[DxO] DxOMark verdict: D800 v. 5DMIII

[prodigy2k7]

Side by side comparisons

Part II - Controlled tests


Take a look at how the two cameras, 5D-III and D800, handle shadow recovery of the same,exact, high-contrast scene. The Nikon blows the Canon away.


As Fred Miranda himself wrote, "Obviously, the Nikon D800 is in a totally different league. Absent of color noise or any pattern, this image reveals Nikon's exceptional performance."

And also wrote,"There is no question that the D800 does not disappoint in signal to noise ratio (SNR) at low ISO and has higher dynamic range. I'm still shocked by the differences."

TBH thats really sad. Why cant canon fix this by now?

 

[cgipson1]

I do believe though that people can only see 12 dynamic range (this may be ill informed)so maybe thats why older cameras seem as good

Most digital camera sensors only "see" about 10 stops of DR.

People can generally see up to about 24 stops with our "variable aperture pupil". At a single "fixed" aperture.. our eyes still see up to 14 stops or so.

Cameras vs. The Human Eye

Understanding Dynamic Range in Digital Photography

 

[Netskimmer]

Have you heard about the D800 problems ? autofocus problems with wide angle lenses below 50mm, batteries being recalled

The EN-EL15 is used for several different bodies , including my D7000, and has been in production long before the D800 was announced. I don't see how one single bad batch reflects poorly on the D800?

 

[EchoingWhisper]

I do believe though that people can only see 12 dynamic range (this may be ill informed)so maybe thats why older cameras seem as good

Most digital camera sensors only "see" about 10 stops of DR.

People can generally see up to about 24 stops with our "variable aperture pupil". At a single "fixed" aperture.. our eyes still see up to 14 stops or so.

Cameras vs. The Human Eye

Understanding Dynamic Range in Digital Photography

I'm not sure if I'm right but I actually read that our eyes could only see up to 6 stops. Actually not all that stops comes the aperture, our eyes also have some kind of ISO. That's why in the dark, things looks grainy. Also our brains do a lot of tone mapping too. Wait... there is still one thing that causes us to see more stops... we squint our eyes!

 

[cgipson1]

I do believe though that people can only see 12 dynamic range (this may be ill informed)so maybe thats why older cameras seem as good

Most digital camera sensors only "see" about 10 stops of DR.

People can generally see up to about 24 stops with our "variable aperture pupil". At a single "fixed" aperture.. our eyes still see up to 14 stops or so.

Cameras vs. The Human Eye

Understanding Dynamic Range in Digital Photography

I'm not sure if I'm right but I actually read that our eyes could only see up to 6 stops. Actually not all that stops comes the aperture, our eyes also have some kind of ISO. That's why in the dark, things looks grainy. Also our brains do a lot of tone mapping too. Wait... there is still one thing that causes us to see more stops... we squint our eyes!

I actually did a bit of research on this last year.. just happened to have those links handy! Did you read them? If you feel they are incorrect, please post substantiating data!

 

[Derrel]

About 35 years ago, I read the instruction manual for my even-the-outdated Weston Master II selenium light meter. I recall very clearly that that light meter manual stated that the human eye could see things well across a 100,000 to 1 lighting ratio, or greater, such as a white ski jacket on top of a snow-covered mountain top, as well as a dark-toned object placed in deep shadow. So....I JUST did a Google search on the question "How many f/stops is a 100,000:1 ratio?"

First hit ,top of the list was this article under the umbrella of the Canon,USA company's learning resources web pages.

Canon DLC: Article Print: Capture More Light: How to Capture High Dynamic Range (HDR) Images with your DSLR

A brief excerpt:

Black & White Negative Film​	10-11 f-stops, or a DR ratio of about 1,000:1 – 2,000:1​
Slide Film​	6-7 f-stops, or a ratio of about 100:1​
DSLRs (in 2008)​	8-10 f-stops, or a ratio of about 250:1 to 1000:1​
Daylight Scene (with full sun)​	12-15 f-stops, or a ratio of 5,000:1 to 50,000:1 (depending on preferred amount of shadow detail)​
Room Interior, with outside view from window into full daylight​	At least 17 f-stops, or a ratio greater than 100,000:1​

 

[EchoingWhisper]

Most digital camera sensors only "see" about 10 stops of DR.

People can generally see up to about 24 stops with our "variable aperture pupil". At a single "fixed" aperture.. our eyes still see up to 14 stops or so.

