Photography News 13

Camera review

19

ISO 100

ISO 400

ISO 800

ISO 1600

FULL-FRAME IMAGE

ISO 3200

ISO 12,800

ISO 25,600

ISO 6400

ISO 51,200

ISO performance The D750’s native ISO range is 100 to 12,800, but this is expandable down to L (ISO 50 equivalent) and up to H2.0, which is equivalent to 51,200. Our test shots shown here were taken at twilight on the D750 fitted with the AF-S Nikon 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6Gmounted on a Gitzo 2532 carbon fibre tripod. The shutter was released using mirror-up and the 3secs exposure delay setting.

Significant noise doesn’t really make an impact until you are over 6400 and you start to get splotches of colour in areas of even tone. By the time you get to the expanded settings the colour noise is obvious. The D750 delivers a respectable rather than outstanding high ISO performance, but up to ISO 1600, it’s comparable to any digital DSLR.

The Nikon NEF Raw files were processed using Nikon Capture D v1.0.2 with no noise reduction or extra sharpening. As is typical of recent CSCs and DSLRs, digital noise is not an issue at speeds up to ISO 1600 and even ISO 2500 is pretty good. There should be no problem making A3 and bigger prints from files shot at these high ISO settings, particularly if the processing is handled sympathetically.

FULL-FRAME IMAGE

NIKOND750 AT ISO 6400

NIKOND800 AT ISO 6400

Nikon D750 v Nikon D800: ISO performance The scene was photographed using the D750 and a Nikon D800, both using the same lens, a Nikon 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G at 48mm. The exposure was 1/100sec at f/8 with the cameras mounted on a Gitzo Mountaineer GT2532 carbon-fibre tripod. The D800’s top native ISO is 6400 and the D750 is 12,800 so the images here are both at ISO 6400. Both Raw files were processed in Nikon Capture NX-D (Nikon’s free editing software) with no noise reduction applied. JPEGs were shot at the same time – the camera’s High ISO Noise Reduction was applied to JPEGs to assess its effect. There is no denying that image quality – considering the high ISOs – is impressive in both instances; if the light conditions demand it, use them with confidence. On closer inspection, the D750 has the slightly lower noise levels, which is no surprise given that

it has a lower resolution and it’s younger by two years. But it is also more noticeable that there are splashes of colour noise present, while the D800’s noise is neutral. While neutral noise can look more like film grain, colour digital noise appears less appealing, especially in areas of shadow. Of course in both instances, noise levels can be minimised with software processing post-capture. The D750 file has also been enlarged slightly more (by factor of x1.22) to achieve the same image size. On the subject of the camera’s High ISO Noise Reduction feature, it’s definitely had a benefit on the JPEGs straight out of the camera. The High setting was slightly too aggressive and detail suffered slightly but Normal worked well and the setting can be left on as default.

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Issue 13 | Photography News

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