QUICK SHOT COMPARE! Sony A9 vs Hasselblad X1D – ISO 25k, NIGHT TEST shot.

14 Comments

1. That’s a good amount of grain from the X1D. The colors look really accurate to what the scene should have looked like from what I see. Was there any color chroma noise from the X1D? Dynamic range on the file looks better than the A9 to me, is that maybe due to the larger sensor and less noise to signal ratio? I’m impressed with the image at ISO 25k of both cameras but the X1D seems better to me in DR.

2. I don’t know, the X1D doesn’t look neither realistic nor nice to my eyes. Such huge contrast makes the image confusing. Thanks Steve for all these fun and interesting tests

   • The color is spot on with the X1D, exact. The Sony has a cast. But this is not an image to study, it was simply testing noise and color, nothing more or less. Thank you for commenting. To see real world images at these high ISO’s see my part 2 of the review, the X1D did amazingly well.

3. If you’re comparing the MF sensor to a FF sensor, then the A7r2 would be a more direct comparison.

4. Thanks for sharing your experience with the X1D, one of my dream cameras since the day it was announced.
   Maybe I am biased because I love the camera and I love medium format but what pleases me, more than the good high ISO performace in noise and color, it’s the expected medium format look and feel of the Hasselblad given by the different focus fall-off.
   This gives the shots a more tridimensional look, even compared to one of the best full frame cameras.

5. X1D is slow,, difficult to maneuver focus points, and requires higher shutter speeds and good handheld technique for non motion blur shots That said I just keep picking up the X1D over my 5 D Mark 4. It is just more fun to shoot and when you nail the shot the images are well worth the wait.

   • I feel the same way about my Nikon D200, except for the focus point issue. That’s easy as pie to maneuver with only 11 choices!

6. The X1D’s color is indeed better, but that doesn’t concern me all that much as color can be corrected. What does concern me is the absence of detail in the Hassy shot. Were these hand held?

7. What is the price difference between the 2 cameras and lenses?

8. Different frame, with different mix of colours and light intensitiy for exposure (for exposure and white balance), different focal point (equivalent f-stops, but more blurred background with X1D), different shutter speed (same ISO, but f2.0 and f3.5), OSS and no OSS.

   You guys conclude a lot.

9. This is most interesting. I really like the A9’s file, as it reminds me of pushed slide film. I bet a few photographers will shoot at ISO 25K deliberately just to get this texture.

10. Those are two very different colors. What color was the umbrella in real life? (The Sony looks a little more realistic, but if the umbrella was brand new, electric-fire-engine red, then Hassy wins this round.)

    • Also, the wall light (lower-right) on the Sony was yellow-white, while the wall light on the Hassy was pink and red. The Hassy clearly has a metric ton of dynamic range, but I actually prefer the look of the Sony.

      Of course people act like the Sony has “limited dynamic range at high ISO” because they read it in an article somewhere. Both cameras are an order of magnitude better than (even a really good) APSC.

      If you really want to show people what their image of that same scene looks like, you should pull out a cell phone and add a third shot of a red and white blur on a field of black.

11. I ordered an X1D last November as soon as it was announced, unseen and untested, of course, and received it in March ’17, with the 45mm and 90mm, a $16.5K gamble. Well, I love it for all the reasons you have expressed so far – construction, ease of use, portability. I also have a 30mm (love it) for landscapes. I can find nothing wrong with the optics.

    Thanks for taking your gamble. I am looking forward to your evaluation as time goes by. – Jim Fowler

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