Cameras vs. The Human Eye

Understanding Dynamic Range in Digital Photography

I'm not sure if I'm right but I actually read that our eyes could only see up to 6 stops. Actually not all that stops comes the aperture, our eyes also have some kind of ISO. That's why in the dark, things looks grainy. Also our brains do a lot of tone mapping too. Wait... there is still one thing that causes us to see more stops... we squint our eyes!

I actually did a bit of research on this last year.. just happened to have those links handy! Did you read them? If you feel they are incorrect, please post substantiating data!

Found it. Way Beyond Monochrome: Advanced Techniques for Traditional Black & White ... - Ralph Lambrecht, Ralph W. Lambrecht, Chris Woodhouse - Google Books

 

[Aloicious]

Have you heard about the D800 problems ? autofocus problems with wide angle lenses below 50mm, batteries being recalled

The EN-EL15 is used for several different bodies , including my D7000, and has been in production long before the D800 was announced. I don't see how one single bad batch reflects poorly on the D800?

+1, and I haven't had any autofocus problems below 50mm with my 14-24 or 24-70 either....

 

[Vtec44]

Have you heard about the D800 problems ? autofocus problems with wide angle lenses below 50mm, batteries being recalled

I have 3 ENEL15 batteries for my D7000, which is the same battery for the D800. I believe the recall is for a tiny batch but this is not related to the D800. The battery is being used for several Nikon cameras including the D7000, J1, D800 and it was in production way before the D800 was introduced. I'll definitely test lenses below 50mm but I doubt it's any serious issue. Nikon are really good at product testing.

 

[gsgary]

Found this for you

 

[gsgary]

And another Flickr: Discussing AF problem ? in Nikon D800 Users Group

 

[Derrel]

Yes, the CLS flash triggering seems to be a sticky wicket for the users of off-camera flashes triggered by CLS. Here's Thom Hogan's March 29,2012 entry regarding D800 teething problems.2012 Nikon News and Comments by Thom Hogan

"GrumblingMarch 29 (commentary)--It happens with every new camera introduction: people get their hands on the new camera and they start grumbling about "issues."
The interesting thing is that all of Nikon's warnings about lenses and camera handling on the D800 seem to have done their job: I've seen very few "it isn't sharp" grumbles so far. Fewer than on almost any previous Nikon DSLR resolution bump. Perhaps Nikon will learn from this that much of their problem has been lack of expectation setting in their marketing messages.
That leaves the "other" grumbles:

• Build quality complaints. Not a lot of these yet. A battery door that fell off because a pin was missing (this, by the way, is why cutting off parts to only authorized repair centers was a mistake--it'll take longer and cost more to fix). A miscentered viewfinder or two. Complaints about the plastic quality of the shooting method selector. But the big winner in this category is the LCD: I've seen a lot of miscalibration complaints, with color tints and brightness issues being the common ones. The camera has some ability to change brightness (and hue in Live View), but the Auto setting appears to be the culprit most of the time.
• Functional complaints. I haven't been able to test this one yet, but there's a prominent complaint about wireless flash reliability using camera's flash as master. There are definitely issues with tethered shooting, and I've already pointed out the missing functions in Camera Control Pro. Noisy long exposures once you jump above the analog gain limit (ISO 1600 or higher). The return of amp noise (visible at bottom of frame at high ISO, visible as horizontal bands at long exposures). "No crop" movie is actually a 1.1x crop horizontally (91% of the horizontal width of the sensor).
• Design issues. Why no WT-5 support? Why no RCA video out? Why do the PC-E lenses hit the flash housing in some orientations? Why no camera-wide "setting" ability (still only shooting and custom settings banks)? Why do we still have the 1EV bracket limit outside of the built-in HDR?
• Documentation issues. Uncompressed HDMI video out seems impossible if all you do is read the manual, yet it works if you know the secret spell and wave your wand correctly (Relashio! Engorgio!).

Personally, nothing so far seems like anything other than the usual product launch noise level. A few things will need to be addressed by firmware fixes. Quality control will get better with each new wave of shipments. The design issues are typical Nikon, where they seem to have blinders on to things that are obvious to serious users.
All in all, a quiet post-launch, as far as post launches go."

end quoted passage.

The above is a good example of why I NEVER like to buy Version 1.0 of ANYTHING...

 

[Mrgiggls]

Yep...same here. I like to let the manufacturer get all the little things worked out and if I'm lucky there'll be a price drop or I'll catch a special when I'm ready to pull the trigger.

That's exactly what I did with my D90 although I can't remember it really having any new-model issues....I was just too cheap to pay $899 the first year or so LOL.

 

[2WheelPhoto]

http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/photographic-discussions/278741-camera-like-hammer-just-tool.html

 

[bhop]

Leica rules!