Finally, someone who understands what photography is all about! Nice review!

Thank you Ken for an excellent comprehensive and professional review. I am now the proud owner of a D780 and a 28-300mm 5.6 zoom lens. Awesome camera rig!

I bought the Nikon D780 and I am very happy with the choice. As this camera has a BSI sensor, I think the detail capture is even better. I also own the D750 and the raw files in D780 are about 15 percent larger with same lens at about 26 - 28mb per Raw holding more fine detail. This is the only hybride Nikon with dual focusing systems. Superfast AF in photo still mode using phase detect. In video, it uses the same PDAF sensor of Z6 for tracking fast and locking on, with face and eye detect. I would recommend it to anyone who loves using DSLRs for pro or semi-pro or hobby use and also want pro video. The Nikon 28-300mm is a very sharp lens as is the Nikon 24-120mm F4 (I own both). I would guess this camera is still a best seller for DSLR Nikon users. Thanks for review showing features.

Great review! So happy to see you on YT. I've been enjoying your blog for about two years. Love the How-To posts and no-BS reviews. My technique is slowly improving.

I really enjoyed that review. You just ooze years of experience and cover so much info in such a short amount of time.

I am convinced you don’t sleep, thank you for this, and all your contributions.

So happy you're finally active on the tubes! We can bin all other camera gear channels now ;) Question: is the size of the autofocus area similar to the D750 is more similar to a D800?

Really enjoyed this video. It told me all I wanted to know about the D780. It's also given me a lot to think about as I look for a second hand camera to ease myself back into taking pics for money again. I've been told by a few pros to get the D850 but after watching this I'm sold on the USB-C. I imagine this will make a great charging option when travelling. I'm also keen on the improved low light capability over the 850 and not fussed in regards to the lack of battery grip. Two SD cards is also a plus. Thanks Ken!

I really enjoyed your review about the D780! Thinking of upgrading from a D7100. I was stuck between buying a D7500, D500, or a Z6.... but lately I was exploring the D780. Your fantastic review makes my decision much easier! It's gonna be the D780!

I like your reviews, you point at important things which nobody else says, and they are fun to watch!

Really liked this review, Ken. Glad to know I’m not the only one who likes this camera but I think they kind of blew it on the pricing. Love seeing that vintage 1.2 on there the whole time, as well.

Terrific review. No one is as thorough as you when it comes to reviewing cameras. What blows me away is that you are using the Nikon 28-300 mm lens, which doesn't get high marks from DxoMark. Your images are outstanding, and you did not enhance many of them. Wow!!

Oh Ken! I first dropped by your site eons ago and bought my first DSLR a Nikon D70s based on your recommendation. You mentioned that its 1/500 flash sync speed was something even pro cameras didn't have. I still have the D70s and it still works like a charm. Then I progressed to a D7000 and now am thinking about the D780. Yes, I have a Sony E-mount camera but when I pick up the Nikon the solid build quality and reliability always has me coming back. Looking forward to more of your videos!

Got mine. I waited for a few years to upgrade from my D7100. I wasn’t happy with the D750 or the D500 and the D7500. However, this camera hit the nail on the head and I jumped on it. Really amazing and very happy with it.

"protecting the camera against my own stupidity"...There's a photographer with a heart! 🥰

I couldn't agree more. After an enjoyable run with DX I'm coming back to full-frame. There is a D780 in my future.

I don't know what I envisioned your voice sounding like, but it wasn't this lol. Great overview and review, Ken!

I bought this d780 and really love it! the only thing is that you can't use a battery grip on it. so no MB-D16. Either way... I love it! by the way, I didn't know Ken had a KZfaq channel, I accidentally discovered his website about 20 years ago when I was studying photography in college. I wanted to know every single detail about Nikon lenses and Ken was the only person who had a website with charts, models, manuals.... etc etc. so now that I have the opportunity to say I will say.... THANK YOU KEN!!! Your knowledge and experience goes beyond anything!!! You are truly the man!

