D750 ergonomics

Hi,
I own a D700 and I'm very happy with it, both in terms of IQ and ergonomics. It is becoming a bit outdated however and I have been looking at the D750 as a successor. I think in terms of IQ and high ISO/low light it outperforms the D700, plus it can record HD video. If i look at the specs, in alsmost all aspects its better than the D700

A friend of mine has de the D750 and I played a bit with it. What bothers me most is the meter mode selector at the back is gone. Same with the AF area mode selector. Have those been put into a menu? The AE lock button is gone, ok you can use the function button, but you lose a button anyway (the function button on my D700 is programmed as auto ISO so I can quickly turn it on/off without fiddling in the menu). The focus mode switch on de 750 only has AF and M. No more C and S.

As far as I can see, some things that could be quickly adjusted on the D700 now are either under a button or in the menu.

My first impression is: I dont like the ergonomics. Probably a matter of getting accustomed but I wonder why does Nikon change this with every new model or successor? Why not improve the technical specs but leave the ergonomics as it is.

Or are there good reasons for those changes, that I don't yet see.

Anyone owned/compared the two?

Nikkon said:

Hi,
I own a D700 and I'm very happy with it, both in terms of IQ and ergonomics. It is becoming a bit outdated however and I have been looking at the D750 as a successor. I think in terms of IQ and high ISO/low light it outperforms the D700, plus it can record HD video. If i look at the specs, in alsmost all aspects its better than the D700

A friend of mine has de the D750 and I played a bit with it. What bothers me most is the meter mode selector at the back is gone. Same with the AF area mode selector. Have those been put into a menu? The AE lock button is gone, ok you can use the function button, but you lose a button anyway (the function button on my D700 is programmed as auto ISO so I can quickly turn it on/off without fiddling in the menu). The focus mode switch on de 750 only has AF and M. No more C and S.

As far as I can see, some things that could be quickly adjusted on the D700 now are either under a button or in the menu.

My first impression is: I dont like the ergonomics. Probably a matter of getting accustomed but I wonder why does Nikon change this with every new model or successor? Why not improve the technical specs but leave the ergonomics as it is.

Or are there good reasons for those changes, that I don't yet see.

Anyone owned/compared the two?

Click to expand...

The AF selector requires pushing the button next to the lens (A/M) and then use one or both of the scroll wheels. Back wheel for AF-C/S/A. Front for S to d51 or Grp. There's a meter mode button on top which works with the back scroll wheel. The button at the back you can program any way you like (to a degree) but I use it to back-button focus. You can use it as AE lock if you like.

I can't say much about the ergonomics. It follows the same logic (consumer) as my previous D3300 when it comes to controls which is quite different from the D810 (and the D700 I assume). All in all it's quite easy and fast to control everything and it's a very nice cam to handhold. Compared to the others I used.

Personally I prefer the D810 setup and am of the opinion that would have suited the D750 better. But once you're used to it, it works fine. It's only annoying if you shoot both types.

Nikkon said:

Hi,
I own a D700 and I'm very happy with it, both in terms of IQ and ergonomics. It is becoming a bit outdated however and I have been looking at the D750 as a successor. I think in terms of IQ and high ISO/low light it outperforms the D700, plus it can record HD video. If i look at the specs, in alsmost all aspects its better than the D700

A friend of mine has de the D750 and I played a bit with it. What bothers me most is the meter mode selector at the back is gone. Same with the AF area mode selector. Have those been put into a menu? The AE lock button is gone, ok you can use the function button, but you lose a button anyway (the function button on my D700 is programmed as auto ISO so I can quickly turn it on/off without fiddling in the menu). The focus mode switch on de 750 only has AF and M. No more C and S.

As far as I can see, some things that could be quickly adjusted on the D700 now are either under a button or in the menu.

My first impression is: I dont like the ergonomics. Probably a matter of getting accustomed but I wonder why does Nikon change this with every new model or successor? Why not improve the technical specs but leave the ergonomics as it is.

Or are there good reasons for those changes, that I don't yet see.

Anyone owned/compared the two?

Click to expand...

I can see why you get kind a confuse due to lack of familiarity with the camera's operation and lay out. It is similar to what I experienced when I had my D700 and bought the D7000 as a second camera. It required me to read more a bit on the operator's manual. Once you get used to it, then it's easy after that.

Nikkon said:

Hi,
I own a D700 and I'm very happy with it, both in terms of IQ and ergonomics. It is becoming a bit outdated however and I have been looking at the D750 as a successor. I think in terms of IQ and high ISO/low light it outperforms the D700, plus it can record HD video. If i look at the specs, in alsmost all aspects its better than the D700

A friend of mine has de the D750 and I played a bit with it. What bothers me most is the meter mode selector at the back is gone. Same with the AF area mode selector. Have those been put into a menu? The AE lock button is gone, ok you can use the function button, but you lose a button anyway (the function button on my D700 is programmed as auto ISO so I can quickly turn it on/off without fiddling in the menu). The focus mode switch on de 750 only has AF and M. No more C and S.

As far as I can see, some things that could be quickly adjusted on the D700 now are either under a button or in the menu.

My first impression is: I dont like the ergonomics. Probably a matter of getting accustomed but I wonder why does Nikon change this with every new model or successor? Why not improve the technical specs but leave the ergonomics as it is.

Or are there good reasons for those changes, that I don't yet see.

Anyone owned/compared the two?

Click to expand...

It's just a matter of what you're used to: the D750 feels awkward because you're accustomed to the D700 and (so called) muscle-memory is a powerful thing. If you shot with nothing but a D750 every day for six months going back to the D700 would then feel strange. Working in the Visual Arts department at a college has allowed me the opportunity to shoot with so many cameras over the years I'm comfortable with just about anything any more. They're all just tools.

As to why the designs change, that's typically because when it comes to sophisticated electronics like DSLR's one minor change in the layout of even a single part often causes a domino-effect of other changes that must be done in order to incorporate the first change. Make one chip on a PCB board even a tiny bit bigger and it can nudge a capacitor over a few millimeters... Which then means you need to move that OTHER chip over a few millimeters to make everything fit... Which then means this particular switch can't be used. But a button can... Just not where the switch was because there's another capacitor in the way (capacitors are too blame for most every problem electronic, by the way). Oh, and the guys in the Marketing department says the body absolutely *can not* be any larger than "just so" (insert impossibly small specifications) and the Bean Counters in Accounting say you can't exceed projected costs because they already have bids in place for this module or that sub-assembly or both... Final result: totally different layout that pisses off both the engineers AND the marketing guys because everyone wants what they can't have.

....