Mother of God - D800 scores 95 DxOMark

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Making it the Highest Rated Sensor they've tested. Impressive! Don't Let us down Canon.

Nikon D800

Overall Score - 95

Color Depth - 25.3 bits

Dynamic Range - 14.4

Low Light ISO - 2853

This is killing me, I think Canon's going to lose this round big. I'm not jumping ship though, I'll still get the 5D3 or 1D X... because I just can't stand how the Nikon Cameras feel in my hand, and I've got all my Canon Gear.
 

dr croubie

Too many photos, too little time.
Jun 1, 2011
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I don't know how they calculate those scores, but here's my take:

Noise:
Screen: D800 just a bit worse than the 5D2, nothing fancy.
Print: pretty much same as the D3S (on the print score you can see the noise-reduction kick in above iso6k on both nikons).

DR:
Print: D800 just keeps going up past 14 bits at iso50, beats the 5D2 and D3S (but D3S wins above iso1600). D800 a half a bit above D3X the whole way.
Screen: D800 and 5D2 are the same above iso400, but below it just keeps going in a straight line, 5D2 plateus out. D3S still beats both above iso400. D800 about 1/4 stop above D3X the whole way.

Tonal range:
Print: D3S and D800 almost the same, D3X just a smidge below, 5D2 a smidge below that.
Screen: D3S a stop above the D3X, D800, 5D2 all the same.

Colours:
Print: D800 for the low iso, D3s for the high, otherwise neck and neck, D3X just a bit less. Nikons are a bit or two above 5D2.
Screen: D800 just just above 5D2, both tied with D3X (you can really see nikon's boost above iso6400). D3s beats them both easily.


So what's so good about this sensor? Personally, I don't see much groundbreaking about it besides the 36MP. Noise levels are near enough to the same as the previous generation. 5D3 should beat it easily and maybe get into D3S-beating territory.
DR is a half-step above D3X, at least it doesn't 'plateau' like the 5D2 and D3S. I hope the 5D3 doesn't plateau at low iso like the 5D2.
Tonal range, just a smidge improved on D3X again.
Ditto colours, only a minor incremental improvement on D3X.

So it's good for landscapes at low-iso, and no worse than the 5D2 at high-iso. If the 5D3 really does improve by as much as canon's marketing tells us, then it should easily beat the D800 for everything other than megapixels...
 
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briansquibb

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dr croubie said:
I don't know how they calculate those scores, but here's my take:

Noise:
Screen: D800 just a bit worse than the 5D2, nothing fancy.
Print: pretty much same as the D3S (on the print score you can see the noise-reduction kick in above iso6k on both nikons).

DR:
Print: D800 just keeps going up past 14 bits at iso50, beats the 5D2 and D3S (but D3S wins above iso1600). D800 a half a bit above D3X the whole way.
Screen: D800 and 5D2 are the same above iso400, but below it just keeps going in a straight line, 5D2 plateus out. D3S still beats both above iso400. D800 about 1/4 stop above D3X the whole way.

Tonal range:
Print: D3S and D800 almost the same, D3X just a smidge below, 5D2 a smidge below that.
Screen: D3S a stop above the D3X, D800, 5D2 all the same.

Colours:
Print: D800 for the low iso, D3s for the high, otherwise neck and neck, D3X just a bit less. Nikons are a bit or two above 5D2.
Screen: D800 just just above 5D2, both tied with D3X (you can really see nikon's boost above iso6400). D3s beats them both easily.


So what's so good about this sensor? Personally, I don't see much groundbreaking about it besides the 36MP. Noise levels are near enough to the same as the previous generation. 5D3 should beat it easily and maybe get into D3S-beating territory.
DR is a half-step above D3X, at least it doesn't 'plateau' like the 5D2 and D3S. I hope the 5D3 doesn't plateau at low iso like the 5D2.
Tonal range, just a smidge improved on D3X again.
Ditto colours, only a minor incremental improvement on D3X.

So it's good for landscapes at low-iso, and no worse than the 5D2 at high-iso. If the 5D3 really does improve by as much as canon's marketing tells us, then it should easily beat the D800 for everything other than megapixels...

So the D800 is about the same as the 1ds3 then at low iso ...... big news item 'Nikon catches up with 4 year old Canon tehnology'
 
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I congratulate Nikon on producing a stellar camera in the D800. Now can someone please post sample images taken with both a D800 and a 5DIII, where the D800 made them a better photographer? I have a feeling that I'll be waiting for a long time.

