Karim D. Ghantous
Well-known member
Is it necessarily a bad thing? Does it show a serious flaw in modern sensor tech? I can't answer that question. I just make observations.
I note that Red and ARRI are leading in the DR department, and are separated by a fraction of a stop at the high end in ARRI's favour (Phil Holland, 2023). But they make cinema cameras. And they are much more expensive than a Sony Alpha.
I am using DxO measurements for this comparison. Keep in mind that DR does not equal image fidelity. The Sony A9 has poor fidelity, yet a pretty good DR of 13.3 stops. That's over a stop more than the Leica M9, which has superior fidelity.
Here is something interesting to begin. A Hasselblad X1-D 50c, with a 50Mpx CMOS 44x33 sensor has a measured DR of 14.8 stops. Now, that's a big sensor with nice, big photosites. It's not the newest sensor in the world, but it's very, very good. The Sony A7RV, with a smaller, more modern sensor, with slightly more resolution, has exactly the same DR.
The Sony A1, with the same resolution as the Hasselblad, has almost the same DR, at 14.5 stops. Not bad given that it was built for speed.
The A7, released in 2013, with 24Mpx, has 14.2 stops. This camera was definitely not built for speed. In 2013, this DR figure was very good indeed. It still is, in absolute terms, of course. That's more than the Red One! But not much seems to have changed since then. These days, we have backlit sensors, better technology, and all the rest of it. And we gained only 0.6 stops if we compare across Sony cameras.
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What are your thoughts?
I note that Red and ARRI are leading in the DR department, and are separated by a fraction of a stop at the high end in ARRI's favour (Phil Holland, 2023). But they make cinema cameras. And they are much more expensive than a Sony Alpha.
I am using DxO measurements for this comparison. Keep in mind that DR does not equal image fidelity. The Sony A9 has poor fidelity, yet a pretty good DR of 13.3 stops. That's over a stop more than the Leica M9, which has superior fidelity.
Here is something interesting to begin. A Hasselblad X1-D 50c, with a 50Mpx CMOS 44x33 sensor has a measured DR of 14.8 stops. Now, that's a big sensor with nice, big photosites. It's not the newest sensor in the world, but it's very, very good. The Sony A7RV, with a smaller, more modern sensor, with slightly more resolution, has exactly the same DR.
The Sony A1, with the same resolution as the Hasselblad, has almost the same DR, at 14.5 stops. Not bad given that it was built for speed.
The A7, released in 2013, with 24Mpx, has 14.2 stops. This camera was definitely not built for speed. In 2013, this DR figure was very good indeed. It still is, in absolute terms, of course. That's more than the Red One! But not much seems to have changed since then. These days, we have backlit sensors, better technology, and all the rest of it. And we gained only 0.6 stops if we compare across Sony cameras.
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Quick comparison with DSLRs:
Nikon D610, 2013, 14.4 stops
Pentax K5 (APS-C), 2010, 14.1 stops
Canon EOS 6D, 2012, 12.1 stops
-Nikon D610, 2013, 14.4 stops
Pentax K5 (APS-C), 2010, 14.1 stops
Canon EOS 6D, 2012, 12.1 stops
What are your thoughts?