# Shadow recovery with the D800.. Incredible!



## Nikon_Josh (Apr 27, 2012)

I just posted this is another thread.. but I thought this matter was entitled to a thread by itself!

I just saw this post on Flickr by the fantastic photographer that is Philip Klinger. He has lifted the shadows by 100 per cent in Lightroom and still no banding/patterns to be seen. The noise visible could easily be removed!

Sunset | Flickr - Photo Sharing!


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## Mach0 (Apr 27, 2012)

Damnnnnnn. Good stuff


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## brian_f2.8 (Apr 28, 2012)

Everything I see about this camera is off the charts, good job Nikon!


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## mjhoward (Apr 28, 2012)

Soooo no need for HDR now?


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## Nikon_Josh (Apr 28, 2012)

mjhoward said:


> Soooo no need for HDR now?



haha! You read my mind, this shot looks like a HDR but isn't!


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## Derrel (Apr 28, 2012)

Fred Miranda himself, the man behind the Fred Miranda dot com website, recently field-tested the Nikon D800 against the Canon 5D III, specifically in shadow recovery. Miranda was exceedingly impressed!

Part II - Controlled tests

As Fred Miranda wrote: "It's no secret that the Canon 5D Mark II does not have the cleanest shadows even at base ISO 100. It's usually unnoticeable in good light if we don't start pushing it in post. However, even perfectly exposed shots in high contrast lighting will show, color and luma noise in the shadows when pushed one or two stops in software. To make matters worse, you might even find some banding or visible horizontal and vertical line patterns. At this point, I was wondering how the 5D Mark III and D800 would deal with noise at base ISO. Canon shooters brace yourselves because I don't have good news."

he also used the SAME EXACT LENS on both cameras! "For all tests, I used the same exposure for both cameras under the same light conditions with the same Zeiss lens. I wanted to make sure that I captured RAW images in exactly the same settings. Afterwards, I used Lightroom 4.1 (with the latest Adobe profile) and kept color noise reduction and sharpness at 25 percent which are essentially the default values.[FONT=Trebuchet MS, Arial]Let's examine these 2 areas for shadow detail recovery and compare how much each camera is able to retrieve detail under high contrast lighting."

"[/FONT]Although the Canon 5D Mark III deals with banding slightly better than the previous version, surprisingly I could still see a substantial amount of color noise.Obviously, the Nikon D800 is in a totally different league. Absent of color noise or any pattern, this image reveals Nikon's exceptional performance." "The Mark III image shows a huge chunk of color noise. Vertical patterns are also visible."

"There is no question that the D800 does not disappoint in signal to noise ratio (SNR) at low ISO and has higher dynamic range. I'm still shocked by the differences."

"In regards to the Nikon D800 handing of noise in the shadow areas, I have to say it's nothing short of amazing! Kudos to Sony and Nikon for the new sensor partnership. The Exmor sensor is exceptional and there is so much detail in the shadows. I can push the shadows more than 4 stops without any hint of color noise. WOW! Let's just say the D800 sensor is a breakthrough in sensor technology.".
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## Derrel (Apr 28, 2012)

And in yesterday's news....Michael Reichmann of The Luminous landscape JUST released his D800/D800e initial field report, located at Nikon D800 / E Initial Impressions

He wrote: "*Noise and Dynamic Range*​[/h]I was shooting a resolution test chart on my GTI lightbox when the phone range and a colleague asked if I'd read Fred Miranda's D800 vs. 5D MKIII report, particularly the rather amazing example of opening up the shadows on the D800 at low ISO. Yes, I had, and had been quite amazed. Had I tried this myself. No, not yet, but now that you mention it I would in a few minutes."  and so, he did. here is what Reichmann wrote after testing a MASSIVE LR shadow rescue shot...

"Above is a 100% crop of the opened up image, with a slight bit of luminance noise reduction added. Frankly, this is _knock your socks off _amazing. _Holy dynamic range Batman_, this is extracting a usable clean image from a shot that is underexposed by maybe 5 stops. Lightroom 4 and the D800/E are a marriage made in dynamic range heaven."


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## fokker (Apr 28, 2012)

Very impressive, I'd even considering jumping ship to nikon if I could afford it at this time. Seems like canon are getting killed all of a sudden...


