Nikon D780 - Astro Review

[@PeterZelinka]

Correction: In the video, I incorrectly stated that the D750 Live View brightness could only be adjusted by changing the aperture. If you have "Exposure Preview" turned on, you can increase the shutter speed up to 10 seconds, which will increase the brightness of the Live View preview. However, once you go past 10 seconds, there is no additional brightness. Changing the ISO also has no impact. The D750 Live View preview is also incredibly noisy when Exposure Preview is turned on. You can also enable "Exposure Preview" on the D780. As you change the Shutter Speed (up to 30 seconds) the Live View preview will get brighter. You can also increase the brightness by increasing the ISO. This Live View Preview is much, much cleaner and more usable than the D750's. It will also make finding and focusing on the stars much easier! Thanks to Alan Dyer, who pointed out that both the D750 and D780 have an "Exposure Preview" function, which can be found in the "i" menu in Live View.

[@carlmcneill1139]

From my understanding the d750 is set to exposure preview by default. I just found this out recently myself. I've been trying to get pictures of the moon with my 70-200 and I couldn't understand why no matter what I changed the screen looked the same. I finally looked on KZbin for the answer. I think the d780 changed this so it's not set by default but I'm not certain on that.

[@ralphwatson7036]

Thanks for the D780 astro review. I'm finding surprisingly few real reviews of the D780 so far, mostly just people rattling off the specs over and over. I sold my D750 on EBay for $850 and traded an old Coolpix L24 to Nikon for a tradeup discount of $330. So my real cost of upgrading was close to $1100 plus tax. Besides the improvements you mention, I value the longer battery life (2260 shots), higher resolution LCD (doubled), faster memory cards (now uses UHS-II), silent shooting mode, 273 autofocus points in live view, improved weather sealing, focus peaking, focus stacking, bluetooth+Snapbridge, and faster processor (EXPEED 6 vs 4). For me, not a marginal upgrade at all, lots of new features for me to play with, plus actual, usable 4K video.

[@nathanielcashjr.732]

I agree wholeheartedly. Way better than 750 in many ways that he did not cover or glossed over.

[@patricksmith2553]

I wish I could buy one, but I can't, no vertical grip and I no buy lol. I get most people might not care and don't want one, but probably about 25-30% of potential buyers do want the option or like me, will only ever use a grip, never without the grip in place. My reasons are multiple, but the biggest reason is my most used lens is the 400mm f2.8 VR FL and second most used lens is the 70-200mm f2.8 FL. I also hate using the main shutter release button to press and release the shutter, it's uncomfortable after 20 years of using the vertical grip's shutter button. I wanted to upgrade one of my D4s's to a Z6, nope no option and now the D780...really like the camera, but no grip! Why Nikon, would you want to not make an additional couple hundred dollars off people like me, especially when you're hurting for money. Nikon made a great camera here and I do like it, but they certainly did cut some corner's for a camera that is currently not much less money than a D850. I've seen new D850's for around $350-$450 more so this really does not make a lot sense to me, but glad you love your's!

[@thinkingape7655]

Thanks for the video. Just picked up the d780. I’ll have to try this with the new night view feature too!

[@haynesiest215]

Sony also have a bright monitoring feature which will show the milky way in real time. The feature can only be used by setting a custom key for "bright monitoring". I use it all the time for framing milky way shots its a great feature.

[@Makeenosman]

I agree, the d750 grip was the best and much more comfortable. Loved the AE/AL design on the d750 too.

[@truthkeeperfilms]

It is a great upgrade. The video alone is a great upgrade. The sensor is a BSI vs not in the D750. The shutter speed is better in the D780. Battery life. Video focus. Video features and quality. Think of it as a D800 to D810, but with a lot more features and functions. D780 is, spec per spec and total upgrade from D750.

[@HimanshuSingh-xk9od]

No bullshit, plain simple to the point conversation. I loved the video, I recently got D780 with 24-120mm and 50mm prime. Love the camera

[@pabloyanez2235]

Another great review Peter! Thanks for this one and all the other great reviews and tutorials.

