lowlight

Sony’s A7s Takes on Canon’s 5D Mark III in Side-by-Side Low-Light Test

So far, all of the Sony A7s high-ISO tests we've seen -- from your standard static test to some beautiful production-level footage -- have only shown the A7s. There have been no side-by-side comparisons to show if this really is outperforming the competition substantially, or if it only seems like it is.

Sony’s A7s Put Through a Production Level Low Light Test, Continues to Impress

We’ve shown you the incredible low-light capabilities of Sony’s 4K-capable A7s camera before. But for the most part, the previously-released tests were fairly static and didn't offer much in way of production-level footage.

EOS HD's Yosh Enatsu took note of this fact, and decided to put together an impressive production-level comparison to show you just how well this mirrorless beast can handle the dark.

Sony Reveals Insane A7s Low-Light Demo, But How Much Will Night Vision Cost?

With only a 12-megapixel sensor and ISO expandable all the way up to 409,600 for both stills and video, everybody knew that that the Sony A7s was going to be a low-light beast... and yet the performance is still taking us by surprise.

Yesterday a short demo video shot at NAB was shared online to a plethora of "oohs" and "aahs," and today, the Sony How To YouTube channel released yet another mind-blowing demonstration of the camera's night-vision capabilities.

New Orleans Nightscapes: Beautiful Long Exposure Photos of NOLA Houses

Heartbreak and tribulation are never something we strive for. Yet, they're unavoidable byproducts of a life well-lived, that teach us lessons along the way.

In addition to those lessons, these struggles often produce inspiration out of a need for escape or expression. And it was such a need that drove New Orleans native Frank Relle into the welcome embraces of long exposure photography and the city he calls home.

Nikon D4s Beats Canon’s 1D X in DxOMark Tests, Falls Short of the Df in Low Light

The Nikon D4s is only a marginal improvement on the D4, but that didn't stop Nikon from touting it as significantly better in low light and faster to boot. The question is, do those claims hold up when you put the camera through its paces?

Well, the DxOMark team did just that, and the results may or may not surprise you depending on how much stock you put in press release boasting.

The Nikon Df Takes DxOMark’s Low-Light Crown, Outperforms the D4

It seems the Nikon engineers had some tricks up their sleeves when they put the D4 sensor inside the new Nikon Df, because while the sensor earned identical scores to the D4 in almost every category when DxOMark put it through its paces, the Df actually BEAT the D4 in the "low-light ISO" category.

But more than that, it beat EVERYBODY in that category, narrowly edging out the previous champion D3s to claim the number one low-light spot among DxOMark's rankings.

Samsung’s New Camera Module Promises Steadier & Brighter Shots for Smartphones

Samsung seems to be hard at work making sure that smartphone camera quality continues to improve in leaps and bounds. In addition to debuting ISOCELL technology a couple of weeks ago, the company has now announced a new smartphone camera module that will offer twice the optical image stabilization of anything on the market, while also capturing better photos in low light.

Firefly Footage Captured in 0.01 Lux with Canon’s Amazing Low Light Sensor

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Back in March, Canon announced that it was working on a special 35mm low-light sensor that would blow away all other competition when it came to seeing things in near complete darkness. In order to further prove that point, the company sent a prototype out to shoot tiny fireflies in less than 0.01lux on Japan's Ishigaki Island.

How Far We’ve Come: Comparing the ISO Capabilities of Nikon’s D70 and D600

After Toronto-based artist Kyle Clements put together his popular D600 sensor dust time-lapse, he began receiving many questions about how his new camera stacked up against the D70 he used up until that point.

Rather than continue to answer questions individually, he's decided to start putting together YouTube videos for the most popular ones, starting with the ISO comparison above.

Low-Light Video Shootout Pits the Lumia 928 Against the iPhone 5 and Galaxy S3

Nokia recently announced its new Lumia 928: a 8.7-megapixel PureView, Carl Zeiss, OIS-toting replacement for the already impressive Lumia 920 that will do its best to blow away the rest of the market in terms of image and video quality.

