Home · Register · Join Upload & Sell

Moderated by: Fred Miranda

New fredmiranda.com Mobile Site

New Feature: SMS Notification alert

New Feature: Buy & Sell Watchlist

FM Forums | Sony Forum | Join Upload & Sell

end

Which current Sony is best for High ISO/Low Light photography?

bjhurley
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.2 #1 · p.2 #1 · Which current Sony is best for High ISO/Low Light photography?

I use the A7iii for low-light concerts and dances, all with manual-focus lenses, and have been very happy with it. I have ISO capped at 12,800 and many of my shots are underexposed there; I bring them up in post. I also have the original A7s which does a good job too, but really no better than the A7iii and in some respects worse (especially in use, since the lack of IBIS makes looking through the EVF a bit of a pain with its slow refresh rate and horrible rolling shutter). I can't speak to autofocus as I don't have any autofocus lenses, but the A7iii has hit the sweet spot for me in terms of resolution/file size and low light image quality. I tend to shoot at wider apertures to keep the ISO down (not so much to reduce noise but to maximize dynamic range), but that makes manual focusing even more challenging, especially for dances where my hit rate is much lower than for concerts.

Feb 27, 2024 at 08:23 AM

timgangloff
Offline
• • • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.2 #2 · p.2 #2 · Which current Sony is best for High ISO/Low Light photography?

chiron wrote:
Of course it's clean--he's been swimming in crystal clear water!

More seriously, I think the OP would find either the A1 or the A7CII, at two very different price points, very satisfactory for autofocus and noise in low light at high ISO.

Except, the OP said this: "I currently have the A1 and the A7rV but I’m afraid they tend to have a noise pattern that’s not great once you get past 4000 ISO, especially the A7rV"

So, I was just pointing out that perhaps it's his processing, as the camera is more than capable.

Feb 27, 2024 at 08:50 AM

LBJ2
Offline
• • • • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.2 #3 · p.2 #3 · Which current Sony is best for High ISO/Low Light photography?

bjhurley wrote:
I use the A7iii for low-light concerts and dances, all with manual-focus lenses, and have been very happy with it. I have ISO capped at 12,800 and many of my shots are underexposed there; I bring them up in post. I also have the original A7s which does a good job too, but really no better than the A7iii and in some respects worse (especially in use, since the lack of IBIS makes looking through the EVF a bit of a pain with its slow refresh rate and horrible rolling shutter). I can't speak to autofocus as I don't have...Show more →

DXOMark measures the A7III with the highest Sports & Action score: (Low-Light ISO) scores of the Sony cameras they've tested so far.

https://www.dxomark.com/Cameras/ ( Select Sony cameras, then filter by Sports scores)

How DXOMark measures cameras for Sports & action score: Low-Light ISO and Noise and Dynamic Range and ISO Sensitivity here:
https://www.dxomark.com/dxomark-camera-sensor-testing-protocol-and-scores/

Feb 27, 2024 at 09:23 AM

timgangloff
Offline
• • • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.2 #4 · p.2 #4 · Which current Sony is best for High ISO/Low Light photography?

LBJ2 wrote:
DXOMark measures the A7III with the highest Sports & Action score: (Low-Light ISO) scores of the Sony cameras they've tested so far.

https://www.dxomark.com/Cameras/ ( Select Sony cameras, then filter by Sports scores)

How DXOMark measures cameras for Sports & action score: Low-Light ISO and Noise and Dynamic Range and ISO Sensitivity here:
https://www.dxomark.com/dxomark-camera-sensor-testing-protocol-and-scores/

Their scoring lost all credibility when it gave the A7R5 a better sports score than the A1. Complete lunacy. Gotta get the images in focus and get lots of them. I've got both cameras. Only one can shoot sports with a high degree of dependability from sensor read out speed to AF accuracy to FPS.

Feb 27, 2024 at 11:03 AM

LBJ2
Offline
• • • • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.2 #5 · p.2 #5 · Which current Sony is best for High ISO/Low Light photography?

timgangloff wrote:
Their scoring lost all credibility when it gave the A7R5 a better sports score than the A1. Complete lunacy. Gotta get the images in focus and get lots of them. I've got both cameras. Only one can shoot sports with a high degree of dependability from sensor read out speed to AF accuracy to FPS.

Did you get a chance to read their definition of the "sports" score measurement? I think the DXOMark measurement "sports" might confuse if someone is unfamiliar with what is being measured at DXOMark for that category.

Feb 27, 2024 at 01:11 PM

QuietOC
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.2 #6 · p.2 #6 · Which current Sony is best for High ISO/Low Light photography?

Those scores are meaningless if they don't account for noise reduction in the "raw" file. At least DXOMark hasn't published results for the Pentax K-3 III like photonstophotos:

Feb 27, 2024 at 01:51 PM

chiron
Offline
• • • • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.2 #7 · p.2 #7 · Which current Sony is best for High ISO/Low Light photography?

QuietOC wrote:
At least DXOMark hasn't published results for the Pentax K-3 III like photonstophotos:

Very useful chart. I assume GFX 100_14 is a typo for the GFX 100 II.

Including the pixel-shift score for the A7RIII is a bit misleading since it mixes bases of comparison and none other are listed in pixel-shift mode. In non-pixel shift mode, the A7RIII is well below the cameras that it is adjacent to on the list. The A7RIII is actually very similar to the A7III in PDR.

