REVIEW : Nikon D810 - time with Nikon's megapixel King

When it comes to full frame, Nikon was first into the big megapixel game.  Now both Canon and Sony have entered the pool, and Nikon has done a version upgrade from the original class opening D800 and D800e.  What does the D810 bring and how does it fit the needs of the working photographer?  

I've got a bit of a standard practice established for reviews by now.  I pull the battery and charge it fully.  I get a memory card from my spares kit and put it in the camera for formatting when the battery is full.  Then I take the manual from the package and go read it.  I spend a fair bit of time on the control layout and whatever new features that the manufacturer has specified and then go through each chapter.  Nikon has improved on their documentation in the past couple of years as I have noted in other reviews and that is consistent on the D810.  Once I have read the documentation and charged the battery, I format the memory card and check the firmware.  Evaluation units tend to move around a lot so they don't often get back to service for updating and the D810 was no exception.  Both the firmware and the lens correction data were out of date, but the files are easy to find on Nikon's support site, and the updates install quickly.  This camera was evaluated using firmware C 1.0,2 and L 2.0.0.9 for the body and lens corrections respectively.

This unit was supplied with the well proven Nikon 24-70 f:/2.8G ED lens.  I've had this lens several times for different evals and I will spare readers yet another write up on it.  Suffice to say it is very sharp, quite quick optically and when focusing and has a passably usable range.  I would personally not buy a 24-70 but that's me.  Lots of folks love this lens and consider it one of the "Nikon Trifecta" of 14-24, 24-70 and 70-200.  There's absolutely nothing wrong with it other than I personally find the range too small.

The D810 is a large DSLR.  In fact, I found it larger in the hand than the D4s.  This may be subjective, I just did not find my index finger resting naturally on the shutter release as on the D4s.  Small bit of acclimation required.  It's also taller and heavier than the D750 that I like so much.  It's got more of the D4s feel on the top deck and the rear than it's less expensive brother.  If it were my prerogative, I would try to make cameras from the same manufacturer more alike in layout but sometimes sacrifices are made in the path to innovation.  Still if one shoots multiple bodies as I do, a consistent layout would be better.  In fairness to the D810, it is often the second body for a D4s shooter, rather than the first with a D750 as the second.  I spoke very briefly with the incredible Moose Peterson in May and he is shooting the D4s as his primary and the D810 as his secondary.  The eval unit did not come with a battery grip but takes one, and even though it increases size and weight, I like the better balance that they give and would definitely add one.

What sets the D810 apart from the D750 besides size is the sensor.  This is Nikon's highest megapixel density sensor at this time delivering 36.3MP in full frame (FX) images.  Nikon was first in the big MP space but now both Canon and Sony have gone higher.  Whether one needs 50MP out of a 35mm sensor is a question to be defined by use case, but when we can get stunningly good 20x30 prints out of an 18MP sensor, one really must ask why we need more.  More megapixels mean that each pixel is smaller and therefore less light sensitive.  Where the D4s can be pushed to 204,800 ISO, the D810 tops out at 12,800.  Quel dommage really, because the D810 is very good at 12,800 and if you are an old film person like me, you probably don't like going past ISO 800 anyway.   Kodak 1600 made nice people look like dart team goalies so many of us still work for lower ISOs.

As you'll see in the specs, the D810 has a high speed burst rate maximum of 5 frames per second.  So it's not a sports camera, or pray and spray camera.  Shooting becomes a more deliberate act and there is simply a physical time limit placed by the large file size and getting them to the card.  That assumes of course that you are shooting in RAW, and if you dropped the $3600 CDN MSRP for this critter, why wouldn't you be shooting RAW?  This camera is DESIGNED for RAW, even if Nikon doesn't expressly say so and still gives you enough generic JPEG picture styles to satisfy the needs of the Instagram herd.

I've been disappointed by other Nikons in that they continue to use USB2 as their interface because big files just weren't moving slowly enough.  Where USB2 is a horrible idea that never worked well, USB3 is a much better design and I was very pleased to find that the USB interface on the D810 is USB3.  So yes it's a different cable and so if you are tethering your existing long USB2 cable won't do the job.  There is also a cable retention clip to keep a tethered USB3 cable from accidental disconnection, similar to that found with the Canon 7D Mk II.  Good on yer Nikon!

