Nikon D750 -- General Discussion

Photobug

This is the first I have heard of the black dot on the box label. @PB-PM I was not challenging you on the dot, just never heard of it on the label. Just wanted to be sure you realized I wasn't disagreeing with you.

I had only read about and seen the black dot inside the tripod socket. When I sent mine in there was no black dot and when it was returned it had the black dot. I am going on vacation next Sunday and looking forward to spending more time shooting pictures with my D750.

PB_PM

@Photobug Did not think you were challenging me. Just thought I'd show the dot anyway, in case anyone saw something similar on new units.

Edit found some other posts on box dot. Apparently what Nikon is doing is that any cameras that have been sent back from users got the dot in the socket. Units recalled from retailers (unsold) and fixed, or fine from the factory have the black dot on the box instead.

PB_PM

So I've had the D750 for over a week now and I thought I would throw out my first impressions of this nice "little" FX body.

1. The D750 is quick and responsive, compared to the D800, but and better than the D700 in almost every respect. Auto focus, shooting speed, and writing to SD cards are very fast. Yeah, the buffer is not as big as the D700 or D800, but I don't tend to mash the shutter for more than a second or two at time. Heck I think the shutter button is almost too sensitive, and often end up blasting off 2-4 frames when I only wanted one. As a side note, I find it much easier to get sharp images in low light, thanks to the quieter, gentler shutter/mirror slap. Now keep in mind I'm only using 400x SDHC Lexar Professional cards (60mb/s) so I'm not even using super high speed cards here. Lets put it this way, speed and the buffer are not a limiting factor with this camera, at least not in the birding outings I've done in the past few weeks.

2. Even though the camera does not have the full "pro" button layout that has not proven to be a problem. With the combination of the U1 and U2 modes and the powerful auto ISO of modern Nikon cameras, I haven't been using most of those "pro" buttons much in the last year or so anyway. Okay, the position of the function button is too close to the lens mount, but other than that I don't have any issues. I don't really miss the AF-ON button, since the AF-L/AE-L button is poorly placed I've not programmed it for that function. One thing I'd love to see Nikon do on a D750 successor is use the larger pro buttons, the buttons on the D750 are kind small. The tactile feel and response of them is also not as nice as the D800/D700, but it's not a huge loss. Oh and I'd love to see them backlit like the D4/D4s.

3. It has all the menu options, and many of the functions of the D8xx bodies. Thanks in part to this, I don't miss the higher end body much at all. Do I wish there was a physical metering mode selector? Yeah, but then the D810 doesn't have that anymore either. I'm also still trying to figure out why highlight weighted metering uses the spot metering symbol with a *, it's kind confusing when you just glance at the camera. It would be nice if it had a more distinct symbol. I like the smaller top LCD, it only shows what needs to be there. I know some people might miss the white balance display, but I use auto 99% of the time, so it is of little consequence to me.

4. Auto focus, as mentioned before is very nice, a big upgrade from the D800 and D700. I cannot say that I find group AF to be any more useful than the older dynamic modes, and it seems to be less flexible. I think it might be a little quicker to acquire focus that in dynamic mode, but doesn't really seem to be any better at keeping focus on moving subjects. I still prefer to use single point or dynamic 9 point, at least for now. I'll keep experimenting with group focusing mode though. The is defiantly better at focusing in low light than the D700 and D800. Not by a huge margin, but it is noticeable. I don't think the actual focus lock is any better, but it is faster and less likely to hunt like crazy. I still have issues with my older Sigma glass, but the 50mm F1.4 Art is much improved over use on the D800.

5. Resolution, there is still plenty of resolution to go around for situations when heavy cropping is not required. Do I miss the cropping room from the D800? Loss of dynamic range? I cannot say I've seen a noticeable difference, and the smaller files are much easier to work with. Now I can take a few hundred shots and not feel like I'll need a new hard drive next month. Would i love a 36MP camera with the speed, size and weight of the D750, sure. Maybe in two or three years we'll get that.

Photobug

Nice first impressions @Pb_PM.

PB_PM

Firmware C 1.02 update available, and Nikon is so descriptive about what it does, "Improves stability." Thanks Nikon, so helpful. Anyway, update installed, so far so good...

spraynpray

Can't say I had any instability issues before the update.

Talking of firmware, shame that rumour of an update program was a hoax.

PB_PM

Just throwing this out there, has anyone else had the battery door randomly come open while using the D750? Yesterday, for the first time since buying the camera, I noticed it hanging open several times while shooting. It was rather odd, I've never had a Nikon DSLR do that to me before.

