ISO performance Sony A99 II

[Intofoto]

I have done some scientific comparisons between the old Sony A99 and the new Sony A99 II.
In my eyes it looks like the A99 II is between 1 and 2 stops better than the original version.

I attach a few examples of converted RAW's (straight out of camera). All pictures handled by Sony Image Converter. Only post-corrections are same White-balance (3.000K - but turned out different anyway) and disable noise reduction. Pictures down-scaled to 6000X4000.

I am aware that this is a very simple test, but it gives an indication. I am looking forward to hear from other owners of this new beast and to see the results from more comprehensive tests.


Sony A99 - ISO 6400


Sony A99 - ISO 12800


Sony A99 II - ISO 12800

 

[paulnelson88]

Wow! The noise looks really good compared to my D5! Looks easy to clean up and work with at 12800ISO. I can't wait to get mine! This is such a different comparison but the noise pattern looks really close to my D5 here

 

[mick232]

Interesting test, more of it please. I don't see much more than a one stop improvement, though.

The difference in WB is odd. Maybe manually setting it to the correct value would allow for better comparison?

 

[travelshots_dpr]

To seriously judge noise performance of a 42MP sensor, a test subject with much finer detail (e.g. textiles, feathers, fur...) is required. A capable RAW converter too.

 

[Ed at Ridersite]

Interesting test, more of it please. I don't see much more than a one stop improvement, though.

The difference in WB is odd. Maybe manually setting it to the correct value would allow for better comparison?

Definitely about a stop improvement in noise. Sony has made improvements with their WB. It's very obvious to me comparing my A-77 and A-68. However, it's usually still a little too blue/green - but just a smidgen. Looks like the same with the A-99II.

 

[ssww]

I have done some scientific comparisons between the old Sony A99 and the new Sony A99 II.
In my eyes it looks like the A99 II is between 1 and 2 stops better than the original version.

I attach a few examples of converted RAW's (straight out of camera). All pictures handled by Sony Image Converter. Only post-corrections are same White-balance (3.000K - but turned out different anyway) and disable noise reduction. Pictures down-scaled to 6000X4000.

I am aware that this is a very simple test, but it gives an indication. I am looking forward to hear from other owners of this new beast and to see the results from more comprehensive tests.


Sony A99 - ISO 6400


Sony A99 - ISO 12800


Sony A99 II - ISO 12800

Thanks for sharing the photos.

Which one's white balance was closer to the actual scene?

 

[TristanW]

I have done some scientific comparisons between the old Sony A99 and the new Sony A99 II.
In my eyes it looks like the A99 II is between 1 and 2 stops better than the original version.

I attach a few examples of converted RAW's (straight out of camera). All pictures handled by Sony Image Converter. Only post-corrections are same White-balance (3.000K - but turned out different anyway) and disable noise reduction. Pictures down-scaled to 6000X4000.

I am aware that this is a very simple test, but it gives an indication. I am looking forward to hear from other owners of this new beast and to see the results from more comprehensive tests.


Sony A99 - ISO 6400


Sony A99 - ISO 12800


Sony A99 II - ISO 12800

great job, thanks for sharing.

Looks like 12800/99II is better than 6400/99mk1. I guess for iso6400@99II has pretty good IQ, or pretty acceptable.

Will looking forward to DPR studio review. To compare with 7R2, I might only cares about iso100 sharpness & up to iso6400 noise/details.

--
Tristan.W

 

[Intofoto]

It was a quick-and-dirty test, just focusing on ISO performance done in my living room. As there was a television running in the room, that might have caused shifts in color.
I might come up with some more tests in a much more controlled environment.

 

[Krautmaster]

getting mine tomorrow and I will compare with my ART 35mm Lens, the sharpest one i have.

can prove that the Wb in the A99 kinda sucks in high ISO, my RX100 MII already does much better.

Your pics look like there is an awesome improvement. Im excited

 

[Intofoto]

I have made some more testing today, in a more controlled environment.

After further investigation, it looks to me, like the actual low-light performance has been improved by 2/3 stops.

So I expect a DXOMark Low-Light ISO score around 2600. This is to be expected, considering the 1/2 stop penalty caused by the translucent mirror compared to the A7RII (DXOMark score 3400).

This is nearly the same as the new Canon 5D Mark IV.

 

[paulnelson88]

ISO looks amazing https://www.dpreview.com/forums/thread/4077826

 

[majorpaul]

2/3 stop only sounds quite disappointing. I hope it ends up being more than that. The real world samples from another member look very promising. To me the iso performance will be the key factor to decide if i buy the camera now or i wait a year or so.

 

[btolley]

2/3 stop only sounds quite disappointing. I hope it ends up being more than that. The real world samples from another member look very promising. To me the iso performance will be the key factor to decide if i buy the camera now or i wait a year or so.

2/3 stops. I read that as 2-3 stops, which makes more sense..

Brett

 

[paulnelson88]

2/3 stop only sounds quite disappointing. I hope it ends up being more than that. The real world samples from another member look very promising. To me the iso performance will be the key factor to decide if i buy the camera now or i wait a year or so.

2/3 stops. I read that as 2-3 stops, which makes more sense..

Brett

The files look really close to my Nikon D5 I don't see much of a difference

 

[sybersitizen]

2/3 stop only sounds quite disappointing. I hope it ends up being more than that. The real world samples from another member look very promising. To me the iso performance will be the key factor to decide if i buy the camera now or i wait a year or so.

2/3 stops. I read that as 2-3 stops, which makes more sense..

2 to 3 stops is totally unrealistic and makes no sense at all.

For clarification, the same person who originally estimated 2/3 stop improvement over the A99 went on to say he estimates the DxOMark score for the A99II will be 2600. That is 2/3 stop more than 1555, which is the DxOMark score for the A99.

 

[mick232]

2/3 stop only sounds quite disappointing. I hope it ends up being more than that. The real world samples from another member look very promising. To me the iso performance will be the key factor to decide if i buy the camera now or i wait a year or so.

These are samples shot at daylight with high ISO. Not a realistic scenario. Such images always look better than actual low light images.

 

[osv]

The files look really close to my Nikon D5 I don't see much of a difference

the only test data i've seen is for the a7rii, but it probably depends on what iso is used: a7rii vs. d5 vs. 5dsr

below iso1200 or so, it's all sony: http://photonstophotos.net/Charts/PDR.htm#Nikon D5,Sony ILCE-7RII

i wonder how much the slt affects these measurements.



--
dan

 

[Absolutic]

2/3 stop only sounds quite disappointing. I hope it ends up being more than that. The real world samples from another member look very promising. To me the iso performance will be the key factor to decide if i buy the camera now or i wait a year or so.

2/3 stops. I read that as 2-3 stops, which makes more sense..

Brett

The files look really close to my Nikon D5 I don't see much of a difference

You do realize op downconverted the 42mp to 24mp? U are not looking at noise at 100%

 

[Intofoto]

2-3 stops would mean a giant leap and result in a DXOMark score of maybe 6000-12000.

Personally I think that an improvement of nearly 1 stop is a huge improvement.

For me it seems like a 2/3 stop improvement.

I will do some further testings today and show the resulting files (which is indeed normalized to 24MP to be able to compare with the A99 files).

 

[Intofoto]

If I am right with my guess on an DXOMark ISO score around 2500-2600, the noise level should be nearly the same as on the Nikon D5 (score: 2434).