subscribe 0330 333 1113 I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk I 4 April 2020 43
from no less than 273 on-chip
phase detection points to enhance
its focusing performance in live
view. Although Hybrid AF systems
aren’t new in DSLRs, it’s the first
time we’ve seen a Nikon DSLR
borrow an AF system for live view
from its mirrorless models. The
outcome is that users get all the
benefits of a fast, reliable live view
performance just like you do on
the Nikon Z 6 and Z 7 with
advanced functionality such as
Eye-Detection AF, while still being
able to harness a 51-point
autofocus system when shooting
via the optical viewfinder.
The 51-point AF system, which
has 15 cross-type points, is the
same as the D750’s and performs
across a range of -3 to +19EV.
Activating live view sees this range
extend to -5EV, or -7EV in
low-light AF mode. Keeping on
the subject of focusing, the
273-point Hybrid AF system
covers 90% of the frame
horizontally and vertically, whereas
the focus points in the viewfinder
remain tightly grouped towards
the centre and don’t extend to the
boundary of the frame. There are
all the DSLR/mirrorless AF-area
modes you’d expect, including
single-point, 9-, 21- or 51-point
dynamic-area AF, 3D tracking,
group-area AF and auto-area AF
when using the viewfinder. As well
as the customary AF-S, AF-C,
AF-A and AF-F servo modes,
Pinpoint AF for precise focusing in
live view is also available.
There’s much more besides the
changes to the sensor and
focusing. With Nikon’s latest
EXPEED 6 image processor on
board the D780 can now shoot up
to 7fps via the viewfinder, which
can be increased to 8fps (14-bit)
or 12fps (12-bit) during silentshooting in live view. The shutter
speed range is improved too. It
now stretches from 30 seconds to
1/8000sec with the option to dial
in shutter speeds up to 900secs
(15mins) in manual mode.
Exposure metering is left in the
hands of Nikon’s 180K-pixel RGB
sensor, which is inherited from the
D850. As we’ve seen before, it’s this
metering sensor that’s used for
subject-recognition purposes,
which feeds information to the AF
system for accurate and precise
subject tracking. Also like the D850,
the D780 can be used with Nikon’s
ES-2 film digitising adapter to turn
negatives or slides shot on 35mm
rolls of film into 24MP digital files.
Other features include a wide
selection of picture control modes,
as well as a focus-stacking mode
that can create shots with a large
depth of field by manually selecting
the distance of each focus step.In typical Nikon fashion, the
D780 presents a useful DX Crop
mode. The camera automatically
selects this when DX lenses are
attached, but it can also be used in
combination with FX lenses for
those who’d like to gain a bit more
reach at the long end. It uses a
smaller area of the D780’s sensor,
producing images with a 10.3MP
resolution and 3936x2624 pixel
count. Turning the viewfinder mask
display on darkens the area
outside the crop boundary to
make it easier to determine what
falls within the frame. This also
works when the image area is set
to 1:1 (16.1MP) or 16:9 (20.6MP).
Another advantage the D780
has over the D750 is its ability to
record uncropped 4K UHD video
that is downsampled from 6K
capture. Frame rates for 4K
include 30/25/24fps and
slow-motion footage can be