If you want a DSLR, the full-frame Nikon D780 is the one to buy. The follow-up to 2014’s popular D750, the $2,300 D780 is a new Goldilocks camera and Nikon’s first DSLR to include on-chip phase-detection autofocus. But do you want a DSLR? Look. I like the D780. It’s a balanced camera with strong performance and great image quality. But in 2020, I have hard time coming up with a reason I would choose it over the smaller, lighter, and cheaper Nikon Z 6, the D780’s mirrorless counterpart. Instead of stoking my enthusiasm for DSLRs, shooting the D780 further tilted the scales in favor of mirrorless. It’s a good camera, but it’s part of a dying breed. The DSLR is the direct evolution of the film-era SLR, or single lens reflex camera. Revolutionary for its time, an SLR let photographers see directly through the lens using a reflexive (that’s old-timey speak for reflective) mirror and prism. DSLRs carried this design into the digital era, replacing silver with silicon, but leaving the mirror ...
Phase-detection in live view; Eye AF works very well; 4K video with 10-bit output; Weather-sealed design; 1/8000s to 15m shutter speed;
Viewfinder AF feels dated; More expensive than Nikon Z 6; Few advantages over mirrorless;