D700: summary and photos

This is what I was waiting for. Sooner than I expected though!! Very happy that I invested in non-DX lenses after going through the dilemma of pretty poor wide angle quality available to DX sensors.

 

Now I just have to hope the wife see's the benfits of a D700!!

If I remember correctly, the F series up to the F5 uses a mechanical mirror lock up.

 

The current DSLRs use an electronic mirror lock up that has a timer.

If you lock up the mirror and leave it alone, it'll rebound after a few minutes.

If you happen to have an old super wide lens that sticks into the mirror box,

the lens will be in the mirror's way when it rebounds, automatically.

Please help me with one question. I currently shoot with a 300 and solely with dx lenses. So, because the 700 automatically changes to dx settings with dx lenses, does this totally negate all advantages to buying the 700 unless you were to also buy a whole new set of fx lenses? What exactly (besides a narrower crop) do you lose when using dx lenses?

Since it's a hybrid between the D3 and D300, I don't see a huge reason from either the FX and DX camp to "upgrade", do you?

 

I would imagine most DX users by now have some lens(es) that handle the wide-angle that they initially missed when they first converted to digital from film. It makes sense to me that the lenses follow the camera, not the other way around.

 

Your thoughts?

 

Mary

Anyone saying that the DX format is obsolete need to go try and do some bird and wildlife photography or anything that requires long reach. The DX platform is still perfect for it: the D300, with its more accurate AF and more computationally superior eXpeed chip.

To Jeannie... Basically, that is right! If you have an FX camera with ONLY DX lenses every time you attach a DX lens to

it, the camera will change to a DX mode. In the case of the D700 Ellis said that you can override this but then your DX

lenses will vignette or you can not use the widest end of it. So basically, yeah, you need to buy FX lenses if you wanna

buy an FX camera otherwise save your money and enjoy your D300. Rene'

Good to see some FF competitiom from Nikon. In UK (warehouse express) the Canon 5D body is at 1360 GBP with the Nikon D700 advance orders at 2000 GBP. As a Canon 5D user - defintely worth a look!

AS for me, I go with the sevens :-)

I did not change since D70s because the improvement in quality of a D200/300 did not justify a change to me (I am not willing to pay for improved noise suppression algorithms). But then came D3 with the FX sensor, meaning large pixels, meaning good ISO performance. However, I not a pro nor a sport photographer, so the D3 seemed a overkill to me...and now the D700, *this is exactly what I was looking for*!!

"Ellis, may I read your last post to mean that my DX lenses are not obsolete?"

 

Bernhardt,

 

I am not Ellis, but you are right. Using DX lenses on a D3 or D300 mean using just a fraction of the large sensor. With a DX lens on one of these cameras you only get a 5 MP-sensor.

"Is the D700 just as good as the D3 in high ISO?"

 

Ray,

 

Because the D3 and the D700 share the same sensor and engine I am sure the results in high ISO are identical. Hope I can verify this assumption at the end of this week with my own test sample of the D700.

Same here. I am using a D70 with the 35mm f/2. That lens was never wide and fast enough. Solutions existed that would have provided a one or two stop advantage, but soon I can use 50mm 1.4 and gain five stops - or four stops plus a moderate wide angle. I also hope the D700 to reduce burnt out highlights outdoors... It's also small enough (could be even smaller, though). Just waiting for the price to drop by $500. Early spring, hopefully.

"What exactly (besides a narrower crop) do you lose when using dx lenses?"

 

Jennie.

 

You lose a lot of resolution by using a DX lens on a D700.

Do the D700 have the same NEF file as the D3.

I have an order for a Multimedia Viewer (external HD) which can read D300/D3 NEF files.

Which Nikon Right Angle Viewer is to be used on the D700 - I have a DR-6 in order

I can't open D700's NEF files on NX2!

5D killer. Nuff said.

 

I'd say the ball is really in Canon's court now.

