Official Nikon D3 High ISO Samples Look Stunning

What about noise? This was the question on everybody's lips following Nikon's D3 and D300 announcements. In terms of features and specifications, both cameras are pretty jaw-dropping, but photographers were anxious to see some high ISO samples.

There have been numerous samples circulating on the Internet, some of which can be found here. I said they were spectacular, but the official ones look even better. There is no ISO 12,000 sample, so you'll have to settle with ISO 6,400. Moreover, the only high ISO samples are taken with the D3.

The sample at ISO 200 is not worth discussing since it looks great, so let's start with ISO 400. I have shot with both Canon and Nikon, and while I love the feel of the D200, the EOS 5D's image quality has blown me away. That is why I know what I'm talking about when I say that ISO 400 on the D3 looks unbelievable.

There's virtually no noise whatsoever. However, the image's histogram shows that there aren't any deep shadows. As you might know, noise becomes extremely visible in the shadows and it would have been nice to have such a sample.

We'll skip the ISO 800 and 1600 samples (simply because they don't exist on Nikon's site) and go straight to ISO 3200. With older models, like the D200, images taken at ISO 3,200 show a lot of noise. While the sample definitely shows some noise, the performance is spectacular.

We are talking about ISO 3,200. Notice the monochromatic character and take into consideration that you are looking at a 100% crop.

Moreover, unlike the previous ISO 400 sample, this one has some deep shadows, and things still look pretty good.

If you are not impressed with ISO 3,200, let's take a look at ISO 6,400, which is something like the D200 at ISO 800. Details are great, color accuracy is still there...a great performance, especially since Nikon has had a reputation for noisier images compared to Canon.

We are just a few, but there are many of you, Softpedia users, out there. That's why we thought it would be a good idea to create an email address for you to help us a little in finding gadgets we missed. Interesting links are bound to be posted with recognition going mainly to those who submit. The address is .