Compared to...

Studio scene comparison (RAW)

See previous page for RAW conversion notes.

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 D3X (RAW) vs. Nikon D3 (RAW)

Nikon D3X (RAW)
Nikon D3 (RAW)
6.2 MB JPEG (6048 x 4032)
3.3 MB JPEG (4256 x 2382)

We saw earlier in the JPEG comparison that the D3X applies stronger default sharpening than the D3, and therefore by equalizing the amount of software sharpening to the camera output the D3 gets more of a sharpness and detail boost than its higher resolution sister model. On a per pixel basis both cameras produce very clean and detailed output but, as you would expect, the D3X resolves visibly more detail. Whether you need this extra detail is another matter, and completely depends on the photographer's individual needs and the photographic application. This comparison clearly shows how good the D3 is when you shoot RAW; at normal print sizes you're simply not going to see much difference.