Well the long awaited can it smoke a MF back. Answer NO not even on Sunday and still say your prayers. Its damn good but Jack, Bob and I think it needs better profiles at least in ACR and I was not seeing it in Capture NX2 either at least compared to C1 and Phase files . Also with the help of Jack and Bob we kind of figured out what looks best for this file in ACR as far as sharpening without going crazy and keeping things on a neutral path. Variables yes plenty this is a nightmare of a test and honestly I could do this three distinct ways but after the first test I think we know what is going one enough to answer the silly question can it beat a MF back. Well certainly not my IQ 160 nor will it beat any 40 mpx sensor either if one is using a tech came with some of the best lenses made in the world on it and i just happen to have one of those a Schneider 60mm XL lens and yes twice the price of the D800. This is serious business here and honestly nothing is going to touch a lens of this caliber except maybe a IQ 180. LOL
So gear on Hand lets get this out of the way Phase One IQ 160 60 mpx full frame back, Cambo AE tech cam and a Schneider 60mm XL lens mounted on a RRS tripod with a Arca Swiss cube , trust me you need a truck to make this vibrate. Nikon D800 with Nikon 35mm 1.4 G lens both lens stopped down to F9 and I leveled the ISO field by using the Nikons base ISO 100 the Phase is 50 . I used 100 for both cams . Nikon on RRS tripod with cube mirror lock up with 3 second delay. there is a way to do this ( explain later)
Okay many ways to do this test first I could the same width and we need to remember different aspect ratios of 4:3 for Phase and 3:2 for Nikon. Makes it tough. So what I did was actually shoot two Phhase files one pulled the camera back to estimate a crop 40 mpx sensor which is what I di here in this first test which what I will do is process normally the full file select the aspect ratio of the Nikon which comes up pretty dang close to being the same and any advantage Nikon got it. I also shot exactly the same width as well butI may do that later.
Okay here we go. I marked each file for clarity.
First up is a wider shot than normal on the Phase.
Okay than I cropped into the frame above to the exact dimensions of the Nikon . In another words the image size of 7360 x 4912 at 300 DPI which is the exact file size of a D800 file
Okay here is the Nikon Full frame image processed in ACR and it got the best treatment I could muster.
Okay I will say this right out front the advantage on the variables went in Nikons favor as you can realize how hard this is to truly compare apples to apples which would never happen given the formats but end of day we get a good idea of what the Nikon can do and to me as a new owner i am really pleased so far. Jack, Bob and I all think better profiles are needed for color. Its new they will come and we can all maybe try profiling as well to fine tune. BTW This is nit picking stuff and most will ignore everything I just said.
Okay the crops and yea even cropping in to the Nikon mpx the tech cam and Schneider does win the battle and frankly it better damn well win. Its the best you can buy and believe me if your a MF shooter you know the costs of getting in this ball park. I know this thread will be passed around the forums and I want to be clear the Nikon is very good and truthfully the best in its league. I am certainly keeping it that is a fact.
Okay the crops. Nikon First Phase is the second image don't confuse them. LOL
I'm adding in to this little mini review here and post a Full Frame Phase 60 mpx image and a Full frame Nikon. Now these two images are the same width dimension so more a 40 vs 60 mpx comparison just to give you a idea on how another 20 mpx adds to the power of MF. We simply cannot avoid this but I am giving Nikon a lot of credit for getting close and nothing in 35mm to date is doing that.
Phase file
Nikon File
Phase Crop at 60 mpx which will obviously be tighter now
Nikon Crop at 36mpx
So now you get a better idea of how all these MPX correlate with each other