[@earavichandran]

Really wonderful review for D780 and nice comparison between D750 and D780. Neatly and clearly explained. Great job.

[@mikebennett2015]

Thanks for the tips on ISO invariance. I’m just starting out with a Nikon D200 which I’ve owned for years, so ran the test and found the best performance at ISO 400. Now waiting for a clear sky to try this setting.

[@JohnSmith-qc6bq]

Wonderfully presented information. Thank you for sharing.

[@aaronbpinto]

wow this is a very unique review. Please review the D850 for astrophotography.

[@radicalrenegade8528]

I have a D500 and D850 so I'm not really in market for a D780. However, I enjoy your videos and I wanted to see what upgrades Nikon was implementing. They're all over the place. How can you extend the shutter open time past 30 seconds (which is obviously for night time shooting) and not illuminate your buttons? Silly, even if it is a cost-saving measure. I'm pretty much done with DSLRs as a primary astro camera and I'm making the switch to a real mount, telescope and astro camera (mono, color, both?). I do think overall DSLRs are headed for the graveyard with mirrorless as the wave of the future. I'll keep the Nikons and lenses I have now as they perform great for my regular amateur photography. As always, great video!

[@ronrotunno2901]

Hello Peter, do you have an opinion on the Z6 (now Z6II) which is sort of the mirrorless replacement for the D780? Strictly for landscape astrophotography. Thanks!

[@quiver99]

Wowwww. 3-4 minute shot, with front cap on, then +5 EV... would never know of some horizontal banding otherwise. Amazing test! It’d definitely save me tons of bad photos!

[@robinc-k7162]

What a great video! I learned a lot on this, thank you! Would you say that it is worth upgrading from the Nikon d7500 (APS-C sensor) to the d780 for Astro?

[@victorpopukh5451]

I’m also curious why nikon doesn’t include the shutter speed extension in z6 and z7 firmwares. Silly as hell! I’ve been waiting for this for a long time and still nothing:(

[@alandyer910]

Very interesting! Thanks for posting. A couple of questions: in comparing the Live View brightness did you have the Exposure Preview function turned on on the D750? It’s buried under the i menu when you have Live View on. It brightens the image a lot! Though it is noisy. Does the D780 have something similar? And do the Extended Exposure shutter speeds work with the built in intervalometer? I.e. can you set it to automatically take 8 four minute exposures? If not, then the extended exposures aren’t of much value if you have to fire the shutter every time for a set of deep sky images. Interesting that the green stars in LENR shots seem to have gone away. Again, thanks! Clear skies!

[@PeterZelinka]

Wow, I didn't even realize the D750 had that exposure preview option! I just gave that a try in a dark room. It looks like the image will get progressively brighter as you go up to 10 seconds on the shutter speed. Once you reach 10 seconds, it will not get any brighter as you increase the shutter speed. The ISO also has no affect on the brightness. As you mentioned, it's also very grainy. The D780 also has an "Exposure Preview", which you can set to the "i" menu if you want. It looks like I did that, and had it turned on. I just went and tested it again, right with the D750. It appears I mispoke in the video. Increasing the ISO did increase the brightness of the Live View, along with the Shutter Speed. The preview was also very clean, with no noticeable grain. Based on this quick comparison test, the D780 is far superior! The built-in intervalometer is much better on the D780. You can set it to the "i" menu, so no more digging through all the different submenus to find it. Once you get there, you can turn on Silent Photography, Focus before each Shot, set AE Bracketing and a Timelapse Movie, as well as the usual intervalometer settings. And yes, it will work fine with the new extended shutter speed options. All things considered, they did a nice job with the D780, when compared to the D750. Although, they did miss a few nice opportunities (like the illuminated buttons)

[@Amazingsky]

@@PeterZelinka Yes, it sounds like the D780 is a good improvement over an already excellent camera. I find with the D750 that increasing the shutter speed does brighten the Live View until you hit Bulb. Then it goes dark. It doesn't know what to "simulate" for Bulb. Other cameras usually present a live view on Bulb similar to what it looks like at 30s. Good to hear the intervalometer works as it should. With the D750 I put it on the My Menu to make it easier to get at. But you are right - more than once I have accidentally changed image quality when I wanted to change ISO. A dumb button placement on the D750 fixed on the D780. The question for buyers is to go for the D780 or the Z6 - stay with a DSLR or go mirrorless. Anyway, thanks for checking and getting back. Cheers!