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## Trever1t (Apr 28, 2012)

now if I could only receive mine


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## Nikon_Josh (Apr 28, 2012)

Derrel said:


> And in yesterday's news....Michael Reichmann of The Luminous landscape JUST released his D800/D800e initial field report, located at Nikon D800 / E Initial Impressions
> 
> He wrote: "*Noise and Dynamic Range*​[/h]I was shooting a resolution test chart on my GTI lightbox when the phone range and a colleague asked if I'd read Fred Miranda's D800 vs. 5D MKIII report, particularly the rather amazing example of opening up the shadows on the D800 at low ISO. Yes, I had, and had been quite amazed. Had I tried this myself. No, not yet, but now that you mention it I would in a few minutes."  and so, he did. here is what Reichmann wrote after testing a MASSIVE LR shadow rescue shot...
> 
> "Above is a 100% crop of the opened up image, with a slight bit of luminance noise reduction added. Frankly, this is _knock your socks off _amazing. _Holy dynamic range Batman_, this is extracting a usable clean image from a shot that is underexposed by maybe 5 stops. Lightroom 4 and the D800/E are a marriage made in dynamic range heaven."



Cheers Derrel for this! Great review, interesting stuff mate.



Trever1t said:


> now if I could only receive mine



It's all very well you crying poverty Trever, but it does not change the fact I am still very jealous of you for getting a D800. I will be waiting alot longer to get mine than you will be to get yours! So no VIOLIN playing for you!


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## Markw (Apr 28, 2012)

Incredible.  And it's very true.  The camera is incredible, and unbelievably versatile.  I love mine.

Mark


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## aperturething (Aug 24, 2013)

Derrel said:


> Fred Miranda himself, the man behind the Fred Miranda dot com website, recently field-tested the Nikon D800 against the Canon 5D III, specifically in shadow recovery. Miranda was exceedingly impressed!
> 
> Part II - Controlled tests
> 
> ...


I love the sensors in nikons and have to say i have shot with quite a few different systems, i have used canon 40d, 7d, and a 5d mark2 and on the nikon side ive shot with a d300, d700 and i now own a d800 and the Nikon sensor is the reason i have stayed with nikon as you mentioned the possibility of detail recovery is fantastic in nikon.
I was at a love hate situation when trying to find my perfect camera as for my hands, canon just fits my hands so well and feel so comfortable and i loved the lenses i owned for my canon system but was always unhappy with low light or underexposed images with canon always getting funny patchy color banding and weird patches of color in dark shadow areas. The d800 has been unbelievable as to the files and what one can do with them. I am still not happy with nikon ergonomics but i will live with it just to have the better files out of the camera.  
                                                                                               cheers


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## JTPhotography (Aug 24, 2013)

Great, I am REALLY close to jumping ship and I read this. Now I am closer. 

Seriously, I can sell what I have and replace it with the exact same Nikon equivalent and not have to invest that much more. The only thing holding me back is the big canon thing that is supposedly on deck. But do I really need 49 or 75 megapixels? And won't Nikon up the ante and match it? They seem to be ahead of the game in sensor technology, seems to be the right side to be on. I am not brand loyal at all. Really disappointed in Canon right now.


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## fotofinish (Aug 24, 2013)

I love mine too. It is just outstanding and incredibly versatile.




Markw said:


> Incredible.  And it's very true.  The camera is incredible, and unbelievably versatile.  I love mine.
> 
> Mark


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## rexbobcat (Aug 24, 2013)

JTPhotography said:


> Great, I am REALLY close to jumping ship and I read this. Now I am closer.
> 
> Seriously, I can sell what I have and replace it with the exact same Nikon equivalent and not have to invest that much more. The only thing holding me back is the big canon thing that is supposedly on deck. But do I really need 49 or 75 megapixels? And won't Nikon up the ante and match it? They seem to be ahead of the game in sensor technology, seems to be the right side to be on. I am not brand loyal at all. Really disappointed in Canon right now.



Don't chase the rabbit....

Chances are, your photos won't get any better by  lusting after a new Canon/Nikon/Sony camera.


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## amolitor (Aug 24, 2013)

rexbobcat said:


> JTPhotography said:
> 
> 
> > Great, I am REALLY close to jumping ship and I read this. Now I am closer.
> ...



Yeah. Plus, you always have the old "expose properly" strategy to fall back on..


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## sleist (Aug 24, 2013)

This thread is older than my belly button lint.


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## Murray Bloom (Aug 24, 2013)

I've always been impressed by what I've been able to coax out of my Nikons' shadows. It doesn't seem to even matter which model.

Here's an example, shot seven years ago with a D200, which, at 10MP doesn't even have a CMOS sensor (CCD), and is several generations behind today's available technology.

Fisheye Shops (original capture and final image):


 

1/250, F11, ISO 400; 10.5mm Fisheye - The area above and beside the arch was intentionally made black. No HDR was used in the making of this image.


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