Upgraded to D610 from D3300 am I missing something?

[Blade Canyon]

Just to Add, I am pretty sure that when we get to the bottom of this that we will have uncovered some newbie mistake by me that I was unaware of.

I had a look through both sets of camera settings and I just can't think what it could be?

Thanks again

I am only on a telephone but those pictures look very similar now. Much more similar then the two photos shot with different lenses.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

 

[Blade Canyon]

I know that I can adjust the exposure compensation on the d610. but surely that is introducing more noise when compared with the D3300?

No, that is introducing more light! And more light is the key to less noise. If you tell the D610 +1 exposure compensation, it will try to get you twice the light on any photograph, whether by using a slower shutter speed or a wider aperture. If you're shooting in manual and auto-ISO is on, then it will use a higher ISO to give the appearance of more exposure (even though the light hitting the sensor was fixed).

 

[Rob22]

Thanks Blade Canyon,

So from what I have found is the D3300 seems to have better low light capability than the D610. Or there is an issue with the D610 light meter?


Both the images seem to be about the same exposure, but the D3300 light meter told me it was perfect exposure and the d610 told me it was over exposed by nearly a full stop.

If I do compenstate for the light meter by adjusting iso on the d610, then I will be losing quality when compared with the D3300.

I just can't get my head around why it is wanting me to under expose my images?

Thanks

 

[Blade Canyon]

If I do compenstate for the light meter by adjusting iso on the d610, then I will be losing quality when compared with the D3300.

You have it backwards. If you adjust ISO manually to increase exposure on the D610, you are letting in more light, and thus better quality. But not more light than the D3300; what you should be trying to do is force them to let in the same amount of light for a given scene.

What I'm seeing from your two bodies is that when the exact same manual settings and same lens are used, then you get a similar result.

The D610 meter does appear to be underexposing images, but if you set a global +1 on the exposure compensation you won't have to think about it ever again. Go to custom settings B5 and plug in +1 exposure compensation, then the D610 meter should shoot the same scene on P, S, A, or auto-ISO mode as the D3300 in its current setting. (All of this assumes that the D3300 is the meter that is getting it right. Maybe it's the one that's overexposing instead of vice versa?)

When the D610 and the D3300 shoot the same scene at the same settings, technically the D610's low light performance should be better because the pixels on the sensor are bigger and can take in more light. But, the D610 has an older processor (Exspeed 3 v. D3300's Ex. 4), so maybe the D3300 is rendering the final product better. Also, the image created from the lens is spread out over a larger surface which should allow more detail.

The advantages of a bigger processor are not just low light, but the ability to get better bokeh/shallower depth of field in portraits.

 

[Rob22]

Thanks for the detailed info, I will set it to +1 and go from there.

 

[pforsell]

You have it backwards. If you adjust ISO manually to increase exposure on the D610, you are letting in more light, and thus better quality. But not more light than the D3300; what you should be trying to do is force them to let in the same amount of light for a given scene.

What I'm seeing from your two bodies is that when the exact same manual settings and same lens are used, then you get a similar result.

The D610 meter does appear to be underexposing images, but if you set a global +1 on the exposure compensation you won't have to think about it ever again. Go to custom settings B5 and plug in +1 exposure compensation, then the D610 meter should shoot the same scene on P, S, A, or auto-ISO mode as the D3300 in its current setting.

I agree with your analysis, but the 1 stop difference in exposure is still a bit of a mystery. It is bigger than any that I have seen in Nikon bodies. I just ran a controlled test between a 2001 Nikon D1H and a 2016 Nikon D5 and there is no appreciable difference in metering. Both meter and expose a fully white wall with almost uncanny precision as 12.5% gray, which corresponds to exactly 3 stops below saturation. The same 3 stops headroom has prevailed almost two decades of Nikon DSLRs.

Pondering and guesswork, feel free to ignore:
It is hard to say which of the cameras is metering correctly without doing a controlled test. In the sample images the middle of the wall shows a sRBG 175~180 which is almost exactly one stop above mid-gray. Mid-gray is sRGB 119 and +1 stop is sRGB 180. So just evaluating these two images, the D610 meters correctly and D3300 one stop too hot, because the exposure settings that were chosen to these images were metered with the D3300. Or, more precisely, the metering result of the D610 would be correct, if it was done in CW or spot mode.

Anyway, the metering mode used was matrix which adds too much uncertainty and randomness to this discussion.
End of guesswork, think whatever you want of it.

 

[Rob22]

Hi Peter,

Thank you for all of your helpful information. I will have a closer look into the manu settings for the d3300 and see if I can figure out why.

Kind regards,

Rob