The DxO tests are amusing, but I don't see what's so fun about fixating on such silly lab tests instead of using a camera for its intended purpose: creating art! I'd venture to say that most pro photographers - those creating beautiful images with their gear - have never even heard of this DxOMark nonsense. IMHO, trying to objectively quantify the value of a subjective medium (photography) is preposterous.

I think Megan Fox is one hot momma, and I can fantasize all day about inappropriate things I'd like to do with her, but I can't tell you why I think she's hot. She's just hot, and it's as simple as that. Maybe someone can develop a biometric facial scanning device that attempts to objectively quantify which women are hot, and which aren't. The tech geeks will have a field day with that one, and remain virgins at the same time ;D

The same goes for image quality. Again, I applaud Nikon for developing a camera that scores so well on a silly lab test, but I don't need a silly lab test to distinguish a great image from a junk image. I find it sad that instead of people posting sample images of the D800 and saying "wow, that looks great" they can't get over some lab tests.
 
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stve

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V8Beast said:
I congratulate Nikon on producing a stellar camera in the D800. Now can someone please post sample images taken with both a D800 and a 5DIII, where the D800 made them a better photographer? I have a feeling that I'll be waiting for a long time.
Easy to spot Canon images they are the ones with banding in the shadows & with burnt out highlights & very poor reds , I love the Canon red colour its a great red just like to see more shades of red sometimes.
 
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So the D800 is about the same as the 1ds3 then at low iso ...... big news item 'Nikon catches up with 4 year old Canon tehnology'

Not exactly... if it performed equivalently at the pixel level, it'll perform much better when normalized to 1ds3 resolution. Which is impressive given the much smaller pixel pitch, but not surprising given the much better read/electronic noise of Nikon/Sony sensors.
 
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Wrathwilde said:
Making it the Highest Rated Sensor they've tested. Impressive! Don't Let us down Canon.

Nikon D800

Overall Score - 95

Color Depth - 25.3 bits

Dynamic Range - 14.4

Low Light ISO - 2853

This is killing me, I think Canon's going to lose this round big. I'm not jumping ship though, I'll still get the 5D3 or 1D X... because I just can't stand how the Nikon Cameras feel in my hand, and I've got all my Canon Gear.


Low Light ISO 2853... dunno how they compute that but when I look at the dpreview raw samples vs the 5D2 and their own D7000, I don't see better (is that scale linear?). Same on Imaging Resource. I'm not knocking the D800 by any means, it sounds like a fantastic camera, it has amazing resolution and great features, but the noise... sorry, can't buy the numbers.

Kinda moot for me regardless, I like my Canon lenses and will not replace them.

I also don't like the feel of the Nikon bodies, Canon fits me better. When I started looking into digital years ago, I tried Nikon first, just couldn't do it.

For the most part, Nikon users will buy the D800 and Canon users will buy the 5D3, and both sides will produce great images.
 
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stve said:
V8Beast said:
I congratulate Nikon on producing a stellar camera in the D800. Now can someone please post sample images taken with both a D800 and a 5DIII, where the D800 made them a better photographer? I have a feeling that I'll be waiting for a long time.
Easy to spot Canon images they are the ones with banding in the shadows & with burnt out highlights & very poor reds , I love the Canon red colour its a great red just like to see more shades of red sometimes.

Reds are poor with defaults from ACR in some Canon models, but I found I can tweak settings and get detail without too much trouble. For more troublesome color images, I use DPP, which usually nails the color.

Banding... is much improved recently. I don't see any in any of the 5D3 samples until 25600.
 
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Orion

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V8Beast said:
. . . .Again, I applaud Nikon for developing a camera that scores so well on a silly lab test, but I don't need a silly lab test to distinguish a great image from a junk image.. . .

It's only "silly" if you use the tests to show what a great photographer you will be. . . . but it is not silly if you want to learn something about the actual sensor that is responsible for why your camera happens to be great . . pixel peeping notwithstanding.
 
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It's like Mac vs Windows. I don't really care how good the latest Mac is, I'm never going to get one - not because I'm anti-Mac or anti-Nikon, I am just too invested in the UI / lenses / software / hardware to make the switch. Either brand will perform the tasks I need performed. If that ever changes, I'll have to reluctantly jump ship. It's great to have two competing companies (and maybe Sony sometime soon, when the A99 comes out?) pushing the boundaries of the technology. We all win.

