Wednesday, 8 April 2015

terminology - What does IQ mean?


I see a lot of questions which mention IQ. The only meaning I know outside photography is "intelligence quotient" but obviously IQ has some other meaning here.


IQ is used for example in "Lens with small scratches on the front element - how do they affect IQ?" and "Is there an IQ gain from Canon's 18-135 to 24-105L?"



Answer




IQ or Image Quality encompasses all aspects of how a camera and lens capture a scene.


There are a great number of aspect which comprise image quality and they may be attributed to different parts of the camera or lens:



  • Image noise

  • Dynamic-Range

  • Color-Depth

  • Color-Accuracy

  • Sharpness

  • Resolution

  • Distortion


  • Vignetting

  • Aberrations

  • Flare

  • Etc.


They apply differently to different cameras and some such as color-accuracy only apply to an image processed in-camera rather than a RAW file.


Image quality is a property of the camera and lens at a certain setting. Using a different ISO, shutter-speed, image-parameters (JPEG), aperture or focal-length can result in different image quality from the same camera and lens combination.


Just note that many people confuse the quality of an image with its success. A low quality image can be very successful and vice-versa. Success has much more to do with the photographer's skill, subject and moment than it does with the camera and lens.


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