If you would like a DSLR, the full-frame Nikon D780 is that the one to shop for . The follow-up to 2014’s popular D750, the $2,300 D780 may be a new Goldilocks camera and Nikon’s first DSLR to incorporate on-chip phase-detection autofocus.
But does one need a DSLR?
Look. i prefer the D780. It’s a balanced camera with strong performance and great image quality. But in 2020, I even have hard time arising with a reason i might choose it over the smaller, lighter, and cheaper Nikon Z 6, the D780’s mirrorless counterpart.
Instead of stoking my enthusiasm for DSLR, shooting the D780 tilted the scales in favor of mirrorless. It’s an honest camera. It’s also a part of a dying breed.
Design and interface
The DSLR is that the direct evolution of the film-era SLR, or single lens camera . Revolutionary for its time, an SLR let photographers see directly through the lens employing a reflexive (that’s old-timey represent reflective) mirror and prism.DSLRs carried this design into the digital era, replacing silver with silicon, but leaving the mirror and viewfinder alone.
However, digital cameras can pipe a live feed straight from the sensor, offering another means of displaying a through-the-lens image without the necessity for a bulky mirror box. Thus, the mirrorless camera was born.
The alleged advantage of a DSLR is that the optical viewfinder, which offers a transparent , excellent view. But as electronic viewfinders (EVFs) have improved with OLED screens and resolutions that push 6 million pixels, optical viewfinders don’t feel necessary.
Plus, EVFs are more capable. you'll see exposure and white balance previews, review images, and even call up exposure and focusing aids sort of a histogram, zebra stripes, or focus peaking.
The D780 has numerous live-view-only features that can’t run through the optical viewfinder. Where DSLRs were once prized for his or her autofocus, live-view AF now offers many advantages, like greater frame coverage and face detection.
As a result, DSLR is beginning to feel outdated. And yet, Nikon believes it can sell a D780 for $2,300 when the Nikon Z 6 — now over a year old — is merely about $1,850 at the time of writing.
Why do photographers value DSLR so highly? i feel it comes right down to a couple of small, but key, factors. Old-school Nikon photographers have large collections of F-mount lenses, a DSLR’s battery life is best because of the low power requirements of an optical viewfinder, and DSLR feels familiar.
There’s also less competition within the DSLR space, as Canon is that the only company making a camera that competes (and, if I’m being honest, the EOS 6D Mark II doesn’t really compete). Nikon can charge whatever it wants for the D780. It owns this section of the DSLR market.
Nikon D780 vs. Nikon D750
Though it’s a half-decade old, the D750 may be a tough act to follow. Digital Trends called it “stellar” in our 9 out of 10 review. it had been the simplest camera for the cash at the time, and remained class-leading among DSLRs for years.
The new features of the D780 specialise in processing and electronics. this permits phase-detection autofocus in live view, along side face- and eye-tracking, because of a replacement 24-megapixel sensor and Expeed 6 processor. This is all great stuff, but nothing the mirrorless Nikon Z 6 doesn’t have.
The spec sheet is suffering from smaller, but important, upgrades. The shutter speed now tops out at 1/8000 second, a stop faster than the D750. It also can get slower, allowing 15-minute exposures without a foreign , an enormous increase over the D750’s 30-second limit. Continuous shooting gets a small bump to 7 frames per second from 6.5, but in live view the D780 can hit a powerful 12 fps using the electronic shutter (if you sink to 12-bit RAW).
The imaging sensor, while essentially an equivalent resolution, is now backside-illuminated, helping to bring the ISO to a replacement expanded maximum of 204,800, 2 stops above the D750. LCD resolution has increased by over 1 million pixels, for a complete of two .36 million.
Video has significant, if expected, enhancements, going from Full HD to 4K. Nikon’s N-Log flat color profile is additionally included, as is 10-bit 4:2:2 output over HDMI, making the D780 one among the simplest DSLRs for video next to Canon’s massive (and massively expensive) EOS 1D X Mark III. However, that’s not any better than the mirrorless Nikon Z 6.
Battery life is far improved, with a CIPA rating of two ,260 exposures using the optical viewfinder. That’s impressive in any context, and it’s about 1,000 quite the D750. However, a number of that increase is because of the D780 not having a built-in flash, a feature on the D750 that might have negatively affected its CIPA test results.
There’s no doubt that the D780 may be a worthy replacement to the D750. But whether the D780, as a DSLR, is that the right camera for you in 2020…well, that’s not so clear.
