p.1 #5 · D3,D4,D700,D600,D800: Who has the best high iso performance?
My D4 is better than my D3 and than my D800 (at similar resolutions) but I am not sure at all it outperforms the D3s. I would say the difference is between 1 and 1.5 stops between D3 and D4.
p.1 #6 · D3,D4,D700,D600,D800: Who has the best high iso performance?
D3s and D4, in my experience, are simply different.
Less grain on D3s, more on D4. A step backwards.
On the plus side, the D4 maintains higher colour integrity at higher iso, with more dynamic range.
Shot the 2 yesterday side by side in marginal lighting, and both are excellent when light is really low. D3 is much, much worse. And it bands very easily at higher isos...
p.1 #8 · D3,D4,D700,D600,D800: Who has the best high iso performance?
I've shot D3, D3s, D4, D800, D700, and have not shot the D600.
IMHO and experience the The best for noise goes to an almost virtual tie between the D3s and the D4, however with regard to High ISO and color rendition, the D4 is a clear winner, I can and do on a regular basis shoot the D4 at 20,000 ISO and the colors are just there. Once I hit the D3s above 8000 I begin to lose quite a bit in colors. My go to cameras for low light are the D3s and the D4, I usually run the longer lens on the D4 and the shorter lens on the D3s, I can usually get away with a little slower shutter speed/lower ISO on the D3s to keep my ISO down a bit on it.
p.1 #9 · D3,D4,D700,D600,D800: Who has the best high iso performance?
... and to add to Matt's points, the D600 isn't quite in the league of the D3S and D4, at least after ISO3200. Up till that point it's exceptional, and still very good at ISO6400. However at this point the D3S and D4 will outperform it to some extent, and even more noticeably at ISO12800. The D600 by far bests the D3 and D700 though all the way through. High ISO performance is more than just about grain and noise control... it's becoming more and more about color accuracy and saturation, detail retention, etc.
p.1 #10 · D3,D4,D700,D600,D800: Who has the best high iso performance?
According to DxOMArk the D3s beats any other DSLR in "Low Light Sensitivity" though that's a very general term. In real life, however, things do not map onto those "objective" findings
In short, all are very close that the context in which the photo was taken plays a bigger role than the sensor itself...
p.1 #11 · D3,D4,D700,D600,D800: Who has the best high iso performance?
I think the D3s, because that even if the D4 has about the same performance it is easier to get correct color at higher ISOs with the D3s. So even if the noise overall at the same presentation size might be absolutely equal, the D3s takes better to post-work at the higher ISOs.
p.1 #12 · D3,D4,D700,D600,D800: Who has the best high iso performance?
D4, regardless of DxOMark, because it finds focus in low light much better than the D3s. If there is a difference in ISO performance, it is not significant enough to offset the D4's focus performance advantage. Oh, IMO.
p.1 #14 · D3,D4,D700,D600,D800: Who has the best high iso performance?
I can't comment on the D4 as I never owned one, but the D3s I had definitely beat the D800, or any other camera I have owned for that matter. I would like to shoot with a D4 at some point in time to compare it.
p.1 #16 · D3,D4,D700,D600,D800: Who has the best high iso performance?
I've owned a D3S and now own both a D800 and a D4. Owned the D3S for a couple of years and the D4 more than 9 months now. I would say that the D3S is a lot better than either the D4 or D800 in low light.
p.1 #19 · D3,D4,D700,D600,D800: Who has the best high iso performance?
Dustin Gent wrote:
doesn't the D3 and D700 have the same sensor? I know the D3s is different.
AFAIK, you're correct, the d3 and d700 have the same sensor. The d3s might even have the same base sensor, dunno. The supporting electronics and other goodies involved with image output certainly make a significant difference. The d3s is capable of some incredible images at ISO's I'd never have believed, had I not seen it for myself. Given the other feats the d3s is capable of doing, it's the most incredible camera I've ever seen.
I still use my d700, because it is still a great camera, but the d3s is really a sweet tool to use. I'd like to pick up a d3 some day, because I've really become enamored with the large pro bodies. The d3s is my first large pro body and the body is everything that folks have always said it was.
Is the d4 body the same as the d3 series? Seems like Nikon has to change buttons and other features around with every new release.