As one would expect, the D810 does video.  It's good video but not spectacular because despite that wonderful sensor, it maxes out at 60p1080 FullHD and doesn't go below 24p720, so there is no VGA video option.  Not that anyone will care at this point.  It should do 4K and Nikon could have kicked major butt by putting 4K in a camera of this quality.

The camera feels good in my average sized hands.  I would really like a battery grip because the AF/M body switch digs into the joint where my thumb meets the palm in my standard cradle grip.    The camera is easy to hang on to and while I really dislike D-ring style strap mounts, they aren't in the way on the D810.  With the 24-70 on, it is definitely nose heavy, another reason I would prefer a battery grip.  The battery is the proven Nikon EN-EL15 and it can be brought to full charge from dead in about 3.5 hours.

The D810 includes Nikon's excellent Creative Lighting System and unlike its peer camera, the Canon 5D Mk III, the D810 includes a little popup flash to be used mostly as a CLS commander.  It can of course be used as a flash, but it's a popup, so even when the exposure is correct it still looks like a booking photo.  Nikon gives up a bit of pentaprism durability to provide the popup flash because the housing for it is plastic but I think that the tradeoff is acceptable given the flexibility created.  Perhaps Canon will smarten up with the 5D Mark IV and take this page from Nikon, because they also have an excellent flash control system, but cost goes up if you want simple control because the camera cannot do what the D810 does right out of the box.

The LCD does not swivel or flip.  It comes with a clear plastic cover.  I'm not sure if this is a benefit or not.  The D750 didn't have this, nor did the D4s and it's just another piece of plastic for my nose to press against.  It is removable, and will be removed for the duration of the review.  The viewfinder eyepiece is nice and large and there is a viewfinder shutter built in.  I think that this is a very useful feature, often left out, that landscape, macro and long exposure photographers really benefit from.  Diopter adjustment is like on the D4s, very much like a watch stem.  I really like this design over partially hidden wheels that can be knocked out of position.  As you'll see in the layout images, the left side "rewind" knob is like the one on the D4s.  I commend Nikon for the effectiveness of the design, I just wish I could reprogram the QUAL button for something that I would use since I only ever shoot RAW, and don't need a speedy way to change the image quality setting.

Real World Use

Loading up the D810 is not hard.  There are two card slots easily accessed by a door on the right side.  Easy, that is, unless you use a hand strap, in which case the strap interferes with the door.  Better that than putting the card slots on the bottom of the camera though.  

About those two slots.  One is CF and one is SD.  Oh the flexibility and the chance to use all manner of old cards lying around.  Oh the complete annoyance of having to own two different types of cards that have different performance characteristics.  Love two slots.  Hate two DIFFERENT slots.  A really dumb idea whose time has passed.

Since the camera has a USB3 capable bus in there, you are best advised to go with the fastest cards you can get in order to get those large files out of buffer and onto storage as quickly as possible.

The controls are well laid out and you can do a lot without removing the camera from your eye.  I particularly like the layout for manipulating exposure compensation for ambient and the quick button for flash exposure compensation.  By default the two are linked together, but you can decouple them via an obscure menu setting (Flash Exposure Compensation - Background Only)  Clear like mud.

I think I said that the D810 is not built for sports.  The 5 fps does work for slower moving wildlife, but it's not a camera I would use to shoot hockey, tennis or a rodeo with, if I was looking to blast action.  I did find the D810 quite quiet in continuous high, Nikon has improved mirror slap control from the D800.  

Speaking of, you may recall that the D800 had a sibling called the D800e that did not have the anti-aliasing filter.  The D810 doesn't have one either and there is no option to get one.  So you risk a bit of moire in favour of more sharpness.  I think that is acceptable but plan accordingly. 

AWB is ok but studio flash needed adjustment

First round of shooting tests were done in the studio with my regular model Sondra, just to see how the AF performed when the principal lighting would be flash.  I used one Profoto D1 500ws head triggered from the camera by a Profoto Air Remote in the hot shoe.  The D1 was mounted to a Mola Mantti dish with a single layer of diffusion up front.  I've yet to find a beauty dish that can compare to the Mola dishes and the Mantti, while cumbersome, is stunning.  Camera was set to manual exposure with shutter speed at 1/250 and aperture varying by strobe output.  All the test images were shot with the Nikkor 24-70 at apertures from f/2.8 to f/16.

