We at IDIC Photo are very happy with the performance of the Nikon D300 -- its tone, color rendition and the 51-point auto-focus are second to none. And while it does not have the unbelievable low-noise performance of the full-frame D3 or the new D700 or the Canon 5D, it does a pretty decent job upto ISO 1600 to 3200. What surprised us is that Nikon's entry-level D40 is no slouch either when it comes to low-light high ISO performance! There are several high-ISO shootouts already posted around the web including Ken Rockwell's comparison. Posted below are some test shots we took with the D40 and D300 at ISO1600 and 3200 that re-affirm the findings.
All shots were taken with very low tungsten light source in the room and in manual mode at f/2.8 and 1/30 sec using the Nikon 50mm f/1.8 lens.
ISO1600 - D40 image on the left; D300 on the right
Crop from the image:
D300 image on the left; D40 on the right (Note the doll's head is larger in the D300 image due to the higher resolution but it appears to lose some details due to the D300's built-in noise reduction)
ISO3200 - D40 image on the left; D300 on the right
2 comments:
Thanks, interesting comparison !
Wow. The d40 really held its own in these pictures. I've also read the comparison made against the d3000 at dpreview, and it did well also. Almost 3 years already and still going strong. Looks like we're gonna see more of d40 for some years more.
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