High ISO Battle — King of Low Light, Nikon Df, vs. Sony RX10, King of Bridge Cameras

My currently favorite two cameras battling each other in the high ISO department: the Nikon Df, king of high ISO with it’s full-frame D4 sensor, pitched against a widely unknown gem of a camera, the Sony RX10 with fixed Zeiss optics. How the two cameras perform in the real world will follow. This short hands-on comparison here is to suggest that even the Sony’s smaller 1-inch sensor can deliver respectable results. If you’re not into really low light photography and serious big prints you might not even be able to tell the two cameras apart…

Two kings of their field pitched against each other -- with the Nikon enjoying an obvious advantage...
Two kings in their own field pitched against each other — with the Nikon enjoying an obvious advantage…

On the Nikon side you have the 4928 x 3280 pixels (16MP) with maximum regular high ISO of 12,800, on Sony’s side we got 5472 x 3648 pixels (20.2MP) with the same maximum ISO threshold (even though the Df’s H4 setting peaks at a whopping 204,800 ISO…). Sure thing the Sony gets mushier, but too mushy? Still very usable me thinks.

The two cameras are completely different beasts, yet don’t think the Sony’s a cheapo pitched against real pro gear just because it has a fixed Zeiss 24-200mm Vario-Sonnar T* lens. That lens offers a constant F2.8 aperture. And while I still have to get used to the dials and mechanisms of the retro Df, the Sony is a most intuitive breeze to use.

Not that I prefer either the Df or RX10. The Df certainly forces me to think more, gone are all the automatisms we got used to over these past few years. Both are of premium well built quality. If you’re not a hardcore prime glass shooter and want something compact and flexible, give the RX10 a try. If the very experience of composing, manual settings and “pure,” slow photography is your thing, then it’s hard to beat the Nikon.

Both sample series are straight-out-of camera, unprocessed JPEGs (except for resizing). No noise reduction applied, due to the constant aperture F7.1 used the Nikon’s larger sensor renders a slightly shallower depth of field. Click on the crops for larger resolution. With the Df I used the Nikkor 28mm F1.8G, the Sony’s is set at its widest 24mm.

Nikon Df -- 1/80 F7.1 ISO 400
Nikon Df — 1/80 F7.1 ISO 400
Sony RX10 -- 1/60 F7.1 ISO 400
Sony RX10 — 1/60 F7.1 ISO 400
ISO 400 crop Nikon Df -- 1/80 F7.1
ISO 400 crop Nikon Df — 1/80 F7.1
ISO 400 crop Sony RX10 -- 1/60 F7.1
ISO 400 crop Sony RX10 — 1/60 F7.1
ISO 800 crop Nikon Df -- 1/160 F7.1
ISO 800 crop Nikon Df — 1/160 F7.1
ISO 800 crop Sony RX10 -- 1/125 F7.1
ISO 800 crop Sony RX10 — 1/125 F7.1
ISO 1,600 crop Nikon Df -- 1/320 F7.1
ISO 1,600 crop Nikon Df — 1/320 F7.1
ISO 1,600 crop Sony RX10 -- 1/320 F7.1
ISO 1,600 crop Sony RX10 — 1/320 F7.1
ISO 3,200 crop Nikon Df -- 1/640 F7.1
ISO 3,200 crop Nikon Df — 1/640 F7.1
ISO 3,200 crop Sony RX10 -- 1/500 F7.1
ISO 3,200 crop Sony RX10 — 1/500 F7.1
ISO 6,400 crop Nikon Df -- 1/1,600 F7.1
ISO 6,400 crop Nikon Df — 1/1,600 F7.1
ISO 6,400 crop Sony RX10 -- 1/1,250 F7.1
ISO 6,400 crop Sony RX10 — 1/1,250 F7.1
ISO 12,800 crop Nikon Df -- 1/3,200 F7.1
ISO 12,800 crop Nikon Df — 1/3,200 F7.1
ISO 12,800 crop Sony RX10 -- 1/2,500 F7.1
ISO 12,800 crop Sony RX10 — 1/2,500 F7.1

+++ You can order the Nikon Df from Amazon, B&H or Adorama.

The darling of an all-rounder camera, the Sony RX10, is as well available from Amazon, B&H and Adorama.

BTW, if you’re purchasing new gear, please do so via these provided links. Doesn’t cost you a cent more and keeps THEME going and growing. Really appreciate having you as a reader, thank you!