What just happened? Nikon at CES this week officially introduced the D780 DSLR, the successor to 2014's D750 - the company's most popular full-frame DSLR to date. The new D780 features a 24.5-megapixel backside-illuminated (BSI) FX-Format CMOS sensor mated to the familiar Expeed 6 image processor (the same chip used in the Nikon Z6 and Z7). ISO performance now scales up to 51,200 and is expandable to 204,800.
Curiously enough, the Nikon D780 offers two powerful AF shooting systems to match your style. When using the optical viewfinder, you'll have access to Nikon's 51-point AF system which uses a 180k pixel Advanced Scene Recognition System to help ensure balanced exposure and accurate color reproduction.
In Live View mode, the camera switches over to a mirrorless setup, utilizing the same 273-point focal plane Hybrid AF system from the Nikon Z 6. Here, you can take advantage of the camera's electronic shutter to snap at up to 12 frames per second in virtual silence.
On the video side, the new D780 is capable of capturing full-frame 4K UHD video at 30 frames per second with full-pixel readout. This can be bumped down to Full HD / 120p for ultra smooth motion and slow-motion capture, we're told.
Other noteworthy features including a tilting 3.2-inch touchscreen LCD, USB Type C connectivity, dual SD card slots and battery life of up to 2,260 shots on a single charge.
The Nikon D780 arrives in late January priced at $2,299.95 for the body only. A combo that includes the AF-S Nikkor 24-120mm f/4G ED VR lens will command $2,799.95.