Question about manual focusing fast lenses on the D700

[carlos_miami]

Hello All,

 

I've been thinking about getting a D700 but have not been able to find a local camera store with a demo unit so I

must ask my question here.

 

Unlike the D3, the D700 does not support interchangeable focusing screens, presumably because of the feature that

masks the viewfinder when using DX lenses. This concerns me because I would be using the D700 with lenses with

shallow DOF like the 58/1.2 Noct-Nikkor.

 

I know that the D700 has a focus confirm light that blinks according to the accuracy of focus, but does anyone

know if this work reliably with lenses faster than f2.8? Is it easy to manual focus without having to rely on the

focus-confirm light as a crutch?

 

I am used to manual focusing these tricky lenses on an EOS 5D with a EE-S precision focusing screen, which makes

things fairly straightforward.

[ronald_moravec1]

I hate the focus confirm light. It ain`t easy to hold a focus spot on a subject, turn the lens, and watch the green light. Usually I just focus on the "ground glasss" and let it go at that.

 

If the 700 is anything like my 200 and 40, you should be ok.

[wpahnelas]

the viewfinder on the D700 is very good, and i've been using a 105mm f/2.5 a lot. i agree with ronald, it's much easier to manual focus than watching the green light (although green light is accurate). unlike the other nikon DSLRs i've used, the green dot is augmented by green triangles to indicate whether the subject is in front or behind the focus area -- and all the blinking can give me a headache...

[eric_hood]

I have a 50mm 1.2 Ai lens and I have no trouble focusing it with the D700 when it is set at 1.2 or 1.4. The green arrows and dot are good too.