D700 vs. D7000

<p>Hi All,<br>

I'm in the process on buying a new camers. Please give the pros and cons for the D700 and D7000. I will be using it for sports mainly.<br>

Thanks<br>

Vicki </p>

<p>what lenses do you already own?</p>

<p>^ Important question.</p>

<p>In a prior post, you stated that you have a D50 and you are a beginner. I think you maybe better suited for the D7000- you can use DX lenses, have a longer reach for sports and unless you are "machine gunning" and need the D700 speeds (fps, buffer as well as write speed), you should be fine. If you do not have a long zoom, I would consider looking into the Nikkor 70-300VR, giving you a 105-450mm "full frame equivalent" lens. You also have 16 MP, which may give you a bit more room for cropping a picture.</p>

<p>The D700 will give you an relatively outdated camera with pro built qualities, but anything longer than a 300mm will cost you, in addition to spending twice as much on the body, and you might have to buy new lenses, memory cards etc etc.The D700 takes great pictures, of course - I love mine - but unless you need full frame for another reason or need its sturdiness, I'd go with the D7000.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>In general, full frame for landscapes/architecture and crop bodies for sports/telephoto. So "sports mainly" equals D7000.</p>

<p>+1 on the D7000 - the only limit that I have with it is that the buffer does fill fast when shooting raw, but seems to be better when shooting Jpeg fine or normal. </p>

<p>Dave</p>

<p>Thanks guys for the input<br>

@ Benjamin... Thank you for breaking it down for me. I went into a camera shop to check out the D7000 and the sales person kept bringing up the D700. I got a littl e confused. That's why I like this forum. you guys take the time to explain. I will mainly be using it for sports. I am trying to take something I love to do and expand.<br>

Thanks again,<br>

Vicki</p>

<p>Vicki - For the most part I'd agree with everyone who's said D7000, but I'll just check: <i>which</i> sports? If you're reasonably close and in poor lighting, the D700 may still be the better choice. If you want the far side of a well-lit sports field, the D7000 is probably better; if you're sitting behind the basketball hoop in a dimly-lit college hall, the the D700's low-light handling might be better, if you have the lenses to use it. There's no doubt the D700 is an elderly design now, though - I love mine, but I'd be nervous about buying one at full price when so many people are predicting a replacement soon (not that anyone who actually <i>knows</i> is saying anything, of course). Sorry to add confusion.</p>

<p>Vicki.<br>

I agree with everything Benjamin said. Another thing to keep in mind is the age of the technology and the fact that some stores may be pushing some units that will be upgraded soon. My every day camera is now the 7000 and I love it.<br>

-Owen</p>

<p>Vicki.<br>

I agree with everything Benjamin said. Another thing to keep in mind is the age of the technology and the fact that some stores may be pushing some units that will be upgraded soon. My every day camera is now the 7000 and I love it.<br>

-Owen</p>

<p>Vicki.<br>

I agree with everything Benjamin said. Another thing to keep in mind is the age of the technology and the fact that some stores may be pushing some units that will be upgraded soon. My every day camera is now the 7000 and I love it.<br>

-Owen</p>

<p>The D700 is a somewhat out of date FX-format DSLR. IMO Nikon should have replaced it a year ago. I am afraid that the sales person is pushing what benefits him rather than you. I would suggest shopping at a different store.</p>

<p>Except for the fact that the D7000's memory buffer is shallow and does not quite have sufficient memory write speed onto the SD memory cards, the D7000 should be a fine sports camera. The memory buffer issue is a weakness when you compare the D7000 against the likes of D3S and D300S; it is still a huge improvement over the D50 you have. For amateur sports photography such as the "soccer mom" types, the D7000 is more than sufficient.</p>

<p>If you have the budget for the D700, I would consider upgrading your lenses after you get the D7000. However, anything above the 70-300mm is going to be costly.</p>

<p>If it where me and I was buying a camera to shoot sports with I would look at three different cameras. They would be D3s D300s tied with D700.<br>

To me doing what I do the robust build and dual card slots of the D3s and D300s are a big plus. Down side to the D3s is cost and full frame. Upside is better high ISO great AF and super fast processor.<br>

D300s same great AF system as D3s dual card slots rugged build and can be used with or without the optional battery pack. Downside is the hi ISO is not as good as the D3s<br>

D700 Plus side is less expensive full frame very good high ISO available battery pack.<br>

Down side? Full frame.<br>

Yes I consider the FX format to be a down side. For what I shoot I need reach not wide angle. I can get very usable results from my D300 and D300s all the way to the top of their ISO range. Sure I have to use noise reduction in post but it still looks light years better then film did at anything close to those ISO speeds.<br>

If you need a camera now buy a camera now. Don't wait till the next best thing is supposed to be coming out. And you can pretty much bet that it will cost more then what it is replacing</p>

<p>For sports you really should at least consider a used D300. The autofocus and buffer are very good. The downside is image quality above ISO 1600 is not as good as D7000. If you are shooting indoor sports such as high school basketball/volleyball, the D7000 would have an edge. If you are shooting outdoors in daylight, the D300 would have an edge. You could buy a used D300 now and then resell when a D400 shows up, and then you would have both the higher ISO capability and the fast frames per second speed. Either camera will be a HUGE step forward from the D50. I agree that the salesman is trying to sell you something expensive you don't need, and actually won't work as well as what we're suggesting here.<br>

