DPReview: Sony a7R III vs Nikon D850 Dynamic Range Comparison

Sony officially announced the Sony a7R III features 15 Stops of Dynamic Range and the Sony a9’s autofocus…Today DPReview published their Sony a7R III Dynamic Range test results and compared the the Sony a7R III to the full-frame chart-topping Nikon D850, showing that Sony a7R III has a half stop dynamic range improvement over the a7R II and nearly matches chart-topping Nikon D850.

Here are the key points:

1) The Sony a7R III retains its dynamic range even in bursts. That’s a big deal for a Sony ILC.

2) Sony a7R III Nearly Matches Chart-Topping Nikon D850: At ISO 100, the a7R IIIdynamic range actually exceeds that of the D850, thanks to incredibly low read noise. That’s impressive for a camera constantly running its sensor in live view.

3) The Sony a7R III shows a 0.42 EV, or nearly a half a stop, improvement in base ISO dynamic range over the a7R II. That’s not insignificant: it will be visible in the deepest shadows of base ISO shots of high contrast scenes.

4) As for Sony’s marketing, it sounds like the claim of 15 EV is believable, but only technically if you consider how your images look when shrunk to 8MP files. To be fair, there’s some benefit to comparing dynamic range figures after resizing camera outputs to 8MP, since it’s a common basis for comparison that doesn’t penalize cameras for having higher resolution (and therefore smaller pixels).

Sony a7R III body: $3,198 at AmazonB&HAdorama

Nikon D850 body: $3,297 at AmazonB&HAdorama.

Read the full review at DPReview.

See also: Nikon D850 vs Sony a7R III Specs Comparison. And RAW Comparison: Sony a7R III vs Nikon D850

Read more: Best Lenses for Sony a7R III.

Sony a7RIII on Facebook: Sony a7RIII Page | Sony a7RIII Group

Nikon D850 on Facebook: Nikon D850 Page | Nikon D850 Group

Reminder: we are getting ready for Sony Black Friday & Cyber Monday Camera Deals 2017.