So what the world of photography is all talking right now!! And we all know what it is. It’s Nikon D780. But wait a minute, why so much hype about D780? Is it because it’s the replacement of the most successful camera on the sale of all time by Nikon, which is D750? Or is it about its Dual AF system? Or Is it having a Z6 soul inside a DSLR body? Or still, keep having the dual SD card slot? Or missing battery grip? Or the very first camera in the history of digital photography, which has a built-in exposure timer of 900 seconds? Well, the answer is It’s about all that I have just mentioned.

Now I won’t be writing specs sheet and going to compare it with its mirrorless brother Z6 (which is a must to compare). I will be telling you why Nikon still releasing such a DSLR machine and what more to expect from Nikon. You can check the specs of this camera from the internet easily. Hell, you can easily be going to see the comparison of D780 with Z6 on YouTube in a couple of days. Trust me on that.

I have so much in my head that I want to get out and to tell you why D780 exist. So I will try to be logical and try to explain the logic behind this DSLR in simple words. Regardless of the mirrorless hype, the world is still full of DSLR shooters. 2019 was all about mirrorless for both Canon & Nikon. A lot of marketing stuff was pumped, and yes, there was transition observed from DSLR to mirrorless but not like what these companies were thinking. Reasons?

• People still want to keep their F-Mount glass.
• No AF support for the D-Type lenses, which are still the best.
• Switching is expensive.
• Mirrorless cameras are still “fragile.”

Now people who did transit from DSLR to mirrorless because of,

• Advantages of EVF (obviously).
• Evolution of the AF system in the form of Eye-AF.
• There isn’t any 03^rd/onwards reasoning.

Let’s face the basic fact. Mirrorless cameras are still not mature enough even after so many years. Sony who is leading the mirrorless camera market still has SD card slots. Why are they not using XQD tech in their cameras which is their technology? Any Sony user ….. Anyone? Please explain that to me. Trust me; it’s not about the size of the camera reasoning (which is B.S.) which you normally hear from Sony. Nikon did put the XQD card in their Z6/Z7 but only one. Why One? Again the same B.S. reasoning …. Size of the camera !!! …. Seriously!!!! Look at Panasonic S1/S1R. Check the weight/Size and durability of that monster of the camera. It still holding two card slots (One XQD & one SD) and yes, it’s still Mirrorless. It’s one of the best and toughest Mirrorless cameras out there as I am writing this blog. If Panasonic can do that, why not all these other camera companies can do? So when these cameras companies tell you that due to size, they skip the second card slot, you know what to say to them in return.

Now let’s get back to the reasoning why D780 exists in the realm of Mirrorless World. As I already explained above in kind of detail, what you will and won’t get when you are using Mirrorless cameras. After seeing the market response in 2018-19, Nikon decided to release something for the users who carry the taste of both worlds. This step is necessary for both the user in this world and for Nikon themselves. For the world, because in this way, they will be able to experience what they will be getting and loosing from both breeds of cameras. For Nikon, it will be a hands-on experience and total learning which they will put in making a REAL Hybrid camera in the future which they patented like in 2008. You can check out the patent for it released by Nikon using this link.

Now an only a handful of people only able to buy/switched to the Nikon Z-Mount system. There is a plethora of Nikon camera user who still owns the F-Mount system and doesn’t want to switch to mirrorless because of the common reasoning I have mentioned above. So how to make them realize that what they are missing by not switching to the mirrorless world? They made D780 which can

• Still, a DSLR style body means more robust.
• I still have two card slots.
• Still have a longer battery life
• Still supports the Auto Focus for the legacy glass (e.g., Nikon D-Type lenses AF)
• Can give you Nikon Z6 amazing ISO performance and Dynamic Range.
• Can give you Eye-AF taste in live view mode. Now, this sounds funny to many people but trust me, Canon 1DX Mk III which is a $6500 flagship body, do the same AF with no audio in 1080P 120FPS while Nikon & Sony do support audio regardless it’s useful or not.
• Can give you Nikon Z6 amazing 4K video experience. Of course, there are many options available and probably better one then Z6 but for the Nikon users, Z6 is the best.

So yes, D780 has Z6 soul inside of it. Like what if Hulk Hogan’s body carries the soul of John Cena, imagine the outcome!! We are experiencing the same thing right now. The thing which D780 is missing is a battery grip. Do we need it? In my humble opinion …. YES we do need because of the following reasons,

• Extended battery life.
• Additional shutter release button.

Last but not least, it makes you look like a true PRO. Don’t care if you agree with this point or not but it’s a fact. Imagine you have two full time experienced Pro photographers standing in front of you and using the same camera. One with using with battery grip, and other without. Now honestly tell me which one will look more Pro to you as a customer when they try to shoot you in Portrait orientation of the camera? You know the answer right.

Last but not least and it’s extremely important as I don’t want you guys to get the wrong perception. Nikon in their press release mentioned a couple of interesting things which are,

• Up to 12 FPS burst shoot with full Auto Exposure and Auto Focus.
• Nikon D5 Auto Focus algorithm is used in D780.

Now lets the clear first-hand thing is that 12 FPS with full auto exposure and autofocus is only in LIVE VIEW mode (means you are operating the camera in a mirrorless mode like Z6) which is quite impressive considering the market this camera is going to target let’s be honest. In the typical viewfinder mode, it goes up to 7 FPS. Just one frame added into the Burst from D750. The second point is related to the Nikon D5 AF algorithm! ….. this is where some part is missing and no one is talking about. Yes, they put the Nikon D5 algorithm (software) inside the D780. But D780 doesn’t have the dual AF processor like D5. So practically speaking, D780 never going to perform like D5. Yes, there will be Auto Focus improvement, but not the way you are subjected to observed (like D5). Imagine you are having Windows 10 installed on SSD drive, This combination is like D5. Now imagine the same windows ten is installed on a typical disc Hard drive which is running at 5400 rpm but it was advertised as the computer running with the fastest windows ever built, available at the lowest price!!! So which one is going to perform better?

• Windows 10 installed on SSD drive (D5)
• Windows 10 installed on 5400 rpm drive (D780)

(I hope you will get above analogy)

Now its time to sum up the blog ….

• If you haven’t experience the Nikon Z-mount system yet, this is a chance. Buy D780 and experience the Z6 soul inside that camera.
• You will keep using your legacy (D-Type lenses) with full Auto Exposure and Auto Focus.
• You can NOW enjoy the Eye-AF feature in the DSLR form factor.
• You will be missing the battery grip.
• You need to carry additional batteries now if you are shooting burst or long exposure.
• Finally, you don’t need shutter release cable as you can now take 900-sec exposure which is introduced the first time in the history of any digital photography as per my limited knowledge.
• Nikon increased the size of the camera is compared to D750 to support the 1/8000 shutter speed.
• Don’t expect D780 to perform like D5 when shooting fast action/sports/wildlife.

Thanks for stopping by and read this article. Stay tuned for more material like this one which will be more photography centric.