Nikon Df - the new King of High ISO performance ?

[blurboiboi]

I also asked him before, and he replied because Nikon Df did not have the built-in flash .
http://www.clubsnap.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1330445&p=8717602&viewfull=1#post8717602

Because got no built-in flash :embrass:

Hey bro, don't sell yr DF la, since it can take yr models and without flash so well. Just continue to use it.

But Y does blurboiboi bro wana sell it off?

ohz... ya abit reluctant to let it go also truthfully hee... maybe will just keep it...

ya its because of the following pic that I wanted to change back to D6XX (misses the on board flash)...
dun laugh at me hor... cos I think reason is a bit stupid also hee....
Its tough enough to get one of my boys to smile at me already... I never thought both will do it at the same time...
I would have had both back/fore ground properly exposed and a much better pic if I had fill flash then...
SB300 and SB400 will just add on the bulk if i wanna travel light... sigh... dilemma...

 

[diediealsomustdive]

But in Df, I have no worry to shoot at Hi-1 (ISO 12,800), and I limit myself at Hi-2 (ISO 25,600) to retain the detail & quality.
Max ISO of Df is Hi-4 (ISO 204,800)

Are we using the same camera? My Df has native ISO 100-12,800. Beyond that is H0.3, H0.7, H1 (25,600), H2 (51,200), H3 (102,400) and H4 (204,800).

Some observations:
1. Nikon puts native ISO to 12,800, and Auto ISO defaults to ISO 12,800 as the maximum. Seems to the designer acceptable high ISO is 12,800.
2. After that from 12,800 to H1 the division is 1/3 stop, thereafter is 1 stop.
3. Took some boring test shots tonight, shooting a dimly lit ceiling with lots of timber details at Ah Hoi's Kitchen while waiting for dinner to be served, and my conclusion is similar to brother Jeff's:
- optimum ISO limit 6,400
- usable ISO without much worries 12,800
- limit to H1 (25,600) to retain quality
- H2 (51,200) in a pinch scenario is barely acceptable
- H3 only when desperation sets in
- H4 is really academic

 

[jeff7id]

Are we using the same camera? My Df has native ISO 100-12,800. Beyond that is H0.3, H0.7, H1 (25,600), H2 (51,200), H3 (102,400) and H4 (204,800).

Some observations:
1. Nikon puts native ISO to 12,800, and Auto ISO defaults to ISO 12,800 as the maximum. Seems to the designer acceptable high ISO is 12,800.
2. After that from 12,800 to H1 the division is 1/3 stop, thereafter is 1 stop.
3. Took some boring test shots tonight, shooting a dimly lit ceiling with lots of timber details at Ah Hoi's Kitchen while waiting for dinner to be served, and my conclusion is similar to brother Jeff's:
- optimum ISO limit 6,400
- usable ISO without much worries 12,800
- limit to H1 (25,600) to retain quality
- H2 (51,200) in a pinch scenario is barely acceptable
- H3 only when desperation sets in
- H4 is really academic

Yes Bro DDAMD, ISO HI1 should be the 25,600. Sorry it was Friday night when I posted that, so a bit blurred haha
But we agree on the same thing. No worry to shoot at ISO 12,800 and limit to ISO 25,600 to retain the detail and the image quality.

 

[jeff7id]

ohz... ya abit reluctant to let it go also truthfully hee... maybe will just keep it...

ya its because of the following pic that I wanted to change back to D6XX (misses the on board flash)...
dun laugh at me hor... cos I think reason is a bit stupid also hee....
Its tough enough to get one of my boys to smile at me already... I never thought both will do it at the same time...
I would have had both back/fore ground properly exposed and a much better pic if I had fill flash then...
SB300 and SB400 will just add on the bulk if i wanna travel light... sigh... dilemma...

But according to Nikon website:
SB-300 weight is approx. 120 g with two AAA alkaline batteries or approx. 97 g body only.
And SB-400 weight is approx. 186 g with two Sanyo 2,500 mAh Ni-MH (refer to KRW) or approx. 127g body only.

SB-300 is still lighter than the weight of the smallest lens that you have at this moment. The advantage of SB-300 other than its small size & light weight, it can bounce the light to the ceiling as well. SB-300 speedlight is still much better than any built-in flash in the other Nikon camera body.

Size comparison of SB-400 vs SB-600 vs SB-700 vs SB-900:
Note that SB-300 is still slightly smaller than SB-400.
(image courtesy to speedlights.net)

 

[N-user]

iso 3200/6400??... you should be asking for even higher iso pics hee..
anyway sharing a iso 5600 pic... my one of the two models at home...
not a ooc jpeg though... i did some sharpening myself... no noise reduction though...

Thanks bro.... its a great shot and good enough for me.... kekekeke...

