Amateur Photographer - UK (2020-04-04)

subscribe 0330 333 1113 I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk I 4 April 2020 45

76mm

Faceandeyedetectionbehavesthe

sameasNikon’sZ 6 andZ 7 cameras

runningthelatestfirmware

NikonD780,NikonAF-S85mmf/1.8G,

1/2000secatf/4,ISO 100

CAMERA TEST Testbench

TheD780hasthequalitiesofapro-grade DSLR.

Herewelookatafewotherpoints of interest

Focal points

Remoteshooting

YoucanusetheSnapBridgeappand

turnyourmobiledeviceintoa remote

viewerandcontroller,oryouhavethe

optiontoshootremotelyusing

Nikon’soptionalWR-1andWR-R10

wirelessremotecontrollers.

Batterygrip

TheNikonD750’sbattery

grip(MB-D16)is not

compatible.Withno

metalcontactsonthe

undersideofthebody,

anygripthatis madein

thefuturewon’tbeable

toofferduplicatecontrol

in theportraitformat.

Nobuiltin-flash

Thelackofpop-upflash

hasimprovedtheD780’s

weather-resistance,but

doesmeanyoucan’t

triggeroff-cameraflash

withouta Speedlite,

commandermodule

(SU-800)orwireless

radiofrequencymodule.

NEF(raw) processing

TheD780’s in-camera raw processing

is intuitive, with the option to choose

thedestination of files processed to

slot1 orslot 2. All the usual settings

areavailable, including the option to

adjustthe amount of vignette control.

Fast connection

The D780 is fully compatible

with Nikon’s WT-7 wireless

transmitter. Pairing the two

together lets users connect a

network cable and transfer

images to an FTP server or

computer at up to 866.7Mbps.

USB charging

A small orange LED

above the menu button

illuminates when the

battery is charging via

USB. A mains battery

charger (MH-25a) is also

supplied with the

camera in the box for

fast charging.

115.5mm

143.5mm

While the rear monitor remains
the same size (3.2in) and tilts
similarly to the D750’s screen, it
improves by offering an increased
2.36-million-dot resolution and
adding touchscreen functionality.
Nikon’s recent touchscreens are
known for their excellent response
and accuracy. The D780’s is no
different and lets you navigate
your way through the main menu
and select onscreen icons with the
lightest of touches. One thing the
touchscreen doesn’t let you do
though is move the AF point with
your thumb when the viewfi nder is
raised to your eye.

Performance
To get a good impression of how
the D750 performs as a versatile
all-rounder, I packed it as my main
camera for a trip to Iceland. The
harsh conditions and sub-zero
temperatures it had to deal with
were up there with some of the
most brutal I’ve experienced in my
photography career, yet it didn’t
fl inch once and worked reliably
throughout, which is testament to
its solid, tank-like build quality.
With no electronic viewfi nder
draining power from the battery,
I found myself shooting around
1,500 images a day and still had a
couple of bars of battery power for
wirelessly transferring my best
shots to my phone back at the
hotel bar. Nikon’s SnapBridge app
has come a long way from the
criticisms it received early on. The
Auto link that uses Bluetooth

works brilliantly if you’d like every

image you take to be pinged to

your mobile device and you’ll be

prompted to connect via Wi-Fi if

you’d rather select the images

you’d like to transfer or want to

enter remote photography mode.

Whereas in previous versions of

the app remote control was fairly

limited, you can now take control

of key exposure settings, white

balance, P, A, S, M shooting

modes and a self timer. Getting

back to battery life, I didn’t quite

reach the 2,060 shots per charge

that Nikon claims is possible –

something I put down to the cold

conditions I was working in, but

being able to shoot all day and not

have to recharge on the go, or

carry spares, did make for a

refreshing change.

Operating the D780 in live

view is a completely transformed

experience. Autofocus speed and

response is much improved, and

this, combined with touch focusing

via the screen, makes it a pleasure

to use when you want to work

quickly from shooting angles that

aren’t best suited to using the

viewfi nder. Setting up long-

exposure landscape shots on a

tripod at waist level for example

was a breeze. What does take

some time to get your head

around is that the two AF systems

are different and you don’t get

identical autofocus functionality

and performance in live view as

you do when shooting via the

viewfi nder and vice versa.