Cameras

In-body image stabilisation (IBIS) has changed photography. Being able to hold a camera steady for half a second or longer changes how a photographer can shoot.

Let me explain. Imagine a static subject – let’s say a building down a side street. It’s lit by neon lights and the light from the interior. Overall it is pretty dark.

Without IBIS I can hold the camera steady with a shutter speed of 1/30th of a second. Because the light is low, I have to shoot at 3200 ISO.

With IBIS I could hold the camera steady and shoot at 1/2 second. That’s four stops slower, which means I can pull my ISO down by four stops – from 3200 to 200 ISO. That’s going to give me a better signal to noise ratio and a nicer looking shot.

IBIS is not the only factor. A full frame camera holds the image better at higher ISO than does a smaller sensor camera. I can say this from my own experience with the Canon R6. And the Canon has IBIS and some of the lenses have IBIS, for even more of that steadiness goodness.

Still, sticking with Fuji Cameras with IBIS (and their weights with battery and card) because the Canon is heavier than any of these at 680g for the body alone (with card and battery).

X100 VI – 521g
X-T5 – 557g
X-T4 – 607g
X-S20 – 491g
X-S10 – 465g

X-H1 – 673g
X-H2 – 660g
X-H2s – 660g

If it’s a lightweight camera you are after then the X-S10 looks attractive at only 465g. But like all but one of the cameras listed here, that’s without a lens.

Remember that the X100 VI also includes a 23mm f2 (35mm-equivalent) fixed lens.

The 23mm f2 lens weighs 180g, which bring the X-S10 combo up to 645g. Or if we want to consider the X-s20, it weighs 491g. So with the same lens that combo would weigh 671g. And that’s only a few grams less that the Canon R6, at 680g for the body alone (with card and battery).

So with the downside that it has a fixed single focal length lens, the lightest option is the X100 VI at 521g.

The Nikon D750 is a full frame dSLR with a. 24MP sensor.

‘SLR’ is an abbreviation for single lens reflex. Light enters the camera through the lens. It is reflected by mirrors and a prism up and into the viewfinder. When the photographer presses the shutter, the mirror has to get out of the way. In its rest position the mirror is in the path of the light that needs to reach the sensor. So the mirror housing springs up and then down again. That’s the ‘reflex’ in single lens reflex.

Mirror-less cameras don’t have a prism and mirror arrangement. In the viewfinder the photographer sees a digital representation of the scene,

But I hankered to use a dSLR because it has an optical viewfinder. And I wanted to compare a full frame sensor to the crop sensor of the D5600.

Why the D750 in particular?

I like highly detailed images. The ‘image quality’ page on DP Review consistently shows the D750 is capable of highly detailed images. And the images don’t fall apart at high ISO.

The same is true of the Canon EOS R6 mirror-less camera that I am very pleased with also.

SLRs are a dying breed. Nikon is not making any of them any more. It’s a pity because now that I have tested the D750 I can say from my own experience that it is a very good camera. The image quality if great.

I shot this from across the street, outside the camera shop when I was trying out the camera. Shot at f/4.5 and 1/320th second and ISO 800.

Nikon D1 – 1999
Nikon D1H – 2001
Nikon D1X – 2001
Nikon D100 – 2002
Nikon D2H – 2003
Nikon D70 – 2004
Nikon D2X – 2004
Nikon D2Hs – 2005
Nikon D50 – 2005
Nikon D200 – 2005
Nikon D70s – 2005
Nikon D80 – 2006
Nikon D40 – 2006
Nikon D2Xs – 2006
Nikon D40x – 2007
Nikon D300 – 2007
Nikon D3 – 2007
Nikon D60 – 2008
Nikon D700 – 2008
Nikon D90 – 2008
Nikon D3X – 2008
Nikon D5000 – 2009
Nikon D300s – 2009
Nikon D3s – 2009
Nikon D3100 – 2010
Nikon D7000 – 2010
Nikon D5100 – 2011
Nikon D4 – 2012
Nikon D800 – 2012
Nikon D800E – 2012
Nikon D600 – 2012
Nikon D5200 – 2012
Nikon D7100 – 2013
Nikon Df – 2013
Nikon D610 – 2013
Nikon D5300 – 2013
Nikon D3300 – 2014
Nikon D810 – 2014
Nikon D750 – 2014
Nikon D5500 – 2015
Nikon D7200 – 2015
Nikon D5 – 2016
Nikon D500 – 2016
Nikon D3400 – 2016
Nikon D5600 – 2016
Nikon D850 – 2017
Nikon D7500 – 2017
Nikon D3500 – 2018