Does cam body make a different in Image quality?

[stanycjw]

Hi all Senior

I joined the Nikon group, bought a D90 too to goes with my Sigma 120-400mm OS HSM for cheap birding.

After some discussion on others threads, some says that the body plays apart in sharpness, is that true ??:dunno:

Since I hv bought the sigma of nikon mount, I do think I can switch to Canon 7D liao, so a little confuse here.....If D90 is sucks (others says) then what is next?
D300s but I does a such B4 buying D90 cos D300s is using the same engine as D90 except D300s having a better build body, 7fps vs 4.5, 2 memory cards slot etc..etc.. and others is the same.

The next level will be the D3s or D3x which I am not affordable cos I am a retiree.

Please enlighten me on this and appreciate very much.

 

[Irvine]

Hi all Senior

I joined the Nikon group, bought a D90 too to goes with my Sigma 120-400mm OS HSM for cheap birding.

After some discussion on others threads, some says that the body plays apart in sharpness, is that true ??:dunno:

Since I hv bought the sigma of nikon mount, I do think I can switch to Canon 7D liao, so a little confuse here.....If D90 is sucks (others says) then what is next?
D300s but I does a such B4 buying D90 cos D300s is using the same engine as D90 except D300s having a better build body, 7fps vs 4.5, 2 memory cards slot etc..etc.. and others is the same.

The next level will be the D3s or D3x which I am not affordable cos I am a retiree.

Please enlighten me on this and appreciate very much.

i feel lenses play a bigger role in image quality

watch this too:
[vid]hk5IMmEDWH4[/vid]

i've also seen professionals using d90 for their work n get great results.

 

[Octarine]

Are you happy with the sharpness you get? If yes, what's the point?
If no, eliminate all possible human errors that could cause sharpness degrading (hint: camera stabilization). You could rent other lenses for comparison.
The part of the body is to host the AF sensors that evaluate the incoming image and give the focus command to the lens. Errors here could be due to misalignment of AF sensors, focus locking on wrong target, lens focus errors (back / front focusing). As you can see, it's an entire system here at work. No point looking for a single cause. If your lens is a bit soft then any other body won't overcome the issue.

 

[Cowseye]

The next step from D90 is definitely not YET D3/D3s. There still D300s, D700 ( and the two's replacements) & maybe a very less likely D7000.

Other than that, specifically for birding, the problem will more likely fall on either the technique or lens.

I'm not to sure how experienced you are, and I'm still a beginner. So I won't comment on techniques.

Sigma lens are cheap and good for starters and intermedia. But note that they have pretty slow at their extreme ends which affects the shutter speed and ISO. You can't really stack a teleconverter too due to the same reason.

 

[fmeeran]

The D90 is a very good camera. The sharpness of pictures are mostly no longer limited by the camera as they have all reached a pixel density where the it is possible to see lens aberrations. The lens is more the culprit.
It is possible to get quite sharp pictures even with a D5000 (used to have it), so I don't see any reason why the D90 should be limiting.

 

[edutilos-]

Hi all Senior

I joined the Nikon group, bought a D90 too to goes with my Sigma 120-400mm OS HSM for cheap birding.

After some discussion on others threads, some says that the body plays apart in sharpness, is that true ??:dunno:

Since I hv bought the sigma of nikon mount, I do think I can switch to Canon 7D liao, so a little confuse here.....If D90 is sucks (others says) then what is next?
D300s but I does a such B4 buying D90 cos D300s is using the same engine as D90 except D300s having a better build body, 7fps vs 4.5, 2 memory cards slot etc..etc.. and others is the same.

The next level will be the D3s or D3x which I am not affordable cos I am a retiree.

Please enlighten me on this and appreciate very much.

The sensor plays a part, lenses also play a part...

Most of the time though, low ISO will not have very noticeable differences. High ISO is the playing field where people are decking it out...

If your lens is lousy, then doesn't matter what body you use; if your body gives a lot of noise, doesn't really matter what lens you use, though flash and large aperture lenses can alleviate the problem some what.

D90 is not too bad, but at higher ISO it will not compare to D3, Nikon has it as a flagship for a reason, so there is some form of deliberate differentiation.

If you are really have a lot of trouble with high ISO, and have a lot of money to spend, get a FF camera and expensive long fast lens. If still not good enough, then I don't know, next step up is MF, then LF, it never ends. Suggest have reasonable expectations, learn more about photography, and care more about the right things. I've seen good pictures coming out of a D90 for birding, a poor worker always blames his tools:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sirmart/3790325935/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/evanpagano/4065874625/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jen_stlouis_photography/5553690805/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nchill4x4/4368648503/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/girraaff/5025190121/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/darshana_thilakawardana/4287487636/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jen_stlouis_photography/5375506232/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/from_barbs_garden_and_beyond/3571608987/

Will a D3 help, yes. But if you have little knowledge, nothing will help. Think the point of all the links is that it can be done. So why not try it first, instead of throwing money at the problem (which seems to be the usual solution for us). There is more than just having good equipment to taking good photographs. Cheers.

 

[Rashkae]

If D90 is sucks (others says)

That actually tells me quite a lot about the so-called "knowledge" of these others. Let me guess, they're canon users pushing you to buy a 7D?

 

[doubleace]

no camera body is sucks, lens and the person behind the machine play apart too. Depend on what features/functions you need on the body then go for it and brand doesn't matter. Don't just listen to what others say no everybody have the same taste you got to feel it yourself. Either Nikon or Canon both produce good equipments.

 

[Omega23]

Bodies does determine better iq... Like less noise in low iso, better exposure pics or even better color and higher dynamic range pics.. Lense play a part too..

If you mainly go for birdings I would recommend u to upgrade to d7000.. More fps and higher resolution for u to crop.. And higher dynamic range too..

