Nikon D780 vs Nikon D850 — Which Is Better?

I had a Nikon D850 for a few years, and it served me well. It was and is the best DSLR on the market. And it’s the ideal camera for wildlife photography thanks to its large sensor and excellent autofocus (AF) system. However, its Achilles heel is its very slow frame rate… So what does a side-by-side Nikon D780 vs D850 comparison tell us?

The Nikon D780 is also a DSLR. But it was launched more than three years later than the Nikon D850. It’s an updated version of the D750 that benefits from some of the mirrorless features of the Z6. That makes it a kind of hybrid.

Nikon D850

With excellent image quality, video and battery life, it’s still the best Nikon DSLR on the market

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Nikon D850 Pros and Cons

The D780 doesn’t have the sensor size or autofocus system of the D850. But it’s lighter, better for video, and has a longer battery life. It’s a shame you can only benefit from the faster frame rate by using Live View. Normally, you get a higher continuous shooting speed by trading off sensor resolution, but not with the D780.

Nikon D780 Pros and Cons

Body and Handling

There’s not much to say here. Yes, the Nikon D780 is slightly smaller in all three dimensions and a bit lighter. But that’s not a big deal.

Both are weather sealed. And they have the same diagonal-size, tilting, touch-screen LCD display. However, the D850 has a slightly higher viewfinder magnification.

The two digital cameras look almost identical. They have similar Nikon menu systems. But there are some differences in the button layout.

The Nikon D780 doesn’t have the autofocus “nubbin.” This is on the back of the Nikon D850. And the Live View button and switch are to the left of the AF-ON button on the D780. There’s also an AE-L / AF-L button just above the multi-selector.

The main drive mode dial on the left of the top plate is also different. The Nikon D850 has embedded buttons for image quality, metering mode, shooting mode, and white balance.

The Nikon D780 adds an exposure mode dial with the usual options. It also lets you choose from Auto mode, two memory presets, and a special effects mode. This offers picture profiles such as Super Vivid, Selective Color, and Toy Camera Effect.

The Nikon D850 doesn’t have user presets (U1 and U2). Its inability to switch between saved shooting modes used to drive me crazy!

In general, the buttons and dials on both cameras are very responsive. So you never get the same lag as with some mirrorless models.

However, there’s no Nikon-made battery grip for the Nikon D780. You have to go to a third-party manufacturer if you want one of those. For most photographers, that’s a big downside. It limits the frame rate and battery life. Plus, it makes it harder to shoot in portrait format.

Nikon D780 vs D850 Optics

The big difference between these two cameras is in the resolution of their full frame sensors. The Nikon D850 has far more pixels and no anti-alias filter. This means much more detail in the images. DXOMARK hasn’t tested the Nikon D780. So it’s hard to find comparable figures on color depth, dynamic range, and low-light performance.

The benefit of the Nikon D780’s larger pixels and Expeed 6 advanced image processing engine is a higher ISO limit (both native and expanded).

A comparison of autofocus (AF) systems also favors the Nikon D850. It has 153 AF points (99 cross-type focus points) compared to 51 (15) on the Nikon D780.

The Nikon D850’s sensitivity is also one stop better in darker and brighter conditions. Although, the Nikon D780 wins if you switch on Low Light mode.

Live View is a different story. The Nikon D780’s 273-point On-Sensor Phase-Detect autofocus is much faster and more accurate. The Nikon D850 only has an old and slow contrast-detect system.

Both digital cameras have the F-type lens mount. So there’s no difference in the range and quality of glass. Nikon has a good selection of lenses.

Both cameras can shoot 4K video. But the Nikon D780 can output 10-bit N-log over HDMI rather than 8-bit. It gives you 12 EV (Exposure Value) stops of dynamic range with an external recorder like the Ninja V. So the D780 has better video resolutions and video quality.

The D780’s hybrid autofocus system in Live View makes it more reliable for videography. And you also get Face Detection in Live View.

The D780 is a smaller, lighter camera. It has a higher ISO limit, Live View Face Detection, and a faster USB-C port.

Apart from price, the Nikon D850 wins in all the other main areas. It has a higher-resolution full-frame sensor, better autofocus, and a larger viewfinder. It also offers a lower base ISO, a faster flash sync speed, and a longer shutter life expectancy. Finally, it has a flash sync port, an NFC connection, 8K time-lapse mode, and illuminated buttons.

Other than that, the two models share many different features. These include the same fast shutter speed, time-lapse sequences, face detection, and RAW support. They also offer AE bracketing, focus bracketing, focus stacking, smartphone remote control, and an anti-flicker mode.

Both have Bluetooth and wireless connection, microphone and headphone ports, and an external flash shoe. However, neither has a built-in flash or sensor-based image stabilization.

Both cameras feature dual card slots. They’re handy if one memory card fails. However, the Nikon D780 only supports SD UHS-II cards. These are popular, convenient, and cheap.

But I prefer the Nikon D850’s option to use XQD cards. And a recent firmware update means you can now use fast CFexpress Type A cards, too! Speed is vital for reducing buffer lag and when you’re shooting data-hungry 4K video.

The battery of the Nikon D780 appears to last longer at first glance. However, the lack of a Nikon battery grip means you’d be better off with a Nikon D850 with the MB-D18 power pack. It houses two batteries and has duplicate controls for shooting in portrait format, which kills two birds with one stone.