A few years ago, Nikon shook things up with the introduction of some bodies designed to make the pro style of camera a little more appealing to people without the same sort of budgets. Cameras like the D800 not only introduced a tremendous amount of megapixels (36 if we recall), but also paved the way for lesser priced variants like the D750, which this review is focused on.
Looking at the camera, it’s easy to see the semi-professional design which it is based on, taking its cues from the previous semi-pro bodies but doing away with the Compact Flash slot, and yet keeping the top LCD and control wheels.
If you’ve ever used a Nikon before this, chances are, you’ll be good to go, but in case you haven’t a quick run down.
There’s the main function and setting control wheel on the left locked into position until you press the centre button and rotate the wheel, which will let you access the manual modes — Aperture, Shutter, Program, and Manual — as well as a bunch of scene and effects settings, because you don’t necessarily have to be a pro to touch this camera.
Underneath it is the image settings and capture speed wheel, again locked into position until you press a lock button to the left of it, with this wheel letting you quickly change settings from shooting one frame to many via continuous on low or high speeds, multiple exposure, time exposure, or one of two quiet modes.
By the right grip are the regular two control wheels at the front — beneath the finger — and at the back — by the thumb, while a bunch of other buttons dominate the back, dotting the frame around the LCD which in this model isn’t just fixed to the unit, but has a degree of vari-angle design and extends from the body, allowing you to see it bottom-up, top-down, or just ever so slightly off from the back.
And that’s the camera.
Oh yes, one other thing: there is a flash built into this body, surprising us greatly, since professional bodies and some semi-professional models tend to lack the flash and force you to go grab a proper flash head. But not this one.
You can still opt for a full-size flash head if need be, but you don’t need to, so that is something.
In the hands, this familiar Nikon design means the same ergonomics we’ve seen for ages are moved over to this model ,with a comfortable if not slightly more pronounced grip than usual, bottom and base that extends a little too far but still balances nicely with a proper hand hold, and a good solid compressed plastic construction which is also blended with some magnesium.
It’s not the strongest camera you’ll ever see, but it still offers a solid weight that’s hard to ignore.
That said, your shoulders will notice it, and carrying the Nikon D750 isn’t like moving through the crowd with a lightweight mirrorless camera, with a close to one kilogram weight, depending on the lens you choose. Your hands won’t thank you, but at least it feels substantial, so good luck ever thinking you’ve lost the thing.
With the power switch the right, you can switch the camera on, and the Nikon D750 is pretty much ready to go the moment you do.
From there you can select your mode and even play with some automatic modes, not something pro cameras are especially known for, but we found the manual modes more to our liking. That said, it’s nice to see a bit of column A and a bit of column B offering up a range of selections for both amateurs and professionals alike.
Once you’re ready, though, you can get to taking photos, and the experience is pretty much spot on for old Nikon users, with click wheels at both the front and the back for selecting aperture and shutter speeds, a comfortable grip, and a solid body that makes you feel at ease as you hold it.
Images are quick to fire and there’s a lovely firm shutter sound — a proper mechanical click that tells you yes, the camera has your shot down — and then the photo is written quickly to the card.
You’ll also find the LCD is speedy and available if you choose to get images or video with the LCD switched on, and the focus is relatively snappy, though not as fast through this as we’ve seen with other cameras.
That said, we’re delighted that full-frame for Nikon means DX lenses — lenses made for the APS-C sensor cameras — are compatible with this model.
While Canon sticks by the logic that you need to upgrade to proper full-frame lenses to make use of its full-frame cameras, Nikon suggests it, but doesn’t force it, with lenses from the other DX cameras — say the D300 or D3200 — working well here if you need to take them out.
That means if you have one of these older cameras, your upgrade path isn’t as hard to manage, and while you should probably think about acquiring some new full-frame glass later on down the track, you’re not necessarily required to first go.
Positive news for the wallet is always well regarded.