Lightroom says each image is 36.2 megapixels.  As I only shoot in RAW, this means a RAW NEF file size of an average of 75.4 megabytes, so the import was a bit slow compared to say the 18MP of a D4s.

Colour rendition was very good.  I tried the camera in both AWB and Flash white balance settings while shooting RAW and I liked the warmer tone imparted by the Flash setting when imported.   Sondra, as regular readers know, is very pale and I found the AWB out of camera RAWs to be a bit blue while the Flash RAWs were more akin to what I would get out of AWB with other sensors.  Fortunately, by shooting RAW, the previews are just that, and you have the full range of colour temperature and tint to work with, without the precipitous data loss of baking the white balance into a JPEG.

The other thing I noticed right away is that this may not be the sensor to use for portraits if you are not into retouching.  The detail level is very high, and while I admit that Sondra's hair could have stood to come within a kilometre of a brush, what I really noticed was how much retouching was needed for simple blemishes when the image is enlarged.  While the core processing and RAW conversion was done in Lightroom 6, the retouching other than burning was done in Photoshop CC because it does a much better job than Lightroom, particularly when removing errant hairs.  I think that this level of detail will be outstanding for landscapes or architecture, but I fear it would make more work if used for headshots.  

Level of detail and tonal range is amazing

The dynamic range is excellent.  This is one area where Nikon continues to lead the marketplace without making the images look fake.  DXOmark gave the D810 a score of 97 out of 100.  They measured 14.8 stops of dynamic range and a colour depth of 25.8 bits.  Canon's recent release of the 5Ds and 5Dsr have more megapixels but 2.4 stops LESS dynamic range if DXOmark information is to be believed.  Although the D810 is older than the newest competing releases, when it comes to dynamic range it kicks major butt.  With this much dynamic range, it really begs the question, who needs HDR with a D810?

Did I mention how quiet the D810 is?  Compared to other cameras, particularly some consumer grade products that sound like a hippo falling in a bathtub every shot, the D810 is near silent.  I can understand how it would be seen as less intrusive as a result.

The other bit of good news is that even with 36.2 MP of sensor capture and monstrous RAW files, when you mount Nikkor FX lenses up front, the glass quality shows through.  On other high MP products from upcoming players, the reality of their native glass gets revealed as wanting.  Fortunately for those customers, there is this company called Zeiss that makes lenses for that mount that are absolutely amazing.  But if you are a Nikon owner and have invested in good Nikkor glass, this big sensor is not going to be exposing a sack of faults.  While I am not nuts about the 24-70 focal length range, you could do well with a D810 and the Nikkor Trifecta of 14-24, 24-70 and 70-200 as your core working kit.  Add a 105 Micro and 2x III teleconverter and most anyone would be completely set.

In order to get a second opinion, I asked my good friend Bryan Weiss who was shooting the Orangeville RAM Rodeo with me if he would mind trying the D810 out to give me the perspective of a long time Nikon owner.  The slideshow below was shot entirely by Bryan while he was testing out Tamron's 150-600 zoom.  Overall he is very afraid that the D810 is going to cost him a bunch of money, and he has been considering trading his D7100 and D700 towards a D810.  The D810 did a great job in the highly mobile world of rodeo and as you can see that Tamron lens is absolutely stunning in sharpness.  Bryan's only complaint was that he did not like the position of the Mode button but acknowledged that is fixed with acclimatization.

Conclusions

I've questioned the need for enormous megapixel cameras and to some extent still do, especially when megapixels appear to be the only measurement of importance.  For me, and my use cases, I would trade megapixels for dynamic range any day.  Nikon has done it right with the D810.  You get tons of detail AND superb dynamic range.  Other big MP vendors, especially those with much newer releases should be spending a lot more effort on dynamic range.  You know who you are.  I like the balanced approach that the D810 delivers in this regard.  Certainly I would like a faster burst mode, 5fps being a bit slow for fast sports and airshow flybys.  The AF is fast and accurate so blurred images can mostly be attributed to very poor light or the problem existing behind the viewfinder.  I do wish Nikon would stop the silliness of using different card slots.  While I get the idea behind preserving customer investment or making it easier to buy cards, let's not forget that an uncompressed RAW in this beast is about 75 megabytes per image.  If you can afford to invest in the D810, you can afford to invest in some very large capacity, screaming fast cards.  We learned the hard way the impact of crappy cards in the D810.  I had misplaced my card wallet and the only card handy for the rodeo was a Transcend 400x 32GB CF.  While it did manage to capture images and save them, thank goodness, it was so grindingly slow, the camera would stop after 4-5 shots in burst mode as the buffer could not write to the card quickly enough, and we won't talk about the nearly 11 hours it took to get the images off the card through a USB3 reader. Yes I know you can shoot compressed RAW or even JPEG for smaller files, but that's not why one buys a D810.  Put fast cards from Sandisk or Lexar in this beast only, not el cheapo cards no matter what is written on them.  You care about sustained write not burst write and very few manufacturers actually publish sustained write performance.

