Digic 5 vs nikon lineUp

[cab7220]

i have a canon 60d with kit 18-135, love it, enjoy it, BUT before i invest in flash  and FAST lenses ( like a 50mm 1.4(maybe 1.2) and a sexy 70-200 2.,  will the 'digic 5' be better with the low light iso, and worth wait time, or will thenikon line up,(like the new 5100 that comes with the sexy sensor of the d7000) be the answer

[dilbert]

Will something that doesn't exist yet be better than something that does.

Tough question.

[Olly]

i have a canon 60d with kit 18-135, love it, enjoy it, BUT before i invest in flash  and FAST lenses ( like a 50mm 1.4(maybe 1.2) and a sexy 70-200 2.,  will the 'digic 5' be better with the low light iso, and worth wait time, or will thenikon line up,(like the new 5100 that comes with the sexy sensor of the d7000) be the answer

It is the sensor not the DIGIC 5 you should focus on. Nobody knows what kind of sensors Canon will make for their next generation of cameras or what they will focus on. It is the sensor that determines the amount of noise and dynamic range. If you want my opinion I would say Canon will lag behind Nikon/Sony in dynamic range ( read: low noise ) for a long, long time. Just my opinion, not the truth. If you need exceptional high DR ( low noise ) buy a Nikon/Sony/Pentax.

[K3nt]

i have a canon 60d with kit 18-135, love it, enjoy it, BUT before i invest in flash  and FAST lenses ( like a 50mm 1.4(maybe 1.2) and a sexy 70-200 2.,  will the 'digic 5' be better with the low light iso, and worth wait time, or will thenikon line up,(like the new 5100 that comes with the sexy sensor of the d7000) be the answer

I have the 50mm f/1.4 and the sexy 70-200mm f/2.8 mk II. I also kept the 18-135mm kit lens which I find useful at times. However the CA on the kit lens is really bad, one has to pretty much fix every photo taken with it. On the other hand, once you know what to look for and how to correct it, the 18-135mm span is great.
With regards to the future inquiries....I don't know. I say go with what works for you at the moment and worry about the rest when / if they're available.
Getting a flash and and fast lens now will see you ready for the next great thing from Canon. (or did you mean flash lenses?) 

[neuroanatomist]

It is the sensor that determines the amount of noise and dynamic range.

Not entirely.  NR processing is performed in-camera on the data coming off the sensor, prior to the RAW image being written.  As you'll probably know from performing NR during post-processing on the computer, it takes a fair bit of processing power and time.  To keep up with frame rates, the NR during image capture is more limited in scope, but a more powerful Digic processor can allow better in-camera (pre-RAW) NR.

Still, I don't see noise levels getting down to where Nikon is anytime soon. 

[motorhead]

Canon have made claims for the next 1Ds along the lines of "Industry leading" dynamic resolution and noise control. I would assume that will trickle down to the rest of the range over time*.

I prefer Canon's current approach personally, high mp and crisp (but noisy?) RAW's. In their attempts at noise control Nikon tend to soften images in camera too much for my liking, I prefer to apply my own noise control remedies in post processing, but each to their own. I do admit my methods are time consuming.

*But then Sony will not be standing still either, the reality is that the high ground will be occupied by a manufacturer for fairly brief periods as others catch up and overtake. I don't see Canon or Nikon being able to dominate as they have done in the past. Sony must eventually want to come and play in their own right and it will become a three way battle.

[awinphoto]

Before we start getting into the entire Canon vs Nikon debate, for full disclosure, do you plan on upgrading once a 70D and or 7D m2, or 5d m3 comes out?  Or are you just floating a hypothetical out there?  I my opinion, I think Nikon over the last few years have had a slight advantage over canon however over the last maybe 2 years canon have made great strides to narrow the gap, and in the 7D vs D300s, surpassed nikon in many categories.  If you're not fully satisfied with the 60D, consider our options and do whats best.  Also consider lenses and cost of switching over.  Only you can answer that. 

[CR Backup Admin]

Better low light performance starts with the sensor design, and continues with the design of the Digic processor to get both speed and low noise.  If Canon had some sort of revolutationary improvement ready, we would have seen it last fall at Photokina.  We are at a point in digital Photography where a huge investment in R&D and tooling are needed for a relatively small gain.

