DXOMark rates GH4 at 13 stops dynamic range - 1 stop better than 5D Mark III

[Andrew Reid]

DXOMark have tested the raw sensor output of the GH4. Raw stills have 12.8 stop dynamic range vs 11.7 stops on the 5D Mark III, illustrating just how far ahead almost everyone is on sensor performance over Canon.

Read the full article here

[gethin]

It was interesting getting the d5300 and being able to quantify how much salt you need to take the dxo tests with.  D5300 rated about about 13 stops too if I remember (about 1 stop less than d800/d600), but the ends of the range are not nearly as usable as those cameras, with noise an issue at all isos.  The proof of the pudding is in the pushing - its always the really tough lighting conditions that sort the men cameras from the boy cameras :)  

[Viet Bach Bui]

Not saying the GH4 isn't impressive (it is), but the DR advantage is only up until ISO 300 or so. After that the 5D3 pulls way ahead.

[Andrew Reid]

Not saying the GH4 isn't impressive (it is), but the DR advantage is only up until ISO 300 or so. After that the 5D3 pulls way ahead.

 

Yes, correct. Should have mentioned that in the article really. But at ISO 200 it's there, and it's usable.

 

The other areas the 5D Mark III is ahead... Tonal range

 

[Inazuma]

How accurate are these tests though really? When I tested the a6000 (13.1 evs) and gx7 (12.2 evs), I took some raw photos and used Lightroom to push the shadows and pull the highlights on both at different ISOs. The  latitude on both ended up being the same (same highlight recovery, same amount of noise in the shadows). In fact slightly worse on the a6000 because at high ISOs the shadows had a purple cast.

 

And if you use the dpreview camera comparison tool, you can see that the Canon 6d clearly has less noise than the Nikon d800, yet it's rated lower on DXOMark.

[Viet Bach Bui]

How accurate are these tests though really? When I tested the a6000 (13.1 evs) and gx7 (12.2 evs), I took some raw photos and used Lightroom to push the shadows and pull the highlights on both at different ISOs. The  latitude on both ended up being the same (same highlight recovery, same amount of noise in the shadows). In fact slightly worse on the a6000 because at high ISOs the shadows had a purple cast.

 

And if you use the dpreview camera comparison tool, you can see that the Canon 6d clearly has less noise than the Nikon d800, yet it's rated lower on DXOMark.

One possible explanation: DxO resize all images to 8mp for their tests, while DPReview show 100% crops which put the 36mp of the D800 at a disadvantage.

[Daniel Acuña]

Thanks Andrew for the info, its good to know before buying any of this cameras. ;)

[demetris]

Sony's A6000 is so much better than GH4 as a stills camera.

I'm pretty sure that it is very close in video as well and all that for less than half the price!

Sony is gonna say good bye and get past everybody else pretty soon...

[Cassius McGowan]

Sony's A6000 is so much better than GH4 as a stills camera.
I'm pretty sure that it is very close in video as well and all that for less than half the price!
Sony is gonna say good bye and get past everybody else pretty soon...

Umm no.

[pietz]

Sony's A6000 is so much better than GH4 as a stills camera.

I'm pretty sure that it is very close in video as well and all that for less than half the price!

Sony is gonna say good bye and get past everybody else pretty soon...

 

well i think its absolutely great what sony comes up with on paper. no other company brings out cameras with such amazing specs in the smallest possible bodies. i often like to compare Sony with RED. not that their cameras are comparable in any way, but both companies seem to have the exact same goal of pushing the limits of whats possible with todays cameras and always being the first of introducing new standards and features. 

 

on the other hand theres Panasonic, who would never come out with a camera that isnt rock solid in its performance. FF 4K camera that overheats after 30min of recording? it would never see the light of day if Panasonic built it.

 

its really up to you what you choose, but id always go with a rock solid camera. just like i would always choose an Alexa over an Epic.

[JonnyGinese]

What's the usable DR from 5d3 h264 video?

[Andrew Reid]

Sony's A6000 is so much better than GH4 as a stills camera.

I'm pretty sure that it is very close in video as well and all that for less than half the price!

Sony is gonna say good bye and get past everybody else pretty soon...

 

Nope.

[Chris Gibbs]

Best video image Panasonic.

Best still image Sony.

Best camera 5D3.

 

This stuff isn't B&W anymore -- pun intended. (:-)

[Ben Corwin]

What do they mean by the ISO rating? Is that supposed to be the native ISO?

[Superka]

Film is better for stills.  ;)  Simply beautiful. Soft but detailed, lovely colors, and very long highlights.

[Guest d5f8611fa423d0e628c016f9d5c93b47]

Sony's A6000 is so much better than GH4 as a stills camera.

I'm pretty sure that it is very close in video as well and all that for less than half the price!

 

I'm pretty sure that you are absolutely completely totally wrong about this.  :P

[Guest d5f8611fa423d0e628c016f9d5c93b47]

 *

[Michael1]

Interesting points in the article about the D600.  Can't beat a D600 for dynamic range at that price point (up there with the best at any price point).  Now if Nikon would only modernize the video on the D600 series...

 

I'll have to have a look at the Nikon 14mm F2.8 lens.  I don't see it on their website, though.

 

Michael

[Perplex]

oh man that GH4 ISO makes me want to return it and grab the A7s in a few weeks. :(

[gethin]

 

And if you use the dpreview camera comparison tool, you can see that the Canon 6d clearly has less noise than the Nikon d800, yet it's rated lower on DXOMark.

 

 

 

I've Shot with 6d and own d800.  Chalk and cheese.  I found the 6d noisy and a bit gnarly for a 20mp camera.  THe d800 shadow noise cleans up very well. 6d still had that typical low frequency fuzzy purple and magenta chroma noise that is hard to clean up.  The d800 continues to blow me away with how much range is usable.  I wish as a company they had just the teensiest bit of vision.