So if I were in the market, would I buy one?  Yes I would.  I would still prefer a D4s as my primary because it fits my use cases better, but as body #2, the D810 rocks it for my needs.  Sadly it is on its way back to the good people who represent Nikon in Canada.  I am very grateful for the opportunity to take a longer look at this amazing product.

Full Specifications (Courtesy Nikon Canada)

• Type

  
  

  Single-lens reflex digital camera

• Lens Mount

  
  

  Nikon F bayonet mount

Image Sensor

• Effective Pixels

  
  

  36.3 million

• Sensor Size

  
  

  35.9mm

   x 24mm

• Image Sensor Format

  
  

  FX

• Image Sensor Type

  
  

  CMOS

• Total Pixels

  
  

  37.09 million

• Dust-reduction system

  
  

  Image sensor cleaning
  Image Dust Off reference data (optional Capture NX 2 software required)

• Dust-Off Reference Photo

  
  

  Yes

• Image Area (pixels)

  
  

  FX-format
  (L) 7,360 x 4,912

  
  (M) 5,520 x 3,680

  
  (S) 3,680 x 2,456

  1:2 format (30 x 20)
  (L) 6,144 x 4,080

  
  (M) 4,608 x 3,056

  
  (S) 3,072 x 2,040

  5:4 format (30 x 24)
  (L) 6,144 x 4,912

  
  (M) 4,608 x 3,680

  
  (S) 3,072 x 2,456

  DX-format
  (L) 4,800 x 3,200

  
  (M) 3,600 x 2,400

  
  (S) 2,400 x 1,600

File System

• File Format Still Images

  
  

  JPEG: JPEG-baseline-compliant; can be selected from Size Priority and Optimal Quality
  JPEG: JPEG-Baseline compliant with fine (approx 1:4), normal (approx 1:8), or basic (approx 1:16) compression
  NEF (RAW): 12 or 14 bit, lossless compressed, compressed, or uncompressed; small size available (12-bit uncompressed only)
  NEF (RAW) + JPEG: Single photograph recorded in both NEF (RAW) and JPEG formats
  TIFF (RGB)

• Storage Media

  
  

  CompactFlash© (CF) (Type I, compliant with UDMA)
  SD
  SDHC
  SDXC

• Card Slot

  
  

  1 CompactFlash© (CF) card and 1 Secure Digital (SD) card

• File System

  
  

  Compliant with DCF (Design Rule for Camera File System) 2.0
  DPOF (Digital Print Order Format)
  EXIF 2.3 (Exchangeable Image File Format for Digital Still Cameras
  PictBridge

Viewfinder

• Viewfinder

  
  

  Eye-level pentaprism single-lens reflex viewfinder

• Viewfinder Frame Coverage 

  
  

  FX (36x24): 100% Horizontal and 100% Vertical Approx.

  1.2x (30x20): 97% Horizontal and 97% Vertical Approx.

  DX (24x16): 97% Horizontal and 97% Vertical Approx.

  5:4 (30x24): 97% horizontal and 100% vertical Approx.

• Viewfinder Magnification

  
  

  0.70x Approx.

