Summary A fine Camera for low light situations where a tripod is not available.
Strengths Build quality is excellent, it is compatible with the whole of my Nikon system. It also uses the same sensor as D3 in a better sized body, and is good enough for regular Professional use.
Weaknesses Quite heavy in use, but much lighter than a D3. The dedicated function button is a little close to the depth of field button.
Summary I have just moved up from my faithful D80 which is still in the bag
The d700 while im still getting used to it, is proving to be a wonderful image capturing device. i love the full frame with no crop,on my lenses.
the iso settings are brilliant and up to 3200 i cant complain.
the controls and buttons are pretty easy to get around and alot of the menu is similar to the D80.
i bought a zicos battery grip for $91 us which bumps up the shutter speed to 7 frames a second, and i also bough a micnova remote shutter release. 2 pieces a sensor untit that plugs into the front and a hand held trigger which works up to 100 meters away cost $95 au
love it will have it for a few years
just did a studio shoot and the results were fantastic, in my opinion
Strengths high end iso results, fast shutter speeds with battery grip, sturdy strong build, great auto focus ease of menu use 51point auto focus. fx sensor and sensor cleaner
Weaknesses fussy man dial at the rear which keeps trying to show me shooting data when im flicking though my shots.
The first thing I noticed about the D700 was its bulk. Even though its dimensions aren't that much bigger than my previous 2 D-SLRs (D70 and D80), the D700 feels a lot heftier and solidly built. The button layout is more complex than the lower grade cameras so this isn't a camera that I'd recommend to a beginner unless they're ready to spend some serious time going through the 1-inch thick user manual. Fortunately, coming from the D80, the menu systems and button symbols are easily recognizable. And the fact that all the major functions have their own buttons is a definitely plus compared to the sharing of buttons of my previous cameras.
This may not be a popular opinion, but I love the inclusion of the built-in flash. I own a hotshoe flash that I use for serious shoots, but in a pinch, it's always nice to have a built-in flash for fill flash or wireless commander for all those times that you want to travel light.
ISO performance
Simply stunning. The details and noise at ISO 12800 looks similar to ISO 1600 on my D80 (I've uploaded some comparison shots to my album: www.fotop.net/teruphoto/D700). It's an absolute pleasure to have a camera that gives me the freedom to work with existing light without having to compromise image quality.
FX Format
Having shot on DX format for some time now, I'd forgotten what DOF (depth of field) looks like in Full Frame. The background of my f/1.8 photos are beautifully creamy. I find myself playing with DOF more and more ever since getting this camera.
In terms of the 12MP "limitation" that some people complain about, I consider it a con only if you need the extra pixels. I've seen poster sized prints made from the D700 that were more than detailed enough for my tastes. But if you constantly need to make huge prints with fine detail, than 12MP might be a limitation (and you probably should be looking into medium format cameras). IMHO, I'd rather take the 12MP with amazing ISO performance.
Focus
I'll have to experiment a little more (I've yet to try sports/bird photography), but from what I've experienced so far, the focus is fast and accurate. To be fair, I'm comparing this to the performance of my D80, so it's not exactly an even playing field. I used to prefer using single point focus, but the accuracy of the D700's focusing makes me want to use the Dynamic area mode more often.
Strengths Fantastic ISO performance
FX format
Accurate focus tracking and speed
Solidly built
Weaknesses Not really weaknesses, but just a small wish list of features that would suit my needs a little more:
1) A smaller/lighter body. I realize that the D700's bulk is the price to pay for the larger sensor and more resilient body, but I like to travel light and the D700 is noticeably more massive than my previous cameras.
2) Inexpensive wireless remote. I love the tiny ML-L3 wireless remote that I used on my D70 and D80. The wireless solutions that I've seen for the D700 are expensive and bulky and often require the use of the hotshoe.
3) SD cards. I realize that CF cards have better performance, but SD cards are fast catching up, and I've always preferred the smaller, pinless format of SD. I guess I've experienced too many bent pins.
Summary The D700 is my forth Nikon digital camera in the last 4 years and is by far the best of the lot. I started with the D70 add a D2h for sports and replaced the D70 with a D200 in 2006. When the D700 full frame Nikon was announced I knew I would have to give it a try. I had no idea I would do it so soon. I had planned to purchase it in mid 2009 but moved up the date when the price came down faster with the rebate than I had anticipated. i think it was the best decision in camera purchases that I have ever made.
The D700 has everything I could ask for in a digital camera. Fast reliable focus, accurate exposure metering and easy to manipulate controls. Menus are simple to understand and easy to navigate. The addition of the grip gave me the advantage of vertical shutter release and 8fps which is more than adequate under most shooting situations. The incredible low noise at higher ISO settings enables me to shoot available in venues that I have never been able to in the past. I had gotten use to the crop factor of the DX sensors but must say that I quickly readjusted to the full frame formate. It's great having the wides act like wide angles again. Now if I could just afford a 300 f2.8 all would be right with the world.
Strengths Full Frame sensor
Large LCD
Excellent low noise at high ISOs
8fps with grip
Easy on off of grip with separate batteries
Weaknesses Rather heavy with grip and batteries
No soft wear included (Shame on you Nikon)
Still pretty pricey for an amateur
Similar Products Used D70, D2h, D200
Customer Service No need for customer service with this camera yet but have with the D70 and the D2h. Nikon service was fast and dependable both times. Quick turn around and problems completely resolved at no cost both times.
Summary Having used a beautiful Canon T90 for many years, with great results, I switched to a Nikon D200 three years ago. I found it to be a very good camera. I got bitten by the digital bug and earlier this year I went for a Nikon D700 and I absolutly love it's 5 star quality.
It is a good, heavy camera that feels great and comfortable in my hands. It is not cheap, but, then for quality you must pay a little extra.
I have used it for landscapes, engineering and portrait work. I use a Nikkor AF-S 24-70mm 1:2.8G ED Lens and a Nikkor AF-S 70-200mm 1:2.8G ED VR Lens. The quality of print - 30cm X 40cm for my landscape work is outstanding.
Strengths I use the Nikon D700 for low light engineering type situations and I find the quality of image is very good using a higher ISO number to compenstate for low or close to no available light.
I have used it in situations where flash photography is not allowed. The large sensor is very versatile and captures the image detail perfectly.
My portraits have drawn very favourable comment and copies are keenly requested by the model or their friends.
A very good example of the Nikon D700's quality is in the sports photography area, I'm not an expert in this field, but, I have used it at a car rally event and got some very dramatic freeze-frame shots using panning effectively.
All-in-all an excellent performer for my needs. I love it.
Weaknesses None to date.
Similar Products Used Nikon D80 on-loan.
Nikon D200 for three years.
Customer Service At purchase the dealer's representative was fantastic. Very helpful and was fully immersed in wanting me to really appreciate the D700 strenghts. He explained all controls and operational details fully.
No service requirements to date.
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