Here we are comparing two Nikon cameras cameras with different body types: Nikon Z5 II, which was introduced in April 2025 is a Advanced Mirrorless camera with a 25.0MP Full frame sensor whereas Nikon D780, which was introduced in January 2020 is a Advanced DSLR camera with a 25.0MP Full frame sensor. As you can see, D780 is 5 years older than Z5 II. Let's see if this age difference between two cameras makes a big difference.
Despite some fundamental differences of these two body types, Mirrorless cameras are becoming serious alternatives to DSLR cameras thanks to their size/weight advantages and recent improvements in their focus speeds , which makes this comparison even more interesting. Fortunately, you can't go wrong with any of these cameras as we rank them amongst Top 10 cameras in their classes. Nikon Z5 II is ranked
#3 out of 71 Advanced Mirrorless cameras with an overall score of 85 whereas Nikon D780 is ranked
#5 out of 94 Advanced DSLR cameras with an overall score of 66.
Here is a brief look at the main features of the Nikon Z5 II and Nikon D780 before getting into our more detailed comparison.
Let's read on in the following sections in order to better understand in detail how the Nikon Z5 II and Nikon D780 compare and hopefully end up with enough arguments to decide which one is better for you.
**This post contains affiliate links, and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking through my links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
