Gear Talk > EOS Bodies - For Stills

24 cameras now pushed and compared for noise on the dark end at all ISOs

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Aglet:
I managed to get my mitts on another NINE cameras this weekend and have posted the results along with the previous 15 on one page. A big wide monitor is ideal to look at the whole picture.

Now, not only are there the usual suspects from Canon; 5D2, 5D3, 7D, 60D, 50D, 40D, etc. The G1 X has been added to the PowerShot group.

There are now the new Nikon D4 (seriously dark), and D800 along with previous D5100 and D90.

Also new to the comparison are Pentax medium format 645D, APS-C sensored K5, K01 mirrorless, and even the tiny Pentax Q.
Also Sony A900 full frame SLR and Panasonic G1X four-thirds class camera.

All are pushed +4EV using my usual procedure.

http://a2bart.com/tech/tech.htm


I handled a really neat little Olympus OM D but only a pre-production model so I couldn't get files from it.  It did fit the hand nicely and featured plenty of dedicated controls on a squarish body with a bit of a retro look.  The grip and extra battery (separate units) made nice additions to the basic body.

So, I've had the chance to play with a LOT of cameras this weekend, learned a few things and shook up my imaging world a little more.  For instance, have you seriously looked at the Pentax K5?... What a control-freak's ultimate camera.  It may not get used like the workhorses like the 5D3 are but it has a lot of things that would appeal to the creative shooter.
Pocketable Pentax Q puts out impressive images for such a tiny little unit too and it sure is "cute."  A couple more lenses for it would be nice.

Unfortunately I forgot to get files from the new Fuji X-Pro 1. DANG. :(

I DID remember to order my next new imaging tool though. (for delivery sometimes later this year)

Well, I don't mean to do a whole whack of reviews here, just notify those who are interested in dark frame noise tests that there's a bunch more to look at now.
It'll still take me a while to post the whole-sensor reduced images to show larger scale noise patterns but some of them are pretty interesting and may reveal a few things going on inside some cameras for those with a serious tech interest.

nightbreath:
The same issue as it was before, 40D noise looks better to me than 5D Mark III noise at ISO 100 and 200. Is it possible to show 10% of image area rather than 100% crop?

It would give much better understanding on overall camera performance.

bycostello:
fascinating comparison...

Aglet:

--- Quote from: nightbreath on April 15, 2012, 08:36:22 AM ---The same issue as it was before, 40D noise looks better to me than 5D Mark III noise at ISO 100 and 200. Is it possible to show 10% of image area rather than 100% crop?

It would give much better understanding on overall camera performance.

--- End quote ---

Agreed.
What I'm working on next is showing the whole image, reduced to 1/8 size in both dimensions, which gives a good indication of overall noise patterns and other interesting patterns that can provide clues to what's going on in the camera system.

I'm looking for a different scaling algorithm tho (I think I have a B-spline somewhere) as the usual ones for photographic work de-emphasize the overall luminance values too much so the scaled whole-image noise map is much darker than the 100% crop at a given ISO.  That isn't a big issue either tho, since one scaled whole image noise map at one ISO will look pretty much like any other ISO level for a given camera.  There's generally either repetitive fixed pattern noise (sensor or readout system irregularities) or random banding noise (internal power supply noise) which is never quite the same from shot to shot. 

I've attached some 1/8-samples here, based at 3200 ISO, until I can devise a better procedure for processing and presenting these images from all the cameras. Altho you can still make out the patterns, the actual range of luminance variation within each image is greatly decreased by the scaling and jpg compression.

Also just noticed, the CR posting system here seems to rescale attached images to a max width of 702 pixels so the variation and relative size difference of the images below has been compromised a little more.

5D2, 5D3, 40D, D800

Mt Spokane Photography:
Its pretty apparent from the comments that intrepreting what you are showing is not being understood the same way by users.  Thats why signal to noise ratios are a good way to help people understand.
 
 
Here is how I view it:
 
The luminance (brightness of the noise) is what causes you see the noise in a image, and, as the author notes, its greatly compressed in the examples below. 
 
At the same exposure levels with a 40D (And I loved all 5 of mine), the noise image below is brighter while the noise of a 5D MK III is darker and almost invisible.  Even a bigger difference before compressing them for publication here.
 
Its the brightness or luminance of the noise with respect to the image signal (S/N ratio) that determines how much noise shows in your image.
 
Thus, in the darker images here, the noise will be less in your image and in the lighter or brighter images, noise will be more easily seen.
 
The retention of detail is related as well, but is very important.

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