http://www.digitalcameraworld.com APRIL 2020 DIGITAL CAMERA^113Dynamic range (EV)02468101214100 200 400 800 1600 3200 6400 12800 25600
Nikon D780 Nikon D750
Canon EOS 6D Mk II Sony Alpha 7 Mk IIISignal to noise ratio (decibels)0102030405060100 200 400 800 1600 3200 6400 12800 25600
Nikon D780 Nikon D750
Canon EOS 6D Mk II Sony Alpha 7 Mk IIIResolution (line widths/picture height)01020304050100 200 400 800 1600 3200 6400 12800 25600
Nikon D780 Nikon D750
Canon EOS 6D Mk II Sony Alpha 7 Mk IIIDigital Camera verdict
The Nikon D780 shows a marked improvement over
the older D750, and narrowly beats the Sony A7 III,
a camera with particularly good dynamic range.There are no fireworks with the Nikon D780, no
radical new technologies. It’s simply an excellent
evolution of a great camera design.5.0 A best-in-class product
Lab tests
With peak resolution of 2,800 line widths/picture
height, the Nikon D780’s resolving power is exactly
as we’d expect for a full-frame 24-megapixel camera.The D780 is slightly noisier than the Canon and Sony
cameras at low to medium ISO settings, but it offers
the best high-ISO performance of this group.adapt to its layout, and it does offer
fast and efficient external controls.
The rear screen has a tilting
mechanism rather than a vari-angle
pivot, but that’s fine for horizontal
shots and keeps the screen on the
same optical axis as the lens. The
screen is larger than usual at 3.2
inches across the diagonal, with a high
2,359k-dot resolution, and the Touch
AF and Touch Shutter modes work
well: you tap to select the focus point,
or to focus and shoot in a single action.Performance
Most of our test shots were outdoor
landscapes or close-ups, and both of
the D780’s AF systems proved fast
and efficient. This is an important
difference – with a mirrorless camera,
the AF system is the same for both
viewfinder and Live View shooting.
With the D780 you need to adjust to
two different AF systems with two
different sets of characteristics.
Our Iceland expedition offered up
some amazing subject matter, but it
also provided some serious exposure
headaches, thanks to the extremes
of ice and snow and near-black lava
beaches. Most shots taken with the
default Matrix metering needed
some kind of editing later, but that
was mostly a reflection of the very
difficult subject matter.
Even taking that into account, it
does seem as if the D780’s Matrix
metering is biased towards highlights
rather than midtones. You’re less
likely to get highlight blowout, but
more likely to have to make tonal
adjustments in software later.
We also had a few shots that were
underexposed for no obvious reason.
The D780 might have the Z 6’s
sensor technology, but it doesn’t
have its in-body stabilisation. Thelens-based VR in many Nikkor F
mount lenses is effective for stills
photography, but did not do much to
stabilise the footage in our handheld
video tests. For video we think this is
a camera best used with a tripod or
a stabilising gimbal, when the video
quality becomes very good.
The 7fps continuous viewfinder
shooting and 12fps in Live View is
pretty impressive, but the buffer
capacity of 68 lossless compressed
14-bit raw files or 100 JPEGs is more
impressive still. It’s not billed as a
camera for shooting sports, but the
D780 is pretty well equipped for
a camera in this class.
It also has an impressive 2,260-shot
battery life, although we assume this
figure is based around viewfinder
shooting, and that continuous Live
View shooting would drain the
batteries a lot faster. The Nikon Z 6,
for example, has a battery life of
just 380 shots. Rod LawtonFeatures Build &
handlingPerformance Value5.0 5.0The exposure system does seem to favour highlights: this shot needed a little brightening.
We got to try out the D780 for a Game
of Thrones-style photo shoot.Nikon D780 DSLR
5.0 3.0