[@xzhao2weeks]

Anyone tried UHC/L-pro clip-in filter for D780? Did anyone have ERR issue when mirror cannot restore its position due to the clip-in filter?

[@ElGrecoDaGeek]

On the d750 you can assign the video record button for iso. Same for af on assigned to the AE/AF L botton.

[@JorshBrushTV]

This is a TimeLapse maker machine!!!! That battery life is the most relevant feature I think... The other important specs are on cameras like A7III at lower prices...

[@mcBiker]

Well, consider that with my Nikon Z6 i can make over 1000 shot (30+ secs) in timelapse with a single battery, but if needed i can attach a power bank ...

[@allys537]

23:31 did the long exp NR get rid of a satellite streak? I notice them in my recent photos of NEOWISE, they were the Starlinks.

[@vitalisvasylius7390]

Thanks so much for the review! Please tell me, what do you think is the best camera for night shooting - Z6 or D780?

[@lizards821]

Looks like another solid body for astro! I do wonder though, what would be the benefit of using this over Z6. I presume the sensor is the same given the incorporation of many mirrorless-esque capabilities in the D780. I do know the Z6 is astro modifiable thanks to the removal of the on-sensor IR monitor which the D750 had. I am curious if the D780 had that IR thingy removed as well.

[@ralphwatson7036]

No IR remote on the D780 either. I went back and forth between Z6 and D780 for a long time but in the end, I just didn't want to deal with the adapter for my F mount lenses.

[@lizards821]

Ralph Watson i honestly really don’t mind the FTZ. Since I mainly use the Sigma ART’s for astro I need it anyway as they do not make native Z glass. It also lets me comfortability switch between my Z6 and D850. I am hoping for a drop in filter style FTZ in the future, something in the realm of Canon’s EF to R adapter with the filter.

[@michaeldavis2818]

@@ralphwatson7036 Are you saying that the wireless remote I use extensively with my D750 (Nikon ML-L3 Wireless Remote Control) will NOT work with the D780? Thank you for clarifying!

[@ralphwatson7036]

@@michaeldavis2818 Yes, unfortunately, that's what I'm saying.

[@lowrivera]

Meanwhile, I am still using the D700 in 2020!

[@hiteshmamgain2201]

Hi Peter.. thanks for the wonderful explanation. Why didn't you choose a Canon EOS R instead of the Nikon.

[@chloescanlon1107]

Because of the stupid rear side hinged LCD.

[@kevinhanley3023]

Peter: I Use my D850 at ISO 64 and ISO 400 almost exclusively due to High DR and low read noise at those two values. Review the D780 sensor graphs. thanks

[@dimitri.scripnic]

Hot pixels are actually easy to remove in Photoshop with Dust & Scratches Filter with Radius on 1 or 2 and Threshold around 30. At least you can use it on the ground, not on stars that's right.

[@PeterZelinka]

Yeah, dust and scratches does a great job! Sometimes it can kill some of the detail though, but it's a great option if you've got an image with hot pixels already

[@parekh6601]

@@PeterZelinka to

[@cameraman2157]

I just bought the D780 finally got a chance to shoot some star trails my iso was 640 at f 4.5 25 seconds also i accidentally shot in jgeg long had a whole of hot pixels but my D750 never had that problem also the thumbnails on my desktop act weird some are dark cant see it until you open it some daytime photos when you open them the exposure drops at least one stop of light and nighttime photos when open them it turns about about 2 stops brighter ever seen this ?

[@leader0419]

Great test review.