 

[blurboiboi]

But according to Nikon website:
SB-300 weight is approx. 120 g with two AAA alkaline batteries or approx. 97 g body only.
And SB-400 weight is approx. 186 g with two Sanyo 2,500 mAh Ni-MH (refer to KRW) or approx. 127g body only.

SB-300 is still lighter than the weight of the smallest lens that you have at this moment. The advantage of SB-300 other than its small size & light weight, it can bounce the light to the ceiling as well. SB-300 speedlight is still much better than any built-in flash in the other Nikon camera body.

Size comparison of SB-400 vs SB-600 vs SB-700 vs SB-900:
Note that SB-300 is still slightly smaller than SB-400.
(image courtesy to speedlights.net)

thanks.. will go check out the sb300 later..

 

[blurboiboi]

Thanks bro.... its a great shot and good enough for me.... kekekeke...

welcome...

 

[swifty]

Some observations:
1. Nikon puts native ISO to 12,800, and Auto ISO defaults to ISO 12,800 as the maximum. Seems to the designer acceptable high ISO is 12,800.

I think that's when analog gains top out and digital gain kicks in on the Df.
Df users can help verify but essentially using the Hi settings is no different than leaving it at 12800 and boosting exposure in post, with respect to noise. At least that's how I understand it.

 

[jeff7id]

Image courtesy to Mark Seymour Photography

Nikon Df, ISO 8000, 40 sec , F5.6

This shoot was not possible without King Df aka ISO King
This picture is flawless !!!

 

[tomcat]

My guess is that you pick this up from BnS? I was thinking about it too.

One just showed up in BnS... Post some shots brother Tomcat?

Here is the Voigtlander Ultron 40mm f/2 SL on my Df.

It is a Series 1 model which is an Ai-S lens but does not have a built-in CPU chip unlike the Series 2 version.
Nevertheless the camera's AF confirmation green dot will still light up when the subject is in focus and the lens can be added the Df's list of un-chipped lens so that proper exposure control can be achieved and the EXIF info can be saved in the images taken with this lens.

And this shot is specially taken for blurboiboi of the Df with the SB-300.

 

[jnet6]

Here the Voigtlander Ultron 40mm f/2 SL on my Df.

It is a Series 1 model which is an Ai-S lens but does not have a built-in CPU chip unlike the Series 2 version.
Nevertheless the camera's AF confirmation green dot will still light up when the subject is in focus and the lens can be added the Df's list of un-chipped lens so that proper exposure control can be achieved and the EXIF info can be saved in the images taken with this lens.

And this shot is specially taken for blurboiboi of the Df with the SB-300.

Darn... Black DF looks nice. :devil:

 

[blurboiboi]

And this shot is specially taken for blurboiboi of the Df with the SB-300.

Arigato Bro!.. looks alright... abit tall though...
guess i will be keeping my Df..

 

[jeff7id]

Arigato Bro!.. looks alright... abit tall though...
guess i will be keeping my Df..

:vhappy: :thumbsup:

 

[tomcat]

A test shot with the Ultron 40mm....

1/60s, f/2.0, 40mm, ISO 400

Nice and sharp wide open and creamy smooth bokeh.

 

[blurboiboi]

A test shot with the Ultron 40mm....

1/60s, f/2.0, 40mm, ISO 400

Nice and sharp wide open and creamy smooth bokeh.

wow... sharp....
all these cats yours??..

 

[x0tiq]

@ tomcat - WOW !! ... a manual lens thats takes sharp cat pix ... really nice
that 'green dot' helps alot, I guess?

I use D300s and when using AiS lens, that green dot at the bottom left corner, helped me too...but not all the time

 

[cactibin]

Hi,

Am a Df user and love every bit about the cam.
Am using 50 1.2AIS on my Df.

Sharing one of my daugther's photo.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/thomasyeo/11727021593/

Green dot helps a lot. I using center focus and recompose for all my shots.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/thomasyeo/sets/72157638509916254/

Cheers!

 

[tomcat]

wow... sharp....
all these cats yours??..

Yes, mine.... all mine... all my precious

@ tomcat - WOW !! ... a manual lens thats takes sharp cat pix ... really nice
that 'green dot' helps alot, I guess?

I use D300s and when using AiS lens, that green dot at the bottom left corner, helped me too...but not all the time

I'm totally dependent on that 'green dot' for manual focusing. My long-sighted old aged eyes are next to useless for this purpose. Of course, for absolute precision of focus, nothing beats using the magnified LiveView to achieve focus but this may be hard to use on living, moving subjects like cats.

 

[x0tiq]

liveView to focus
you take pics with LV on or off after getting spot on focus?

 

[tomcat]

liveView to focus
you take pics with LV on or off after getting spot on focus?

I'm very impatient to take a shot, so normally I would shoot with LV on after focusing.