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Real Life High ISO Captures- D4

HarrybHarryb Registered Users, Retired Mod Posts: 22,708 Major grins
edited April 30, 2012 in Cameras
Hi Y'all,

Took the D4 out for the second time this morning. I had it attached to the 500mm f/4 and 1.7 TC. My original intent was to further test the AF capabilities with a different lens. As luck would have it I ran into a juvenile red shouldered hawk. It was right after sunset but a low layer of clouds kept the light very dim. It was too skitterish to get out of the car and set up a tripod so I had to shoot across the car through the passenger side window. Shooting handheld I had to use high ISOs to keep the shutter speed up.

Except for some minor cropping I did no processing on these captures. The camera's high ISO NR was set to normal.

ISO 5000i-N4dKDq6-XL.jpg

ISO 6400
i-4WCz3vs-XL.jpg

ISO 8000
i-LtDd2Sn-XL.jpg

ISO 12800
i-Ng6wLKX-XL.jpg
Harry
http://behret.smugmug.com/ NANPA member
How many photographers does it take to change a light bulb? 50. One to change the bulb, and forty-nine to say, "I could have done that better!"

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    David_S85David_S85 Administrators Posts: 13,216 moderator
    edited April 28, 2012
    Harryb wrote: »
    ... As luck would have it I ran into a juvenile red shouldered hawk ...

    They like you, Harry. And if luck is part of it, then you seem to have quite a bit of that luck. :D

    ISO, how high? These are very clean.
    My Smugmug
    "You miss 100% of the shots you don't take" - Wayne Gretzky
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    HarrybHarryb Registered Users, Retired Mod Posts: 22,708 Major grins
    edited April 29, 2012
    David_S85 wrote: »
    They like you, Harry. And if luck is part of it, then you seem to have quite a bit of that luck. :D

    ISO, how high? These are very clean.

    Until I got the D3 camera I never used an ISO higher than 400. Even with the D3 and D3s I never went above 6400. Looking at the 12800 capture is kind if mind blowing for me.
    Harry
    http://behret.smugmug.com/ NANPA member
    How many photographers does it take to change a light bulb? 50. One to change the bulb, and forty-nine to say, "I could have done that better!"
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    ZerodogZerodog Registered Users Posts: 1,480 Major grins
    edited April 29, 2012
    I found the d4 to be very similar to the d3s at 12,800 and even 51,000. But the d4 does it with more resolution.
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    ziggy53ziggy53 Super Moderators Posts: 23,912 moderator
    edited April 29, 2012
    Harryb wrote: »
    Until I got the D3 camera I never used an ISO higher than 400. Even with the D3 and D3s I never went above 6400. Looking at the 12800 capture is kind if mind blowing for me.

    15524779-Ti.gif ISO 12,800 on the D4 isn't just usable or serviceable, it's downright beautiful. Noise levels, detail and dynamic range are all extremely good.

    But you must give credit where credit is due. At that ISO I'm betting that exposure is absolutely critical. Any exposure error and the image will suffer dramatically. So take a bow, Harry, for your mastery of the D4 exposure system. You make it look easy (but I know better.) clap.gifbarb
    ziggy53
    Moderator of the Cameras and Accessories forums
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    IcebearIcebear Registered Users Posts: 4,015 Major grins
    edited April 29, 2012
    Wow. I'm very impressed. By everything.
    John :
    Natural selection is responsible for every living thing that exists.
    D3s, D500, D5300, and way more glass than the wife knows about.
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    Matthew SavilleMatthew Saville Registered Users, Retired Mod Posts: 3,352 Major grins
    edited April 29, 2012
    100% crops or it didn't happen. :-P

    =Matt=
    “My first thought is always of light.” – Galen Rowell
    My SmugMug Portfolio • My Astro-Landscape Photo Blog • Dgrin Weddings Forum
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    HarrybHarryb Registered Users, Retired Mod Posts: 22,708 Major grins
    edited April 29, 2012
    Matthew Saville wrote: »
    100% crops or it didn't happen. :-P

    =Matt=

    Pain in the butt rolleyes1.gif

    Here's a 100% crop from the ISO 12800 capture
    i-znQth65-XL.jpg
    Harry
    http://behret.smugmug.com/ NANPA member
    How many photographers does it take to change a light bulb? 50. One to change the bulb, and forty-nine to say, "I could have done that better!"
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    bloomphotogbloomphotog Registered Users Posts: 582 Major grins
    edited April 29, 2012
    Nice. The D4 noise looks very smooth and the detail retention is impressive. Looks better than my 5D3, but I haven't really pixel peeped my files lately.