I kind of messed around, lightly sliding my fingers across the door latch and it seems to be a little more sensitive than I expected. It's more sensitive than my previous D800, which as far as I could tell had the same door cover on it. I wonder if the door cover on my camera is defective or something, since it doesn't seem to take much effort to bump it open.

Photobug

Sorry PB-PM, I have not encountered that issue with the battery door opening. I often thought that could happen with the memory card door but never had that happen.

PB_PM

I didn't think it was common, it was the first time happening to me too. The real odd part was that it was coming open while the camera was over my shoulder (mounted on a tripod), so I'm not even sure what could have been rubbing against the release tab.

kyoshinikon

The door Issue I have had with all of my cameras but the D200 (it has a lock like the D1 series). While the door on my D700 and D7000 is fine the D90 has had the door broken off twice. The door lock is one of a handful of D200 features I wish nikon still put in newer cameras.

spraynpray

I've never had it on my D750 or any other Nikon I've owned (D5000/D90/D7000/D7100). I suppose you have checked the 'sear' of the catch to make sure it looks normal? Sounds like it is just popping open on it's own.

PB_PM

It is rather strange to have this happen, I've never had a battery door come open on any of my other Nikon cameras either (D80, D90, D300, D700, D800). The sear was the first thing I checked. I too thought that maybe it was cracked or somehow damaged, considering that it's just a little slab of plastic. While the door itself does seem a little looser than my other cameras, it's not come unlatched again in the past few days. I also detached and reseated the door itself, just to make sure it was properly attached.

At least the EN-EL15 battery equipped cameras use a retaining clip. If this had been an older camera equipped with an EN-EL3e I could have lost a battery.

Photobug

I would follow up with Nikon Service with this opening door. Nice auto feature you don't need. :-))

PB_PM

Too much of a hassle to bother with Nikon, I'm not going to ship the camera half way across the country over it.

JonMcGuffin

So.. Hopefully I'm not raising this thread from the dead for pure personal reasons only but just wanted to say that today I placed an order for the D750 after much deliberation over this body or the D810 (I sold my D700 about 3 months ago, been using my D7100 since).

I did order grey market off Ebay via the link provided by the weekly NR updates on grey market pricing. Hopefully that isn't a regrettable decision but I am feeling pretty confident about that.

In the end, despite both cameras certainly being capable of working for me, the D750's lesser cost and it's use of the U1/U2 banks, along with Wi-Fi, the added 1.5fps speed, better grip (in my view), slightly better AF performance, and what I would consider an ideal MP count for a FF sensor won me over. I will miss ISO 64 base along with 1/250th flash sync and 1/8000th shutter but realistically those really shouldn't be game changers. The balance of features are give/take.

I look forward to pairing this with my glass and enjoying this body for what will most likely be the next 2-3 years before I have the urge to upgrade once again.

spraynpray

Will be interesting to hear your impressions after you've used it for a little while Jon.

Andrewz

Good luck Jon! I have purchased many a gray market camera back in the film days but could get them repaired. Nikon has put such a tight hold on parts that getting a gray market camera repaired is just about impossible.

With that said love my D750. BTW you do have high speed sync up to and over 1/250th but only with Nikon speed lights. It was only a problem until I figured it out.

I also love the grip! I really tried to like the D610 it's a good camera but it just didn't feel right in my hand.

If you want to take advantage of those extra frames per second make sure you have a speedy SD card. Shooting RAW with the FF on high speed continuous fills the buffer fast.

Lets us know how it works out.

PB_PM

These days I wouldn't touch a Nikon DSLR without the warranty, they have had way too many recalls for issues in the past few years. Not worth the money you save up front if there are any issues down the road.

henryvs

I'm excited to say I just got my new D750 body - and the Nikon 70-200mm VRII 2.8 lens I've wanted for ages! Very excited to have them both. My D610 becomes my second body and I'm well equipped with my other lenses for event shooting, etc.

I'm liking the feel of it so far. One aspect I'm already very thrilled about is the wifi function. The send-to-smart device is a huge boost over using the wifi dongle on my D610 (which makes me scan and view preview images of all images on my SD card before I can choose to download any - such a pain). Looking forward to really getting to know and use this camera over the coming months.

I should also mention that thanks to someone on this site (in the Disqus comments) pointing out the NPS Campus program in Canada, I joined, and now that I graduated from a night school/Continuing Ed photo program, I am getting a 10% rebate off the pre-tax price of a single one-time purchase of Nikon gear. So about $440 back off of the above two items, which really helps!

safyre

I bought a Gray Market D750 on Ebay for 1499 a couple weeks ago. Works like a charm and came with a one year warranty from the seller. For those of you put off by gray market D750, remember that Nikon will fix gray market items that are recalled as well. Secondly, if your warranty runs out, you can still get it serviced at 3rd party dealers. And yes, they are actually able to get the parts despite whatever hold Nikon USA has.

