DPReview's D2X vs. 1DsMKII

[MDJAK]

Well, DPReview managed to review the D2X, which came out months after the 1DsMKII, used the 1DsMKII as a comparison, and yet they still have not fully reviewed it. :rolleyes:

In the photographic tests, they use the 24-70 against the 50mm prime of the Nikon. Is that not apples and oranges?

I'm quite suprised and disappointed in their site. I've always held their fairness and reviews in high esteem, until now, that is.

I emailed them a number of times telling them they owe their legions of readers an explanation regarding why there's been no full review of the 1DsMKII. I know their site says they don't respond to those type emails.

Something's up, that's what I say.

[Tom W]

The D2X looks pretty good here. But you'll note that the high ISO performance is not so good, as expected (smaller photosites). Nikon compensates for this by allowing some strong on-board noise reduction, but the noise reduction results in some significant loss in detail. Also note that the exposure levels require 1/3 stop more aperture or time to obtain equal exposure to the Canon, meaning that the ISO ratings are probably a bit off (I.E., ISO 800 is really ISO 640).

It was a bit difficult to compare images as they weren't equalized for size on the screen.

The Nikon 50 vs. Canon 24-70 was only used in the studio shots - outdoor comparison shots were done with similar zooms.

Be sure to read the whole comparison - with sharpening at "1" on both cameras, the images are equalized in the studio, meaning that if the size were equal, the detail of the larger sensor would be preferable.

I have to say that Nikon has done a fine job here, but the noise limitations of smaller photosites are going to hamper their ability to increase resolution at this size of sensor (not to mention lens limitations).

[Belmondo]

I would hope the Noink would have qualities that keep the Canon engineers scrambling to stay ahead. Competition is good for us all.

I must admit, even though at first blush, it sounds a little gimmicky, I do like the idea of the two resolution/frame rates. There are times I would happily trade the frame rate of my 1D MkII for higher resolution.

[felix21685]

can u guys post a quick link

[Belmondo]

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/nikond2x/

[Longwatcher]

Three comments

One - There are two things I would like to see in my 1D series that D2X has, Closest priority mode for auto focus and the way they show battery power (I like % and shots taken).

Two - The should have also compared it to the 1DM2 against the high-speed mode and price.

Three - I suspect the reviewer of a slight Nikon bias (not significant, but there none the less), but will await his 1DsMkII review to confirm or deny this impression. My number one reason for suspecting bias is the fact he waited to review 1DsMkII until 2Dx review out, that and he did no comparison against 1DM2 (although he did against 20D - like that can compete in that class - okay actually it can, but don't confuse the Noink users by telling them that :)

[Tom W]

I'd like it better if the tests equalized the crops to an equal size. We don't frame our images differently just because we have a different format. Instead, we adjust our focal length and/or position to frame the image that we want. It doesn't make sense to have the Canon images spread out larger in the comparisons - that implies that we took a different image.

Still, Phil does a good job of trying to test equipment on a fairly equal basis. His priorities are not necessarily reflective of mine, but I appreciate his efforts.