• Viewfinder Eyepoint

  
  

  17mm (-1.0 m¯¹)

• Viewfinder Diopter Adjustment 

  
  

  Built-in diopter adjustment (-3 to +1 m¯¹)

• Focusing Screen

  
  

  Type B BriteView Clear Matte Mark VIII with AF area brackets (grid lines can be displayed)

• Reflex Mirror

  
  

  Quick-return type

• Mirror Lock Up

  
  

  Yes

Lens

• Lens Aperture

  
  

  Instant-return type

• Depth-of-field Control

  
  

  Yes

• Lens Compatibility at a Glance***

  
  

  AF-S or AF lenses fully compatible
  Metering with AI lenses

• Compatible Lenses

  
  

  AF NIKKOR lenses, including type G, E, and D lenses (some restrictions apply to PC lenses) and DX lenses (using DX 24 x 16 1.5x image area), AI-P NIKKOR lenses, and non-CPU AI lenses (exposure modes G and H only). 
  Electronic rangefinder can be used with lenses that have a maximum aperture of f/5.6 or faster (the electronic rangefinder supports the 11 focus points with lenses that have a maximum aperture of f/8 or faster).
  IX NIKKOR lenses, lenses for the F3AF, and non-AI lenses cannot be used.

Shutter

• Shutter Type

  
  

  Electronically controlled vertical-travel focal-plane

• Shutter Speed

  
  

  1/8000 to 30 sec.
  Bulb

• Fastest Shutter Speed

  
  

  1/8000 sec.

• Slowest Shutter Speed

  
  

  30 sec.

• Flash Sync Speed

  
  

  Up to 1/250 sec.
  Synchronizes with shutter at 1/320s or slower (flash range drops at speeds between 1/250 and 1/320s)

• Bulb Shutter Setting

  
  

  Yes

• Shutter Release Modes

  
  

  Continuous low-speed [CL] mode
  Continuous high-speed [CH] mode
  Mirror-up [Mup] mode
  Quiet Shutter Release
  Quiet Continuous Release
  Self-timer mode
  Single-frame [S] mode

• Continuous Shooting Options

  
  

  FX-format
  CH: Up to 5 frames per second

  CL: Up to 1-5 frames per second

  5:4 format
  CH: Up to 5 frames per second

  CL: Up to 1-5 frames per second

  DX-format
  CH: Up to 6 frames per second

  7 fps in DX-crop mode when using optional MB-D12 battery pack and EN-EL18a battery

  CL: Up to 1-6 frames per second

  1:2 format
  CH: Up to 6 frames per second

  CL: Up to 1-6 frames per second

• Top Continuous Shooting Speed at full resolution

  
  

  5 frames per second

• Self-timer

  
  

  2, 5, 10, 20 sec.; 1 to 9 exposures at intervals of 0.5, 1, 2, or 3 sec.
  Timer duration electronically controlled

Exposure

• Exposure Metering System

  
  

  TTL exposure metering using 91,000-pixel RGB sensor

• Metering Method

  
  

  Centre-weighted: Weight of 75% given to 12mm circle in centre of frame
  Matrix: 3D Colour Matrix Metering III (type G, E, and D lenses); Colour Matrix Metering III (other CPU lenses); Colour Matrix Metering available with non-CPU lenses if user provides lens data
  Spot: Meters 4mm circle (about 1.5% of frame) centered on selected focus point
  Highlight-weighted: Available with type G, E, and D lenses; equivalent to center-weighted when non-CPU lens is used

• Metering Range

  
  

  0 to 20 EV (3D colour matrix, centre-weighted metering or highlight weighted metering)
  0 to 20 EV (spot metering)

• Exposure Meter Coupling

  
  

  CPU
  AI

• Exposure Modes

  
  

  Aperture-Priority (A)
  Manual (M)
  Programmed auto with flexible program (P)
  Shutter-Priority (S)

• Exposure Compensation

  
  

  ±5 EV in increments of 1/3, 1/2 or 1 EV

• Exposure Bracketing

  
  

  2 to 9 frames in steps of 1/3, 1/2, 2/3 or 1 EV 

• Exposure Lock

  
  

  Yes

• Picture Control

  
  

  Flat
  Landscape
  Monochrome
  Neutral
  Portrait
  Standard
  User-customizable Settings
  Vivid

Sensitivity

• ISO Sensitivity

  
  

  ISO 64 -

  12,800

  Lo-1 (ISO 32)

  Hi-1 (ISO 25,600)

  Hi-2 (ISO 51,200)

• Lowest Standard ISO Sensitivity

  
  

  64

• Highest Standard ISO Sensitivity

  
  

  12,800

• Lowest Expanded ISO Sensitivity

  
  

  Lo-1 (ISO 32 equivalent)

• Highest Expanded ISO Sensitivity

  
  

  Hi-2 (ISO 51,200 equivalent)

• Expanded ISO Sensitivity Options

  
  

