It was true for all cameras until a few years ago.Originally Posted by neuroanatomist
Not really. There is a strong correlation between native ISO and analog gain, but there are several exceptions. For example, on the 5D2, 6400 is a 'native' ISO, but it is based on digital gain (3200 is the highest analog-only gain).
Personally, it doesn't really matter what the highest analog gain is -- I'm more interested in the highest *useful* analog gain. For example, the D7000 has analog gain up to ISO 1600, but going above ISO 200 in raw has only downsides -- no benefits. (Same with going above 1600 on the 5D2 -- although there is a slight reduction in pattern noise, for me it's not usually worth the loss in highlight headroom.)
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