Originally posted by rawr This will be fun.
They now also have a full set of K-3 samples in their
Comparometer, to make comparisons easier.
I notice Pentax's JPG engine is still having trouble with IR's red swatch ...
Please don't use the comparometer. Use each camera's SAMPLES page instead. The reason is because the comparometer sometimes uses files that have noise reduction on, when comparing high ISO images. It is best to go to each individual camera's page and select the appropriate image to compare.
These are jpeg outputs from the camera (I think) -
k-3 ISO 100 -
http://216.18.212.226/PRODS/pentax-k3/FULLRES/K3hSLI00100NR0.JPG
k-5IIs ISO 100 -
http://216.18.212.226/PRODS/pentax-k5-iis/FULLRES/K52ShSLI00080NR0.JPG
D600 ISO 50 -
http://216.18.212.226/PRODS/nikon-d600/FULLRES/D600hSLI00050NR0.JPG
D7100 ISO 100 -
http://216.18.212.226/PRODS/nikon-d7100/FULLRES/D7100hSLI00100NR0.JPG
Of the ISO 100 shots above, I think the most interesting is the D7100 vs the k-3 - it seems the k-3 shows more detail across the frame. This could of course just be the lens (both are using Sigma 70 F2.8 Macro). Focus doesn't seem to explain it because I can't find a spot on the D7100 that appears sharper than the k-3. Of the all the lowest ISOs, I would say the k-3 wins in detail based on these images.
k-3 ISO 1600 -
http://216.18.212.226/PRODS/pentax-k3/FULLRES/K3hSLI01600NR0.JPG
k-5IIs ISO 1600 -
http://216.18.212.226/PRODS/pentax-k5-iis/FULLRES/K52ShSLI01600NR0.JPG
D600 ISO 1600 -
http://216.18.212.226/PRODS/nikon-d600/FULLRES/D600hSLI01600NR0.JPG
D7100 ISO 1600 -
http://216.18.212.226/PRODS/nikon-d7100/FULLRES/D7100hSLI01600NR0.JPG
In this set, I think the D600 is the clearly the cleanest. Looking at the black cup and the shadow of the lager, the D600 has the least noise. The k-3 looks a little odd to me - it looks like it has less noise than the D7100 and the k-5IIs, but it also looks a bit
mottled - almost like there is some sort of noise reduction. However, the k-3 also clearly does not have any color noise in that section at ISO 1600. The D7100 appears to me to have fared the worst in chroma and luminance noise out of these linked images. Would appreciate people to review and let me know what they think.
As far as detail goes... oddly the k-5IIs is showing a little more detail in the fabrics than the k-3, perhaps the high MP is losing ground here. The k-3 is still very detailed, keeping in line and maybe ahead of the D600. The D7100 looks a bit bad at this point. I am not sure if the D7100's file is completely accurate..
k-3 ISO 6400 -
http://216.18.212.226/PRODS/pentax-k3/FULLRES/K3hSLI06400NR0.JPG
k-5IIs ISO 6400 -
http://216.18.212.226/PRODS/pentax-k5-iis/FULLRES/K52ShSLI06400NR0.JPG
D600 ISO 6400 -
http://216.18.212.226/PRODS/nikon-d600/FULLRES/D600hSLI06400NR0.JPG
D7100 ISO 6400 -
http://216.18.212.226/PRODS/nikon-d7100/FULLRES/D7100hSLI06400NR0.JPG
Looking at the k-3 vs k-5IIs files at ISO 6400, the k-3 looks like less noise, but also a lot more mottled/muddled. I'm not sure why. Looking at the D600's shots, it is cleanest in luminance noise, but has more chroma noise than the k-3/k-5IIs. The D7100's shot has the most noise out of the group. I am not sure if it is my monitor - but it looks like there's some sort of banding in the k-3 shots? I would like another set of eyes to check for me...
The amount of detail at ISO 6400 in the k-3 shot looks to be diminished compared to the rest. My thoughts here are: these are JPEGs straight from the camera with NR settings off. However, Pentax has a tendency to force NR on their high ISO JPEGs regardless of settings. If someone can process the RAW files to check the jpegs, that'd be great. Preferably with a neutral RAW converter and no modifications to the images whatsoever.
Edited link to D7100 ISO 100 file.
Last edited by JinDesu; 10-29-2013 at 08:23 AM.