Let nothing stand between you and your vision. The D780 gives you everything you’d expect from a pro-calibre DSLR, and then some. A clear view. A long battery life. A tough build. Plus two fast, reliable AF systems, phenomenal tracking, wide ISO range, and more. Freeform or staged. Stills or movies. This full-frame DSLR is fearless.
Welcome to a new level of flexibility. The full-frame D780 packs a fast, dedicated Hybrid-AF system for Live View shooting, and a fast, reliable Phase-Detection AF system for viewfinder shooting. In Live View, the highly accurate AF system gives you 273 on-sensor AF points and Eye-Detection AF. When shooting through the viewfinder, you can harness Nikon’s powerful 51-point AF system with flagship tracking capabilities.
The 51-point Phase-Detection AF system is sensitive down to -3 EV and the bright optical viewfinder allows sharp, real-time confirmation of the action you frame. Track subjects at lightning speed, even in low light.
During viewfinder shooting, the 51-point AF system lets you adapt instantly with quick switching between advanced AF modes. Benefit from fast acquisition and stunning background isolation with Group-Area AF mode.
Catch the look
When shooting stills in Live View, the whip-smart Hybrid-AF system with Eye-Detection AF can lock onto your subject’s eyes—and stay locked. Whether they’re alone or a face in a crowd. You select which eye to focus on via the multi-selector, and the camera maintains focus even if your subject is in constant motion.
Reveal those all-important seconds
Harness burst rates of up to 7 fps with AF/AE when shooting through the viewfinder. Get up to 12 fps when shooting in Silent Live View Photography mode. You get full resolution images, even when shooting in RAW.
Ultra-high-speed continuous shooting
Want to show the moves within the moves? Shoot in Live View and you can capture Full HD (2 MP) stills at up to 120 fps. Or you can capture 4K/UHD (8 MP) stills at up to 30 fps.
With nothing slowing you down, you’re free to create as you please. Extensive weather sealing and the tough magnesium alloy body ensure the D780 is ready for any location. Dual slots accept fast UHS-II SD cards that easily handle the camera’s fast burst speeds and keep the buffer clear. The deep grip and long battery life make all the difference on extended shoots.
Epic views. Extreme action. The back-illuminated 24.5 MP full-frame CMOS sensor and EXPEED 6 image processor offer wide dynamic range and clean performance across the ultra-wide ISO range. The same 180K-pixel RGB sensor and Advanced Scene Recognition system as the D850 delivers incredible precision.
Type | Single-lens reflex digital camera |
|---|---|
Lens mount | Nikon F mount (with AF coupling and AF contacts) |
Effective angle of view | Nikon FX format |
Image sensor | FX, CMOS, 35.9 mm x 23.9 mm |
Total pixels | 25.28 million |
Dust-reduction system | Image sensor cleaning, Image Dust Off reference data (Capture NX-D software required) |
Effective pixels | 24.5 million |
Image size (pixels) | FX (36x24) image area: (L)6048, x4024 (24.3million), (M)4528, x3016 (13.7million), (S)3024, x2016 (6.1million). DX (24x16) image area: (L)3936, x2624 (10.3million), (M)2944, x1968 (5.8million), (S)1968, x1312 (2.6million). 1:1 (24x24) image area: (L)4016, x4016 (16.1million), (M)3008, x3008 (9.0million), (S)2000, x2000 (4.0million). 16:9 (36x20) image area: (L)6048, x3400 (20.6million), (M)4528, x2544 (11.5million), (S)3024, x1696 (5.1million). Photographs taken while filming movies at a frame size of 3840 x 2160: 3840 x 2160 Photographs taken while filming movies at other frame sizes: 1920 x 1080 |
Storage file formats | NEF (RAW): 12 or 14 bit (lossless compressed or compressed), JPEG: JPEG-Baseline compliant with fine (approx. 1:4), normal (approx. 1:8), or basic (approx. 1:16) compression; size-priority and optimal-quality compression available, NEF (RAW)+JPEG: Single photograph recorded in both NEF (RAW) and JPEG formats |
