red5champ wrote:
So if you read that image quality on say a Nikon D610 is significantly better than say a Canon 70D it is all about the sensor and the way that it puts the image on the chip?
You should read the relevant reviews at DxOMark. Basically, the Nikon has greater dynamic range, greater color depth and much lower high ISO noise than the Canon.
http://www.dxomark.com/Cameras/Compare/Side-by-side/Nikon-D610-versus-Canon-EOS-70D___915_895That is not quite fair, since the Canon is a crop sensor and the Nikon is full frame, but the same tendency occurs all the way up the line between Canon and Nikon.
I'll post here a dynamic range comparison I did between the Canon 5D3 and the Nikon 800E. Both shots with comparable lenses, underexposed by 3 EV and then I boosted the shadows in PS. If you download and look at full size you are seeing those image areas at 150% magnification.
Some people complain that it is not fair to shoot like this, that the Canon looks fine if you don't underexpose. That is true insofar as it goes, but the point is that if the shadows are clean, you can underexpose in high contrast situations to preserve highlight detail and then raise the shadows, giving a much broader dynamic range to the final image (if you are willing to post process).
If you look at the results, you can see that the Nikon is much cleaner in the shadows than the Canon at ISO 100, in fact the Nikon is almost as clean in the shadows at ISO 800 as the Canon is at 100. At ISO 800 for both cameras the gap has narrowed, but the Nikon is still much cleaner.
I am posting a shot I did of waves at the local beach for you to see the use of this extra dynamic range. The original was highly underexposed (first image), in order to keep some detail in the bright highlights, and I was still able to bring up the shadows very nicely (second image). This shot would not have worked with the Canon. Of course if you are not going to do this kind of thing, just shooting at normal exposure and getting what you get, then the difference would be minimal.
However, between the D610 and the 70D, you will get much cleaner pictures in low light with high ISO with the Nikon than with the Canon.