Here we compare the Nikon Coolpix P90 with the Fuji Finepix S100FS. Images below are all 100% crops from their respective cameras. ISO was set on each the camera. Every other setting was left on automatic. All images were taken at the highest resolution possible for the set ISO sensitivity. For the P90, ISO 100 to 1600 support a full 12 megapixels, while ISO 3200 and 6400 are limited to 3 megapixels. For the S100FS, ISO 100 to 3200 are crops from 11 megapixels images, while ISO 6400 is limited to 6 megapixels and ISO 10000 is limited to 3 megapixels.
Both these cameras are the flagship ultra-zooms from their respective manufacturers. They each offer a wide range of ISO sensitivities and a full complement of manual controls. The Nikon Coolpix P90 is a smaller ultra-zoom with an electronically controlled 24X stabilized optical zoom lens, the Fuji Finepix S100FS is a DSLR-sized ultra-zoom with a mechanically controlled 14.3X stabilized optical zoom lens. The S100FS features a relatively larger sensor with higher sensitivity and wider dynamic range.
Nikon Coolpix P90
Fuji Finepix S100FS
ISO 64 - 1/6s F8
This scene is an extreme case for the Nikon Coolpix which not only gets softer towards the long end of the zoom, it also shows loss of details at all ISO settings due to noise-reduction. For fine details like grass, there is not much detail that can be put back by processing the image within the camera.
ISO 100 - 1/8s F8
ISO 100 - 1/10s F3.8
ISO 200 - 1/16s F8
ISO 200 - 1/20s F3.8
ISO 400 - 1/32s F8
ISO 400 - 1/38s F3.8
ISO 800 - 1/66s F8
ISO 800 - 1/75s F3.8
ISO 1600 - 1/140s F8
ISO 1600 - 1/150s F3.8
ISO 3200 - 1/260s F8
ISO 3200 - 1/240s F4
ISO 6400 - 1/540s F8
ISO 6400 - 1/450s F4.5
Up to here we can see that the Fuji always delivers at least two full ISO stops of better detail and sharpness. The Nikon Coolpix P90 suffers from noise and noise-reduction even at its base ISO of 64. Things get worst quickly and ISO 400 may give a small usable print but that is it.