Features
While the D780 benefits from the mirrorless tech it borrows from the Z series, it does little to update the DSLR-specific components of the D750. It recycles an equivalent 51-point viewfinder autofocus system, although it's been upgraded with the focusing algorithm from the flagship D5.I was impressed with how well the D780 maintained with moving subjects using continuous autofocus in Nikon’s 3D Tracking mode, but with the Nikon D6 arriving this year and bringing a fresh AF system with it, I’m unsure why Nikon didn’t give the D780 the Nikon D5’s entire 153-point AF module, rather than just the algorithm.
It’s an odd thing to carry back on if the D780 is supposed to survive another 5 to six years. Its Multi-Cam 3500FX II focusing sensor has roots going back to 2007’s Nikon D3.
The viewfinder is that the same. It’s an honest finder, with a bright pentaprism and 100% frame coverage, but its 0.7X magnification is noticeably but the 0.75X magnification of the D850’s. Yes, the D850’s is larger, but I’m unsure Nikon must worry with keeping the D780 as small as possible now that its mirrorless cameras offer a far better solution for photographers in need of a compact system.
I would have liked to ascertain an AF joystick, something Nikon has on its other high-end cameras, including the crop-sensor D500. It’s an easy addition that ups usability quite you'd expect. Choosing attention point using the multi-selector pad is OK, but not as ergonomic.
To be perfectly clear, none of those things make the D780 a nasty camera. It just fails to present anything on the brink of the revolutionary leap I’ve been hoping for during a DSLR.
Image quality
Through the viewfinder, you’d have a tough time telling the D780 aside from the D750. But activate live view, and therefore the difference becomes clear.After waiting generations for Nikon to urge live-view autofocus right, it finally has. Combined with the touch screen, focus is fast, accurate, and versatile . Eye-detection activates automatically, and works well, even recognizing the eyes of a topic wearing dark sunglasses.
This is all great stuff, and makes the D780’s tilt screen more useful than it had been on the Nikon D750.
However, it’s an equivalent system because the Nikon Z 6, where things like eye AF are often used through the electronic viewfinder, something impossible on the D780’s optical one.
What’s more, live-view autofocus is just more accurate because focus is measured on the imaging sensor itself. Although not usually a drag for first-party lenses, I tested three Sigma Art Primes. one among them front-focussed through the viewfinder, tack-sharp in live view. I used Nikon’s AF Fine Tune function to repair this, which may be a great feature, but on mirrorless I wouldn’t have had to try to to anything in the least .
Thanks mostly to eye AF, I found myself using live view quite the viewfinder. But shooting like that turns the D780 into an overweight mirrorless camera.
Which brings me to my biggest problem with DSLRs. They behave like two different cameras, counting on whether you employ the viewfinder or the LCD screen. this is often certainly confusing for beginners, and whilst an experienced DSLR shooter, it’s frustrating.
That’s to not say the D780 doesn’t have clear advantages surely applications. A DSLR remains better for wedding and event photographers because of the long battery life and compatibility with the AF assist grid projected by an external flash, something that helps out tremendously when shooting in dark reception halls but is incompatible with live-view autofocus. the twin SD card slots are nice for a high-stakes live event, providing peace of mind with redundant storage.
In fact, I’ll be shooting a marriage with the D780 in a few week. whilst a lover of mirrorless cameras generally , I’m glad I’ll have a DSLR for that assignment, and happier that DSLR is that the Nikon D780.But for anything else? Just give me a Nikon Z 6.
Our Take
Even if Nikon made the changes i feel are missing — going with the D5’s 153-point AF system, adding an AF joystick — the D780 would go away me strongly within the mirrorless camp. It’s an honest DSLR, but seems like a stopgap for Nikon D750 owners who aren’t yet able to go mirrorless.Nikon is nudging people toward the Z series, and that i see no reason to complain that . From the EVF, to in-body image stabilization, Nikon’s Z cameras have key advantages. I also love the strategy Nikon is taking with the Z-series lenses, that specialize in high-quality glass with f/1.8 apertures that keep the dimensions and price in check . That’s the longer term . The D780 is that the past. an excellent piece of it, no doubt, but still the past.
Is there a far better alternative?
Yes, the Nikon Z 6. for many people, a mirrorless camera makes more sense, and therefore the Z 6 is currently available with the F-mount lens adapter and a memory card for under $1,850.Strictly within DSLRs, the D780 is best in school and doesn't have a real competitor, although Canon’s EOS 6D Mark II is cheaper at just $1,400 at the time of writing.
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