We will not see a Digic 5 soon, Chip factories cannot operate with the rolling blackouts we see in Japan.  It takes two weeks to restart and recalibrate a chip plant, and the power goes out every 3 or 4 days.  I'm sure they are trying to bring in some backup power, but this is big scale stuff, and normally has multi year lead times for delivery. 

[skitron]

NR processing is performed in-camera on the data coming off the sensor, prior to the RAW image being written.

I thought the NR parameters were written to metadata (which is why we see different values in DPP depending on how the camera was set, since DPP takes parms from the meta)? Plus the 50d manual talks about how NR will not be displayed in prints or LCD when shooting only RAW...this only makes sense if the NR parms are written to metadata, no? (Maybe this is what you are saying and I'm misreading it?)

[neuroanatomist]

NR processing is performed in-camera on the data coming off the sensor, prior to the RAW image being written.

I thought the NR parameters were written to metadata (which is why we see different values in DPP depending on how the camera was set, since DPP takes parms from the meta)? Plus the 50d manual talks about how NR will not be displayed in prints or LCD when shooting only RAW...this only makes sense if the NR parms are written to metadata, no? (Maybe this is what you are saying and I'm misreading it?)

There is NR prior to the RAW file write.  The most obvious example of that is the long-exposure NR (dark frame subtraction) that occurs if that setting is enabled - that NR is baked into the RAW image data (not the metadata).  But even outside of that, there is signal processing as part of the analog to digital conversion, and noise reduction is part of that, and also 'baked in' to the RAW image data.  There is also an NR setting applied to the metadata based on camera settings.  I was referring to the former.

[distant.star]

I can't comment on the "sexy" stuff, but I can say the new DIGIC 5 (code name "Whole Hand") will thrill you and meet all your needs. Recently I visited Canon's ultra-secret digital development center at an undisclosed location near the southern tip of South America. All I can say is "Whole Hand" is astonishing.

Obviously, I can't give you all the details. However, I can say they are using string theory to induce a dimensional flux that creates a 3-dimensional output unlike anything we've seen before. I mean it looks more real than real. I saw them take a picture of a hay bale, and when they showed it to a horse he actually tried to eat it. They assured me Nikon has no technology even close to this.

It's on the near horizon, and they tell me the first to know will be the in-the-street retail sales force. They believe no one else is closer to the customer and is equipped to give him the absolute truth with undiminished clarity. Check in frequently with your local camera store -- could be any day now.

Pretty exciting, and thanks for asking.

i have a canon 60d with kit 18-135, love it, enjoy it, BUT before i invest in flash  and FAST lenses ( like a 50mm 1.4(maybe 1.2) and a sexy 70-200 2.,  will the 'digic 5' be better with the low light iso, and worth wait time, or will thenikon line up,(like the new 5100 that comes with the sexy sensor of the d7000) be the answer

[K3nt]

I can't comment on the "sexy" stuff, but I can say the new DIGIC 5 (code name "Whole Hand") will thrill you and meet all your needs. Recently I visited Canon's ultra-secret digital development center at an undisclosed location near the southern tip of South America. All I can say is "Whole Hand" is astonishing.

Obviously, I can't give you all the details. However, I can say they are using string theory to induce a dimensional flux that creates a 3-dimensional output unlike anything we've seen before. I mean it looks more real than real. I saw them take a picture of a hay bale, and when they showed it to a horse he actually tried to eat it. They assured me Nikon has no technology even close to this.

It's on the near horizon, and they tell me the first to know will be the in-the-street retail sales force. They believe no one else is closer to the customer and is equipped to give him the absolute truth with undiminished clarity. Check in frequently with your local camera store -- could be any day now.

Pretty exciting, and thanks for asking.

Brilliant. I can't wait to get one. 

[Tov]

Even Einstein will come back for this one!

[Tov]

Still, I don't see noise levels getting down to where Nikon is anytime soon.

Why not? Is there so much difference between Canon and Nikon in there thechnical aproach. I'm sure the tech. dept. of either company will, as soon as a new camera hits the market, take it to pieces and learn from that.