Nikon D610 vs Sony A7 Image IQ

[vipgraphx]

So I got an sony A7 and it seemed to really kick but, I got an adapter to use Nikon lenses and was pretty thrilled. Well just like many of us I kept thinking I wonder how the D610 is, So I had to test out for myself. I do like the Sony A7 but, it also lacks in certain areas that are important to me. Since I can only have one camera right now I need to make sure I get everything that will work for all my needs. In doing this I hope to have got some good info out there on the Sony Mirror less NEX 6, A7 and the Nikon D7100 and D610.

This is just a simple image comparison without any post straight out of camera shot in RAW using Sony's kit lens and Fotodiox Nikon G to E mount adapter with the Nikon 50 1.8G for the sony camera and the 50 1.8G for the Nikon camera.

Settings were :

ISO 200
F 4.5
EXP 0
1/40 sec

Just from these images and this test I can see that the Nikon is brighter maybe 1-2 stops more, looks like it has better color. The sony seems to have a tinge of green and the nikon favors reds more. Now keep in mind in Camera RAW I can make them look pretty darn close in colors and what not but for this test I wanted it to be straight out of camera…no post.

Results:


d610 full by VIPGraphX, on Flickr


sonykit full by VIPGraphX, on Flickr


sonynikon full by VIPGraphX, on Flickr

As you can see that the Sony/Nikon combo appears to be darker which is surprising.



Now cropped in a little.



d610 crop 2 by VIPGraphX, on Flickr


sonykit crop 2 by VIPGraphX, on Flickr


sonynikon crop 2 by VIPGraphX, on Flickr

At this point sharpness seems to be about the same through out. What I am noticing is that the D610 seems to be handling noise a bit better, maybe its just me. It could be because the D610 seems to be shooting 1-2 stops brighter.





Lets get in a little closer


d610 crop3 by VIPGraphX, on Flickr


sonykit crop3 by VIPGraphX, on Flickr


sonynikon crop3 by VIPGraphX, on Flickr

Other than the D610 being brighter any maybe a bit better with noise at the same settings, It looks like maybe its handling edges better on the Tinker bell figure. Sharpness seems just about the same. I can't honestly tell if there is any difference in sharpness. What I can see is the The 50 1.8G gives better bokeh on both cameras vs the kit lens on the sony. If you look at tinker bells back wing you will notice a bit more blur on the D610 and the SOny with Nikon. I see a bit more detail in Tinkerbells hair with the Sony/Nikon combo but, is this because its a bit darker so you can see the surface are better.

Thus far I think both A7 and D610 are very close. Like I said this is just an initial test to see. I would like to play around more and take some people shots and see if I can get any better info out.

 

[Braineack]

same lens on both cameras?

 

[vipgraphx]

same lens on both cameras?

yes and no. On the sony I am using an adapter so I can use the 50mm 1.8g nikon lens and I am also using the
sony kit lens on the sony. The nikon d610 is only using the 50 1.8g lens

 

[Braineack]

weird, that adapter/conversion really ruins the bokeh on that nikon 50mm when attached to the Sony.

 

[vipgraphx]

Yeah I am seeing that. especially in second set. The D610 is real buttery. Their is a reason that the SONY/NIKON combo is darker even though settings show the same. I don't think that they are 100% exact on the display read out. I think because the camera does not recognize the lens what shows is not what it is. You have to manually adjust aperture on the adapter and its kinda. I am not sure if what shows in the display is accurate, if so then yeah it takes a hit. If not then by adjusting the ring to let more light in it should give better bokeh I would assume.

 

[Derrel]

weird, that adapter/conversion really ruins the bokeh on that nikon 50mm when attached to the Sony.

YES, that was the single most apparent thing between the two sets...the 50/1.8 G used on its own looked very different than it did on the Sony. Still, I think these might have the same sensor. Beside the way the out of focus background areas are rendered, there's not a lot separating the two cameras, visually. Seem to have similar amounts of detail. And the Sony is shooting "darker", as if maybe the ISO values have been monkeyed with in the design, or maybe it's due to the adapter?

 

[vipgraphx]

I did not mess with ISO values in any way in post or anything. Here is my theory, THe adapter acts like a tunnel, there is no mirror or glass nothing to magnify the light passing through. NOw that there is a greater distance between the actual lens and camera sensor there must be a loss of light passing onto the sensor which makes it darker. Perhaps to get the same look as the Nikon D610 has one must adjust exposure and or ISO or adjust in post but that is only the lighting part the other part is the bokeh which you can not fix in post.

As far as the sensor SONY "Claims" its not. I don't know for sure but, end results look vary similar. I think at this point will determine on what lens are being used.

Here are two more shots. This time instead of using the Sony/Nikon combo I used the Sony A7 with Kit lens vs Nikon D610 with 50 1.8G

Here is the NIkon D610 50 1.8G, F 3.5


DSC_0028 by VIPGraphX, on Flickr

Sony At kit lens 27-70 F4.5


DSC02106-2 by VIPGraphX, on Flickr

I did realized that I did not match F Stop so the nikon starts blur out sooner than the sony but the eyes are both are sharp. Really without doing more and more test I think that both cameras get great images and if not probably are using the same or similar sensor with a tweak here or there.

It will boil down to the lens.

This will conclude this image test.

It will come down to what you want out of a camera. I think the A7 with lenses that actually fit with no adapter will be an excellent camera but probably more expensive to operate as the lens choices that sony currently has now and will be coming out soon will have a hefty price tag..Where as nikon you can buy used and nikon usually make an cheaper version in some of their lens that are great and way cheaper.

 

[usayit]

Here is my theory, THe adapter acts like a tunnel, there is no mirror or glass nothing to magnify the light passing through. NOw that there is a greater distance between the actual lens and camera sensor there must be a loss of light passing onto the sensor which makes it darker.

If the adapter is proper, it will maintain the same flange distance. In other words, the distance between the lens to camera sensor is the same for the Nikon D610 and the A7 + adapter.

Digital cameras approximate ISO. Different cameras approximate it differently... This accounts for exposure differences between cameras even with identical ISO, shutter, and aperture settings.

 

[vipgraphx]

well it was just a theory, Maybe the fotodiox is not proper :???:

From what on their website they specialize in these things so one would think they were. Perhaps I am not dialing it in just right. I may have to adjust the aperture more I could have been shooting at a higher aperture then what the display said.

 

[vipgraphx]

So I got the original files that were taken before any crops to look at the bokeh. I adjusted the SONY with Nikon lens in Lightroom to try to get the same colors as the D610. As a result I feel that these two images are nearly identical given the slightly different angle I shot.


nikond610fullsize by VIPGraphX, on Flickr


sonynikonfullsize by VIPGraphX, on Flickr