[@jamesoliver6625]

Is the LiveView change due to the better LCD screen resolution? I shoot the 750 and the D850 and have been thinking of upgrading my backup simply due to the better back screen because I see the difference between the 850 and 750 in normal focus realities.

[@PeterZelinka]

I don't think so, I honestly can't tell a difference in terms of the LCD screen resolution. It looks just as high-res as the D750

[@jamesoliver6625]

@@PeterZelinka I noticed the better screen image 850 over 750 using the same lens the first time I turned the 850 on and when investigating it marked it up as a result of the extra million pixels.

[@ThePandaPhotographer]

That would’ve been nice to have LEF buttons for new Nikon shooters doing landscape or Astro (BIG CON) in my opinion

[@davidrylatt4749]

Hi can I ask did you get a cable that fits from d780 to ASI ?

[@PeterZelinka]

As of right now, the D780 is not supported by the ASIAir Pro anyway, so it would be pointless.

[@davidrylatt4749]

Ok cheers keep up the great work

[@hughmccomb8494]

Great Review, @81 looking to buy as found D850 to much for me.

[@victorpopukh5451]

I tested my z6 and z7 couple of weeks ago on long exposures like 4 min with 800 and 400 iso and it really bothered me when I raised the exposure it became magenta and pink, however high iso and shorter shutter the frame is dark. And I don’t know what to do with that because I want to track milkyway for 4 min with tracker to get cleaner shot. What are your suggestions Peter?

[@PeterZelinka]

I would still recommend taking 4 minute long photos, I don't think that purple glow will show up in the photo because you'll be capturing so much light it will "cover it up". On the other hand, if you only capture 15 - 30 seconds of light, that's never enough time to "cover up" any problems (grain, color mottle, banding, etc...) caused by your sensor. The technical term is Signal to Noise Ratio. You need to capture enough "Signal" (Light) to overpower the Noise generated by the camera. In my experience, the best way to do this is with longer exposures. You could take shorter exposures and stack them, and that will help. But for me, the easiest and best method is simply taking longer exposures. I'd recommend trying both approaches and see what works best for you

[@ruaangrobler3035]

Has anyone here done similar tests with the D850? I'm considering buying either the d780 or d850 (they are the same price used at the moment in my country) and would love any possible insights please. Particularly the noise pattern and how easily the d850 cleans up due to the larger resolution compared to the d780. It seems the d780 is cleaner but I believe the d850 will be favoured for denoising algorithms due to the increased resolution (but I don't know for sure). Is the D850 Live view also as accomodating for a WYSIWYG preview? Humblest thanks in advance.

[@montygiavelli8125]

Why would you use a D780 (or D750)for astrophotography with it's Infra Red filter intact ? I have a D750 and I have gotten some good moon photos, but you need the Infra Red spectrum to get good color for Nebulas etc. Does the D780 have an IR filter ???

[@PeterZelinka]

I'm not going to be using it for much deep space work, mainly Milky Way. Yes, all DSLRs have an IR Cut filter which reduces (or eliminates entirely) UV and IR wavelengths. I personally find the IR sensor mods to be more of a hassle than anything.

[@TheMrSarcastic]

What an odd decision by Nikon in removing the illuminated buttons. I can’t imagine the cost savings being significant enough for Nikon to drop it to make it competitive.

[@lizards821]

Steve Crotty i don’t think the D7xx series ever had illuminated buttons. Only the D850 and D4, D5, D6 has them.

[@TheMrSarcastic]

Daniel Stein My D500 has illuminated buttons. Very handy when I’m out doing nightscape or in the blue hour for landscapes.

[@lizards821]

Steve Crotty oh sweet, i forgot the D500 had em too!

[@TheMrSarcastic]

Daniel Stein There’s the rub though. They included that feature with the D850, when the D810 didn’t have it, so why not the the D780? It seems like that would be another reason to upgrade from the D750.

[@ralphwatson7036]

How does illuminated buttons affect battery life?

[@JonnyPink65]

Fantastic!! Thank you.