Picture Control System | Auto, Standard, Neutral, Vivid, Monochrome, Portrait, Landscape, Flat, Creative Picture Controls (Dream, Morning, Pop, Sunday, Somber, Dramatic, Silence, Bleached, Melancholic, Pure, Denim, Toy, Sepia, Blue, Red, Pink, Charcoal, Graphite, Binary, Carbon); selected Picture Control can be modified; storage for custom Picture Controls |
Storage media | SD, SDHC (UHS-II compliant), SDXC (UHS-II compliant) |
Dual card slot | 2 Secure Digital (SD) cards; the card in Slot 2 can be used for overflow or backup storage or for separate storage of NEF (RAW) and JPEG images; pictures can be copied between cards. |
File system | DCF 2.0, Exif 2.31 |
Viewfinder | Eye-level pentaprism single-lens reflex viewfinder |
Frame coverage | FX: Approx. 100% horizontal and 100% vertical, DX: Approx. 97% horizontal and 97% vertical, 1:1: Approx. 97% horizontal and 100% vertical, 16:9: Approx. 100% horizontal and 97% vertical |
Magnification | Approx. 0.7x (50 mm f/1.4 lens at infinity, -1.0 m-¹) |
Eyepoint | 21 mm (-1.0 m-¹; from center surface of viewfinder eyepiece lens) |
Diopter adjustment | -3 to +1 m-¹ |
Focusing screen | Type B BriteView Clear Matte Mark VIII screen (with AF-area brackets; framing grid can be displayed) |
Reflex mirror | Quick return |
Depth-of-field preview | Yes, pressing Pv button stops lens aperture down to value selected by user (A and M modes) or by camera (P and S modes) |
Lens aperture | Instant return, electronically controlled |
Compatible lenses | Types G, E, and D (some restrictions apply to PC lenses), other AF NIKKOR lenses (excluding IX NIKKOR lenses and lenses for the F3AF), AI-P NIKKOR lenses DX lenses (using [DX (24 × 16)] image area), non-CPU AI lenses (modes A and M only), during viewfinder photography, the electronic rangefinder can be used with lenses that have a maximum aperture of f/5.6 or faster. With lenses that have a maximum aperture of f/8 or faster, the electronic rangefinder supports 11 focus points. |
Shutter type | Electronically-controlled vertical-travel focal-plane mechanical shutter; electronic front-curtain shutter; electronic shutter |
Shutter speed | 1/8000 to 30 s (choose from step sizes of 1/3 and 1/2 EV, extendable to 900 s in mode M); Bulb; Time; X200 |
Flash sync speed | X=1/200 s; synchronizes with shutter at 1/200 s or slower Auto FP high-speed sync supported |
Release mode | S (single frame), CL (continuous low speed), CH (continuous high speed), Q (quiet shutter-release), QC (quiet continuous shutter-release), Self-timer, MUP (mirror up) |
Frame advance rate | Up to 7 fps. CL: 1 to 6 fps (viewfinder photography); 1 to 3 fps (live view photography). CH: 7 fps; when shooting NEF/RAW pictures during silent photography, either 8 fps (bit depth 14 bits) or 12 fps (bit depth 12 bits) QC: 3 fps |
Self-timer | 2 s, 5 s, 10 s, 20 s; 1 to 9 exposures at intervals of 0.5, 1, 2, or 3 s |
Exposure metering | Viewfinder photography: TTL exposure metering using RGB sensor with approximately 180K (180,000) pixels; Live view: TTL exposure metering performed by image sensor |
Metering method | Matrix: 3D color matrix metering III (type G, E, and D lenses); color matrix metering III (other CPU lenses); color matrix metering available with non-CPU lenses if user provides lens data Center-weighted: Weight of 75% given to 12 mm circle in center of frame; diameter of circle can be changed to 8, 15, or 20 mm, or weighting can be based on average of entire frame (non-CPU and AF-S Fisheye NIKKOR 8-15mm f/3.5-4.5E ED lenses use 12-mm circle); Spot: Meters circle approximately 4 mm in diameter (about 1.5% of frame) centered on selected focus point (on center focus point when non-CPU or AF-S Fisheye NIKKOR 8-15mm f/3.5-4.5E ED lens is used); Highlight-weighted: Available with type G, E, and D lenses |
Metering range (ISO 100, f/1.4 lens, 20 °C/68 °F) | Matrix and center-weighted metering: -3 to +20 EV; Spot metering: 2 to 20 EV; Highlight-weighted metering: 0 to 20 EV |
Exposure meter coupling | CPU, AI |