  Lo-1 (ISO 32 equivalent)
  Hi-1 (ISO 25,600 equivalent)
  Hi-2, (ISO 51,200 equivalent)

• Long Exposure Noise Reduction

  
  

  Yes

• High ISO Noise Reduction

  
  

  Yes
  Normal
  High
  Off

• Active D-Lighting

  
  

  Auto
  Extra High
  High
  Normal
  Low
  Off

• D-Lighting Bracketing

  
  

  2 frames using selected value for one frame
  3–5 frames using preset values for all frames

Focus/Autofocus

• Single-point AF Mode

  
  

  Yes

• Dynamic AF Mode

  
  

  Number of AF points: 9, 21, 51 and 51 (3D-tracking)

• Auto-area AF Mode

  
  

  Yes

• Autofocus System

  
  

  Nikon Advanced Multi-CAM 3500FX autofocus sensor module with TTL phase detection

• Detection Range

  
  

  -2 to 19 EV (ISO 100, 68°F/20°C)

• Lens Servo

  
  

  Autofocus (AF): Single-servo AF (AF-S); continuous-servo AF (AF-C); predictive focus tracking activated automatically according to subject status
  Manual focus (MF): Electronic rangefinder can be used

• AF-area Mode

  
  

  9, 21 or 51 point Dynamic-area AF
  Auto-area AF
  Single-point AF
  3D-tracking (51 points)
  Group-area AF

• Focus Lock

  
  

  Focus can be locked by pressing AE-L/AF-L button
  Focus can be locked by pressing shutter-release button halfway (single-servo AF)

• Focus Modes

  
  

  Auto AF-S/AF-C selection (AF-A)
  Continuous-servo (AF-C)
  Face-Priority AF available in Live View only and D-Movie only
  Full-time Servo (AF-A) available in Live View only and D-Movie only 
  Manual (M) with electronic rangefinder
  Normal area
  Single-servo AF (AF-S)
  Wide area

• Maximum Autofocus Areas/Points

  
  

  51

• Autofocus Sensitivity

  
  

  -2 to +19 EV (ISO 100, 20°C/68°F)

• Autofocus Fine Tune

  
  

  Yes

Flash

• Built-in Flash

  
  

  Yes

• Flash Bracketing

  
  

  2 to 9 frames in steps of 1/3, 1/2, 2/3, or 1 EV

• Built-in Flash Distance

  
  

  12m (ISO 100)

• X-Sync Speed

  
  

  1/250

• Top FP High Speed Sync

  
  

  Up to 1/8000

• Flash Control

  
  

  TTL: i-TTL flash control using 91,000-pixel RGB sensor are available with built-in flash and SB-910, SB-900, SB-800, SB-700, SB-600, SB-400, or SB-300; i-TTL balanced fill-flash for digital SLR is used with matrix and centre-weighted metering, standard i-TTL flash for digital SLR with spot metering

• Flash Sync Modes

  
  

  Auto FP High-Speed Sync supported
  Front-curtain sync (normal)
  Rear-curtain sync
  Red-Eye reduction
  Red-Eye reduction with slow sync
  Slow rear-curtain sync
  Slow sync
  Off

• Flash Compensation

  
  

  -3 to +1 EV in increments of 1/3, 1/2 or 1 EV

• Flash-ready Indicator

  
  

  Lights when built-in flash or optional flash unit is fully charged; flashes after flash is fired at full output

• Accessory Shoe

  
  

  Yes

• Nikon Creative Lighting System (CLS)

  
  

  CLS Supported

• Flash Sync Terminal

  
  

  Yes

White Balance

• White Balance

  
  

  Auto (2 types)
  Choose colour temperature (2500K–10000K)
  Cloudy
  Direct Sunlight
  Flash
  Fluorescent (7 types)
  Incandescent
  Preset manual (up to 6 values can be stored, spot white balance measurement available during live view)
  Shade

• White Balance Bracketing

  
  

  2 to 9 exposures in increments of 1, 2 or 3 EV

Live View

• Live View Shooting

  
  

  Photography Live View Mode  
  Movie Live View Mode

• Live View Lens servo

  
  

  Autofocus (AF): Single-servo AF (AF-S); full-time-servo AF (AF-F)
  Manual focus (MF)

• Live View AF-area mode

  
  

  Face-priority AF
  Wide-area AF
  Normal-area AF
  Subject-tracking AF

• Live View Autofocus

  
  