But in case words aren't enough, Nokia has also released the above video comparing the low-light video capability of the new Lumia with that of the Samsung Galaxy S3 and the iPhone 5.

New Panasonic Sensor Tech Significantly Improves Low Light Performance

The folks at Panasonic just developed an exciting new sensor technology that could significantly improve low light performance in all types of cameras very soon. Calling it a sensor technology is a bit misleading, however, because no improvements have been made to the actual sensor at all; instead, Panasonic has decided to change what sits in front of the sensor: the traditional color filter.

Using Incognito Flash Lamps to Illuminate Partygoers at a Table

Faced with another birthday party at Chuck E Cheese, a place my daughter loves but low ISOs do not, I decided to get creative. I shot a collection of photos with a set of three Yongnuo YN-560 and YN-560 II flashes with a diffuser cap/"omni bounce" inside of small lampshades placed along the table.

Canon Unveils a 35mm Full Frame Sensor for Video That Can See in the Dark

Frustrated with how your camera's CMOS sensor performs in dimly-lit situations? Canon has just announced a new CMOS sensor that'll put a smile on your face. It's a new 35mm full-frame sensor that's designed specifically for capturing video in "exceptionally low-light environments." Canon claims the sensor can capture high quality video with high-sensitivity while keeping noise very low.

Here's how sensitive the new sensor is: it will reportedly be able to see meteor shows, rooms lit with incense sticks, and scenes lit only by moonlight.

Canon 6D and 5DMk3 Noise Comparison for High-ISO Long Exposures

Astrophotography enthusiast Don Marcotte wanted to find out whether the Canon 6D or Canon 5D Mark III was more suitable for his area of photography, so he pitted the two cameras against one another in a few noise tests at his local camera store. He simply shot long exposures without any light (the cap was on) in order to see how much noise would show up in the frame.

Nokia Lumia 920 Low-Light Performance Pitted Against Competing Smartphones

After The Verge broke the story this week about Nokia's dishonest promo video for its PureView camera technology, Nokia went into damage control mode. As its stock took a tumble, the company hired an internal ethics investigation into the matter, and took steps to turn the media's attention back to its revolutionary PureView features rather than the dishonesty seen in the video promoting them.

It also invited The Verge out to Central Park in NYC to do a hands-on test of the Lumia 920 camera, in an effort to show that the camera is worthy of the hype.

Nokia Photo Challenge Shows Off the Low-Light Ability of PureView Cameras

Nokia has endured a torrent of bad press over the past couple days over its faked promo video, but the truth is, the company is investing heavily in improving photography in its mobile phones, and its PureView technology is definitely something we should be keeping our eyes on.

In order to back up its claim that PureView low light performance is "unbeatable", Nokia set up a "photo challenge" booth at its launch party and invited passers-by to pit their cameraphones against the Lumia 920. The challenge involved shooting a photograph of a still life setup stuffed inside a dark cubby hole in a brick wall. Check out the video above for a glimpse of how the phone's camera stacked up against the iPhone's and the Samsung Galaxy's.

Nikon D3200 Sample Images Show Noisy Low-Light Performance

The first sample images of the Nikon D3200 have just come out of Nikon France; and although they look great for the most part, the one low-light image confirms suspicions that Nikon may have gone too far putting 24.2-megapixels in the camera. More noticeable on the full-resolution photographs, you can tell that once the ISO is cranked up to about 1600, noise begins to play a significant role.

Future Cameras May Be Equipped with Invisible Flashes

Future generations of photographers may one day look back and wonder why we often blinded each other with painfully bright flashes of light for the sake of proper exposure.

NYU researchers Dilip Krishnan and Rob Fergus are working on a dark flash that eliminates the "dazzle" effect of regular flashes in a low-light room. They've created this camera rig that combines common infrared photography techniques with an ultraviolet flash that produces a dim purple glow instead.

The team placed an infrared filter on the lens of the Fujifilm S5 Pro, which is has a modified CCD sensor that specializes in IR and UV photography. To supplement existing UV light, the team created a modified filter on an external flash to emit only UV and IR wavelengths.