Panasonic introduces the S1 II
Panasonic recently released their S1 II body, which incorporates the same 24MP partially-stacked sensor as the Z6 III. As you may have read, the Z6 III represented a noticeable step backwards in low-ISO dynamic range compared to the Z6 II and Z6.
DPR recently posted their S1 II studio samples a few weeks ago and found it had significantly better low-ISO DR vs other cameras including the Z6 III. So good in fact that they wrote:
The S1II provides a good amount of dynamic range, giving you room to pull your shadows up without the detail being overwhelmed by noise. However, given the lack of chroma noise visible in our tests, it seems like there may be some noise reduction going on, either in ACR or in-camera.
Bill posted his S1 II PDR measurements a few weeks ago, which confirmed DPR's findings on improved DR.
Analysis of the S1 II reveals DGO
Initial analysis of the S1 II raw files showed evidence of significant noise filtering, which could be the result of the camera applying raw noise reduction and thus the source of the S1 II's DR "advantage". However, the S1 II's DR was so good that it seemed better than even NR could produce.
I was intrigued, so a few weeks ago I acquired an S1 II and started my own deep technical analysis. That analysis revealed evidence Panasonic was actually employing a dual gain output to achieve the S1 II's excellent DR. This is where the camera performs two readouts of a single exposure, one at ISO 100 and the other ISO 800, then merges the two in the resulting raw. This combines the low ISO saturation capacity of ISO 100 with the deep shadow noise improvement seen at the dual gain step of ISO 800.
I found the S1 II only employs this technique when using the EFCS or fully-mechanical shutter - it does not use it for its electronic shutter.
Two years ago I created a thread demonstrating what the Z8/Z9 sensor would look like if it had DGO (Dual Gain Output). I applied that same simulation to the S1 II's electronic shutter and it produced results identical to the S1 II's mechanical shutter, further demonstrating the camera is using DGO. Finally, I compared blackframe histograms of the S1 II's mechanical shutter to my S1 II electronic shutter DGO sim and found they shared the same scaling anomaly - this IMO represented definitive proof that Panasonic is employing DGO.
Panasonic S1 II vs Z6 III Compared
Here are a series of animations visually comparing the S1 II to the Z6 III. These were shot at ISO 100 with a -7EV exposure, which was adjusted back in post. All are 100% crops with NR disabled.
This first one compares the S1 II's electronic vs mechanical shutter, the later of which has Panasonic's DR-boosting DGO:
Animation: Panasonic S1 II Electronic vs Mechanical Shutter
This second animation compares the S1 II's electronic shutter to the Z6 III. Notice they have identical noise, since the S1 II only employs DGO on its mechanical shutter:
Animation: Panssonic S1 II Electronic vs Z6 II Electronic
Finally, here's an animation comparing the S1 II's DGO mechanical shutter to a simulated Z6 III DGO I created with my code, which combines ISO 100 and 800 exposures in a fashion similar to what Panasonic is likely using:
Animation: Panasonic S1 II Mechanical vs Z6 III Electronic DGO Simulation
Takeaway
Two years ago I simulated the potential noise improvement of dual-gain output applied to a full-frame sensor and hoped we would see it one day in a camera. That day has arrived. Hopefully Nikon will implement DGO in the next versions of their cameras.
Note that Panasonic implements DGO for its video as well, which unlike the stills implementation can be controlled with a user setting they call "DR Boost".
Panasonic recently released their S1 II body, which incorporates the same 24MP partially-stacked sensor as the Z6 III. As you may have read, the Z6 III represented a noticeable step backwards in low-ISO dynamic range compared to the Z6 II and Z6.
DPR recently posted their S1 II studio samples a few weeks ago and found it had significantly better low-ISO DR vs other cameras including the Z6 III. So good in fact that they wrote:
The S1II provides a good amount of dynamic range, giving you room to pull your shadows up without the detail being overwhelmed by noise. However, given the lack of chroma noise visible in our tests, it seems like there may be some noise reduction going on, either in ACR or in-camera.
Bill posted his S1 II PDR measurements a few weeks ago, which confirmed DPR's findings on improved DR.
Analysis of the S1 II reveals DGO
Initial analysis of the S1 II raw files showed evidence of significant noise filtering, which could be the result of the camera applying raw noise reduction and thus the source of the S1 II's DR "advantage". However, the S1 II's DR was so good that it seemed better than even NR could produce.
I was intrigued, so a few weeks ago I acquired an S1 II and started my own deep technical analysis. That analysis revealed evidence Panasonic was actually employing a dual gain output to achieve the S1 II's excellent DR. This is where the camera performs two readouts of a single exposure, one at ISO 100 and the other ISO 800, then merges the two in the resulting raw. This combines the low ISO saturation capacity of ISO 100 with the deep shadow noise improvement seen at the dual gain step of ISO 800.
I found the S1 II only employs this technique when using the EFCS or fully-mechanical shutter - it does not use it for its electronic shutter.
Two years ago I created a thread demonstrating what the Z8/Z9 sensor would look like if it had DGO (Dual Gain Output). I applied that same simulation to the S1 II's electronic shutter and it produced results identical to the S1 II's mechanical shutter, further demonstrating the camera is using DGO. Finally, I compared blackframe histograms of the S1 II's mechanical shutter to my S1 II electronic shutter DGO sim and found they shared the same scaling anomaly - this IMO represented definitive proof that Panasonic is employing DGO.
Panasonic S1 II vs Z6 III Compared
Here are a series of animations visually comparing the S1 II to the Z6 III. These were shot at ISO 100 with a -7EV exposure, which was adjusted back in post. All are 100% crops with NR disabled.
This first one compares the S1 II's electronic vs mechanical shutter, the later of which has Panasonic's DR-boosting DGO:
Animation: Panasonic S1 II Electronic vs Mechanical Shutter
This second animation compares the S1 II's electronic shutter to the Z6 III. Notice they have identical noise, since the S1 II only employs DGO on its mechanical shutter:
Animation: Panssonic S1 II Electronic vs Z6 II Electronic
Finally, here's an animation comparing the S1 II's DGO mechanical shutter to a simulated Z6 III DGO I created with my code, which combines ISO 100 and 800 exposures in a fashion similar to what Panasonic is likely using:
Animation: Panasonic S1 II Mechanical vs Z6 III Electronic DGO Simulation
Takeaway
Two years ago I simulated the potential noise improvement of dual-gain output applied to a full-frame sensor and hoped we would see it one day in a camera. That day has arrived. Hopefully Nikon will implement DGO in the next versions of their cameras.
Note that Panasonic implements DGO for its video as well, which unlike the stills implementation can be controlled with a user setting they call "DR Boost".
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