Camera
Behind the scenes: Setting up DPReview’s studio test chart
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Senior Editor Shaminder Dulai inspects the test scene before mounting it on the wall.
Photo: Dale Baskin |
A few weeks ago, we took you behind the scenes to tell you about the move to our new studio and some of the complexities involved. Although we’ve been in the new space for a while now, there’s one thing we weren’t able to do until recently: install our studio test scene.
Regular readers will know that our studio test scene is a core part of a DPReview camera review. It allows us – and you – to perform detailed comparisons between camera models going back many years. It’s one of the most popular features of our site.
We anticipated the test scene would be unavailable for a while following the move, so we made a concerted effort to test as many cameras as possible before shutting down the old studio. That gave us a bit of runway, but we needed to get the scene back up and running to keep testing cameras.
We started with a blank wall in our studio, stud finder in hand. Thankfully, there were plenty of studs into which we could bolt our support rails. I’m not sure exactly how much the studio scene weighs, but it’s not light, at least 25kg (55 lbs), and we weren’t looking forward to depending on drywall anchors to keep it in place. Our scene is custom-built and one-of-a-kind; not only did we need to take great care so as not to damage it or have anything move out of alignment, but we also needed to be confident it would stay mounted and never move in the future.
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We started with a blank wall. In addition to mounting the test scene, we had to remove the elevated stage in front to clear space for other equipment and to mark the exact center of the test scene on the floor.
Photo: Shaminder Dulai |
In addition to mounting the scene, we had to remove an elevated stage in front of the wall. Admittedly, the stage would be fantastic for hosting open mic nights or poetry slams. Alas, we’ll need to find another location for those events; we need an uninterrupted flat floor to mark calibration lines extending several meters back from the wall and to allow free movement of our studio tripod and assortment of cables.
The first step in mounting the scene was to bolt two vertical rails to the wall, providing a rock-solid attachment point. In addition to being secure, this system allows us to adjust the height of the scene after it’s been attached to the wall by sliding it up and down. It’s not something we ordinarily do, but it’s essential for the initial setup so we can ensure everything aligns properly.
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Managing Editor Dale Baskin attaches brackets to the frame of the test scene that connects to rails on the wall. This system allows us to adjust the scene’s height after it’s mounted to ensure proper alignment with our other equipment.
Photo: Shaminder Dulai |
No construction project is complete without at least one trip to the hardware store. Or, in our case, four. The folks at Home Depot probably think we’re contractors at this point. Another truism of construction projects is that they’re never complete without lying on your back on the floor to attach something or another. This one didn’t disappoint.
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No construction project is complete without lying on your back with a headlamp to put in a few bolts and screws.
Photo: Shaminder Dulai |
With the scene securely mounted to the wall and the stage removed, we inspected our handiwork, slightly relieved that we hadn’t dropped the test scene and shattered it into a thousand pieces. Had we done so, I’d be writing a very different article!
The next step was to bring together the other components of the studio scene setup: a lid that helps enclose the scene and control lighting, our Kino Flo studio lights, and a few other odds and ends. Noticeably missing from most of the photos you see here are the glass bottles that usually sit at the bottom of the scene; they were still in one of our unpacked boxes.
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Shaminder, relieved that the studio scene didn’t fall after letting go of it. The white barn doors you see here serve a dual purpose: they help support an enclosure that fits over the scene, allowing us to control light better, and they serve as a protective cover for the scene in the rare event that we need to move it.
Photo: Dale Baskin |
Once everything was assembled, it was time to calibrate the scene. To do this, Technical Editor Richard Butler carefully measured the entire chart with an incident light meter to ensure consistent lighting across the scene. If it wasn’t just right, we moved the lights and started over. It’s a process we repeat occasionally, even after the scene is installed, but getting it right out of the gate is critical.
Finally, Richard and Shaminder measured and marked the exact center point of the scene on the floor, which is more complicated than it sounds. However, this is a mission-critical step, as cameras have to be perfectly aligned with the scene to get valid results. Every time we test a camera, we use a laser to perfectly align it with the horizontal and vertical axis of the scene, but that centerline has to be in precisely the right place for this to work.
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Technical Editor Richard Butler uses a light meter to verify that light levels are within spec and consistent across the entire scene. The glass bottles have also been unpacked and are waiting to be returned to their rightful place at the bottom center of the scene.
Photo: Dale Baskin |
The good news is that our studio scene is now up and running. Of course, testing cameras involves a lot more than shooting a static test scene, but we’re excited to have this vital tool up and operational. It means we can catch up on a backlog of cameras waiting to be tested, and we’ll be able to bring you test scene results from new cameras much more quickly.
There’s still more work to do before our studio is fully operational, which we’ll continue to share in these behind-the-scenes vignettes of life at DPReview. However, the studio scene is an important milestone for us because we know so many of you depend on it when evaluating cameras. Thanks for hanging in there with us through this busy year!
Camera
Pentax K-1 and K-1 II firmware updates include astrophotography features (depending on where you live)
Yesterday, Ricoh quietly released firmware 2.50 for its Pentax K-1 and K-1 II DSLRs. However, the features you can expect to gain from this update may depend on your geography.
