Nikon Announces D780 With Stunning Long Exposure Capabilities

The Nikon D780: It can go up to 900 seconds (15 minutes) and may just be the best new camera for astrophotography.

Nikon just announced its new D780, which can do up to a 900 second (15 minute) long exposure via the manual mode in pre-programmed settings without the hassle of having to use an external remote timer. For astrophotographers who also like to take terrestrial photos, this may just have become the ideal astro cam as it offers the best of both worlds.

There have been digital cameras in the past targeted toward astrophotographers that offered shutter speeds as slow as 15 minutes, but there was a cost. The issue: these cameras were designed specifically for shooting deep sky objects, which often emit long-wavelength red light. In order to allow these cameras to capture the deep reds emitted by many deep sky objects, these cameras’ infrared filters (IR) were modified or removed entirely in order to allow the sensors to record at the 656 nm wavelength that a standard camera’s filter would block. Result: the camera would capture all of the deep reds emitted by deep sky objects but would be just about useless for regular photography because they were so red sensitive.

Let’s face it: photography/astrophotography is not a cheap hobby and a camera that can do everything is very desirable. To look at the dollars, take Canon’s EOS R and EOS Ra (for astronomy) variant. Both cameras are essentially the same thing except for the fact that the EOS Ra has exposure settings that can go up to 15 minutes (just like the D780) and that it can record those 656 nm wavelengths, which the EOS R can’t. Unfortunately, thanks to its modified IR filter, the EOS Ra is essentially useless as a traditional camera, which would necessitate having to buy another camera (let’s assume the EOS R) for traditional purposes.

Right now, the EOS R sells for around $1800 as a body. The EOS Ra? Well, Canon thinks that the cost to remove that pesky IR filter requires a $700 price premium as the EOS Ra is priced at $2500, a 30+% price premium over its standard cousin. Not to bash Canon, Nikon did the same exact thing a few years back when it launched its D810 variant: the D810A (for astronomy, naturally). Bottom line: for anyone wanting to do astro and traditional photography with Canon, you’re looking at $4300.

Cue the D780.

The D780 is not marketed as an astro cam as it has the standard infrared filter found on every other Nikon, which means that things that are truly deep red in the night sky will appear more pink/purple when shot with the D780 than they would with a dedicated astro cam (like the EOS Ra or D810A) because the D780 will not record the deep reds that a dedicated astro cam would. On the other hand, this means that the D780 can do double duty as a traditional camera!

Yes, the D780 will not hold a candle to the D810A or EOS Ra when it comes to recording those deep reds but, on the other hand, it will save you a lot of money at the cost of having to spend more time in Photoshop in order to fully bring out the reds that it will capture. For people who aren’t swimming in money and actually have to worry about this pesky thing called a budget, the Nikon D780 may just be your thing if you like to equally use your camera under both Sun and star light.

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