d700

If you're willing to use MF glass, then, yeah, there are excellent Zeiss (for both systems) or older lenses for the Nikon.

But I never found the D700 screen suitable for manual-focusing, personally.
 
I've had a little experience with the 5D II. The only major knocks I recall vs. the D700:
have to format via menu (the D700 lets you push two buttons, it's great - I don't know why this isn't a feature on every camera)
focus point choice is more involved, but that's probably just because I was used to the D700
the on-off switch is in a terrible place
Auto ISO isn't as customizable


In general, I don't think any other ergonomic issues would bother most people once they get used to one or the other.
 
I agree using manual lenses with the D700 is a real pain, just can't focus properly and the electronic rangefinder (green dot) is unreliable. Is there a way round this?
 
red snapper said:
Are used EF lenses cheaper than the Ai equivalents?
Click to expand...

That depends on the lens really - for mass-produced primes like a 50/f1.8, the Ai equivalents are certainly cheaper. But as soon as you get into high-end lenses (fast portrait lenses, fast or strong wideangles, telephotos) it seems to me that there is not much of a difference.

I can't base this on any solid research, I was just looking at the systems when deciding between a 5D and D700. I have a few low-end Nikon lenses already (my main film SLR is an F2AS) but in the end there was not much of a cost difference for the lenses I was interested in, and some of the lenses I liked were simply unavailable for the Nikon.

That, and the added price and (importantly) weight of the D700, made me decide against the Nikon and I don't really regret it. The D700 would have had its advantages. The 5D is much more "basic", but I like that. I use it much like I would use a view camera - slow work, tripod work with a TS/E lens and an external screen or a Nook with DSLR Controller), that sort of thing.
 
The green dot works just fine for me with AI and AIS lenses. I've used the following:

50/1.4 pre AI converted to AI

20/2.8 AIS

24/2.8 AIS

28/2.8 AI

35/2 AIS

105/2.5 AI
 
red snapper said:
I agree using manual lenses with the D700 is a real pain, just can't focus properly and the electronic rangefinder (green dot) is unreliable. Is there a way round this?
Click to expand...

You may have a problem with the focusing screen shim/s. See this thread:

http://rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=98098

The difference is like night and day - you can really see images "snap" into focus when the screen is shimmed correctly.

One other thing - my D700 has a very faint but (depending on subject matter) annoying "blurry line" that runs vertically all the way from top to bottom just to the left of the center focus point. I've been told this has something to do with the way the pentaprism is manufactured and some D700s are afflicted by this to varying degrees. I find it's most visible against high-contrast foliage. If it ran right through the middle of the screen it would make MF virtually impossible for some subjects. It's there with the KatzEye too so it's not an artifact of the screen. My D300 also has it but to a much less noticeable degree; it was visible immediately on the D700 after I shimmed the screen (because it showed correct focus!) but I really have to strain to see it on the D300 despite the higher magnification VF. I have not seen this blurry line on my 7D at all, nor is it visible on any of my old film SLRs, even Nikon.

HTH,
Scott
 
red snapper said:
I agree using manual lenses with the D700 is a real pain, just can't focus properly and the electronic rangefinder (green dot) is unreliable. Is there a way round this?
Click to expand...

yes. change the screen to something intended for MF.

www.focusingscreen.com

they offer Canon Ec-S and Ec-B screens modified to fit the D700, and it is VERY easy to change them. Also, your camera shop or Nikon service should do it for a small fee. Add the magnifying eye piece and it is the best MF setup out there.
 
kanzlr said:
yes. change the screen to something intended for MF.

www.focusingscreen.com

they offer Canon Ec-S and Ec-B screens modified to fit the D700, and it is VERY easy to change them. Also, your camera shop or Nikon service should do it for a small fee. Add the magnifying eye piece and it is the best MF setup out there.
Click to expand...

Funny, I've never had a problem with the green rangefinder dot. And I use a 50/1.2 wide open all the time.

I tried a KatzEye on my D300 back in the day. There was something too weird about using the matte screen with AF though, so I ended up just selling the screen.
 
yes, a split prism will always interfere with the central metering spot. But I prefer a full matte anyway.

Working with that is MUCH faster than with the green dot, as you can concentrate on the image.
 
celluloidprop said:
I've had a little experience with the 5D II. The only major knocks I recall vs. the D700:
have to format via menu (the D700 lets you push two buttons, it's great - I don't know why this isn't a feature on every camera)
Click to expand...

I don't want to start an argument here but I really don't agree that having a feature that lets you delete all of your images with the push of two buttons is a good thing.

That being said, you can put the format option in the quick access menu on the 5DII so it's quickly accessible.
 
Aaargh, the D700 is such a great camera that I would pick up a used one on which to mount my old Nikkors, except it seems to hold its value very well!

For example...used D700's sell for close to $1,700 to $2,000 in decent condition, even with between 50,000 to 100,000 clicks on them. The problem is that nice D3's are selling for "only" a few hundred dollars more. One day last week, my local craigslist had a D3 with fewer than 5,000 actuations for $2,300, and another one - with fewer than 500 shots! - for $2,600. The ad for the latter one said "I don't need this camera any more because I'll be getting a D4." Must have been a doctor. Fortunately for me, craigslist went offline the very next day to protest the SOPA and PIPA bills :).
 
Wow. Just got my first prints back from lab from my D700. This is my first ever experience printing digitally. I'm impressed. 8x10 prints straight from out of camera jpeg are very impressive indeed. This is a great camera!
 
Jamie123 said:
I don't want to start an argument here but I really don't agree that having a feature that lets you delete all of your images with the push of two buttons is a good thing.

That being said, you can put the format option in the quick access menu on the 5DII so it's quickly accessible.
Click to expand...

I've never had a problem with this at all. Buttons on opposite sides of camera. You can lock images as well if your worried about accidental deletion.
 
it's the camera that gave me peace of mind in digital, i would only replace it if they would come up with F6 build quality, viewfinder and size, and shuttersound, otherwise it's close to perfection
 
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