Mini-Review: 1D4 vs 1D3 High ISO Comparison

mikekelley wrote in post #12274191
And to an untrained eye, I bet they couldn't even notice a difference.

Yeah.

I've looked at it again, and I am still surprised, mainly because I've owned the 1D4, got another loaner from CPS not too long ago, and own the 1D3 and 5D2. IMO, the 5D2 still takes the cake, and there's a definite difference between it and the 1D3.

I guess I haven't owned the 1D4 enough to analyze. After the loaner 1D4 I got from CPS, I am convinced I made the right move by sticking with the 1D3.

nicksan wrote in post #12274220
Yeah.

I've looked at it again, and I am still surprised, mainly because I've owned the 1D4, got another loaner from CPS not too long ago, and own the 1D3 and 5D2. IMO, the 5D2 still takes the cake, and there's a definite difference between it and the 1D3.

I guess I haven't owned the 1D4 enough to analyze. After the loaner 1D4 I got from CPS, I am convinced I made the right move by sticking with the 1D3.

Did you leave out some of your journey?

Not sure why so many are surprised as the results echo that of many reviews.

The fact is there is very little high ISO performance difference between the 1D III, 5D2 and 1 D IV. The 1D IV wins out in the end because well the 1D III doesn't go above 3200 natively and the 5D2's banding becomes noticeable after 6400.

I think it's great that they have been able to increase the resolution from the same size sensor and retain the fantastic image quality of the 1D III - this translates into cleaner enlargements and down-rezzed files.

Idk man. I like the 1D IV bcoz' it's got video.

jdizzle wrote in post #12275721
Idk man. I like the 1D IV bcoz' it's got video.

I hate to admit this but I've never shot a video on mine. The 720p on the Oly E-PL1 works just fine for me.

K6AZ wrote in post #12275730
I hate to admit this but I've never shot a video on mine. The 720p on the Oly E-PL1 works just fine for me.

I used to own a 7D and never used the video option myself. I just use my Canon vid cam or G11.

Woah. I thought this is supposed to be much more?

Maybe the fabled low noise in the 1D4 is more of a imagine processor feature (software) than a low noise sensor?

Now I want to know how the D3s compared...

uOpt wrote in post #12275874
Woah. I thought this is supposed to be much more?

Maybe the fabled low noise in the 1D4 is more of a imagine processor feature (software) than a low noise sensor?

Now I want to know how the D3s compared...

Don't believe the hype - its just like the never ending full frame miles ahead of crop crud. Truth is all these improvements are there but slight and not as dramatic as the manufacturers would like us to believe. Having said that to get an increase from 10 to 16 megapixels with a small increase in high ISO performance at the pixel level is a nice improvement that shouldn't be scoffed at.

The D3s is about 1 stop better in high ISO performance to answer your question.

Well, the D3s ain't no hype. I was certainly super impressed during the very short time I had it. I mean, I am shooting Canon gear again now, but I was seriously impressed at least with the high ISO performance.

Sorry to jack this thread, but here are some samples, so you can kind of compare to the 1D3 and 1D4.

These went through my NR workflow in PS CS5.

Scene:

Scene:

The d3 has 12 mpixels... how does the d3x compare ?

bohdank wrote in post #12277634
The d3 has 12 mpixels... how does the d3x compare ?

Don't know. Never used one. At this rate we won't be able to compare anything then being that the D3x is 24.5MP.

Difference between 12MP and 16MP isn't really that huge BTW...

D3x vs 5DII, for example.

Very interesting test and evaluation

To be honest, I have never even looked at the high iso performance difference between the 3 and 4. ISO 1600 on either is good enough for me. What is important to me is the the crop ability of the 4 for BIF or any other subject in which the 4 far exceeds the 3. That is where it is at with the 4 IMO.