Nikon D780

Nikon D780

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I chose the Nikon D780 for a few different reasons. It uses two SD cards, has killer battery life and it’s a relatively late model DSLR. At the time of this writing, Nikon still sells it new. The D780 has the ability to use a wide variety of F-mount Nikon/Nikkor lenses both manual and auto focus. It takes 4K video and is reasonably priced. I have a really nice kit of AF lenses that is shared with my F6. It will mount any lens I own, I have even used a mirror Reflex lens on it with good results. 

After first purchasing and unboxing my D780, for my first pic, I chose the Nikkor 20mm f2.8 AIS, mounted it to the body and went outside. Taking a look at the controls, everything is different than my manual focus cameras so I just focused on our flower pot outside of our front door and snapped a pic. No wasting time or pixels, I went back inside and started reading about how to get the image out of the camera, off the memory (SD card.) Nikon has an APP for my iPhone 16pro, SnapBridge so I uploaded it to both my iPhone and iPad, dug around in the D780 menu and quickly configured the Bluetooth, paired the iPhone and ran the APP. The APP mirrored the SD card contents with a thumbnail gallery, I selected the flower pot and pressed download from my phone and boom, the image was sent to my phone. I’m in, it was easy.

My first quick photo after turning it on.

This digital camera will keep my film cameras happy. I can feed them premium film and get HQ processing now. I’ll carry one or two cameras in the field, snaps with the D780 and compose with the F6. I can share my AF lens quiver with both, If I bring the FG, I have a minimal but dedicated lens kit for it.

Also, the D780 has video capabilities so now I can start practicing shooting video, editing on my iPad. The Idea is taking shape. Just about all components are in place. I can now start planning to visit the rock art sites and studying Freemont, Anasazi and Hohokom styles, developing a body of work, images in my mind to use to paint the ideas I have.

I use two of the following SD cards, fast and lots of storage. I also use an SB-400 for fill and an SB-800 Speedlight flash for both night and fill. I carry my D780 without a strap most of the time by using a Lowepro Nova 1 camera bag on a shoulder sling or a Think Tank shoulder bag.

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Resources

Nikon D780 Review (Maarten Heilbronn)
Nikon D780 (Ken Rockwell) User’s Guide

Nikon D780 - Hands On Review
Nikon D780 Secrets (Ken Rockwell)
Nikon D780 Menu Set Up Guide (Steve Perry)
Nikon D780 Settings - Landscape, Portrait (Leigh & Raymond Photography)
Astrophotography for Beginners - Gear, Settings & Tips (Mallory Davis Photography)

   

camera | lens | film | flash