Ken, excellent-to the point- review. Thanks for comparing the 780- to the 750. I have a 7200 and a 750 and I was going to trade one in on a 780 but I like my 750 and me having a crop sensor 7200 gives me added reach on my lenses should I need a little more distance. You review convinced me that the 780 is my next camera on the horizon.

Forever loving your reviews, helped me decide on every lens ive bought 📸

Excellent review. Thanks a lot. Your professional no-nonsense content is greatly appreciated by me.

Excellent review Ken, have been reading your website since I got a brand new D70. Sitting back and listening it almost sounds like Jonathan Haidt reviewing Nikon, that's a good thing!

Best review I've seen so far for the D780 on KZfaq (good you'r here!). I particularly liked your series of ISO pictures that showed the effects of high ISO settings, that really stroke me and was kind of the highlight in this video. And because I'm considering to move up the ladder it was very helpful to get some clear opinion about the Z-series that are getting touted so much for their smaller size, weight and better lenses but it seems that the new cameras don't (yet) get the same grade by a long time hard core Nikon photographer who knows his business in and out. Thank you!

I subscribed because of every good thing said about you. Keep up the good work, it speaks for you!

I did not knew Mr Rockwell is in KZfaq though I am going through your website for quite a long. Thanks for this review. Want to see many more in coming days!

I have seen your review at least 3 times over the months... I love your philosophy on settings, I take your reviews and recommendations very seriously. I will soon upgrade to the D780 thanks to you! Then a Paypal thankyou coming.

Thank you Mr. Rockwell. Your video contained an extensive amount of detailed information. I’m planning on buying one very soon. Hopefully there is a good early Black Friday sale. As always, your content is TOP NOTCH.

Man! Good to hear your voice! Hahaha. Been reading your blog since 2009.

Hi Ken, I have been following your excellent reviews on the Nikon D780. After much deliberation between the D750 and D780, I have decided that the D780 will suit my photography needs (or wants?)better with more modern features.( I have found some Australian retailers are no longer stocking the D750 as supply and product life appears to be nearing an end?) The deal was sealed today when I purchased online from a reputable Australian camera retailer for $3102 AUD ($1797 USD) with a bonus SB 5000 flash valued at $699 AUD ($405 USD) v the best price I could find for the D750 of $2114 ($1225 USD). Both offers come with a Nikon 2 year warranty. Therefore the choice of the D780 became a little easier based on the price. ( I do expect the price of the D780 to rise in the near future based on recent world events affecting exchange rates).There is cheaper deals on the D750 with questionable warranties on the grey market and it pays to do your homework. I am looking forward to receiving my new toy this week. Thanks again for your informative, down to earth and knowledgeable reviews. Kind regards, Mark Wilson

Fantastic camera I know - loves the old glass too. As long as you can carry the weight then you cannot go wrong . But I am no longer able to carry one all day now that I’m retired , so opted for something a lot smaller . Back in the day I loved 5x4 : what was I thinking ha ha. Yet, if you have used those cameras then you know how wonderful your images can be . Pick the right gear for the job and what you can carry . I am often reminded of Jane Brown who carried two secondhand Olympus film cameras and two lenses - 50 and 135 in a basket to jobs . Her work was great . She used no light meter , but only the back of her hand to judge exposure - just as I did with my F2 back then . Great video - and thanks

When I need to know the real deal about cameras and lenses, Ken is one of 2 go-to people I hold on high regard. Just look at his pictures….’nuff said!!!!

Finally arrived !!! Waiting for an long time to see this review 😍😍😍 thankzz man

Just saw this. Fantastic job with your review. I was a long time Nikonian starting with a FE 35 years ago up to a D610 then made a switch over to the a7Riii Sony. I'm giving that camera to my son and will be ordering the D780 shortly. Good thing I kept most of my lenses for the F mount. There's nothing like a Nikon...