One of my favourite Canon features is C1, C2, C3 on the dial. That alone would be impossible for me to sacrifice (and also why I wouldn't buy a 1 series Canon).

Also I no longer use a battery grip, but when I did, having 2 batteries in the grip make perfect sense to me. One battery in the grip and one in the camera seemed absolutely INSANE! The D700 used that system and I *think* the D800 does too. Removing the grip to change both batteries? What?!

Little annoyances like that would drive me round the bend. But Canon has its issues too. Whatever, I'm happy. And so much happier than when I was a Sony user.
 
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Orion said:
V8Beast said:
. . . .Again, I applaud Nikon for developing a camera that scores so well on a silly lab test, but I don't need a silly lab test to distinguish a great image from a junk image.. . .

It's only "silly" if you use the tests to show what a great photographer you will be. . . .

Sadly, this is precisely what a lot of people do.

but it is not silly if you want to learn something about the actual sensor that is responsible for why your camera happens to be great . . pixel peeping notwithstanding.

I can live with that. However, what we're witnessing is Canon shooters saddened by how well the D800 performs in lab tests, not how much better the D800 actually performs in real-world shooting situations. If you don't pixel peep, it's hard to tell the difference between the 5DIII and D800. Even when you do pixel peep, people reach different conclusions based on their biases. If this is someone's idea of enjoying photography, I find it quite pathetic.
 
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helpful

Ecclesiastes 3:11
Mar 6, 2012
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stve said:
V8Beast said:
I congratulate Nikon on producing a stellar camera in the D800. Now can someone please post sample images taken with both a D800 and a 5DIII, where the D800 made them a better photographer? I have a feeling that I'll be waiting for a long time.
Easy to spot Canon images they are the ones with banding in the shadows & with burnt out highlights & very poor reds , I love the Canon red colour its a great red just like to see more shades of red sometimes.

ROFL, I'm almost an old man, but I'm still literally almost rolling on the floor with gales of laughter. You have the greatest sense of humor, or should I say camera sensor for humor. When I got to the "love the Canon red" that really did me in. LOLOLOL.
 
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dr croubie

Too many photos, too little time.
Jun 1, 2011
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The biggest problem with most of the canon sensors is that the performance 'plateaus' at lower ISO, like iso100 isn't much better than iso200 or iso400. The D3X pretty much went in a straight line, and the D800 does too (just a bit better than the D3X).

Something tells me that they haven't fixed it though, because canon marketers would be all "4-stop improvement in image quality at low iso". They've told us high-iso is a stop or two better than 5D2, and i'd believe that. What i'd like to see is better DR etc at iso100. D800 can obviously do it, i hope the 5D3 can too...
 
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dr croubie

Too many photos, too little time.
Jun 1, 2011
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dilbert said:
That is for in-camera produced JPEG files only, which means the software in the camera is better, not the hardware.

If that's referring to me saying 'stop or two better', i thought that RAW was a stop better, JPG was 2-stops better?

Or we'll just have to wait for the 5D3 DxO results...
 
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sawsedge said:
stve said:
V8Beast said:
I congratulate Nikon on producing a stellar camera in the D800. Now can someone please post sample images taken with both a D800 and a 5DIII, where the D800 made them a better photographer? I have a feeling that I'll be waiting for a long time.
Easy to spot Canon images they are the ones with banding in the shadows & with burnt out highlights & very poor reds , I love the Canon red colour its a great red just like to see more shades of red sometimes.

Reds are poor with defaults from ACR in some Canon models, but I found I can tweak settings and get detail without too much trouble. For more troublesome color images, I use DPP, which usually nails the color.

Totally agree. The ACR defaults handles Canon's red poorly.
Used to be very frustrating...
 
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psolberg said:
Higs42 said:
So in summary, when you compare the new Nikon that is just hitting the market, it outperforms a Canon 5d2 that was designed in 2008. Mother of god, who would have guessed?
No. It beats everything recent. And this is the terrible high mp sensor everybody dismissed as being noisy and bad :)

Yes, there were lots of Canon fan body in denial, but I think the D800 has proven itself as having a great sensor. To my eyes, however, the real-world benefits of its awesomeness are tough to spot in most of the images taken with it so far.
 
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