Am I stupid to consider a D750?

[Mozim]

Hey!

I'm looking to upgrade my current camera, a Panasonic GH3 that has delivered some very good results. I was very close to buying a Samsung NX1, in fact I still am, but something tells me that I should get a D750 instead. 

I know that these cameras aren't exactly comparable. I shoot a lot of sports events (downhill mountain biking) which is quite demanding. I have no control over the lighting whatsoever, it's either rainy or very dusty, I only have one chance to get the shot, shooting in forests in bright daylight is tough in terms of dynamic range etc. What I like about the GH3 is the fantastic resolution, in fact I doubt I'd need an even higher resolution anytime soon. It also has a very fast sensor readout and it gives very sharp, detailed results in 60p. What I dislike about it is the colours I get from the camera; greens and neon colours look off and it's hard to fix them in post. I will most definitely keep the GH3 as a B-Cam though. 

I've considered the NX1 because of the 4K, the supposedly good colours, nice highlight rolloff, 120fps mode and high frame rates when shooting stills. I'm hesitant to buy it though because there also seems to be a drawback to each of the pros... 4K suffers badly from rolling shutter, dynamic range is fairly limited, 120fps doesn't record sound plus I'm not willing to invest into native Samsung lenses. 

What I like about the D750... great colours, dynamic range seems to be very good, resolution is supposed to be very good, it offers 60p plus it's one hell of a good stills camera. I shoot 80% video and 20% stills but I'd love to have a camera that is capable of shooting pro-quality stills. I also like the way it feels in my hands, it seemed very solid and laid out very well. I don't really care about an EVF, I'd rather use an LCD Viewfinder attached to the back of the screen, so not having an EVF is no drawback in my opinion. I also don't need full frame for video, although I suppose it would be nice to have. For stills though, full frame would be absolutely fantastic. Additionally, it shouldn't be difficult to sell the D750 in a year or so whereas other cameras lose their value much quicker (Sony, Samsung, Panasonic). 

As far as lenses go, I have a couple of Canon lenses (APS-C mainly) and a couple of MFT lenses. I will pick up a Nikon 80-200 2.8 AF-D soon as well as some fast primes. Regardless of which body I'll purchase, I'll buy all my lenses in Nikon mount so that isn't a concern at all. 

So... am I stupid to consider the D750 or should I go and get one? 

I'm looking forward to hearing your input!
Thanks a ton in advance!

[Nick Hughes]

Nah, seems like it would be a great choice for you. I imagine the D750 is much more rugged than the NX1, which gives it an advantage in your situation, especially when paired with weather-sealed Nikon glass.

[Jimmy]

Think you've answered your own question!

There is no perfect camera for everyone's needs... So just make a checklist of what is most important and get the camera/s that checks as many of those boxes as possible.

The D750 seems a very capable camera... I've not used one, but the images I have seen look great and has a feature set that seems to fit what you need.

[Danyyyel]

Beside all that you have said one thing will put the D750 above the mirroless cameras is the pro sport calibre autofocus tracking. You might get ..... oly 6 fps or 7 in crop mode but you will have much more keepers.

[Danyyyel]

I forgot also to add the complete eco system with for example the best flash system.

[Liam]

Well i thought the nx1 looked pretty great for build quality and stills too, but i haven't used either of these and I'm a photography newb. Rolling shutter in the nx1 could be pretty bad for all the sports videos you're shooting. 4k definitely isn't a necessity. If you can cope with that fairly unadaptable Nikon mount, seems like it's perfect for you. Nx1 could be like $1000 cheaper it looks like too, which i assume you've taken into account. Not sure where you're looking to buy. Good luck!

[DigitalEd]

I would like to get the 750 as well for photos to update my two D700 cameras.

 

[Wulf]

Well, got this way and switched my D800 to a D750 last week, as stills are sometimes very important for me. It looks like a very captable b-cam for my video stuff, too.

Still too early for giving detailed feedback as my PC is down atm. But careful about the DX cropmode, I think it may suffer on the smaller D750, while perfect only with the D810. That said, I would have preferred the traditional semi-pro bodydesign instead of this more enthusiastic plasticfantastic.  Otherwise I am very satisfied atm, even ISO 12,000 didn't look too bad. DR is fine, sharpness is ok'ish, but Colours... are g r e a t (as usual with Nikon I might add). Lack of focus peaking is cured with a loupe, with helps also for stable  shots. Aliasing? Never ever. Moiré? hm, only when you really want to produce failures, but you have to try quite hard, like shooting jeans with a macro lense, so in RL no problem, too :-)

IQ in stills is hard to beat... state of the art.

btw, this is only personal, but while I have serveral pound of fast AFD und AFS glas in primes and zooms, I prefere more and more the look and the handling of ol' AI-S lenses for my moving pictures (mostly slower, but dirty cheap and with a lot of mojo; I did not shoot video 'crazy wide open' anymore).

 

edit

@ .DigiEd: Do it!!

the d700 was a very very fine cam in it's days, buuuut ... you will be suprised, I promise you.

[1tkman]

Please consider posting some of your results.

[Guest Ebrahim Saadawi]

BTW d750 has the best rolling shutter performance I've seen on any DSLR, it can be moved quickly. I say this as it might be helpful for you as a sports shooter. 

[theJesusHorse]

I just got a D750 yesterday and I'm very impressed with it's performance. Lots of detail, no moire, great dynamic range. I have it matched with the optically stablized Tamron 24-70mm f/2.8 and the results are excellent.

[leeys]

I will pick up a Nikon 80-200 2.8 AF-D soon as well as some fast primes. Regardless of which body I'll purchase, I'll buy all my lenses in Nikon mount so that isn't a concern at all. 