Erik:

 

Each and every D-SLR model has a slightly different "flavor" (i.e., coding) of the manufacturer's raw format. If, as seems to be the case the D700 is indeed using the D3 image pipeline than it may well be that the D700 will be the exception to the rule. But Rene's post seems to indicate that this is not the case. Of course it could be that what is going on is that a current version of NX2 sees D700 in the meta-data and simply stops the process right there. I'll ask my contacts at Nikon about this and either get back to this thread or start a new one.

I'm having enough problemsputting together money for a D80 kit.

Ellis.... Sorry! That was just checking if you guys were still paying attention here! Of curse I have NO access to a D700! By the way, I

thought YOU DID!

Oh! And finally my NX2 got access and was upgraded after a week of trying. It just happened after the D700 was announced. I looked but

I really have no idea how to find out, some how I have the feeling that the upgrade got to do with

the new camera.

The D700 looks like an answer to some people's prayers. A very nice camera, although it obviously doesn't seem to

suit the external aesthetic requirements for some. But I can't, for the life of me, see why you would trade into a D700

from a D300. Yes, the FX sensor is cool but does it really increase your capabilities that much? The introduction will

certainly fill one bill for me...it will provide a whole bunch of D3's and D300's on the market for way less than retail, as

did the introduction of the D300 greatly reduce the value of the D200, a very fine camera and not necessarily very old

technology.

 

Decide what you want, wait six months to one year and buy it then. With the money you save you can buy some

really great Nikon glass, which never loses its value if you buy intelligently.

 

If you're a pro and someone else is footing the bill, go for it.

"I would imagine most DX users by now have some lens(es) that handle the wide-angle that they initially missed when

they first converted to digital from film. It makes sense to me that the lenses follow the camera, not the other way

around.

 

Your thoughts?

 

Mary"

 

Mary, Even the best DX wide angle lens (prob Nikon's 12-24 even though my Tokina 12-24 did a great job) cannot

compare to the 14-24mm on FX. Besides being wider than the 18mm perspective of 12mm on DX - and even wider than

Sigma's 10-20mm with a 15mm view on DX, the image quality of the 14-24 at a true f/2.8 will far surpass the previous

offerings on DX. Things like corner sharpness, light falloff, easily fixable distortions and color rendition have exceeded

the experts' hopes of what the 14-24mm will deliver on FX as evidenced with the D3. I'm loving the 14-24mm on my D300 and can't wait to

put it on the D700.

 

Since my living is mostly achieved with wide angle shots, this camera and lens will be huge for me. I'm not saying that

everyone needs a D700 but i certainly do. Since i don't have the need for speed, I was able to wait out the D3 and I'm glad i did.

Hope that info helps...

Rene,

 

I thought that perhaps Nikon had posted some D700 NEFS and you were trying them. Bjorn and I and most reviewers are in the same boat; waiting for Nikon to send us machines to review.

Since it's a hybrid between the D3 and D300, I don't see a huge reason from either the FX and DX camp to "upgrade",

do you?

 

<<<<<I would imagine most DX users by now have some lens(es) that handle the wide-angle that they initially missed

when they first converted to digital from film. It makes sense to me that the lenses follow the camera, not the other way

around.

 

Your thoughts?

 

Mary<<<<<<

 

 

 

10mm is plenty wide in any format.

As a long time user of Nikon and previous owner of their top models, ie D1, D1x, D2, etc.. I decided not to upgrade to the D3. Instead, I selected the D300 and to upgrade my lenses to all the best quality 14-24/2.8, 24-70/2.8 70-200/2.8 since these lenses tend to hold their value better than the latest and the greatest camera.. <p>

 

Instead of buying the top of the line prof camera which I dont usually use all the features, I will concentrate on their top amateur camera and wait for significant upgrades... While the FX upgrade in the D700 is important and made me consider it, I decided to wait till a 24 megpix and FX camera becomes available...The way this is going, it will be less than a year before this technology becomes available and the D300 is a superb camera..<p>

 

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