D200 VS D70 noise comparison, or the truth about megapixels.

So it has been about less than a year that I had my D200. Despite being a very capable camera, I read around the web that the noise levels were intolerable, that it could be used above ISO 1600, blah bah blah... some gearhead considerations, if you ask me. But being quite a gearhead myself, I could'nt resist to see whether or not
this goddammned ISO 1600 was usable or not. After a few concert, and some extra grainy photos (I don't really mind the grain, but you know how it is, we photographers always wants the best), and a few hours spend building profiles for neat image (super cool software by the way, get it as soon as possible!!!), I decided to try an old D70 versus my next generation D200. And the results are quite stunning, because they speak by themselves :

This is a D70 1600 iso file. In fact, it is a heavy crop from a D70 1600 ISO file. Note the noise on the concrete, and on the dark area behind the fence.

Here is the file from the D200. The settings are the same : ISO 1600, 1/2000 shutterspeed and F 5 on a 50mm F1,8 lense.

You can notice that the image is a bit darker.

for the noise, we can notice two things : first, there is a lot of it, especially in the pavement area. 

Two : it is a lot more fine than the D70's grain. So there is more of it, but it's structure is a lot finer. Of course, if you watch the image at 100% on your monitor, you'll see it a lot bigger. But remember that there are nearly twice as more pixels in the D200 sensor. That's why I show you a 50% image from the D200, in order to match the resolutions. But even though, the D70 as the upper hand here. 

So to conclude this quick review, let's say that even if actual camera (i am thinking of a certain D7000 camera) beat the hell out of these camera, I think that if you are in a tight budget, and if you do a lot of performance photography, the D70 might be a good choice, if you only consider noise.

The D200 still have an edge in term of burst speed, buffer, autofocus, and pretty much anything else. But for the price of one D200, you might get a nice setup, with a backup camera, wich I think is THE first thing to have when taking assignements.

Next time, I promise I'll post some real pictures, instead of satisfying my gearhead instinct...

Keep updated!!