Will you be using this lens in AF for stills? If so beware, it has issues with AF that make it unworkable for pro work. I eventually sold mine. 

​

[Mozim]

Thanks for the feedback!

I pulled the trigger and bought the D750 with a Nikon 24-120mm F4 IS lens yesterday. I only got the chance to test the video performance very, very briefly but compared to my GH3, the dynamic range and low light performance is much, much better. ISO 1600 looks very usable and shadows and highlights look much more pleasing. So far I really like it!

[Mozim]

Alright, so I just got back from a week of shooting a Downhill video in Sanremo, Italy. I shot the video with both the D750 with the 24-120mm f/4 lens and my old Panasonic GH3 with a Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8, a Panasonic 25mm f/1.4 and a Olympus 45mm f/1.8 lens.

Some observations: 
- detail and resolution are very comparable, both shoot perfectly fine, detailed 1080p and I can't see myself needing anything more detailed, at least this season/year
- the screen of the D750 is extremely nice and it's much better than the GH3 screen
- dynamic range and colours are much better on the D750
- the flat picture style is great and very easy to work with
- the D750 menu is fairly responsive and very intuitive
- I had to remind myself to switch off the live view whenever I wasn't shooting video, otherwise battery would run out very quickly - GH3 is a lot better in that regard
- Auto ISO is such a nice feature on the D750 - it is perfectly usable and I'm sure I'll use it a lot
- it was very liberating to shoot with one lens instead of switching lenses between each shot and a f/2.8 on a GH3 simply won't give me a desirable look
- in terms of stills performance, even with a fairly average and slow f4 kit lens, the D750 is such a huge step up from the GH3 - even if it sucked for video I would keep it because of the stills performance

Overall I'm very happy so far. I would have loved to get an A7s, a NX1 or an FS7 but they all have some major drawbacks for my style of shooting (rolling shutter, ergonomics and price). 

I haven't done any scientific comparisons between the D750 and the GH3 but I'll upload some clips in a bit. 

[Guest Ebrahim Saadawi]

Thanks Mozim. How do you like the 24-120mm? I hear it's one of the worst Nikon lenses & soft.

[DigitalEd]

I did order a D750 should be here tomorrow. This will update my two older D700 cameras and replace the Samsung NX1 for any photo shooting as the NX1 kinda sucks for photography in any low light at all my older 6 year old D700 takes better photos at any iso then the NX1. The NX1 photo quality is more like my even older Nikon D40 6MP camera.

Will do some NX1 D750 HD video tests and want to see how the D750 video compares the NX1 4k all mixed together to see if the 750 can be used as a B camera and the main camera for low light video shooting.

As for the Nikon 24-120 F4 lens the one i have is very sharp i got it when the lens just come out one of the very first batch maybe that is why. I also had the 24-70 2.8 and my 24-120 is every bit as sharp so i sold the 24-70 and the 24-120 f4 almost never is off one of my D700 cams. It also takes very sharp video with my NX1.

 

[Taranis]

Please post your results when you have some, I really want to see a D750/NX1 comparison. When it comes to details I'm sure the D750 is no match for the NX1, but I wonder about DR and colors.

[wolf33d]

I am also super interested in D750 / NX1  detail, DR and color comparison for tele shoot (video portrait) and video landscape (with tons of details in the scene). 
Also 60fps comparison would be nice. 
Thanks !

[Andrew Reid]

I am also super interested in D750 / NX1  detail, DR and color comparison for tele shoot (video portrait) and video landscape (with tons of details in the scene). 
Also 60fps comparison would be nice. 
Thanks !

​Detail comparison would be a non contest, 1080p vs 4K.

But internal 1080p (if you don't want to shoot 4K) is better on the D750.

It's almost at the A7S level, but the codec is easier to grade from the Flat picture setting.

You are not an idiot for considering the D750 but make sure you have some nice Nikon lenses. 24-70mm F2.8 AF-D is a bargain.

[Danyyyel]

Alright, so I just got back from a week of shooting a Downhill video in Sanremo, Italy. I shot the video with both the D750 with the 24-120mm f/4 lens and my old Panasonic GH3 with a Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8, a Panasonic 25mm f/1.4 and a Olympus 45mm f/1.8 lens.

Some observations: 
- detail and resolution are very comparable, both shoot perfectly fine, detailed 1080p and I can't see myself needing anything more detailed, at least this season/year
- the screen of the D750 is extremely nice and it's much better than the GH3 screen
- dynamic range and colours are much better on the D750
- the flat picture style is great and very easy to work with
- the D750 menu is fairly responsive and very intuitive
- I had to remind myself to switch off the live view whenever I wasn't shooting video, otherwise battery would run out very quickly - GH3 is a lot better in that regard
- Auto ISO is such a nice feature on the D750 - it is perfectly usable and I'm sure I'll use it a lot
- it was very liberating to shoot with one lens instead of switching lenses between each shot and a f/2.8 on a GH3 simply won't give me a desirable look
- in terms of stills performance, even with a fairly average and slow f4 kit lens, the D750 is such a huge step up from the GH3 - even if it sucked for video I would keep it because of the stills performance

Overall I'm very happy so far. I would have loved to get an A7s, a NX1 or an FS7 but they all have some major drawbacks for my style of shooting (rolling shutter, ergonomics and price). 

I haven't done any scientific comparisons between the D750 and the GH3 but I'll upload some clips in a bit. 

​Yes that would be great to have some raw footage of the D750 to evaluate and test. I have been asking myself a question for some time about the battery life. It is suppose to stay for more than an hour or even much more but on the D7100 it drains very rapidly. I am asking myself it is not the on lens VR which is pumping a lot of the juice when continually on for video.