Mode | Auto, P: programmed auto with flexible program, S: shutter-priority auto, A: aperture-priority auto, M: manual EFCT, Special effects modes: night vision; super vivid; pop; photo illustration; toy camera effect; miniature effect; selective color; silhouette; high key; low key U1 and U2: user settings |
Exposure compensation | –5 to +5EV; -3 to +3 EV when filming movies (choose from step sizes of 1/3 and 1/2 EV) available in P, S, A, M, and EFCT modes |
Exposure lock | Luminosity locked at detected value |
ISO sensitivity | ISO 100 to 51200 (choose from step sizes of 1/3 and 1/2 EV); can also be set to approx. 0.3, 0.5, 0.7, or 1 EV (ISO 50 equivalent) below ISO 100, or to approx. 0.3, 0.5, 0.7, 1, or 2 EV (ISO 204800 equivalent) above ISO 51200; auto ISO sensitivity control available (Recommended Exposure Index) |
Active D-Lighting | Can be selected from Auto, Extra high, High, Normal, Low, or Off |
Autofocus | Viewfinder photography: TTL phase detection performed using Advanced Multi-CAM 3500 II autofocus sensor module with support for 51 focus points (including 15 cross-type sensors; f/8 supported by 11 sensors); autofocus fine-tuning supported Live view: Hybrid phase-detection/contrast-detect AF performed by image sensor; autofocus fine-tuning supported |
Detection range | Viewfinder photography¹: -3 to +19 EV; Live view²: -5 to +19 EV; -7 to +19 EV with low-light AF |
Lens servo | Single-servo AF (AF-S), Continuous-servo AF (AF-C), AF mode auto-switch (AF-A, still photography only), full-time AF (AF-F, movie recording only); predictive focus tracking activated automatically according to subject status, Manual focus (M): Electronic rangefinder can be used |
Focus points | Viewfinder photography: 51 points with [All points] selected for Custom Setting a6 [Focus points used], 11 points with [Every other point] selected, Live view³: 273 points with [All points] selected for Custom Setting a6 [Focus points used], 77 points with [Every other point] selected |
AF-area mode | Viewfinder photography: Single-point AF, 9-, 21-, or 51- point dynamic-area AF, 3D-tracking, group-area AF, auto-area AF Live view: Pinpoint AF (still photography only, single-servo AF/AF-S), single-point AF, dynamic-area AF (still photography only, continuous-servo AF/AF-C), wide-area AF (S), wide-area AF (L), auto-area AF |
Focus lock | Focus can be locked by pressing shutter-release button halfway (single-servo AF/AF-S) or by pressing AE-L/AF-L button |
Built-in flash | Viewfinder photography: TTL flash control performed by RGB sensor with approximately 180K (180,000) pixels; Live view photography: TTL flash control performed by image sensor i-TTL balanced fill flash for digital SLR available with matrix, center-weighted, and highlight-weighted metering; standard i-TTL fill-flash for digital SLR available with spot metering |
Flash modes | Front-curtain sync, red-eye reduction, slow sync, red-eye reduction with slow sync, rear-curtain sync, off |
Flash compensation | –3 to +1 EV (choose from step sizes of 1/3 and 1/2 EV) available in P, S, A, and M modes |
Flash-ready indicator | Lights when optional flash unit is fully charged; flashes after flash is fired at full output |
Accessory shoe | ISO 518 hot-shoe with sync and data contacts and safety lock |
Nikon Creative Lighting System | i-TTL flash control, radio-controlled Advanced Wireless Lighting, optical Advanced Wireless Lighting, modeling illumination, FV lock, Color Information Communication, auto FP high-speed sync, AF-assist for multi-area AF (viewfinder photography), unified flash control |
Sync terminal | AS-15 sync terminal adapter (available separately) |
White balance | Auto (3 types), natural light auto, direct sunlight, cloudy, shade, incandescent, fluorescent (7 types), flash, choose color temperature (2500 K to 10,000 K), preset manual (up to 6 values can be stored, spot white balance measurement available during live view photography), all except choose color temperature with fine-tuning |
White balance bracketing | Exposure and/or flash, white balance, and ADL |
Live View - Modes | Photo live view, Movie live view |
Movie - metering | TTL metering using camera image sensor |