    I would love to see some indoor, low light, 12800 ISO portraits from the D4.
    joshmartinezphotography.com
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    HarrybHarryb Registered Users, Retired Mod Posts: 22,708 Major grins
    edited April 29, 2012
    Zerodog wrote: »
    I found the d4 to be very similar to the d3s at 12,800 and even 51,000. But the d4 does it with more resolution.

    The two ar very similar but the D4 slightly edges the D3s on IQ and has a noticeably better AF system.
    Harry
    http://behret.smugmug.com/ NANPA member
    How many photographers does it take to change a light bulb? 50. One to change the bulb, and forty-nine to say, "I could have done that better!"
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    Matthew SavilleMatthew Saville Registered Users, Retired Mod Posts: 3,352 Major grins
    edited April 29, 2012
    Harryb wrote: »
    Pain in the butt rolleyes1.gif

    Here's a 100% crop from the ISO 12800 capture
    i-znQth65-M.jpg

    People can debate it forever, but the bottom line is that to me, that is 100% printable, sell-able, etc.

    I'm sure you definitely gotta *nail* your exposures, though. Just a single stop under-exposed and I bet it's a lot less impressive. Unless this IS brightened in post already, in which case it's even more impressive for 12800...

    ...I can't wait for the day when they slap this sensor in a more affordable body! :-D

    =Matt=
    “My first thought is always of light.” – Galen Rowell
    My SmugMug Portfolio • My Astro-Landscape Photo Blog • Dgrin Weddings Forum
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    HarrybHarryb Registered Users, Retired Mod Posts: 22,708 Major grins
    edited April 30, 2012
    ziggy53 wrote: »
    15524779-Ti.gif ISO 12,800 on the D4 isn't just usable or serviceable, it's downright beautiful. Noise levels, detail and dynamic range are all extremely good.

    But you must give credit where credit is due. At that ISO I'm betting that exposure is absolutely critical. Any exposure error and the image will suffer dramatically. So take a bow, Harry, for your mastery of the D4 exposure system. You make it look easy (but I know better.) clap.gifbarb

    Actually proper exposure is critical for any captrue irregardless of ISO. I was to lucky to learn photography from Ron Reznick who was a master of exposure. Ron could look at a scene and tell you the proper kelvin setting for the WB and what EV adjustment was needed for exposure.

    Its inbred in me to avoid high ISO settings but I'm going to have to adjust to the high ISO abilities of the D4.
    Harry
    http://behret.smugmug.com/ NANPA member
    How many photographers does it take to change a light bulb? 50. One to change the bulb, and forty-nine to say, "I could have done that better!"
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    HarrybHarryb Registered Users, Retired Mod Posts: 22,708 Major grins
    edited April 30, 2012
    Matthew Saville wrote: »
    People can debate it forever, but the bottom line is that to me, that is 100% printable, sell-able, etc.

    I'm sure you definitely gotta *nail* your exposures, though. Just a single stop under-exposed and I bet it's a lot less impressive. Unless this IS brightened in post already, in which case it's even more impressive for 12800...

    ...I can't wait for the day when they slap this sensor in a more affordable body! :-D

    =Matt=

    15524779-Ti.gif

    These captures haven't been processed yet. About the only thing I would do at this point is try to bring out the eye a tad more.

    I would expect the sensor to appear in a less expensive body in 8-12 months. I think Nikon got bit on the butt when they released the D700 and it cut into D3/D3s sales.
    Harry
    http://behret.smugmug.com/ NANPA member
    How many photographers does it take to change a light bulb? 50. One to change the bulb, and forty-nine to say, "I could have done that better!"
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