Nikon D750

Nikon D750

The D750 is Nikon's first full-frame DSLR with a tiltable display, which goes from about 90 degrees downwards to 75 degrees upwards.

In terms of price, it costs between Nikon's entry-level full-frame DSLR D610 ($2,619, body only) and the mid-range full-frame DSLR D810 ($4,888, body only),

It is also the first Nikon full-frame camera to adopt a monocoque structure, said to reduce weight and increase durability (carbon fibre for the front and cover; and magnesium for the rear and top).

Indeed, at 840g, it is one of the lightest full-frame cameras on the market. Even with the AF-S 24-120mm f/4 lens we had for this review, it weighed only 1.54kg.

In comparison, Nikon's flagship full-frame DSLR D4S weighs 1.35kg without a lens.

I found the camera to be comfortable to hold. It felt sturdy and the ergonomic grip allowed me to wrap my fingers around it, with the rear thumb rest further aiding camera support.

The mode dial on the top left requires you to press a button on its top before you can turn it. This prevents accidental switching of modes. Buttons and controls are well-positioned and easily accessible.

A front command dial sits on the grip under the shutter release. A rear command dial sits above the rear thumb rest.

I like that the rear directional pad is just beside the thumb rest, making it easy to change settings.

Overall, camera handling felt intuitive.

The D750 has a real zip to it. For one, it starts up instantaneously and takes 1sec to shut down. Autofocusing (AF) is fast and accurate.

Thanks to its 51-point AF system, focus lock felt instantaneous in bright sunlight, and took less than 1sec in dimmer settings using the AF assist light.

However, the AF speed slowed to about 2sec when composing shots using the LCD screen in the Live View mode.

During video-recording, you have to half-press the shutter release to achieve focus when panning to another scene.

There are two SD card slots, so you can use the extra SD card for extra storage or simultaneous backup. Using an SD card with a writing speed of 50MB per second, I managed to take 16 RAW images in about 3sec before the buffer ran out.

Image quality is superb. The pictures I took were sharp and had crisp details across the entire frame of the photo. Colours were vibrant, rich and punchy.

I saw no noise artefacts on images captured at up to ISO 3,200. Even at ISO 6,400, things got only a bit noisy. Only at ISO 12,800 do you see some chromatic noise artefacts and a slight loss of detail.

It does not have 4K video-recording. However, the full high-definition videos at 60 frames per second looked sharp. My quibble is its audio-capture quality. The videos I took had too much ambient and wind noise. You can plug in higher-quality external microphones into this camera, though.

Battery life is rated at 1,230 photos, so you should be able to make it through a very busy day of shooting.

One for those looking to upgrade to their first full-frame camera.

trevtan@sph.com.sg

TECH SPECS

Price: $4,079 (with AF-S 24-120mm f/4 G ED VR lens) or $3,079 (body only)

Image sensor: 24.3-megapixel full-frame

Display: 3.2-inch tiltable LCD with 1,228,800 dots; optical viewfinder

Sensitivity: ISO 50 to 51,200

Shooting speed: Up to 6.5 frames per second

Connectivity: Wi-Fi

Weight: 840g (body with battery and memory card)

RATING

Features: 4/5

Design: 4/5

Performance: 4/5

Value for money: 4/5

Battery life: 5/5

Overall: 4/5


This article was first published on Dec 24, 2014.
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