Requesting some help from the folks here

Jock Elliott

Hall of Famer
Location
Troy, NY
I love taking pictures of the sky. Lovely cloudscapes, sunsets, sunrises.

Sometimes, like last night, my small sensor cameras seem to have trouble grabbing the depth and subtlety of the color of an amazing sunset.

I wonder if other sensors -- like a Foveon, APS-C, full frame or 4/3 might do a better job.

So I wonder if I might enlist some folks who own both bigger sensor cameras and small sensor cameras to shoot quick snaps of the same colorful sky with both a bigger sensor camera and a smaller sensor camera and post them here for comparison? I'd like to see straight out of camera jpgs, and I don't care about great composition. I'm mainly interested in the color, and it would be useful if the angle of view was roughly the same. I would give me a way of comparing how different sensors handle color without maxing out my credit card . . .

If anyone could manage that, it could be very helpful, and if not (especially considering it is the holiday season), I understand completely.

Thanks in advance!

Cheers, Jock
 
jock, let me make an often overlooked suggestion: rent an xpro1 and a FF of your choice and see for yourself. the truth is that not only is this a wholly subjective issue, but its pretty hard to discern the subtleties involved with downsized web images. if youre thinking of investing bucks in equipment, a small up front investment by renting is a small price to pay for certainty.
 
It may not be comparable due to the filters & pp, but at least close shots w/ RX1 at 3:2 format and EM5 at 4:3 format. I didn't have a tripod either, used the small camera bag. IBIS was on em5, so it helps even for longer shots:

RX1 w/ polarizer 1/40sec shot (didn't have the adapter w/ me for 58mm ND filter):
original.jpg
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OMD EM5 w/ Pana 12-35mm @ 36mm equiv w/ 8nd filter 4sec shot
original.jpg
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I think I pp'd em5 shot more & WB are off too. RX1 is close to jpg shot. The difference is the noise for me, maybe dynamic range also due to this. When you push smaller sensor it will start to show the noise earlier. You may not see this in print unless you print large sizes...

I like Foveon sensors but some of the dp's has red illumination from the sensor w/ sun which kills it for any sunset/sunrise shots w/ sun in it... So check the reviews if you go that route.
 
It may not be comparable due to the filters & pp, but at least close shots w/ RX1 at 3:2 format and EM5 at 4:3 format. I didn't have a tripod either, used the small camera bag. IBIS was on em5, so it helps even for longer shots:

RX1 w/ polarizer 1/40sec shot (didn't have the adapter w/ me for 58mm ND filter):
original.jpg
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)




OMD EM5 w/ Pana 12-35mm @ 36mm equiv w/ 8nd filter 4sec shot
original.jpg
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)


I think I pp'd em5 shot more & WB are off too. RX1 is close to jpg shot. The difference is the noise for me, maybe dynamic range also due to this. When you push smaller sensor it will start to show the noise earlier. You may not see this in print unless you print large sizes...

I like Foveon sensors but some of the dp's has red illumination from the sensor w/ sun which kills it for any sunset/sunrise shots w/ sun in it... So check the reviews if you go that route.

Serhan,

Thanks exactly what I needed. Thank you so much!

Cheers, Jock
 
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