Ricoh’s English-language firmware pages for the K-1 and K-1 II state that firmware 2.50 delivers “Improved stability for general performance.”
However, astute Pentax users noted that Ricoh’s Japanese-language firmware pages (translation) indicate that the update also includes a limited feature called “Astronomical Photo Assist,” a collection of three new features designed for astrophotography: Star AF, remote control focus fine adjustment, and astronomical image processing.
Star AF is intended to automate focusing on stars when using autofocus lenses. Rather than manually focusing on a bright star and changing your composition, it promises to let you compose your shot and let the camera focus.
Remote control fine adjustment allows users to adjust focus without touching the lens and requires Pentax’s optional O-RC1 remote. Astronomical image processing will enable users to make in-camera adjustments to astrophotography images, including shading correction, fogging correction, background darkness, star brightness, celestial clarity, and fringe correction.
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| Astronomical image processing on the K-1 and K-1 II will enable users to make in-camera adjustments to astrophotography images, including shading correction, fogging correction, background darkness, star brightness, celestial clarity, and fringe correction. |
According to Ricoh, Astronomical Photo Assist is a premium feature that must be purchased and costs ￥11,000 for an activation key (about $70 at current exchange rates).
Although these astrophotography features appear to be Japan-only for now, a Ricoh representative tells us, “Ricoh Imaging Americas confirmed that the premium firmware features for the PENTAX K-1 and PENTAX K-1 Mark II will eventually be available to US customers.”
Firmware update 2.50 for both the K-1 and K-1 II is available for download from Ricoh’s website.
As part of our twenty fifth anniversary, we’re looking back at some of the most significant cameras launched and reviewed during that period. Today’s pick was launched seven years ago today* and yet we’re only quite recently stepping out of its shadow.
The Nikon D850 is likely to be remembered as the high watermark of DSLR technology. We may yet still see impressive developments from Ricoh in the future (we’d love to see a significantly upgraded Pentax K-1 III), but the D850 was perhaps the green flash as the sun set on the DSLR as the dominant technology in the market.
Click here to read our Nikon D850 review
Why do we think it was such a big deal? Because it got just about everything right. Its 45MP sensor brought dual conversion gain to high pixel count sensors, meaning excellent dynamic range at base ISO and lower noise at high ISOs. Its autofocus system was one of the best we’ve ever seen on a DSLR: easy to use and highly dependable, with a good level of coverage. And then there was a body and user interface honed by years of iterative refinement, that made it easy to get the most out of the camera.
None of this is meant as a slight towards the other late-period DSLRs but the likes of Canon’s EOS 5DS and 5DSR didn’t present quite such a complete package of AF tracking, daylight DR and low-light quality as the Nikon did. With its ability to shoot at up to 9fps (if you used the optional battery grip), the D850 started to chip away at the idea that high megapixel cameras were specialized landscape and studio tools that would struggle with movement or less-than-perfect lighting. And that’s without even considering its 4K video capabilities.
In the seven years since the D850 was launched, mirrorless cameras have eclipsed most areas in which DSLRs once held the advantage. For example, the Z8 can shoot faster, autofocus more with more accuracy and precision, across a wider area of the frame and do so while shooting at much faster rates.
But, even though it outshines the D850 in most regards, the Z8 is still based around what we believe is a (significant) evolution of the same sensor, and its reputation still looms large enough for Nikon to explicitly market the Z8 as its “true successor.”
Nikon D850 sample gallery
*Actually seven years ago yesterday: we had to delay this article for a day to focus on the publishing the Z6III studio scene: the latest cameras taking precedence over our anniversary content.
| Photo: Richard Butler |
We’ve just received a production Nikon Z6III and took it into our studio immediately to get a sense for how the sensor really performs.
Dynamic range tests have already been conducted, but these only give a limited insight into the image quality as a whole. As expected, our Exposure Latitude test – which mimics the effect of reducing exposure to capture a bright sunrise or sunset, then making use of the deep shadows – shows a difference if you use the very deepest shadows, just as the numerical DR tests imply.
Likewise, our ISO Invariance test shows there’s more of a benefit to be had from applying more amplification by raising the ISO setting to overcome the read noise, than there was in the Z6 II. This means there’s a bigger improvement when you move up to the higher gain step of the dual conversion gain sensor but, as with the Z6 II, little more to be gained beyond that.
These are pushing at the extreme of the sensor’s performance though. For most everyday photography, you don’t use the deepest shadows of the Raw files, so differences in read noise between sensors don’t play much of a role. In most of the tones of an image, sensor size plays a huge role, along with any (pretty rare) differences in light capturing efficiency.
As expected, the standard exposures look identical to those of the Z6 II. There are similar (or better) levels of detail at low ISO, in both JPEG and Raw. At higher ISO, the Z6III still looks essentially the same as the Z6II. Its fractionally higher level of read noise finally comes back to have an impact at very, very high ISO settings.
Overall, then, there is a read noise price to be paid for the camera’s faster sensor, in a way that slightly blunts the ultimate flexibility of the Raw files at low ISO and that results in fractionally more noise at ultra-high ISOs. But we suspect most people will more than happily pay this small price in return for a big boost in performance.
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