  Contrast-detect AF anywhere in frame (camera selects focus point automatically when face-priority AF or subject-tracking AF is selected)

Movie

• Movie Metering

  
  

  TTL exposure metering using main image sensor

• Movie Maximum recording time

  
  

  20 minutes at highest quality
  29 minutes 59 seconds at normal quality

• Movie File Format

  
  

  MOV

• Movie Video Compression

  
  

  H.264/MPEG-4 Advanced Video Coding

• Movie Audio recording format

  
  

  Linear PCM

• Movie

  
  

  Full HD 1,920x1,080 / 60 fps 
  Full HD 1,920x1,080 / 50 fps 
  Full HD 1,920x1,080 / 30 fps 
  Full HD 1,920x1,080 / 25 fps 
  Full HD 1,920x1,080 / 24 fps 
  HD 1,280x720 / 60 fps
  HD 1,280x720 / 50 fps

• Movie Audio

  
  

  Built-in microphone, stereo
  External stereo microphone (optional - sold separately)

Monitor

• Monitor Size

  
  

  3.2 in. diagonal

• Monitor Resolution

  
  

  1,229,000 Dots

• Monitor Type

  
  

  Wide Viewing Angle TFT-LCD

• Monitor Angle of View

  
  

  170-degree wide-viewing angle

• Monitor Adjustments

  
  

  Brightness, 5 levels

  Brightness control using ambient brightness sensor

• Virtual Horizon Camera Indicator

  
  

  Yes
  Also visible in LiveView Modes
  Also visible in Viewfinder

Playback

• Playback Functions

  
  

  Auto Image Rotation
  Full-frame and thumbnail (4, 9, or 72 images) 
  Highlights
  Histogram Display
  Image Comment 
  Movie Playback
  Movie Slideshow
  Playback with Zoom
  Slideshow

• In-Camera Image Editing

  
  

  Colour Balance
  Colour Outline
  Colour Sketch
  D-Lighting
  Distortion Control
  Edit Movie
  Filter Effects
  Fisheye
  Image Overlay
  Miniature Effect
  Monochrome
  NEF (RAW) Processing
  Perspective Control
  Quick retouch
  Red-Eye Correction
  Resize
  Selective Colour
  Side-by-Side Comparison
  Straighten
  Trim

• Image Comment

  
  

  Yes

Interface

• Interface

  
  

  HDMI Output: Type C mini-pin HDMI connector
  Headphone Connector
  NTSC
  Stereo Microphone Input
  Super Speed USB 3.0

• Wi-Fi Functionality

  
  

  Eye-Fi Compatible
  WT-5A

• GPS

  
  

  GP-1 GPS unit (sold separately)
  GP-1A GPS unit (sold separately)

• Save/Load Camera settings

  
  

  Yes

Menus

• Total Custom Settings

  
  

  54

• My Menu

  
  

  Yes with customization

• Recent Settings

  
  

  Yes

• Supported Languages

  
  

  Arabic
  Bengali
  Brazilian Portuguese
  Bulgarian
  Chinese (Simplified and Traditional)
  Czech
  Danish
  Dutch
  English
  Finnish
  French
  German
  Greek
  Hindi
  Hungarian
  Indonesian
  Italian
  Japanese
  Korean
  Marathi
  Norwegian
  Persian
  Polish
  Portuguese
  Romanian
  Russian
  Serbian
  Spanish
  Swedish
  Tamil
  Telugu
  Thai
  Turkish
  Ukrainian
  Vietnamese

• Date, Time and Daylight Savings Time Settings

  
  

  Yes
  The camera clock is powered by a separate, non-rechargeable CR1616 lithium battery with a life of about two years.

• World Time Setting

  
  

  Yes

Power

• Battery / Batteries

  
  

  EN-EL15 Lithium-ion Battery

• Battery Life (shots per charge) 

  
  

  1,200 shots (CIPA)

• AC Adapter

  
  

  EH-5b AC Adapter; requires EP-5B Power Connector (sold separately)

• Battery Charger

  
  

  MH-25a Quick Charger 

Miscellaneous

• Tripod Socket

  
  

  0.64 cm

• Approx. Dimensions (Width x Height x Depth)

  
  

  146mm x

   123mm x

   81.5mm

• Approx. Weight

  
  

  880g

  camera body only

• Operating Environment

  
  

  0–40 °C