Hi everyone, this blog will focus a little more on the Z6's dynamic range performance at high to higher ISOs.
This time the main subject was Singapore's cityscape during blue hour which is between 7:30pm to about 7:45pm (of course weather dependent)
SETUP DETAILS
Nikkor Z 24-70mm F4.0/S
AUTO ISO
RAW
Hand-Held
f8.0
1/160s
Image INTENTIONALLY captured with approx. a 3 stops underexposure
ISO3600 Image with exposure recovered from 3 stops underexposure
NO noise reduction
NO sharpening
The 3 stops underexposed RAW cityscape capture
The Exposure Recovered image - NO noise reduction - NO sharpening
The following shows the series of 400% magnified screenshots of the ISO3600 Exposure Recovered image to show
- Shadow Recovery Details
- Highlights Details
- Grain after exposure recovery
- If there were any presense of Banding ?
FINDINGS
- Grain a little higher then expected but normal to me after a 3 stops underexposure recovery
- Good that the the grain is consistent with no abnormal colored pixels
- Great news - NO banding that I could see after a 3 stops underexposure recovery for this scene
- Shadow details excellent
- Highlight details superb , look at those Bank Building Signboards
- Overall a pretty AMAZING performance in my books
- Grain seen from exposure recovery can easily be fixed in post production
ISO9000 Image Performance
ISO9000 RAW Image with exposure recovered from about a 1.5 stops underexposure NOT as severe as the ISO3600 example above
NO noise reduction
NO sharpening
The following shows the series of 400% magnified screenshots of the ISO9000 Exposure Recovered image to show
- Shadow Recovery Details
- Highlights Details
- Grain after exposure recovery
- If there were any presense of Banding ?
FINDINGS
- Overall another pretty AMAZING performance in my books
- Image quality very close to the ISO3600 image with 3 stops underexposure recovery
- Great news - NO banding that I could see at all
- Highlight details just a tad weaker that the ISO3600 version but still excellent - Compare the image with "Bank of America Merrill Lynch" sign
- Shadow details excellent
- Grain again is consistent & very similar to the worst case ISO3600 version
FINAL COMMENTARY
- Complete confidence with the Z6's dynamic range performance at the extreme high ISOs
- Details resolved by the sensor & Nikkor Z 24-70mm S lens is excellent - no complaints here
- Happy that I did not see banding even with a 3 stops underexposure in the shadow areas
- It's clear that performance at the extreme ISOs will be spectacular with good exposure control when capturing the scene
Till the next blog , Happy Holidays !
Cheers,
Andrew