Computer Shopper - UK (2020-07)

ISSUE389|COMPUTER SHOPPER|JULY2020

SPECIFICATIONS

Battery life

0% -50 Reference + 50 + 100

See page 100for performance details

SENSOR RESOLUTION24.5megapixels•SENSOR SIZE

35.9x23.9mm(CMOS)•FOCALLENGTH MULTIPLIER1x•

VIEWFINDEROptical•LCDSCREEN3.2in(2,360,000dots)•

VIEWFINDER MAGNIFICATION (35mm-EQUIVALENT,

COVERAGE)0.7x,100%•WEIGHT840g•DIMENSIONS

116x144x76mm•WARRANTYOneyearRTB•DETAILS

http://www.nikon.co.uk•PART CODEVBA560AE

2,260shots

system opens upafew
possibilities,not least of
which is the promise of
usingautofocus during
video recording, but also of
usingface detection, whicch
provedsuper-accurate
during our tests.
Brickbybrick,reasonss
tobuytheD 780 fallinto
place.Therearestacksoff
processor-intensivetrickssupitssleeve,such
asin-camerafocusstackinngg,iinnwwhhiicchhyyoouuccaann
givethecamerathedesirednumberofimages
toshootandhowmuchitshouldshiftfocusby
each time (albeitinfrustratingly imprecise
‘narrow’ and ‘wide’ terms).There’s alsoan
integrated intervalometer andatime-lapse
mode,tothe presumed horror of remotetrigger
manufacturerseverywhere.All three work well
and go along waytowards making theD780
just about all thecamera equipment alot of
photographerswillever need.

So far, it’s asolid four out of five. Thenyou
startreviewingyourimagesand fall in love all
over again.The colour science behind the D780
is rock solid,which resulted in imageswithloads
of editability; meanwhile, editorial photographers
will appreciatethe lifeliketones andwide
dynamic range,which make forimages that can
be filed with absolutely minimal intervention.

LEADING LIGHT
ISO performanceiscrazy,inagood way. In terms
of noise, there’slittle distinction to be made
between images shot at ISO100 and 800, and
we found therewere another three stops–up to
ISO 6,400–where the D780was able to produce
profoundly usable images. Beyond that, noise
begins to make itself known, but even so,our
ISO 12,800 test images were –toour eyes –
printable, whichgives photographers an
unbelievable amount of latitudeinterms of
output. At whatpointdoes the D780 start
making unusable images? It reallydependswhat
you’re shooting, butwefelt perhaps ISO51,200
mightrepresent theupper limitofusability for
all but themost newsworthy of frames.
The D780’s videomode has receivedamajor
upgrade fromthe D750.Where theD750 offered
no 4K option at all, the D780 can shoot 4K at
30fps, 25fps or 24fps. Opt forFullHDand you’ll
findframerates available up to 120fps.
One slight niggleisthat N-log –the option to
shoot ultra-flat footage with the broadest
possible dynamic range –isonly available to
the D780 whenyou useanexternal recorder.
Other cameras, most notably theCanon EOS R
(Shopper379),can recorditinternally.Still, we
shot with the camera’sintegrated Neutral colour
profile and foundplenty of editability when it
came to grading footage.

VViiddeeoossmmoovveenniicceellyy––wweehhaaddttoommoovveetthhee

D7 80 veryviolentlytogetanyoftheleaning

verticalsassociatedwithrollingshutter,and

fromourtests,atleast,wewouldn’thesitate

toshootfast-movingsubjectsandattempt

vigorous camera pans with it.

This is avery competent video camera

thankstosome pro-level inclusions. Hardware-

wise,you get audio in and out forexternalsound

recording and monitoring, while internally you

get zebrastriping and focus peaking,including

mid-takefocus peaking, which makes pulling

focus easier duringashot.

SHUTTERBRILLIANCE

Great images, greatbatterylife, atop-notch

movie mode andexcellent usability: the Nikon

D780 gets pretty much everythingright forthe

price.Mostimportantly,the images it makes are

superb, with theinstant qualitydemandedby

editorial photographersbut the pliability desired

by digital artists. Those workinginlow lightwill

adore it, while the camera’s autofocus abilities

are stateofthe art whether you’reusing the

phase-detection modulethrough theviewfinder

or the hybrid AF system on thesensor.

It’snicely built –perhaps not as well as the

Nikon D5, butcertainly wellenough that it will

survive allbut the worstabuse.Similarly,the

controls are bigand easy to hit;there are meatier

buttons outthere,but most won’t need them.

It doesn’t make theDSLR marketany less

turbulent,and choosing what you’re going to

spend your cash on is achallenge,but it’s

hard to imaginemany photographers buying

the D780 and feeling disappointed.

DaveStevenson

Greatimages, greatbattery life, atop-notch movie mode and

excellentusability: the D780 gets prettymuch everything right