Movie - metering method | Matrix, center-weighted, or highlight-weighted |
Movie - frame size (pixels) and frame rate | 3840 x 2160 (4K UHD); 30p (progressive), 25p, 24p 1920 x 1080; 120p, 100p, 60p, 50p, 30p, 25p, 24p 1920 x 1080 (slow-motion); 30p x4, 25p x4, 24p x5⁴. Actual frame rates for 120p, 100p, 60p, 50p, 30p, 25p, and 24p are 119.88, 100, 59.94, 50, 29.97, 25, and 23.976 fps respectively |
Movie - file format | MOV, MP4 |
Movie - video compression | H.264/MPEG-4 Advanced Video Coding |
Movie - audio recording format | Linear PCM, AAC |
Movie - audio recording device | Built-in stereo or external microphone with attenuator option; sensitivity adjustable |
Movie - ISO sensitivity | Manual selection (ISO 100 to 51200); choose from step sizes of 1/3 and 1/2 EV) with additional options available equivalent to approximately 0.3, 0.5, 0.7, 1, or 2 EV (ISO 204800 equivalent) above ISO 51200; auto ISO sensitivity control (ISO 100 to Hi 2) available with selectable upper limit |
Movie - Other options | Time-lapse movie recording, electronic vibration reduction, time codes, logarithmic (N-Log) and HDR (HLG) movie output |
Monitor | 8-cm (3.2–in.), approx. 2359k-dot (XGA) tilting TFT touch-sensitive LCD with 170° viewing angle, approximately 100% frame coverage, 11-level manual brightness adjustment, and color balance control |
Playback | Full-frame and thumbnail (4, 9, or 72 images or calendar) playback with playback zoom, playback zoom cropping, movie playback, photo and/or movie slide shows, histogram display, highlights, photo information, location data display, picture rating, auto image rotation, and index marking |
USB | Type C connector (SuperSpeed USB); connection to built-in USB port is recommended |
HDMI output | Type C HDMI connector |
Audio input | Stereo mini-pin jack (3.5 mm diameter; plug-in power supported) |
Audio output | Stereo mini-pin jack (3.5 mm diameter) |
Accessory terminal(s) | Built-in (can be used with accessories such as the MC-DC2 remote cord) |
Wi-Fi (Wireless LAN) standards | IEEE 802.11b/g/n/a/ac, 2412 to 2462 MHz (channel 11) and 5180 to 5320 MHz, 2.4 GHz band: 2.9 dBm, 5 GHz band: 8.7 dBm, Open system, WPA2-PSK |
Bluetooth standards | Bluetooth Specification Version 4.2, Bluetooth: 2402 to 2480 MHz, Bluetooth Low Energy: 2402 to 2480 MHz, Bluetooth: –2.6 dBm, Bluetooth Low Energy: –4.1 dBm; Range: approximately 10 m (32 ft)⁵ |
Battery | One EN-EL15b rechargeable Li-ion battery⁶ |
AC adapter | EH-5d/EH-5c/EH-5b AC adapter; requires EP-5B power connector (available separately) |
Tripod socket | 1/4–in. (ISO 1222) |
Dimensions (W x H x D) | Approx. 143.5 x 115.5 x 76 mm (5.7 x 4.6 x 3 in.) |
Weight | Approx. 840 g (1 lb. 13.7 oz.), with battery and SD memory card but without body cap; approx. 755 g/1 lb. 10.7 oz. (camera body only) |
Operating environment - temperature | 0 °C to 40 °C (+32 °F to 104 °F) |
Operating environment - humidity | 85% or less (no condensation) |
Supplied accessories | BF-1B Body Cap, DK-31 Rubber Eyecup (comes attached to camera), EN-EL15b Rechargeable Li-ion Battery with Terminal Cover, MH-25a Battery Charger (comes with either an AC wall adapter or power cable of a type and shape that varies with the country or region of sale), DK-5 Eyepiece Cap, UC-E24 USB Cable, AN-DC21 Strap |
¹ Figures are for ISO 100 at 20 °C/68 °F.
² Still photography using single-servo AF (AF-S) and apertures of f/1.4 at dark end of range and f/5.6 at bright end of range; ISO 100; 20 °C/68 °F
³ Still photography, [FX (36×24)] image area, single-point AF
⁴ Quality selection available at all sizes except 3840 x 2160, 1920 x 1080 120p/100p, and 1920 x 1080 slow-motion, when quality is fixed at high
⁵ Without interference. Range may vary with signal strength and presence or absence of obstacles.
⁶ EN-EL15a/EN-EL15 batteries can also be used. Note, however, that fewer pictures may sometimes be taken on a single charge with the EN-EL15 than with an EN-EL15b/EN-EL15a. EH-7P charging AC adapter can be used to charge EN-EL15b batteries only.
