Compared to...

Studio scene comparison (RAW)

For a (more) level playing field for comparison we also shot our studio scene in RAW mode with each camera and converted it using Adobe Camera RAW 3.3 Beta. Because Adobe Camera RAW applies different levels of sharpening to different cameras (this confirmed) we had to use the following workflow for these conversions:

  • Load RAW file into Adobe Camera RAW 3.3 (Auto mode disabled)
  • Set Sharpness to 0 (all other settings left as default)
  • Open file into Photoshop
  • Apply a Unsharp mask: 80%, Radius 1.0, Threshold 0
  • Save as a TIFF (for cropping) and as a JPEG quality 11 for download

This is our standard studio scene comparison shot taken from exactly the same tripod position. Lighting: daylight simulation, >98% CRI. Crops are 100%. Ambient temperature was approximately 22°C (~72°F). Camera settings as per previous pages.

Nikon D200 (RAW) vs. Canon EOS 20D (RAW)

Nikon D200
Canon EOS 20D
2,894 KB JPEG (3872 x 2592)
2,492 KB JPEG (3504 x 2336)

Here we have about as neutral a comparison as is possible, and as you can see while there is a slight advantage in detail from the D200 it's really quite minor. There's simply not that much difference between eight and ten megapixels.

Nikon D200 (RAW) vs. Canon EOS 5D (RAW)

Nikon D200
Canon EOS 5D
2,894 KB JPEG (3872 x 2592)
3,509 KB JPEG (4368 x 2912)

Again not a huge difference between ten and twelve megapixels either, however the EOS 5D does seem to exhibit more 'texture' and a better per pixel sharpness.

Nikon D200 (RAW) vs. Nikon D2X (RAW)

Nikon D200
Nikon D2X
2,894 KB JPEG (3872 x 2592)
3,520 KB JPEG (4288 x 2848)

It is possible to pick out a few areas of the D2X image which exhibit more detail than the D200 but it's really nothing that would be noticeable even in large prints.