so for the maximum resolution (albeit also the smallest depth of field), always try and shoot with the HX1 with its aperture close to wide open. Luckily the camera ‘knows’ this, and when in Program mode, tends to select bigger apertures.

Since there’s no RAW mode to test, it’s now time to check out the camera’s performance across its sensitivity range in our Sony HX1 High ISO results page.