In the actual test that will appear in the November issue of WDC, the final score shows scores of 18 and 19 in most areas (performance, features, etc) but 17 for image quality. It wasn't image quality in itself that was bad – as the camera produced very impressive images – it was simply noise. Had it been less noisy, it would have maybe gotten 18 for image quality. Final scores are ascertained by adding up design, performance, value for money, image quality and features, which in this case happened to be 90%. It can't be ignored that the rest of the camera did extremely well and while the issue of noise was noted, it wasn't a problem that warranted a score below 17. In my honest opinion, the camera deserved its 90% score as it reflected the sum of its strengths and weaknesses.