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November 27, 2008

Measuring raw performance

In case you have missed it, DxO (French specialist of noise reduction software, also advertising their products on Nikonians) came out with a new raw format benchmark (dubbed "DxO Mark") some days ago.

What they do is actually not really measuring the performance of the sensor, but rather of the raw format the camera produce - which is probably the single best option you have if you are not going to ignore the firmware sitting behind the sensor.

The benchmark takes three quality metrics into consideration:
1: Color depth
2: Dynamic range and
3: Low-light ISO

and the resulting, aggregated “DxOMark” value (-> infite) for each of the most commonly used DSLR’s including some compact cameras are stored at their website. Right now, the highest DxO Mark of 80.6 is held by Nikon D3

There database, albeit not really too comfortable to navigate IMO and several links are hidden pretty well, allows you to compare various brands side by side as well as to see the top ranked cameras listed.

The list is lead by Nikon D3 followed by the Nikon D700. Third position is held by Canon 1Ds Mark III. This is due to change very soon since new cameras are just right around the corner.

The DxO team has collected and answered some of the questions that were raised after the first week of beta running their site and state they will continue with an open dialog with the photographers.

I think this benchmark moves us in the right direction, allowing for more transparency, making various manufacturers more comparable by objective means.

Posted by bgs at November 27, 2008 11:09 AM