Upgrade to D90 or D300 for better quality at high ISO?

[luntut]

Even the D60 (which I also have) performs better than D70 on noise for high ISO.

and talking about that, D60 outperforms D80 in terms of noise control. tried it myself when i had both of them, and i was frankly very amazed.

 

[TaxMan]

CCD vs CMOS

CMOS is a better sensor in term of noise control at high ISO, newer Nikon model will outperform older model due to the image sensor and the noise reduction algorithm. However, ISO800 on D700 doesn't mean better than ISO100 on D80, older camera should be good up to ISO400-800, and the ISO value on these camera is not on the same scaling.

 

[tkbonz]

That also means that D70/80 at ISO 100 = D90/D300's ISO 400? Since it was mentioned D700 is 1 stop better than D80.

If I upgrade to either a D90/D300, I can take pictures at ISO 1600 and still get the same quality as I would if I used a D70/D80 at ISO 400? :lovegrin:

By statistics and review, D90/D300 is has one stop advantage to D80/D200, while the D700/D3 is two stop advantageous to D90/D300.

D70 -> D80/D200 (1-2 stop diff)
D80/D200 -> D90/D300 (1 stop diff)
D90/D300 -> D700/D3 (2 stop diff)

All these are based on reviews and my own experience. And D70 sensor not the same as a D80's k...

 

[AMediaLuz]

... and the ISO value on these camera is not on the same scaling.

This is getting complicated...what does 'scaling' mean?
Do you mean the ability to absorb light at the same ISO for different cameras (e.g. D70 vs D90) are different such that one can turn out photos more exposed than the other?

 

[Zeddy]

If the diff is so very slighty... how did you guys determine it?

Regards

By staring at the photo in the reviews of both camera in dpreview hard enough.

 

[dennisdk]

To answer the original question (or better, confirm what others have said already): I upgraded from D70 to D300 a couple of months ago and the difference at high ISO is amazing.
Pictures on the D70 at ISO 800 are not really usable, while pictures on the D300 at 3200 are still very good.
I have no experience with the D90, but expect similar results for that one.
So in short: definitely worth to upgrade!

 

[lsisaxon]

To answer the original question (or better, confirm what others have said already): I upgraded from D70 to D300 a couple of months ago and the difference at high ISO is amazing.
Pictures on the D70 at ISO 800 are not really usable, while pictures on the D300 at 3200 are still very good.
I have no experience with the D90, but expect similar results for that one.
So in short: definitely worth to upgrade!

I was using D70s. It's basically untouched now because I got the D90. As for D300, the tonal gradient is smoother than D90 but noise performance is about the same. I hardly touch the D300 also except when I need a workhorse performance. D90 is more than good enough for leisure shoots.

 

[AMediaLuz]

Thanks to all!
Looks like if ISO and I$O are my main concerns, D90 is the way to go. :lovegrin:

Okok...gotta start saving for it.