Dynamic range of Canon and Nikon DSLR (1 Viewer)

[rentoncharman]

For some time I've been comparing images of birds that appear on the web taken by cameras from both companies such as the D300 and 1d MkIII. The conclusion I'm coming to is that the dynamic range of the Nikon cameras is greater than Canon. Images from Nikon appear to show more detail in both highlights and shadows. Perhaps this is a bit subjective, ie my impression of what the image should look like. I wondered if you experts had a view on this.
There may be a ready explanation for this that somebody could explain eg is this a physical phenomenon down to the design of the sensor maybe influenced by pixel density or is it that Nikon have better in-camera software for processing the data coming from the sensor.
Still wondering about whether I should change from Canon to Nikon at my next upgrade. I know that there are plenty of other reasons for choosing one manufacturer versus another but image quality is an important parameter for me.

 

[Confusion_Circle]

Hi, Renton. In my experience, the cameras (the higher-end ones) now are very close to each other. The post processing technique of the photographer will factor greatly into this. Now, having said that, I find Nikon D3/D3s/D3x files are easier to work with, but you can do more to a RAW file from a Canon 1Ds mkIII to 'improve' the image. As a professional wedding photographer, I use both pro Nikon & Canon gear, and I prefer working with Nikon files.

 

[RJM]

If you look at DxO Mark rankings for these cameras you will see the Nikon does have a slight but negligible edge. Actually from these rankings Canon has not made much improvement in their cropped sensor technology for several years now.

cheers,
Rick