 

[Omega23]

Bodies does determine better iq... Like less noise in low iso, better exposure pics or even better color and higher dynamic range pics.. Lense play a part too..

If you mainly go for birdings I would recommend u to upgrade to d7000.. More fps and higher resolution for u to crop.. And higher dynamic range too..

 

[Omega23]

Bodies does determine better iq... Like less noise in low iso, better exposure pics or even better color and higher dynamic range pics.. Lense play a part too..

If you mainly go for birdings I would recommend u to upgrade to d7000.. More fps and higher resolution for u to crop.. And higher dynamic range too..

 

[deepstriker]

Hi TS,

I believe that Lenses are more important than bodies. Having said that, the body is somewhat important. Better sensor and IQ, better noise control, higher ISO range, higher fps, other features like wireless flash control etc. Having said that, I believe that a D90 is solid enough. If its birding that you wish to do, you may wish to check out the D7000.

 

[ovaltinemilo]

TS, "D90 sucks"?
hmm..I think you have to take a look at what is lacking? sharpness wise, are you looking at high ISO photo with NR applied in cam? if you want more control, work on Raw file. If you search on net, you will definitely find loads of ppl complaining soft output from 7D compared to D90 because of higher MP but does it mean 7D is crap..? Does it mean 7D can't give sharp and crisp birds photo, I think it absolute can... Both cams have their pros and cons, but you would need to find out what is bugging you right now instead of just listening to hearsay..those are feedback, but you can't trust the words 100% without factoring user error etc.

Anyway, you are always welcome to pass me your Sigma if you switch

 

[Akatsuki]

Both plays a part, but i believe the lens is of a greater determining factor.

 

[Prince Photogenic]

Hi all Senior

I joined the Nikon group, bought a D90 too to goes with my Sigma 120-400mm OS HSM for cheap birding.

After some discussion on others threads, some says that the body plays apart in sharpness, is that true ??:dunno:

Since I hv bought the sigma of nikon mount, I do think I can switch to Canon 7D liao, so a little confuse here.....If D90 is sucks (others says) then what is next?
D300s but I does a such B4 buying D90 cos D300s is using the same engine as D90 except D300s having a better build body, 7fps vs 4.5, 2 memory cards slot etc..etc.. and others is the same.

The next level will be the D3s or D3x which I am not affordable cos I am a retiree.

Please enlighten me on this and appreciate very much.

Hi, i saw your signature. have i mistaken or do you also have a A55 body? If so you have 2 good bodies..

That actually tells me quite a lot about the so-called "knowledge" of these others. Let me guess, they're canon users pushing you to buy a 7D?

i agree. so far i've heard loads of good stuff on that camera, from users, ex-users and fanboys alike.

For some reason, 7D reminds me of that dried mango..

TS, "D90 sucks"?
hmm..I think you have to take a look at what is lacking? sharpness wise, are you looking at high ISO photo with NR applied in cam? if you want more control, work on Raw file. If you search on net, you will definitely find loads of ppl complaining soft output from 7D compared to D90 because of higher MP but does it mean 7D is crap..? Does it mean 7D can't give sharp and crisp birds photo, I think it absolute can... Both cams have their pros and cons, but you would need to find out what is bugging you right now instead of just listening to hearsay..those are feedback, but you can't trust the words 100% without factoring user error etc.

Anyway, you are always welcome to pass me your Sigma if you switch

Bro, pass to you for free or for fee? lol =)

 

[stanycjw]

Hi Edutilos
Thanks very much for your explanation and link but I like this phase you hv quoted best " a poor worker always blames his tools"

 

[Rashkae]

Hi, i saw your signature. have i mistaken or do you also have a A55 body? If so you have 2 good bodies..

Agreed... He has a D90 and a camera with the D7000 sensor.

 

[sf_kang]

Hi TS, I have been shooting Nikons for over 30+ years (from films days and now into digital) so would like to offer my personal observations:

1) Picture quality is affected by many factors, e.g. the performance of the camera body (mainly the sensor, exposure metering, shutter consistency, image processing engine (software) within the camera model). Any Nikon Pro body (D3, D3s, D3x) or Prosumer body (D300, D300s, D700), and higher end Consumer body (D90) CAN and WILL deliver quite good image quality PROVIDED other factors are also working well.

2) Lens quality and lens speed (large max apertures) will help keep shutter speeds fast enough to minimize blurring.

3) A good sturdy tripod will definitely help with sharpness.

4) Finally, is how you do your settings and how you handle the camera.

THE D90 IS A VERY CAPABLE CAMERA. JUST CHANGING CAMERA BODIES DOES NOT GUARANTEE BETTER IMAGE QUALITY.

 

[stanycjw]

Thanks Omega23
I shall look at it definately.

 

[stanycjw]

@ Prince Photogenic
Oh yes, I have two cam bodies D90 & A55
Recently sold my mirror lens that pair with A55 , actually looking at SOny "70-400mm F4.5 -5.6 G SSM" $2.3K
then relook at lenses for nikon and compare "Nikor 80-400mm but slow lens and lens w/o built motor @ $2.3K", Tamron 200-500mm @$1.47K MS color but no VC, then Sigma 150-500 @$1.4=K but 1.9kg, last Sigma 120-400mm @ 1.3+K produce reasonable sharp IQ.

End of the day, bought Sigma 120-400mm F4.5-5.6 @ 1.7kg and mactch with my D90 as for A55 it a wonderful cam for scenaries during trip and it produce noiseless night shot even I am on the boat w/o tripot JUST handheld IF you have looked at my FLICKR set night photos taken.

I will use A55 for travelling and meantime work harder and listen to all senior input and suggestion for my improvement on D90 body with my sigma lens.