Photography News 11

Camera review

D800

D810

ISO 50

ISO 32

ISO 200

ISO performance With such a high number of pixels crammed into a small area the digital noise performance of the D800/E was good but it wasn’t outstanding. It lagged behind the D3 s and Df on the noise front at high ISO settings, but, of course, both of these cameras have fewer pixels. I shot a test set with the D810 alongside the D800 and the Df – the latter uses the same sensor as the D4 and its ISO range extends to ISO 204,800. The same lens (a 24-120mm f/4) was used with each of the cameras and they were all mounted on a Gitzo Mountaineer GT2532 with a remote release doing the triggering. The test images were all processed from 14-bit Raw files using Lightroom 5.6 with no noise reduction applied. All three cameras are excellent at the slow and middle ISO settings but the higher the speed, the more obvious the differences. The Df is the best of the three but that’s no surprise. Looking at the D800 and D810 shots, noise levels appear similar, but the D810 manages to hold more fine details. In terms of usable ISO settings, the D810 can be used at ISO 1600 with confidence if you need that level of sensitivity without comprising ultimate image quality. Higher speeds are respectable too. At ISO 12,800 the D810 produced well-defined noise, which was pretty acceptable given the extreme high ISO rating, and with Lightroom’s noise reduction applied the noise levels were significantly reduced without any artefacting.

ISO 800

ISO 1600

ISO 3200

ISO 6400

ISO 12,800

ISO 25,600

IMAGES While all three Nikons turn in good performances in the middle of their ISO ranges, the D810 produces respectable results at higher settings too. For example, at 12,800 noise is well defined and pretty acceptable. Apply Lightroom’s noise reduction and levels reduce significantly.

For an even more detailed report on the Nikon D810, see issue 48 of Advanced Photographer , on sale 28 August.

ISO 51,200

Photography News | Issue 11