Low Light Shooters

[deveaushawn]

If all cameras shoot reasonably well in good light, but they don't all shoot well in low light, wouldn't it make sense to buy the best low light camera, thereby getting the best of both worlds?

What is your recommendation for a good low light camera?

 

[DorkSterr]

D4/1DX.

To be serious D7100 should be plenty good.

 

[goodguy]

Its all a matter of money
Nikon D610 will be very good in low light, its an excellent camera but will cost around 1700$-2000$
If you can afford it then go for it.
If not the Nikon D7100 is the best camera in low light after the D610 and so is the Nikon D5200 which has about the same low light performance as the D7100.

What will be very helpful as well is of course good quality fast glass.

 

[D-B-J]

I get the best that I can afford. My camera's low-light capabilities are only limited by my budget.

Best,
Jake

 

[robbins.photo]

If all cameras shoot reasonably well in good light, but they don't all shoot well in low light, wouldn't it make sense to buy the best low light camera, thereby getting the best of both worlds?

What is your recommendation for a good low light camera?

Depends a lot on your budget. Generally speaking Nikons have the best low noise to high iso in their price range, and of course a full frame sensor is going to be superior to a crop sensor for low light but the full frames are more expensive. The other consideration is the lens or lenses, lenses with wider apertures (such as F/2.8, 1.8, 1.4, etc) are going to allow in a lot more light and work much better in poor lighting conditions, but they are more expensive - particularly if your looking at telephoto.

So really before I could recommend anything I'd need to know what sort of budget your looking at, and what sort of pictures your taking - are you looking at shooting indoors at events or are you going to need something more for like indoor sports were you'll need a fast telephoto of some sort?

 

[MSnowy]

Nikon D3s

 

[runnah]

A speedlight and a tripod.

 

[goodguy]

A speedlight and a tripod.

Should he take a camera with that or these two will be enough :mrgreen:

 

[runnah]

Should he take a camera with that or these two will be enough :mrgreen:

It could help.

 

[goodguy]

Should he take a camera with that or these two will be enough :mrgreen:

It could help.

:mrgreen:

 

[deveaushawn]

So basically, the higher up the food chain one goes, the better low light performance?

Is there an easy way to compare the differences between different models? I've played around with the Compare thingy on the Nikon web site but it doesn't really tell me much.

I understand the difference between FX and DX, but in terms of performance, what's the difference between the D600 and D610?

Similarly, what's the difference between the D300S, D7100 and D7000?

I'm interested in film noir kind of shots. Dimly lit streets, that sort of thing.

And dungeons.

 

[Tailgunner]

The differences between DX and FX bodies are shrinking but FX still comes out slightly ahead of DX with better ISO performance. So if you got the cash, I would go with an FX body and some good glass. The D610 is a very capable camera and can do toe to toe with a D800 on some things. I went with the D800 for several reasons, I love the controls more: the ISO and WB buttons instead of the mode control wheel for example. The larger mp sensor, view finder window is nice as well, LCD protector is nice as well.

 

[robbins.photo]

So basically, the higher up the food chain one goes, the better low light performance?

Is there an easy way to compare the differences between different models? I've played around with the Compare thingy on the Nikon web site but it doesn't really tell me much.

I understand the difference between FX and DX, but in terms of performance, what's the difference between the D600 and D610?

Similarly, what's the difference between the D300S, D7100 and D7000?

I'm interested in film noir kind of shots. Dimly lit streets, that sort of thing.

And dungeons.

Well DXO Mark is a pretty good source for sensor comparisons. The D300s uses an older sensor and really can't compare with either the D7100 or D7000 for lowlight performance. Of the two I'd recommend the 7100 over the 7000, or if your on a budget you might want to look at the D5200. The 5200 and the 7100 have very similar low noise to high ISO performance, both have the 24 mp sensor which produces fantastic images and gives you a lot of options when you go to post process. The 7100 has some features the 5200 doesn't, but for the most part the image quality and low light performance is going to be very similar and the D5200 runs about half what a D7100 will run, so if you don't need some of the other advantages that the D7100 offers the 5200 is a good option and you can put some money into fast glass - which will make as big a difference if not a bigger difference as the body will for low light shooting.

 

[Gavjenks]

If all cameras shoot reasonably well in good light, but they don't all shoot well in low light, wouldn't it make sense to buy the best low light camera, thereby getting the best of both worlds?

What is your recommendation for a good low light camera?

Yes, if you have infinite cash.

Bad low light cameras are cheapest (cell phones, point and hsoots) with tiny sensors
Medium ones are more expensive ($500+ crop frames) with larger sensors
Better low light cameras at a reasonable price range are $1500+ (full frame digital)
If you want better than that in digital, you need to take out another mortgage on your house or go work for the military.

 

[KmH]

Is there an easy way to compare the differences between different models?

Camera sensor in-depth comparison tool - DxOMark

For a lot of photography genres using supplemental light allows more control of light quality and direction, and produces a much better photograph, than only using available ambient light.
Film noir and dungeons are prime examples of genres where supplemental lighting is usually used to enhance the drama in a photograph.

Hollywood Hollywood Lighting from the Silent Era to Film Noir (Film and Culture Series)