Oh man I learn so much from you Ken. For instance a real world reasoning for using 1x1 aspect ratio. Bam. Saturation settings? Bam. 95% of this review also applies to me that I can apply using my 10 year old Nikon D5000 and D7000 and my 7 year old Fujifilm X-S1. You repeat your thinking and reasoning and experience ad nauseam... I love it.

Hi Ken, hope u're doing fine. I'm a Canon user and still use the legendary 5DII and 7D for my landscape and wildlife photography purposes respectively as an enthusiast. Main reason - IMO these workhorses produce better image quality than most of the latest models. I can comfortably live with the absence of extra bells and whistles of modern cameras. Likewise, had I been a Nikon shooter, I would prefer D700 and D300 for my needs. IMO, the D780, D700's second successor you are now talking about must produce great IQ mainly because, it possesses bigger pixels instead of over-crowded tiny ones. Also the updated sensor and processor are playing important roles. BTW, I'm also a lover of old lenses like you. Based on your review, I bought a used Canon EF 28-135mm IS. It's a gem and much better than owning an EF 24-105mm, its newer sibling. Canon stopped production of that great glass in 2016.

Thank you Ken, i needed this. My camera will be the D780 i upgrade from the D7200.

I enjoyed your comments, especially about the mirrorless bodies.

Hi Ken! Longterm reader of your blogs. Looking to upgrade my very old Nikon, and have been hovering over the 780 for a while... You made the decision for me! Incredible review. Thank you!

I'm a happy D750 user for three years. But I would look at mirrorless for my next camera.

Love that 58mm F1.2 noct. you have on the D780 Ken. It's my favorite Nikon lens and always on my FE2 camera.

Just bought mine! Thank you for the thorough review and tips. (upgrading from a D7500)

I need a new camera myself, I have currently a Nikon D5200. I was looking into the D750 and the D810, both are great camera's from what I understood. But then I noticed this camera being released early this year. Which made me look in to it. I like what I see and that build in flash thing isn't a issue for me. Rather find that stupid thing highly annoying as it did often pop up without me even touching it. So actually find it a plus that it isn't on this camera. The double card slots I love as well, although so far I didn't figure out yet up to what card sizes it can take without slowing down too much. Something the D5200 seriously has issues with if you place a 64 card in it and higher it doesn't even do. A double card for me would be more to shoot a lot more photo's without bothering to switch cards all the time. I have no idea whether I can get the 2000 euro I need for this body, but I will most likely figure out a way to get it done. It would be the perfect update as the D850 is just too expensive. For the lenses, well being F-mount the lenses probably won't be a real big problem. I got 3 atm and I can probably buy more over time. I still need a lens that does 500mm or better for example. I have no fisheye lens yet or other specific lenses. Please do give me tips, will be welcomed! First lens is a Tamron AF70-300mm F/4-5.6Di LD macro 1:2 lens would be great (was thinking to replace this one with a general travel lens, along the lines of 24-300 or something like that) I have a Sigma 50mm F1.4 DG, I rarely use it as it's so damn heavy. I just won't replace it as it's a excellent lens. I got this one to replace the kit lens that originally came with my camera, that lens was just not doing much good at all. And the last lens is a Sigma 17-70mm F.2.8-4 DC Macro, this is my general main use lens right now. I love this thing and it's always with me. I ended up settling with this lens after my 50mm proofed to be lacking to some degree, I did want something that could zoom but no kit lens. So this was the best choice and it proved to be well worth it.

Great review, thank you. I have a D750 and love it; it's a real workhorse. But one of the things I love the most about it is the vertical grip. One of my few paying gigs is doing sports photography on the water, and craning my arm around to do a vertical shot while keeping my balance on a bouncing chase boat just isn't going to cut it. So, probably no D780 for me, at least not until the price has come down considerably. Oh well.

I owned the D750 and loved it. I'm tempted to buy the D780.

Ken, first off thank you for all of your time and effort to bring information to all of us seeking it! Have you done a review on the D700?