[@AzovPort]

I have the same Nikon d780 camera. good camera I like it The only thing is it's heavy.

[@AzovPort]

У меня такой же фотоаппарат Nikon d780. хороший фотоаппарат Мне нравится Единственное он тяжёлый.

[@Ganeshphotography_._111]

Nikon D780 vs Nikon z6ii which is better than buying wedding shoot in villages

[@strelnikoff7]

And what about internal intervalometer? Without that an external controler (intrvalometer or computer) are still required...

[@PeterZelinka]

All modern Nikon cameras have an internal invtervalometer

[@joerock7005]

Great Video. Very informative. I was very interested in your "iso invariance" test. I was looking closely at your images and it looks to me like the best quality was the ISO 3200 with the 2 stop adjustment. It was definitely better than the 12800. I am very interested in your thoughts on this, since you are looking the original pictures and I am just looking at the KZbin video. If this is correct, than you are much better off taking a photo at ISO 3200 and "pushing" it 2 stops, rather than using the 12800 ISO. Do you feel that this makes the 12800 amplification a gimmick? Are there situations that if you use the higher ISO this amplification (near the sensor ) will actually pick up additional image information that is lost at a lower ISO, and unable to get back in PP? For instance in a much darker room, or with a faster shutter speed. Thanks for your comments.

[@PeterZelinka]

I rarely use ISO's above 6400. The only time I would use a high ISO is if I'm photographing a moving subject in low-light, and I need to see the preview image on the back of the camera. Or, if I'm taking test photos at night to judge the composition and focus, then I'll use ISO 12,800. Frankly, I don't worry about using specific ISOs that might give me the "best" results. I just use what works for any given scene and my current shutter speed / aperture. I generally use lower ISOs, between 800 - 3200 for my low-light shooting. This helps to preserve any details in the highlights. I can then brighten the image as needed in post-processing, and retain shadow and highlight detail effectively. If possible, you should always use a longer shutter speed to capture more light and reduce the grain in your photos. This is especially true with astrophotography. That's why I now take 4+ minute exposures at night, with the help of a star tracker. I can now capture more light and have a nearly noise-free image!

[@rogeriopeccioli1616]

Peter, write a review of the Nikon D780 on your blog.

[@takuan650]

Not really worth switching from the D750 if You shoot RAW only and don't use the movie modes. Long exposure modes are Your most exciting new feature? Lucky You.

[@mannyva01]

D780 Dslr? Was hoping for a z6 or z7 since that is the future....... was curious how the system that you show on here would work with the nikon z6 at least....

[@carlmcneill1139]

I don't think the price is bad for a new camera. The euro was nearly that much when it first came out and so was the z6. Give it a year and the price will probably drop a little. I think this will be a great camera for weddings and even sports in low light. If you want clean images even at high is on your milky way shots just download Sequator if you have a PC. Mac has another program but it's not free. It's not expensive though. I think it's called starry landscape stacker or something like that. You can take 10 shots at 10 second shutter speed and then take a few with the lens cap on with the same settings. Sequator can map out the hot pixels and then overlay them with the black images. You get a real clean picture. You use different settings for the foreground at lower ISO. I start out in Lightroom and do basic edits on one photo and copy and paste to the others before editing them as a tiff file. Then I open them in Sequator. When you're done you just save them and then open Lightroom back up. You should see the stacked images. Then move all of them to Photoshop for the final edit. Photoshop is great especially if you do any light painting.

[@Zak_McKracken]

Do you think you have really tested the "iso invariance", how you get sure not to measure the read noise in your frames? Do you think Lightroom is the perfect tool for measuring cameras and do assumptions about camera performances? Because Lightroom is only a Raw-Converter which is doing much "under the hood" development to your pictures, even before you can see it. What about the Nikon zero clipping, did they finally fix this issue?

[@vertisce2845]

These cameras are far too expensive for what they are. I feel like these companies are just milking astrophotographers for all they can when really, this camera is no different than any of the others but with a single element removed. There is nothing that really justifies those prices.

[@MrSuperMole]

I agree!