Feb 27, 2024 at 02:19 PM

chez
Offline
• • • • • • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.2 #8 · p.2 #8 · Which current Sony is best for High ISO/Low Light photography?

timgangloff wrote:
Their scoring lost all credibility when it gave the A7R5 a better sports score than the A1. Complete lunacy. Gotta get the images in focus and get lots of them. I've got both cameras. Only one can shoot sports with a high degree of dependability from sensor read out speed to AF accuracy to FPS.

But DXO is measuring the sensor, not the AF or FPS. One should actually understand what is being measured before putting down the results. In no where did DXO imply the A7R5 is a better sports camera than the A1.

Feb 27, 2024 at 04:12 PM

TakenWild
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.2 #9 · p.2 #9 · Which current Sony is best for High ISO/Low Light photography?

Don’t DXO downsize their photos to give even ISO testing? I thought they downsized to 8mp. Maybe it is more now. Which is why the higher mp cameras do well on their testing.

Feb 27, 2024 at 05:39 PM

LBJ2
Offline
• • • • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.2 #10 · p.2 #10 · Which current Sony is best for High ISO/Low Light photography?

TakenWild wrote:
Don’t DXO downsize their photos to give even ISO testing? I thought they downsized to 8mp. Maybe it is more now. Which is why the higher mp cameras do well on their testing.

DXOMark publishes their repeatable methods, methodology for anyone to read.

Feb 27, 2024 at 05:43 PM

timgangloff
Offline
• • • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.2 #11 · p.2 #11 · Which current Sony is best for High ISO/Low Light photography?

chez wrote:
But DXO is measuring the sensor, not the AF or FPS. One should actually understand what is being measured before putting down the results. In no where did DXO imply the A7R5 is a better sports camera than the A1.

DXO used the term "sports", not me. If they mean a static image, fine. But don't call it sports. Just call it high ISO. Don't call it sports, cuz "sports" is a helluva lot more than shooting a static subject in a controlled environment. I wonder how many of you defending DXO have both the a1 and the a7r5 and have shot them in a dimly lit high school football stadium. Or a poorly lit middle school gym. If the image isn't in focus, there's really no point in measuring the sensor's capability. "Sports" is misleading. Why not call it "Wedding Dance Floor" or "Nature before sunrise"?

Tell me this: When the scoring system says "High ISO AND Sports and Action", how did they measure fast motion? Did they shoot a sporting event at a poorly lit venue and measure say 100 images. Any images not in focus get a zero. I'd bet the scoring would look different. Again, if they just turn the lights off in their lab and take a static high ISO shot, then yeah, maybe the two bodies are close.

Feb 27, 2024 at 08:03 PM

chez
Offline
• • • • • • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.2 #12 · p.2 #12 · Which current Sony is best for High ISO/Low Light photography?

timgangloff wrote:
DXO used the term "sports", not me. If they mean a static image, fine. But don't call it sports. Just call it high ISO. Don't call it sports, cuz "sports" is a helluva lot more than shooting a static subject in a controlled environment. I wonder how many of you defending DXO have both the a1 and the a7r5 and have shot them in a dimly lit high school football stadium. Or a poorly lit middle school gym. If the image isn't in focus, there's really no point in measuring the sensor's capability. "Sports" is misleading. Why not call it...Show more →

If you really want to know how they did their tests…why not read about it. I personally never trust anything that rates one thing over another without actually understanding their rating system. You are currently making a bunch of assumptions without actual knowledge…can be a dangerous approach.

Feb 27, 2024 at 09:33 PM

Knut.
Offline
• •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.2 #13 · p.2 #13 · Which current Sony is best for High ISO/Low Light photography?

Software noise reduction (be it from DXO or now Lightroom) has become quite performant.
- Do you regularly use these tools for low light situations?
- Does this play into the performance of different bodies, e.g. do the raw files of some cameras allow more powerful noise reduction than others?

Feb 29, 2024 at 12:50 PM

GMPhotography
Offline
• • • • • • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.2 #14 · p.2 #14 · Which current Sony is best for High ISO/Low Light photography?

From my use I felt the A7IV was quite good without additional tools but I don’t run past iso 2000. If I need any help I will add it in C1 when processing my raws with some noise reduction. I don’t read these charts myself as I trust really no one on them.

Feb 29, 2024 at 01:09 PM

mcbroomf
Offline
• • • • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.2 #15 · p.2 #15 · Which current Sony is best for High ISO/Low Light photography?

chiron wrote:
Very useful chart. I assume GFX 100_14 is a typo for the GFX 100 II.

Including the pixel-shift score for the A7RIII is a bit misleading since it mixes bases of comparison and none other are listed in pixel-shift mode. In non-pixel shift mode, the A7RIII is well below the cameras that it is adjacent to on the list. The A7RIII is actually very similar to the A7III in PDR.

GFX 100_14 refers to a 14 bit file from the GFX 100

Feb 29, 2024 at 01:39 PM

Knut.
Offline
• •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.2 #16 · p.2 #16 · Which current Sony is best for High ISO/Low Light photography?

I bumped this thread as the question appears to have resurfaced.

Apr 09, 2024 at 01:21 PM

1 2 end
FM Forums \| Sony Forum \| Join Upload & Sell 1 2 end

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.