Nikon D750 Review - Updated

The Nikon D750 is Nikon's "mid-range" enthusiast / advanced amateur Digital SLR from Nikon and features a 24.3megapixel full-frame sensor, 6.5fps continuous shooting, built-in Wi-Fi, a compact weather-sealed body, and a tilting 3.2inch screen. The camera is now available for around £1199 body only, or roughly half the price second-hand. The Nikon D750 is positioned above the Nikon D610, which remains on the market. 

Nikon D750 Features

The D750 is said to be the ultimate enthusiasts' camera, with professional features at an affordable price. The Nikon D750 will be considered by many to be the long-awaited update to the Nikon D700, and with a new sensor, it offers an extended ISO range, as well as focusing in low-light down to -3EV. The camera is also smaller than the Nikon D600 / D610 and offers improved battery life. Nikon released the replacement for the D750, the Nikon D780, in January 2020.

Find out the differences between the two cameras in our Nikon D780 Vs D750 Comparison.

The Nikon D750 was the first full-frame Nikon FX camera with a tilting monitor, and the 3.2inch screen tilts up 90 degrees, as well as tilting down 75 degrees. An optional MB-D16 battery grip is available that can take EN-EL15 or 6x AA size batteries, giving over 8000 shots per charge when used with the battery in the camera.

Nikon D750 Key Features:

• 24.3 megapixel FX full-frame CMOS sensor (New)
• 3.2inch (1229k dot RGBW) screen with 170-degree viewing angle 
• ISO50 - ISO51200 (expanded range)
• 6.5fps continuous shooting (FX and DX)
• EXPEED 4 image processor - improved NR performance, higher definition, higher AWB accuracy, improved number of continuous shots
• Updated Nikon Picture Control (as D810) new clarity setting, finer adjustment and expanded brightness range, flat rendering option (delivers widest dynamic range)
• 1080/60p video - with minimal jaggies and moire - multi-area mode full HD D-movie (FX and DX) - new dedicated movie shooting menu 
• Movie: centre-weighted metering and highlight-weighted metering, auto ISO possible in M mode, power aperture during movie recording, size of focus area can be changed. Video zebra pattern display, the camera will also output to HDMI, allowing dual recording to SD and external devices
• Sound improved, stereo mic built-in on left and right of optical axis, sound level indicators
• Rugged body - weather-sealed - shutter tested to 150,000 cycles
• Compact and lightweight - monocoque construction with carbon fibre, magnesium alloy plates, weighing 750g
• Redesigned internal design to give a deeper grip and shorter body, grip is also improved
• New 51 point AF, Multi-Cam 3500 II, enhanced low light performance, focusing down to -3EV, new group area AF (as featured in the D810), 15 cross-type sensors, and 11 f/8 compatible focus points.
• FX / 1.2x and DX format shooting modes - in DX mode the focus points cover the whole area
• Spot white balance, during live view
• i button gives quick access to settings, as featured on other recent Nikon DSLRs
• Extended battery life of 1230 shots (CIPA with flash), or 4420 when flash not used, 55min video time, using EN-EL15 battery
• Dual slot SD memory cards,
• Advanced scene recognition, face detection, 3D colour matrix metering
• Highlight weighted metering as per D810
• Wi-Fi - allows remote shooting, upload to social networks using your smartphone, Eye-Fi card also supported
• Special effects, selective colour, colour sketch, silhouette, high key, miniature, low key, night vision

Also announced alongside the Nikon D750 is the Nikon SB-500 Speedlight, with a guide number of 24, built-in LED lights for video illumination, the LEDs are rated at 100lx with 5400k colour temperature. The Speedlight is powered by 2x AA batteries. The head is compatible with Nikon's Creative Lighting System, and the head tilts up 90 degrees as well as rotating 180 degrees. The Nikon SB-500 has an RRP of £199 - find out more on the Nikon SB-500 in the news story.

Nikon D750 Handling

The Nikon D750 has a solid weather-sealed body, a deep grip as well as ample rubber grips, meaning the camera feels extremely well built. The layout of controls feels very familiar to anyone who has used recent Nikon Digital SLRs, with an almost identical layout of buttons and switches as the Nikon D610, although D610 users will notice be the smaller top LCD display. The tilting 3inch screen is a high-resolution unit and offers excellent viewing angles, as well as adjustable monitor colour balance.

There have been a number of recalls carried out on the Nikon D750, with Nikon providing free repairs when needed. As these were in 2014, and 2015, the cameras available on the market today should not be affected by these issues. You can find more information on Nikon's website, as well as check your serial number.

The D750 is one of the most compact full-frame digital SLRs from Nikon, and weighs 750g, although it does feel quite heavy if you attempt to use the camera with one hand. The hand-grip is large and comfortable with a good-sized rear rubber thumb grip, as well as rubber covering the memory card cover. There is also rubber on the left-hand side of the camera giving some additional grip, although the majority of the left side of the camera is used for the side ports.

The rear has a number of buttons and controls to give direct access to WB / ISO / Colour settings as well as shooting modes with a secondary dial neatly placed under the main mode dial. Like the main mode dial, this secondary drive dial can only be turned when you press the release button, and features quiet mode, quiet continuous mode, mirror lock-up mode, as well as the standard self-timer and continuous shooting options. There is a soft rubber eye surround, as well as dioptre adjustment, and the controls and dials for changing aperture/shutter speed and shooting settings fall easily to hand, making it easy and enjoyable to concentrate on shooting. The optical viewfinder is large and clear, with dioptre adjustment, and in DX mode the 51 AF points cover the whole DX/APS-C area.

The menus are clearly laid out and the screen is extremely clear with excellent viewing angles. The menu system on the camera is split into seven sections: Playback, Photo Shooting, Movie Shooting, Custom Setting Menu, Setup, Retouch and My Menu. Navigating the settings is fairly straightforward and you can press the “?” button to bring up help on any setting. My Menu can be customised to allow quick changes to your favourite settings.

Main screen		View photos
Remote shooting		Playback

Wi-Fi features - To use the Wi-Fi features of the Nikon D750, you simply connect to the Wi-Fi network of the D750 once you have switched it on, in the camera menus. You need to install Nikon Wireless Mobile Utility (WMU) onto your iOS or Android device and then you can remotely control your camera as well as browse and copy photos. By default, there is no Wi-Fi password setup on the D750, so for security setting up a Wi-Fi password is recommended. 

Firmware updates:

Since the camera's release, there have been a number of firmware updates released for the camera, which you can download on the Nikon website. Firmware updates include support for new lenses, and accessories (such as the WT-7 wireless transmitter), released after the Nikon D750 was made available. There are also updates and fixes to give improved performance, and reliability, as Nikon fix any bugs or operation issues they've found. If you're looking at your Nikon D750, make sure your camera has been updated to version 1.10 or higher, as there are a number of fixes made available with v1.10.

Battery life - Battery life is rated at 1230 shots according to Nikon / CIPA test results, which is excellent, and is even longer when not using flash. For the ultimate battery life, the optional battery grip is said to give over 8000 shots!