Camera, lens and mobile device testing lab DxOMark has just awarded the Nikon D850’s sensor a full 100 score, making it the first DSLR to ever achieve a full 100 and putting it at the top of DxOMark’s sensor list.
DxOMark says that the D850’s sensor is a sensor that “breaks new grounds for image quality.” It is the first time that a Nikon camera has had a full-frame backside-illuminated sensor and DxOMark believes that the D850 has the best color and dynamic range at base ISO, beating out all of the other commercially available cameras that they have tested, even possibly rivaling medium format sensors.
The D850 now sits on top of Sony’s A7R II, which previously had the top spot on DxOMark’s sensor list with a score of 98.
“At base ISO, the Nikon D850 image quality for color is unrivaled for a DSLR, although the mirrorless Sony A7R II and full frame compact RX1R II comes pretty close,” DxOMark writes. “The D850’s color is on par with the best results we’ve seen on medium-format sensors, such as the Phase One IQ180 digital back, and fractionally ahead of the Phase One P65.”
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DxOMark does admits that the D850’s low-light ISO didn’t perform as well as its other features, but DxOMark says that it’s performance is still “very acceptable” and that it “fares pretty well.” They said that its noise levels at ISO 3200 seem to be fairly low and if you use a noise reducing software in post-production, the results look even better.
“The first DSLR to hit 100 points […] the Nikon D850 [is] in a class of its own for image quality,” DxOMark concludes. “At base ISO, it’s unrivaled for color in the DSLR class, and its headline dynamic range score is outstanding, too.
“So if you’re looking for the best image quality at low ISOs, at significantly less cost than a digital medium-format camera, the Nikon D850 looks like the camera you’ve been waiting for.”
The Nikon D850 is currently running for 3,299 dollars. To learn more about the D850, go to nikonusa.com.
