Review Nikon D750

28 November 2014

How could you add an even more attractive FX camera to the already broad assortment of Nikon D4S, DF, D610 and D810? By combining the good properties of the Nikon D610 with those of the D810 and adding WiFi and a fold-out screen?
Good plan.
Shall we call it a Nikon D750? Then you know immediately that it’s more than a successor of the Nikon D700, already popular for years due to its high image quality.
Outstanding plan.

Pseudo HDR (1 image), Guggenheim Bilbao, Nikon D750 + Nikon 20 mm f/1.8G @ 200 ISO, f/8, 1/400 sec The dynamic range of modern Nikon FX cameras is so high that you can even achieve pseudo HDR effects with 1 shot, without disturbing banding or color noise appearing. I prefer bracketing for real HDR shots to the in-camera HDR option. If you use in-camera HDR, it’s no longer possible to save the associated RAW files.
Nikon D750 vs D610 vs D810
There is pushing and shoving in the assortment of Nikon FX cameras for amateurs and prosumers. Now, they have the choice of – by increasing price – a Nikon D610, Nikon D750 and a Nikon D810. The Nikon D810 and D750 have a screen with higher resolution (1,221,000 dots), while the Nikon D610 has a screen with 921,000 dots. Nikon D750 has the only tilting screen. The Nikon D810 has 36 megapixels; D610 and D750 have 24 megapixels. In addition, the Nikon D810 has no anti-alias filter, in order to get the maximum profit from high resolution. At 6.5 bps, Nikon D750 is faster than the D610 or D810, but the Nikon D810 passes it up in terms of fastest shutter time (1/8000 vs 1/4000 for the D750). The Nikon D750 has the most modern AF sensor of these three cameras. The Nikon D810 and D750 use (in the case of the D750 a variant including Group Area AF) the Multi-CAM 3500 FX sensor, with 51 AF points, of which 15 are cross-type. The Nikon D610 uses the Multi-CAM 4800 sensor for AF, with 39 AF points, of which 9 are cross-type. Video specs of the Nikon D750 are better (Full HD-film recording at 1080/60p). The Nikon D750 is lighter than the D610 and D810 and smaller than the D810. Nikon D750 is Nikon’s first FX SLR with built-in WiFi.
Nikon D750 vs Canon 6D
The Canon 6D has no fold-out screen; the Nikon D750 does. The Nikon D750 has a viewfinder coverage of 100%; the Canon 6D, only 97%. The Nikon D750 has 15% more megapixels than the Canon 6D (24 vs 21). Nikon D750 has a larger (3.2 vs 3 inch) screen, with a higher resolution (1229k dots vs 1049k dots). The Nikon D750 is better equipped for video (e.g. 1080p @ 60 bps vs 30 bps for the 6D). Nikon D750 offers space for 2 SD cards; the Canon 6D, for 1. The Canon 6D has no built-in flash; the Nikon D750 does.
Functional design, tilting screen and bright viewfinder
With the arrival of the Nikon D750, there is finally a camera with a full-format sensor and a fold-out screen. Just like the two SD card slots, this is a feature that makes filming with a DSLR a bit more comfortable. The first thing that’s noticeable when you pick up the Nikon D750 is how light and compact this camera is for a camera with an FX sensor. Despite the larger sensor, the Nikon D750 is about the same size as a Nikon D7100. The Nikon D750 body is made from a combination of magnesium and carbon. This combination of high-quality materials make the camera both solid and light. The Nikon D750 is not extra-well sealed against dust and splash water. For a few professionals, that will be a reason to go to the D4S, but for the typical amateur photographer, it will mean little. The handgrip has become a big larger, so that the camera in particular with larger lenses sits in the hand better. The two SD card slots can be used in various ways: a second card as a backup, or for the separate storage of RAW and jpg files, for example. Certainly for video the extra memory space that the second SD card gives you is a big plus point.
Nikon D750 auto focus
The D750’s autofocus is the best I’ve experienced, especially in low light. Imaging Resource The Nikon D750 makes use for auto focus of a newly designed Multi-Cam 3500 II (91k-pixel RGB) auto-focus sensor. That is an improved version of the AF sensor in the Nikon D810. This high-tech AF system also works in extremely low light (-3 EV). The Nikon D750 can make use when focusing of 9, 21, or 51 auto-focus points. The AF points light up in the viewfinder. In “3D tracking AF mode,” 51 AF points will be used. You adjust the AF mode with a button on the front of the camera, which I had to search for. The vast majority of the buttons and settings can be found without the user manual, but for this button, everyone who is buying their first Nikon will need the user manual. The fast AF shines when you want to create a series of pictures at 6.5 images per second with continuous AF, although you’re done photographing after about five seconds because the buffer is full if you save 14-bit lossless RAW files in the camera. The Nikon D810 is a bit slower in number of images per second, but it carries on twice as long. In the image style settings, I came across “Clarity,” with which you can increase the contrast in the middle of the histogram. I think that’s a plus, because I often apply this function in Lightroom and Photoshop.
Resolution and image quality
In terms of resolution, we see no differences from the Nikon D610, which is also built with a 24-megapixel, FX sensor. Both, just like practically all other modern mirrorless and SLR cameras from other brands, have to acknowledge their superior in the Nikon D810. Preventing overexposed highlights is even simpler with the Nikon D750, thanks to the effective new highlight exposure mode that we discussed earlier in our Nikon D810 review. If you use this mode, you don’t have to manually adjust the exposure, or switch to spot measurements when there are light areas that can become overexposed in a shot, because the rest of the image is very dark. It sounds obvious, but there is no other brand that offers this option.
Guggenheim Bilbao, Nikon D750 + Nikon 20 mm f/1.8G @ 200 ISO, f/8, 1/20 sec
Dynamic range
The dynamic range of Nikon FX cameras is among the absolute top for the current system cameras, so that I have the idea that the differences may be measureable, but in practice you will practically never notice. It is just always good with the Nikon D750. In our measurement of the dynamic range in RAW files, the Nikon D750 lies between the Nikon D610 and the Nikon D810. Because we measure the dynamic range differently than DxOMark does, we find lower values than DxOMark (which only measures the dynamic range in RAW files), but the trend is the same. With DxO, the Nikons do even better than with us when it comes to dynamic range: The Nikon D750 is in second place for all reviewed cameras (including various medium-format cameras), behind the Nikon D810.