[@hanss9239]

I think its really underpriced for what you are getting.

[@herex24]

Didn't the D750 have the "smart ISO" setting? I liked that better than the ISO in the top. Thumb wheel ISO and index the apperture. Way to go.

[@satkozlatna]

maybe maybe you can make a review d850 for astrophotograpy ! please

[@nathanielcashjr.732]

I paid $1,450 with trade in and rebate. With out a trade in the camera is $1,999 with rebate at present.

[@jan-martinulvag1962]

Less noise on high iso,.................hmmm............

[@balintk.9373]

The D780 is just way too overpriced. Almost at the price of a D850. If i would have to choose it is a no brainer, i would go for a D850 which is better overall.

[@ralphwatson7036]

However, D850 is much larger and heavier and creates huge files that are not desirable for astro manipulation.

[@AceHardy]

📝

[@neovirtuality]

I will thank Nikon when the price goes down to the same as the Z6. The current price of 2200 is a little absurb but classic Nikon pricing behavior.

[@nathanielcashjr.732]

I paid $1,450 with trade in and $300 rebate from Nikon.

[@neovirtuality]

@@nathanielcashjr.732 I am curious, why did you buy the D780 and not a Z6?

[@nathanielcashjr.732]

Simple, I have a large contingent of D lens that I am not willing to give up nor do I want to shoot them as manual lens on the Z6. I would have to replace my 20-35mm, 35-70mm and 80-200mm at a sizable cost including the Z6. I get the functionality of the Z6 with the d780, it's an amazing camera. It has insane high ISO allowing me to shoot with usable photos up to iso 40000 and I would push it, if I have to, to iso 140000. This fits in with the my key photography, motorcycle rallys. Shooting at night and the d750 got the job done, but the d780, from my testing, will produce great photos for these rallys. Focusing on d780 is, for the time being, better than the Z6 though I think firmware is coming to fix this. The d780 essentially has the same BSI sensor as the Z6. Also, I have a 105mm 2.0 DC lens that I think looks every bit as good as the 105mm 1.4. If I switch to the Z6, I will either have to wait for Nikon to manufacture a 105mm, buy the 105mm 1.4 for over $2,000 and get a FTZ adapter or slap my 105mm 2.0 on the d780 and keep on trucking. In short, moving to mirrorless would cost me $10-15,000 to have the same shooting ability I have now. As far as the Z lens being better, maybe so, but my clients will never ask me did I shoot with a Z mount. It will always be about composition, exposure and lighting. As far as "this is the future" I am not in the future, I'm here today and the d780 meets my needs today without me going into a huge expense. $1,450 with trade in was a good price for a DLSR with a built in Z6, D5 focusing, and some feature from the D850. There are a lot of people that think like me. $15-20,000 in lens and now the industry wants us to buy it all over again for something that most client won't notice. I think it is smart that Nikon realizes that until we all die, there is a market for those that have a significant expense in F mount and D mount lens that serve us well and we don't want to go through that expense all over again. Notice Nikon has come out with a couple of new F mounts.

[@neovirtuality]

@@nathanielcashjr.732 You couldn't make your point clearer :) I have a D750 and several AF-S lenses including the 70-200 f2.8 fl ed vr. A year ago I was tempted to switch to Sony but it was going to cost several grand to get the same set of lenses. Similar to your scenario. Now that the Z6 has proven a solid mirrorless camera, I completely ruled out Sony. When my D750 breaks and cannot be repaired, I suppose my next camera would be a Z6 or whatever generation it is at.

[@snymat_68]

Man, I love your videos, but they're ALL very quiet and difficult to hear. You need to address that.

[@grahamhgraham]

Turn up the volume. Happy to help.

[@snymat_68]

@@grahamhgraham don't be a smartass.

[@davidlewis1787]

Matt S he does have a point, there is noth8ng wrong with the volume of his speech, maybe it’s your ears?

[@Uaegnome]

if you want to know about camera's go ask the bald guy Ken youtube = Theoria Apophasis