Great review Ken, thank you 🙏

Thanks to your review, I now have a good option for upgrading from a D5300 if the D850's price doesn't drop. I seriously need a full frame DSLR, so having an alternative choice to D850 is what I need. If the D780 is as good as it sounds I might just be able to upgrade my glass(lens) as well. I only have one FX lens(50mm f/1.8) so I need more. Thanks for the great review!

And this is how a review should be done 👌

Thank you. I remember this when first posted. I bought this camera soon after. You stand out fantastic to others shooters. Excellent products and educational.

Excellent Review, Ken !!

the noise reduction capabilities of this camera are amazing so far, I've used it up to 52000 iso and the noise is still not extremely noticable

Great review, thank you.

At 12:20, I enjoyed seeing you doing that old aperture indexing shuffle. Ingrained habits die hard.

I have a Z6 and you are SPOT on about low light and action...It struggles badly. I may have to look further into this amazing camera.

First 👍👍 great review

Great review from a proper professional. Thank you. I will be buying mine very soon.

Amazing amount of useful information served with the efficiency and speed of automatic machine gun, awesome video.

I have had my D750 for nearly 5 years now and I love it, came here to see if I should upgrade to the D780, it would be an upgrade but I dont think i need it... Besides the built in flash on the D750 is awesome for flash slave mode triggering...

thank you for sharing it, really good content

Ken I'm glad to hear your voice! You're my lens guru for long....

Thank you, Ken. I am pretty sure I am going to buy this camera. I would love to hear from you if I am making a mistake not getting the D850. I may move to mirrorless, but I am not a professional, and spending $4000 for a camera and $2000 for a lens is out of my range.

Hi dear Ken, I know you and your great and valued website since 10 years ago or a bit more when I was a university student and at that time I started photography with Zenit camera. I always read your articles to upgrade my knowledge on technology and here I have to appreciate you. You’re the best tester in the world. Now after your comparison and however I know that D780 is great upgrade, but based on my budget I decided to buy D750 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8E ED VR + Nikon SB-400 AF. I hope it is still worth to buy the old D750. And at the end one technical question: To shoot a great photo, sensor is more important or lens? Thank you in advance for all your great works and efforts. God bless you!

I love this camera. I was sold the moment I discovered I no longer needed to calibrate my lenses. I stick any lens on the camera and I’m good to go 🙌🏾

I bought one because it reminds me of my F5, D2X,D3, and D800.

Nice analytical video.

You in love with Nikon again!

Regardless of the mirrorless era, I think this would be my pick along with my Nikon F90X and those type-D lens. I don't know why I still like the DSLR, but I like it.

Great review Ken. I have been thinking about this body versus the Z6. I have alot of good glass and don't want to part with them. So this just makes sense. Plus u get the phase detect live performance. Thanks again Ken.

Ken you do Ap Fantastic Review of the Nikon D 780 Fantastic I use your settings on my D750 And photos are Amazing Thank you from Allan in nth Qld Australia, Merry Christmas 2020 Bring On 2021

WHaT!!!??? A Ken Rockwell VIDEO!!!!

Great review! Wished it had a built-in flash, might go for the 750 instead.

Thank you. My d800e broke but wasn't sure about this one

Probably the greatest camera Nikon has introduced in quite a while. Unfortunately, Nikon will probably not do it justice marketing it. My last Nikon, which I still own, is a D300. It sits on a bookcase 99% of the time. Because of your review, this is the ONLY new camera that even slightly interests me. Everything else is warmed over last model iterations that mean nothing. With this camera, Nikon really improved the operation and picture taking ability of one Nidon's most favorite cameras while still keeping the goodness of their system over the last 40 years. Bravo!!!

The newest cameras from Nikon use a 2200mah battery EN-EL15c... Lack of on board flash is not the reason, but I'm sure it helps. This new battery is to support mirrirless EVF which chews through an EN-EL15a and EN-EL15b battery.