Kent in SD</p>

<p>The D700/D300 autofocus is better suited to action photography... the extra stop or so of signal-to-noise ration is also helpful when you need short shutter speeds. The D700 finder is larger and brighter. The D700 is bigger and heavier. I seriously doubt the D700's (or the D300's for that matter) capabilities would hold back the progress of any photographer on this forum. </p>

<p>There is still a considerable gap in price between the D7000 and D700, while the gap in capabilities is not that huge for the intended use (as Shun points out). If you have D70-money to spend, I would sure get a D7000 and a good lens (or 2).</p>

<p>What type of sports? What lenses will you be using? What will the typical lighting conditions be? What size prints will you be making? These are all considerations</p>

<p>Adding to William's list, the D700 can shoot at 8fps which is offers a faster frame rate over the d7000's 6fps.. While the D700's buffer is only a bit larger than that of the D7000, its ability to clear the buffer faster than the D7000 due to faster write times gives the D700 another advantage (although if you use the new ultra fast cards that are compatible with the D7000, the buffer clears reasonably quickly (such as SansDisk Extreme Pro). Keep in mind that this is really only a concern if you shoot RAW.</p>

<p>If money is not an issue, I would go with the D700. If doing so will break the bank and not enable you to get the lenses you need, the D7000 would be a better choice. You won't be disappointed with either camera. </p>

<p> </p>

<p>Vicki the OP asked a related question two weeks ago. Perhaps these quotes from that thread will help keep things in perspective:</p>

<blockquote>

<p>Hi All,<br />I have a D50 and I want to upgrade. Which camera will be the best to upgrade too. I use my camera to take pictures of my son's youth football game. I'm am a beginner.<br />Thanks for all inputs<br />Vicki</p>

</blockquote>

<p>and</p>

<blockquote>

<p>I have 18-55mm that came with the camera, 70-300mm AF Nikkor, & 50mm Nikkor. My price range is around $1000. I need more fps and more memory.</p>

</blockquote>

<p><a href="00ZEVv">http://www.photo.net/nikon-camera-forum/00ZEVv</a></p>

<p>Unfortunately, a bad camera store/bad camera sales person is frequently unhelpful.</p>

<p>I suggest to buy a used D300 or 300s which ll be damn cheap 700/800$. will perform better than D7000. After sometime it can be upgraded to any camera.</p>

<p>I have a D700 and my son has a D7000. The D700 is a great camera, but it's HEAVY. I have not used either for sports, but I would recommend the 7000 for casual use, just because its lighter weight and smaller size will mean you will be more likely to grab it on the way out the door. If the D7000 is too rich for your blood, look for a good <em>lightly</em> used D300.</p>

<p>One thing I suggested to him, buy good quality, full frame lenses. That way, you don't have to re-buy them if you decide to upgrade to full frame. He's been finding some good deals in pawn shops lately :-)</p>

<p>a d7000 would be a huge upgrade from d50 in every category. d700 is better sports camera but would require spending a lot of money on new glass. so go for the d7000 and dont look back.</p>

<p>You can:</p>

<p>shoot *only* in DX mode with a D7000.</p>

<p>use CF or SD media in a D7000.</p>

<p>will have a *lighter* camera with a D7000.</p>

<p>With a D700 body, you can:</p>

<p>shoot in DX mode or FX mode (making use of any and all DX Nikkor lenses, if you wish.)</p>

<p>use only CF media.</p>

<p>enjoy nearly grain free images at ISO 6400, making the use of a flash at sporting events 'nil if you have the glass to shoot available light with, i.e., a f2 or f2.8 lens.</p>

<p>It is your money and your investment....</p>

<p> </p>

<p>Jerry:</p><p>You can only use SD media with the d7000. At least that is the case with mine.<br>

<br></p><p>-Owen</p>

<p>The D7000 has major focusing issues. Its low light ability is way below the D700's.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>For historical reasons, the D7000 is not the camera I use for sports, but if I had to choose on TODAY, that is the one I'd get. Its performance is superb and most importantly autofocus is very fast. It locks and tracks moving subject quickly which is key for sports photography. I reviewed it here a few months ago: <a href="http://www.neocamera.com/camera/nikon/d7000/review">http://www.neocamera.com/camera/nikon/d7000/review</a><br>

As for the D700, it is a great camera too. What bugs me the most about it is the lack of the 100% coverage viewfinder, it simply drives me crazy! On the other hand, if you were to specialize in INDOOR sports, the D700 has the performance advantage when combining action and low-light due to its larger pixels.<br>

You will notice that specification-wise the newer D7000 leads the D700 in most respects, it even shoots a bit faster continuously: <a href="http://www.neocamera.com/camera_compare.php?model[]=11&model[]=243&compare=">http://www.neocamera.com/camera_compare.php?model[]=11&model[]=243&compare=</a><br>

Good luck with your next purchase!</p>

<p>My opinion, being an owner of a D700 and seeing comparisons on-line:</p>

<p>1. D700 is still better at high ISO settings (I'll post on that in the next few days).</p>

<p>2. D7000 is better value (IMHO).</p>

<p>I think that 2. is more relevant for you. :-)</p>