Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX7 Indoor Crops

The crops below show the quality of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX7 next to the Nikon Coolpix P310
Nikon Coolpix P310 at the same ISO. These cameras both have a large sensitivity range, reaching up to ISO 6400 at full-resolution. The LX7 also does ISO 12800 at 3 MP. They are both advanced cameras with full manual controls and manual focus. They each sport an ultra-bright ultra-wide lens.

All images below are 100% crops from their respective camera taken at the highest image quality JPEG setting available. ISO, aperture and white-balance were set on camera. Other settings were left at their default values. These crops help determine which ISO settings is acceptable on these cameras. As noise increases, most cameras compensate with noise reduction which introduces softness. The point at which a print become unacceptably noisy is a matter of personal taste.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX7	Nikon Coolpix P310
ISO 80
ISO 100	ISO 100
ISO 200	ISO 200
ISO 400	ISO 400
ISO 800	ISO 800
ISO 1600	ISO 1600
ISO 3200	ISO 3200
ISO 6400	ISO 6400
ISO 12800	The Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX7 shows a consistent lead over its predecessor by about one full ISO stop throughout the ISO range thanks to its lower image resolution which gives it larger pixels. Scaled down to 10 megapixels, image quality of the Nikon P310 would be much closer though.