Nikon D810 Image Quality

With a refined version of the image sensor used in the Nikon D800-series, along with a next-generation EXPEED 4 image processor, the Nikon D810 offers a lower base sensitivity of ISO 64 equivalent, versus the ISO 100 of its predecessors.

At base sensitivity, the D810 has a slight advantage over the D800E in terms of per-pixel detail, perhaps due to its complete lack of a low-pass filter. (The D800E still retained a low-pass filter, but with its design changed to cancel out its anti-aliasing effect as explained here.)

Both cameras show significant moiré in the red fabric swatch, a side-effect of that greater per-pixel sharpness, however. (The moiré appears as wavy bands in the red swatch that at first glance appear to be threads, but are actually aliasing artifacts not seen in cameras with a suitably strong low pass filter.)

Compared to the OLPF-equipped D800, the Nikon D810 provides a very noticeable difference in per-pixel sharpness. You can see that difference most obviously in the finer details of the mosaic label, and the thread patterns in the pink fabric swatch.

Note, though, that the D810 shows significant moiré in the red fabric swatch, which the D800 somewhat tames. Like any OLPF-free interchangeable-lens camera (and that's most of them, these days), you'll want to watch out for moiré patterns when you're shooting.

The Sony A7R has, as near as makes no difference, the same sensor size and resolution as that of the D810, and like Nikon's camera, lacks a low-pass filter. The result is a very close performance indeed at base sensitivity, with both cameras delivering a similar level of detail. Both cameras show moiré in the red swatch, although it's stronger in that from the D810.

Comparing the D810 side-by-side with the more affordable -- but lower-resolution -- Nikon D750, there is not surprisingly a pretty significant difference. With almost 50% more pixels than the D750, the Nikon D810 does a much better job with the finer details.

That's especially noticeable in the pink fabric swatch, where the D810 clearly renders threads that the D750 only hints at. The flip side of the coin, though, is that the D810 shows a significant moiré pattern in the red fabric swatch that's quite a bit more pronounced than that from the D750, which does have an optical low-pass filter (albeit a weak one).

Among other uses, Nikon is clearly aiming to persuade videographers to step up to the D810, with quite a few feature upgrades in this area. For that reason -- and the fact that Canon's 50-megapixel EOS 5DS R hasn't yet been through our lab in production-level form -- we've decided to make a comparison against the Canon 5D III, a model much beloved by videographers.

Like the D750, which has similar resolution, the 5D III lags the Nikon D810 by quite some way in terms of detail at base sensitivity. In the fabric swatches, the 5D III's red swatch lacks the moiré present in the D750's crop, but there's even less detail in its pink swatch.

Stepping up to ISO 1600 equivalent, the Nikon D810 again bests its predecessor overall, even though it struggles with low contrast in the difficult-to-render red fabric swatch. There's noticeably more detail visible in the D810's portrayal of the mosaic label, and less unsightly mottling in the bottle crops at top, likely thanks to the greater sensitivity of the tweaked image sensor in the Nikon D810.

Not surprisingly, the story is much the same against the Nikon D800, although the Nikon D810's edge in the detail department is still slightly greater than that against the D800E at ISO 1600 equivalent.

At ISO 1600 equivalent, there's a more noticeable difference between the Nikon D810 and Sony A7R. In the bottle crop, the A7R's noise processing is more aggressive, but leaves a slightly mottled effect. Stronger sharpening from the Sony gives the mosaic label a crisper appearance, although Nikon arguably captures a little more detail.

Despite larger pixels, the Nikon D750 turns in noise levels that are not dissimilar to those from the higher-resolution D810. There's still a pretty clear edge for the Nikon D810 in the detail department, especially noticeable in the mosaic label.

At ISO 1600 equivalent, the Canon 5D III yields images that are cleaner than those from the Nikon D810, as you can see in the bottle crop at top, and with relatively little of the blotchiness we see from noise reduction. However, take a look at the mosaic label or fabric swatches, and it's clear that Nikon is extracting much more of the finer details. The pink swatch, in particular, shows clear thread patterns for the D810, where the 5D III's corresponding swatch suffers from noise reduction, and as a result has an almost painted look to it.

Of course, ISO 1600 isn't really that much of a challenge for modern cameras, so we take a look at ISO 3200 equivalent as well. Here, the Nikon D810 manages much better than its predecessor overall, with a cleaner result in the bottle crop, and significantly more detail in the mosaic label. Interestingly, though, the D800E bests its successor once more on the red fabric swatch, showing more contrast than in the D810's image, albeit with more prominent moiré.

And once again, the original D800 turns in a similar -- but not quite as crisp -- entry as that from the D800E, giving the newer Nikon D810 a slightly larger edge.

At ISO 3200, Sony's greater levels of noise reduction and sharpening give the impression of more detail in the A7R's images, but realistically there's no more detail than that in the D810's shot. For our money, the D810's bottle crop -- while slightly noisier -- is easier on the eye than that from the A7R, looking more like film grain and rather less mottled. Sony has certainly done a better job of squashing the chroma noise, however.

Once again, the more affordable Nikon D750 is left trailing the D810 by quite some distance in the detail department, showing that you do indeed get what you pay for. Noise levels are just a touch lower from the D750 thanks to its larger pixels, however.

And finally, we come to the Canon 5D III. Here, the bottle crop is clearly much cleaner than in the D810's crop, and again with relatively little blotchiness. Look at the mosaic label, though, and the finer details are being lost to smudging. And in the pink fabric swatch, there's almost no trace of the thread pattern any more, where it's still fairly noticeable in the the D810's corresponding crop.