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PERFORMANCE: ISO
100
800
1600
3200
The D780 with a 24-120mm f/4 zoomon a Gitzo Traveller 2 tripod was used for this ISO set, which was shot at night without any in-camera noise reduction. The exposure for the ISO 100 image was 5secs at f/8. The 14-bit Raws were processed in Nikon Capture NX-D – again with no noise reduction. I have to say that the camera’s noise performance was impressive. Images were very clean up to ISO 800 with no noise noticeable on images exposed up to that speed. In fact, you could if you wanted use ISO 800 or even ISO 1600 as a default speed, because images were remarkably clean, even in areas of smooth shadow or mid-tones where noise is usually most evident. If needed, a little noise reduction applied in processing would help, of course. Digital noise does start to appear when you venture past ISO 1600, facility – both are SD, UHS-II compatible. There’s a lot to cover, so let’s dig into what’s on offer and how the camera handles and performs. The D780’s handling is very much in the mould of past generations of Nikon DSLRs. So we have the on/off switch in what I feel is the ideal position, ie around the shutter button, perfect for single- handed use and means the camera is on and ready to shoot easily by the time the camera is up to the eye. As it stands, there is no option to set live view to activate as the camera is switched on, so if you want live view you need to push the LV button – this has still and video CMOS SENSOR BOASTING AN EFFECTIVE 24.5-MEGAPIXEL RESOLUTION FEATURES INCLUDE A BACK-SIDE ILLUMINATED
not in any huge, negative way, but gradually and noise only starts to be significant at ISO 6400. Even then, fine detail and saturation remain at high-quality levels and the noise itself is neutral and looks filmic. I think ISO 6400 is the highest speedmost photographers would use for critical results, but even ISO 12,800 turns in decent images. The top ISO 51,200 speed is useable if you had to shoot in the most dire lighting conditions and needed fast shutter speeds, but expect coarse grain and a serious impact on detail. The expanded ISO equivalents are, as you would expect, very noisy and gritty. The D780 is an impressive high ISO performer. I would go as far to say that it is a seriously good high ISO performer and I was getting lovely A2 prints even at ISO 3200 with a little noise reduction in software. options. And, of course, there is no eye sensor for auto switchover from live view to optical finder shooting and, yes, on a couple of occasions I found myself looking at a black viewfinder. The ISO and exposure compensation buttons are nearby, so readily accessible with rear and front input dials to adjust shutter speed or aperture – the direction can be altered and you can pick which dial you want to do what. On the left ( from a behind-the-camera perspective) of the lens plinth is a BKT button to engage exposure bracketing and, on the right, two function buttons labelled Pv and Fn you can assign to one of 27 functions, including none. In total, six buttons can be used as function buttons to varying degrees – the AE-L/AF-L button has eight options, the BKT button has four, the AF-ON, seven and the movie record button, three. The i button can be customised, too, and the 12 menu boxes set to 28 different features in still shooting or 33 in movie mode. I found I had more than enough custom options, even though the D780 is not quite in the same league as some mirrorless models in this respect. On the back, there is an AF-ON button, which, although not as large as that found on Nikon pro DLSRs, is big enough and usable with thin gloves on.
6400
12,800
25,600
51,200
102,400
204,800
Issue 75 | Photography News 71
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