Color reproduction
In daylight, the color reproduction is very precise. In artificial light, the auto-white balance – just as with practically all other cameras that we have reviewed so far – still goes wrong, and there’s a clear orange tinge recognizable. If you compare Nikon and Canon shots with each other, then there is a difference in image style: With the standard image style, Canon chooses more contrast and a little bit of extra red in comparison with Nikon. What you find more attractive is a matter of taste.

Noise
For the low ISO values, modern cameras currently all deliver noise-free images, so that you only notice any differences in extreme enlargements. At high ISO values, the differences become a bit larger, and cameras with a full-frame sensor do better than the other cameras. The newly designed FX-format sensor produces, according to Nikon, even less noise at high ISO values. Nikon sensors show practically no banding in the shadows and therefore score highly in comparison with other brands. On DxOMark, in the assessment of noise at high ISO values, there are 9 Nikon cameras in the top 10 of all cameras that they have reviewed so far. Cameras with a full-frame sensor are also no miracle workers: at high ISO values (6400 ISO and higher), it’s advisable to use the “long exposure noise reduction.”
Bilbao, Nikon D750 + Nikon 20 mm f/1.8G @ 640 ISO, f/5.6, 1/20 sec
Video/Timelapse
With the first Nikon SLR cameras with video, you can talk about a photo camera with which you can also make video. The Nikon D750 (60 p in Full HD) is also the best Nikon so far on this point. The double SD card slot and the tilting LCD screen are real value-adds for the videographer. The “Power Aperture control” ensures smooth transitions if the aperture is changed while recording a video. The addition of auto ISO for video I think is a plus: You set the aperture and shutter time yourself, and the Nikon D750 ensures a properly exposed shot. When photographing, I increasingly rely on this function, and for video, I expect that it won’t be any different. Timelapse photographers have the biggest chance of being the first to get to 150,000 shots (the guaranteed life of the shutter). With the Nikon D750, you can make a timelapse series of 9999 shots, for which “exposure smoothing” is a very valuable function that prevents abrupt transitions if the lighting changes significantly during the timelapse. It saves a lot of post-editing time. I haven’t found this function on other cameras, except for the Nikon D810.
Built-in WiFi & flash
The Nikon D750 is Nikon’s first FX SLR with built-in WiFi. This makes it simple to operate the camera remotely or to share files on social media via your smartphone. Just like the built-in flash, this is a camera property that amateur photographers will probably find appealing, even if they don’t (yet) make any use of it.
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Conclusion Nikon D750 review
{insertgrid=381} Look in our list of reviewed cameras for specifications and for a comparison of this performance with that of other cameras.	{insertgrid=329}
Pros Fast AF (also very good in low light) and 6.5 bps High, “professional” build and image quality Tilting screen 2 SD card slots Good video options Built-in flash and WiFi	Cons Not extra-well sealed against dust and splash water Not yet a (rotating) touch screen Not inexpensive
The Nikon D750 is a camera with a 24-megapixel sensor that is perfectly equipped for action photography and video. The image quality of the D750 is comparable with that of the D610. The Nikon D810 is beaten out when it comes to AF, fold-out screen, built-in flash and WiFi. And all that beauty is packaged in a solid body that is nearly the same size as a camera with a DX sensor. It appears obvious, but it isn’t. Until the arrival of the Nikon D750, there was not yet a Canon or Nikon camera with a full-frame sensor and a fold-out screen. It’s great that Nikon has made that change, because many photographers with an amateur SLR are completely used to a fold-out screen. Only when switching to a camera with a full-frame sensor do you find out that a fold-out screen is not a given: the Nikon D750 is your only choice. The Nikon D750 might be ideally equipped for a switch from DX to FX, but Nikon realizes that many (semi-)professional photographers will (also) buy a Nikon D750. When the Nikon D750 was introduced a few months ago, we were told that the Nikon D750 was part of the NPS program. That is the Nikon program for professional cameras, with support, such as a replacement camera if you bring in your camera for service.