Rodney Campbell's Blog

Thanks to Nikon Australia I’ve had the chance to play with the new Nikon D750 full frame D-SLR a couple of times now so I thought I’d post up a few quick impressions from a Nikon D600 users perspective.

The numbering system D7XX and it’s capabilities appear to put it squarely inbetween the existing D6XX and D8XX Nikon FX lines – however having used it a couple of times now I’d say it’s much more like the D6XX than the pro style D8XX.

First up the camera is very familiar to me – the controls and layout are pretty much as the “prosumer” Nikon bodies like the D6XX and D7XXX series cameras. It’s also a lot more similar in size to those two lines than the D8XX.

So what new features do I like on the D750 compared to the D600:

– the updated 3.2″ articulating LCD screen is pretty nice and I could see times when this would be useful. Especially when down low on the tripod or when shooting video (which I don’t do a lot of but when I do) – especially handheld). I’m a little uneasy with it sticking out more and not having a protective screen however

– the new AF module (similar to the 51 point AF from the D810) is a fantastic addition – no more do the AF points only cover the tiny crop sensor area (tightly bundled only in the centre of the frame). We now get a proper full frame AF spread – personally I wish they were even wider spread but…

– you can now finally do the one button press 100% zoom (press the OK button) and it instantly zooms either the live view (or playback image). It even zooms to the focus point if single point focus is used (which is what I use)

– the body is noticeably smaller (the thickness of the body) – it has about the same height and width – it subtly feels lighter in the hand

– I also like the new small LCD display on the top of the D750 – it’s wider and slimmer (to cater for the new slimmer body) but the main displays (e.g. Aperture/Shutter) have much larger digits and it’s much easier to read (for people like me with failing eyes)

What don’t I like:

– the D750 STILL doesn’t have the viewfinder blind (found on all the pro bodies) – for me this is probably my biggest bugbear. However I still don’t want to move up to the control layout or size/weight of the D8XX series

– they’ve moved (as in swapped the positions of) the buttons down the left side of the camera AGAIN! (e.g. the “+” and “-“/ISO buttons) (the info button also moved but I don’t care so much about that)

What else:

– the D750 is Nikons first D-SLR with built in WiFi capability – which should be a plus, but it still uses the same horrendous Nikon WMU app which I’ve not had a lot of joy with (using the WU-1b wireless dongle on my D600) – why Nikon doesn’t just open the API for their cameras and let real software people write decent applications for their gear…

– one stop expanded ISO (to 51,200) – how usable this will be time will tell

– what you can’t necessarily see but is an upgrade to the 91,000-pixel RGB metering sensor (as seen in the pro bodies like the D8XX and D4/s)

– has a Quiet Continuous mode

– the ports and doors down the left side have moved around – the remote release connector is behind a small door at the bottom on the D600 and is at the top of the bank on the D750 – what this will mean in a practical sense I’m not sure yet. I leave an L-Bracket on my D600 all the time (I’m not even sure my D600 L-Bracket will fit the D750 – I suspect not) and shoot lots of vertical shots and usually with a programmable intervalometer remote attached. Now with the remote port closer to the middle of the camera rather than at the bottom it may make it much more difficult to mount the camera (on the L-Bracket) vertically on the tripod/Arca clamp with the remote cable in place. If this doesn’t work hopefully the Nikon WiFi solution is then up to scratch – but I’m not holding my breath

– the battery door on the bottom of the camera has changed orientation – along the body rather than across at the handgrip end. The practical upshot of this is it may mean the L-Bracket for the D750 will have to be shorter so as to not block the battery door which may lead to other compromises

– still has the 1/4000 max shutter speed limitation (which to be honest has only been a problem for me a couple of times in many tens of thousands of frames on the D600)

– also has the same 1/200 flash sync speed as the D6XX

I tried the camera with a few lenses including the 14-24/2.8 (seemed quite front heavy with this but it is a very big and heavy fronted lens) and the 70-200/4 (this felt awesome on camera – a nice light pairing – and has me now lusting after this lens :))

Conclusion:

Would I upgrade – I’m tempted but at this stage probably not. The D600 is still an epic camera and I’m not sure the upgrade for me is strong enough to warrant the expense (given I’m mostly a landscape shooter).

I’ll probably wait and see how it fares for real in a few months and wait for any early teething problems if they exist to be sorted. I’d need to wait till Kirk or RRS release an L-Bracket for it anyway. I’d also like to see how the wifi/remote capabilities really work and if I still have to use the wired remote port how that pans out with the L-Bracket (along with the battery door) and mounting vertically on the tripod.