So, I bought a used D90 the other week and have been pleasantly happy with the results of high ISO use over my old bodies. The other day, I decided to do a test between my 3 bodies before I sold my old D70s (if that's even possible :tongue
. I was a bit surprised at some of the results. I would like to share what I did and what I learned. If anyone has any input as to how I could make this sort of test better in the future, please, jump in and let me know. I don't do this too often (ie, NEVER!). :biggrin:
First up: What I Learned
1. I learned that, although testing equipment is not the end-all be-all that many people think it is, it can be a very valuable tool for getting to know your equipment. The results of a test can surprise you. Having said that, I will qualify it by saying that I will certainly not run out and test whatever I by right away, nor will I make "shooting brick walls" a habit. :smile:
2. I learned that, in order to make the test valid, you have to make everything as equal as possible. Don't forget the details (such as WB settings).
3. I learned that the older body cameras are not as bad as I thought, although they don't hold up to the newer cameras... But the difference is not quite as big as I thought it would be, at least the way I tested the bodies...
4. i learned that my D2X meter seems to be slightly off. It gave me readings of 1/3 stop difference than my D70s and my D90... for whatever reason, it was about 1/3 stop darker in all readings and settings. I will have to keep that in mind for the future!
Ok, I think I will split this into several posts, hopefully not too many, but I took a lot of shots to compare 3 bodies at as many different ISO settings a possible. Here are the details:
I kept all the settings the same as possible: WB, focal length, ISO (of course), distance to subject, lighting, etc. I decided that I would actually run 2 test. First, I metered each camera at 0 EV for each whole stop ISO setting the camera was capable of. Then I decided to do a whole new series at -1 EV, or 1-stop underexposed, just to test some limits to the camera.
Please keep in mind that these pics are SOC. I simply converted to Jpeg and then resized for web. Every picture underwent an identical process. Also, I think the results would be more dramatic if I had processed the pics the way I normally do, ie, the D90 would show better results if the exposure for each setting needed to be "pushed" in post.
Ok, enough talking. On to the results! :smile:
. I was a bit surprised at some of the results. I would like to share what I did and what I learned. If anyone has any input as to how I could make this sort of test better in the future, please, jump in and let me know. I don't do this too often (ie, NEVER!). :biggrin:First up: What I Learned
1. I learned that, although testing equipment is not the end-all be-all that many people think it is, it can be a very valuable tool for getting to know your equipment. The results of a test can surprise you. Having said that, I will qualify it by saying that I will certainly not run out and test whatever I by right away, nor will I make "shooting brick walls" a habit. :smile:
2. I learned that, in order to make the test valid, you have to make everything as equal as possible. Don't forget the details (such as WB settings).
3. I learned that the older body cameras are not as bad as I thought, although they don't hold up to the newer cameras... But the difference is not quite as big as I thought it would be, at least the way I tested the bodies...
4. i learned that my D2X meter seems to be slightly off. It gave me readings of 1/3 stop difference than my D70s and my D90... for whatever reason, it was about 1/3 stop darker in all readings and settings. I will have to keep that in mind for the future!
Ok, I think I will split this into several posts, hopefully not too many, but I took a lot of shots to compare 3 bodies at as many different ISO settings a possible. Here are the details:
I kept all the settings the same as possible: WB, focal length, ISO (of course), distance to subject, lighting, etc. I decided that I would actually run 2 test. First, I metered each camera at 0 EV for each whole stop ISO setting the camera was capable of. Then I decided to do a whole new series at -1 EV, or 1-stop underexposed, just to test some limits to the camera.
Please keep in mind that these pics are SOC. I simply converted to Jpeg and then resized for web. Every picture underwent an identical process. Also, I think the results would be more dramatic if I had processed the pics the way I normally do, ie, the D90 would show better results if the exposure for each setting needed to be "pushed" in post.
Ok, enough talking. On to the results! :smile:
