Which DSLRs and mirrorless cameras have the best low light performance (at high ISOs)?
Sony dominates most of the best low light cameras. Canon and Panasonic also have a few of the top 20 full-frame cameras for low-light performance.
DxO Mark does scientific testing of DSLR, medium format, and crop sensor cameras, and they update their Sensor Rankings chart regularly with the leaders. They have an overall ranking and a "sports" ranking, which rates the highest ISO the camera can capture great quality images.
May 2022 DxO Mark Ranklings by low light performance
- Canon ROS R3 ($6,000)
- Sony A7 III (only $2,000, Feb 2018)
- Sony A7S
- Panasonic S1R ($3,700)
- Sony A7R III
- Sony A9
- Leica SL2-S
- Sony A9 II
- Sony A7R II
- Sony A7C
- Canon R6 ($2,500 - Aug. 2020)
- Sony A7 IV
- Leica M11
- Sony A7R IV
- Panasonic S1
- Nikon Z6 II ($2,000 - Oct 2020)
- Nikon Z6
- Pentax K-1
- Nikon Df
- Nikon D3s
Some takeaways from this list.
Sony is the clear leader in low light performance, ranking no 2, 3, 5, 6, and 8 in the top 10. And their 2018 model A7 III (currently 3 years old) takes the number two spot in the rankings, making it one of the best value cameras available on the market. For some odd reason, the A7 IV (successor to the A7 III, scores a lower low light performance at 3379 ISO versus it's older brother at 3722 ISO. That's a 400 ISO difference and the A7 IV is 3 years newer. What is happening here?
Nikon is lagging in low light performance. Their highest ranking camera is #16 on the list. They don't break the top 10 or even the top 15, even though the Z6 II camera was released in October 2020 and is newer than most of the cameras that rank higher.
Canon is barely on the list, and their R3 camera is both less than a year old and is $6,000, putting it out of budget for many professionals. Although they beat Sony's A7 III by almost 300 ISO points at 4,086 versus 3,722.