JonMcGuffin

@spraynpray - You can count on me giving back good feedback.

@Andrewz - Thanks for the input on 1/250th with nikon flashes. In the end, if I need faster sync, I'll just live with ND filters and slow down the shutter that way. I already purchased and have ready 2 - 32Gb SanDisk Extreme Pro 95mb/sec cards.

@PB_PM - Yes, I hear this opinion on Grey market frequently but considered the options heavily. So here are my "grey market thoughts".

#1) The recalls are frankly behind us, the camera has been on the market for nearly a year. Even if there were one, it's not going to be significant enough to me, I'm certain of that. Just because there is one doesn't mean they won't repair, they *might* not repair it.

#2) $500 savings literally buys me a repair job or two if something goes wrong.

#3) The Nikon warranty frankly has never made me feel all that warm and fuzzy anyway. I'm a light enough shooter that in reality if the camera shows up working, in a years time I'll barely put 25-30K images on the body.

#4) The stats on all the eBay sellers along with the personal accounts of getting perfectly fine gear is substantially in favor of this not being a problem. I can barely find people who did have problems and for every one of those I find, I find people who basically say "Nikon repaired my camera anyway".

#5) Nikon is behind these cameras getting out the backdoor, let's face it. They need as much share as they can get, they have a winner camera in the D750 and nowadays it's all about selling expensive glass. Nikon needs to get as many people into their F mount as possible to stop the blood bath that's occuring in the camera industry. I don't think they want to turn their back on customers.

#6) I do have the one year warranty through the seller, ok, that may not mean much but it's something.

@safyre - You're proving my point on Grey market, thank you

We will see though, I do still have a little concern but I like the $500 savings, I picked up the expensive Nikon battery grip from B&H and all out the door I'm at $1890. Not bad.

PB_PM

Maybe Nikon USA is different, but I know Nikon Canada simply will not fix an out of market camera, period (unless it is a special NPS repair). Not a risk I'm willing to take at any price. No good deals on gray market north of the 49th anyway. Even at $1500 USD that's only $200 less than a new model (once currency conversion and taxes are thrown in). Not worth giving up the 2 year warranty IMO.

JonMcGuffin

Well folks I got the D750 grey market today and after taking it out of the box and setting it up and firing off about 100 or so frames I can say a few hints with confidence..

First off, grey worked out just fine for now. Camera is clearly brand new, came in a kit box and I think it's an EU version based on some numbers around the box but everything inside was in English. I'm totally happy here.

Also, based on this limited experience I'm actually really happy with everything thus far. This isn't just justification on the buyers part of a new purchase, as I'm not usually so impressed. Starting with a D40, moving my way up to D90, D7000, D7100, D700 and now to the D750 - this is probably the best jump yet. Performance ISO wise is clearly superior to D700 - like easily 1-2 stops and really beats down the D7100 of course. It feels great in the hands (I already have held it so no surprise). Menu system is typical Nikon but seems to be a little better than the norm, and the shutter mechanism seems very solid to me. It's small'ish like my D7100 but feels very rugged and built really well to me, clearly superior to the DX bodies. I get why all the rave reviews, it's just a solid camera.

I know there's nothing I said of great value and I haven't told you anything you didn't already know but from my experience if you're still sitting on a D700 or any of the DX bodies this is really a good upgrade and heck, now priced at $1399 grey market, incredible.

Vipmediastar_JZ

Can somebody test the reliability of wifi? Is it a very good experience and reliable to shoot events and print on the spot to a wifi printer?
Can you view photos while wifi is enabled?
I just tried the adapter on the Df and it is good and i can tether to iphone but i cant view photos on camera.
My wife has been doing a great job shooting events with me. Right now im testing a fujifilm xt10 with 56mm (85mm equivalent) and it is awesome and focus is spot on to the micro milimeter but it is slow to focus. She will be the second shooter taking candids and I want a light setup thats why I looked into the Fuji but I may consider the D750 for this purpose and daily camera. High Megapixel and High Iso is looking the good decision. I still use the D810 and Df on belt for safety two camera kit.

Vipmediastar_JZ

Where is all the D750 owners at?
Well I decided to test it and for wifi with the nikon app I'm finding it best to just browse the camera and download the desired pictures. Once it is on the smartphone I use the printing app and its done. Its takes a little longer vs printing witt the fujifilm but it gets the job done.
For now this is a nice solution vs getting a camranger.

I tested the setup today at local event. The mother asked me to send her photos. Even better when she asked I had already printed 1 of each of her kids and gave her my card.