Erik,
Isn't the point to compare identical, high contrast scenes shot with different cameras in order to get an idea of the practical significance of any claimed DR benefit that one camera is claimed to have?
DR differences up to and including 1/3rd of a stop have little practical significance for me. I mentioned before that I was a bit disappointed in the DR of my 5D at base ISO. Subjectively it didn't seem to be any better than my previous cropped-format cameras, the D60 and 20D. In fact, the presence of banding in the deepest shadows caused me to wonder if it might actually be slightly worse.
After using the 5D for a few months, I decided to take the trouble to do a practical DR comparison with my D60. These are the results. The shots were taken in April 2006. The methodology was not perfect. I wasn't able to match exposure closer than 1/4th of a stop, so decided to give the 5D the benefit of that qtr stop additional exposure. Nor did I attempt to match DoF.
However, the conclusion seemed clear. The DR of both cameras at base ISO is about the same (+/- 1/6th of a stop), which is surprising considering the fact that the 5D captures 2.6x as much light as the D60.
DXO Mark do not have results for the D60, but they do for the upgrade to the D60, the 10D, which was released before the 5D and which was an improvement over the D60 only in respect of better high-ISO performance.
DXO Mark show the 6mp 10D as having just 1 qtr of a stop lower DR than the 5D at base ISO and at a normalised print sizes of 8x12".
These images have been converted with a zero contrast setting and a linear tone curve. No sharpening has been applied whatsoever. The crops of the shadows have been lightened with the 'levels' tool for ease of comparison. The D60 always shows stronger color in the shadows which gives rise to a sense of greater chroma noise. In the last comparison of the lower left corner, I attempted to reduce the saturation of cyan in the D60 crop, making it look even closer to the 5D crop.
Now if only someone would lend me a P65+ and a D3X with lenses .
[attachment=20873:5D_ACR_window.jpg] [attachment=20874:D60_ACR_window.jpg] [attachment=20875:Underside_of_roof.jpg]
[attachment=20876:Trailer_crop.jpg] [attachment=20877:Lower_left_corner.jpg] [attachment=20878:Lower_le...adjusted.jpg]