Digital Camera World published a story stating that Camera image quality has not improved since 2017 and that they can prove it. We've capture key points from their story in this short excerpt. Is this hype or is there something to their story?
- The best camera for image quality is Nikon D850, and Sony a7R III as per DxOMark, cameras from 2017.
- The Nikon Z7 II, Leica M11 and the Sony a7 RV deliver the same image quality.
- New cameras will not noticeably out-perform their predecessors when judged upon image quality attributes like dynamic range or noise levels.
- Higher resolution cameras must have smaller pixels resulting in less light and consequently the more prone it is to generate image noise.
- The Sony a7R III produces cleaner images than modern cameras. Increasing sensor resolution will result in more noise levels. There is a direct correlation: an Inverse relationship.
- The Sony a7R IV and Sony a7R V have more resolving power than their predecessors.
- There is a direct relationship between resolution and noise. It's an inverse relationship: the more resolution, the more noise.
- The argument for better dynamic range on older cameras does not hold up: there is no clear winner or loser.
For anyone shooting with modern cameras, this isn't a big surprise, which is why we are seeing stacked sensors becoming more common in high end cameras. Stacked sensors provide increased dynamic range, and better low light performance while increasing dynamic range compared to the same sensor resolution.