I think the D750 is better for me. I can’t shoot without a grip

2020 : I love my D780 to the death 2022 : I love my Z9 flagship

I'm so glad someone is telling it as it is, rather than gushing about stoopid meaningless mirror (less for you and me) crap toy cameras. The DSLR maybe suffering, but it will be back!

Beautiful pics!

Notice this D780 can digitizing 35mm film negative by using ES-2 adapter. Does this camera automatically convert to positive and straight out to computer? Thanks for your great review.

Glad a looked at this video. I bought a Z6. I hated the slow startup time, focus delays and missed shots. The Z mount lenses are crazy expensive and I am not prepared to throw my investment in F mounts in the water. Changing to another system is not an option financially and loosing a lot of money for another brand is an ego trip. So I went and bought the D780. love the camera, I use it as amy second body for nature wildlife, all else to my tried and tested D4s. I still believe in investing in good glass rather than chasing hot new camera bodies that offer nothing more. I like you honesty from a pure photographer point rather then from hyping the latest hot cakes that is killing photography. The photography industry has becomes the camera gear industry. we meed people like you on youtube. Thanks

Great video.

Great review as usual man

What a fantastic review.

Hello, congratulations on your work on KZfaq. Seeing your video, would you recommend buying this body? I was about to buy the z6 1 month ago, but this option that puts nikon on the table is making me hesitate. I have 9 nikon lenses so i am seriously considering buying the d780. Thank you

Hi Ken, many thanks, great camera! Color rendition on my Nikon Z6 ist also excellent and vibrant like on this Nikon! Much better than my Sony A 7II I had before. Dynamic range is also great! I like this! Same vivid colors as with Canon R cameras. The only thing I miss on my Z6 is the missing SD card slot. Best wishes, Ralf

Changing of an era. First rangefinder (1910-1960), then slr(1960-2010) including digital version. Then mirorless era (2010-2060 dunno). I own sony a200, i got it back when i was in univ (2006), i use right now z50. Its experiences makes any dslr obsolete, if z6-2 far superior than z50

Very informative and entertaining.

Thanks Ken for the very helpful review and sharing the terrific images. Perhaps time for me to move my D810 to backup and upgrade to the D780 and skip the Z6.

What an amazing review, wow! Great camera btw, I just ordered it

Screw the D750...Im investing in the D780. ;)..awesome review!!

Wow after so many years reading your reviews it’s good to finally see them. Right now I’m replacing my old d300 and was deciding between this one and the d750. Would you justify the price difference or go with the older one? I think the d750 is kinda old in terms of technology but there doesn’t seem to be any real difference between them.

great review Ken!

Really enjoyed this review of the D780. I recently purchased this camera and I’m enjoying it. I’m now in the market for a flash. I’ve read that the d780 has compatibility issues even with the Nikon SB series. Has this proved true in your case? If not, what other manufacturers flashes would you recommend other than Nikon’s?

Great review Ken, I'm still considering the d780, on the point you mention about picture settings on vivid with saturation at +3, do you use those settings for every exposure ?,

Love your video reviews. Always the most comprehensive information. I now shoot a Nikon D750 which has performed well with one exception: shutter mech replacement. If I may ask you one question, where can I get my beloved Nikon D700 repaired? I called Nikon USA on Long Island only to find that they no longer service the D700. Any ideas as to where I might send this camera in for repair? The thought of finding one on eBay seems unwise now. Best, Jim Archer

The only pro who misses built-in flash on any camera brand. I got Sony a6600 because of it’s sturdier top plate due to the absence of built-in flash unlike previous a6xxx models.

Another great review...the fact that this body seems to be a winner makes the failure that is the D6 that much more infuriating...

Love this camera

There was an opportunity to touch the 780 ... in the end I took the Z6 ... autofocus from a mirrorless is just a fairy tale ... now I forgot what an autofocus miss or back and front focus is ...Optics breathed deeply ...

you really like this camera.. nikon hit a homerun with this one