15 thoughts on “Which Camera is Better for Night Photography?”

1. Steven Christenson August 5, 2011 at 8:44 pm

   A technically inclined, but readable resource can be found on the RN Clark’s Website

   One of the best measures is actually the “Low Light Sensitivity at Unity Gain”

   In the diagram the higher the position on the graph, the better overall the camera should be for Night Photography. So that would put the cameras in this order: Canon 1D Mk IV; Nikon D3; Canon 5D Mk II, etc.

   But note that many recent Nikon cameras, and a few Canon cameras do not appear on the graph.

   One thing to notice is that the long discontinued Canon 10D – while it has big pixels, is a poor performer for a variety of reasons.

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2. Sarah Clough (www.originaltake.com) August 8, 2011 at 3:38 am

   “Indeed, the Canon Rebel, and the Canon 10D are in fact poor performers in comparison to recent generation cameras” – this makes it sound like the Rebel isn’t a recent generation camera? The Rebel is the name of a series that is still current, the Eos 600D (very recent, Feb 2011) is the Rebel T3i, (as you show in your table. Rebel is just the American name).

   Disappointing to see my Eos 500D / Rebel T1i is so low down! I’ll just have to do what I can.

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   1. Steven Christenson August 9, 2011 at 11:09 am

      Well Canon shot themselves in the foot by adding the “Rebel” tag to everything in the consumer space. By “Canon Rebel” I mean the original “Rebel” (and the XT as well). Be interesting to see what you get with the T3i which I believe has the “rimless” photosites that collect more light for the same pixel area. I just know that my 50D was actually about zero improvement over my 40D. Now the 5D Mark II, now that is a SWEET camera. Canon 1D Mark IV outperforms the 5D Mark II – and the Nikon D3 has a very slight edge (but a much lower pixel density). Notice that the 7D slightly outperforms the 50D and 40D – but that, again, is due to some minor improvements in the sensor technology.

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3. Sarah Clough (www.originaltake.com) August 12, 2011 at 2:48 am

   That clears it up, cheers.

   It’s the T1i I have, not the T3i.

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4. Sarah Clough (www.originaltake.com) October 4, 2011 at 6:12 am

   I now have the T2i rather than the T1i so hopefully I’ll see an improvement in night photography quality!j

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5. Oliver Barnicoat July 3, 2012 at 12:36 am

   Hi there I notice you don’t include any fuji products, I struggled for years until I found them and even now the colour depth in low light that their sensor can achieve is astounding. I take photos in available light of events that I have lit – so no chance of flash, and I have to take my own publicity shots. I although the sensor is relatively low res for a modern camera at 12Mp and its slow – so no sports shots. I think it is the dual different size pixel that must be able to capture low levels accurately and yet not get over exposed if there is light. I’d stand by my S2 S3 and S5 every time. (until I see some thing better!)

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   1. Steven Christenson July 3, 2012 at 9:29 am

      The first P&S I owned that I liked was a FujiFilm. However, finding data on the Fuji is tough and I can’t even find *if* they currently have a DSLR style camera. The scores for ISO performance for the S1 and S5 (on DXO) are rather disappointing, though as you point out, it does seem to have good dynamic range. I’d love to see a photo of the Milky Way taken with a Fuji to be able to draw some conclusions.

      By the way, the only Fujifilm camera to break 1000 in the DxO sensor tests is the X100 – it came in at 30th place. By comparison the highest score was for the Nikon D3s at 3250.

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6. Steven Christenson July 16, 2012 at 9:49 am

   For a more up-to-date list of “better” cameras, please see this article on capturing the Milky Way.

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7. john muir November 10, 2012 at 3:24 pm

   Hi there i would like to take a good photo of the moon but have only £150 please advise thanks

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   1. Steven Christenson November 12, 2012 at 7:28 am

      Sorry, John, I don’t think I know how to answer that question. You haven’t said what equipment you already have, and what you mean by a “good photo” of the moon. Do you mean a telephoto with close up details? Or do you merely mean one that shows details in the moon near a landmark. If the latter, I teach a monthly webinar on the subject. But even then, I certainly recommend using a telephoto lens and a solid tripod.

      This shot was taken with a relatively inexpensive camera body, but the lens and 1.4x teleconverter were far from cheap (about 1300 GBP).

      

      If you already have a Point and Shoot or cell phone *and* a spotting scope or a telescope you can pull off a shot. Indeed, since I have both, I’m going to give it a try!

      However the moon is an “easy” target relative to the night sky and you don’t really need a fancy/high-end camera for an acceptable image.

      Oh, I also forgot to mention that more recent information about cameras can be found HERE.

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8. Jean-Paul Mission March 23, 2013 at 3:32 pm

   Hi! I’m planning to buy a new DLSR. I’m mainly interested in landscape photography but I also love to shoot at night. My main wishes are light body (easy to cary during long outdoor walk), good high ISO capabilities, Live View (for focusing) & articulated screen (to preserve my back & neck when composing) & reasonable price.
   According to DXO the Nikon D5200 seems to fit well my needs and it has the best overall score in the APS-C category.
   http://www.dxomark.com/index.php/Cameras/Camera-Sensor-Ratings/List-view/(type)/usecase_sports
   One thing is that the pixel pitch is only 3.91. Is it still really a matter with new sensors technology?
   Do you think this body is a good choice for my needs?
   Regards and thanks a lot for your work.

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   1. Steven Christenson March 24, 2013 at 12:17 pm

      Jean-Paul,

      I refrain from making any specific camera recommendations. But you can also look here for a more recent list of cameras with good High ISO performance. I think the model you’re asking about is more recent. Indeed, you’re right. I just looked and the Nikon D5200 is the FIRST listed crop factor camera. That says a lot about it’s performance, though I do see quite a bit of dialog about other problems with this camera on the same site.

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      1. Jean-Paul Mission March 24, 2013 at 2:19 pm

         Steven, thanks a lot for you reply.
         regards

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9. Sahil Kumar Kalia April 6, 2013 at 1:08 pm

   Hello mr. Steven,
   can you help me in finding a dslr camera for my dad. My budget is $1280- 1463 approximate. He is an enthusiast who travels a lot. He likes taking wide landscape pictures and full scale images for example: sea shores, beaches, wild life & mountains. Kindly guide me a camera which can solve all the purposes including night photography and 1080p full hd video. I have no issues in buying extra lenses though I don’t want any compromise on image quality even after the print out. It’s gonna be his first dslr and I wanna him to use it for long term.
   Regards,
   Sahil Kumar Kalia.
   sahilkumar@live.com

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   1. Steven Christenson April 8, 2013 at 5:05 pm

      I’m sorry, but I am unable to make recommendations like you’ve requested.

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