In defence of the DSLR.

[RObert Budding]

I Agree

I Agree

I regularly use my Nikon D700 to shoot my sons' indoor basketball games. It's an amazing camera! So good that I lugged it through Europe last month, even though I'd have liked to have carried something lighter. I just couldn't sacrifice image quality at high ISO.

Here's a shot of my son at ISO 3200.

 

[Keith]

Does it really need defending?

It's the best tool for quite a number of things, and (usually) the second-best tool for the remainder. The only question is whether to go on using it when it's second best. And, of course, the trade-offs you want to make (money, weight, bulk, complexity...)

Cheers,

R.

Part of my curiosity Roger is as to whether it will remain in it's current form or will the design morph into something different that can do the same job with the same degree of ruggedness and reliability? Sans prism and mirror box of course!

 

[kai.zorki]

But bare in mind, that your d700 is indeed a pro-camera. The consumer dslr's would have struggled just like you om-d.
You will have to spend a lot of mony on the body and the lenses to be capable of what you described.
So dslr's as a whole are not more capable as some mirrorless cameras, but the high end dslr's are.

 

[Archlich]

imho there is nothing wrong with a SLR; digital is the boring part.

That translates into, buy a F6! 😀

 

[Keith]

imho there is nothing wrong with a SLR; digital is the boring part.

That translates into, buy a F6! 😀

That's a D700 that takes film! 😀

 

[ray*j*gun]

Keith,

I bought my D90 because I wasn't able to get the job done with RF's of any kind and film wasn't working either. There is a reason pros use pro gear when all the BS is said and done. Now of course I'm thinking about a full frame body.....ah the beat goes on.

 

[Keith]

Keith,

I bought my D90 because I wasn't able to get the job done with RF's of any kind and film wasn't working either. There is a reason pros use pro gear when all the BS is said and done. Now of course I'm thinking about a full frame body.....ah the beat goes on.

Actually I noticed that Camera Pro here in Brisbane are now listing the D700 as discontinued. Have Nikon given it the chop in favour of the new D800 or is that just a local thing I wonder?

 

[daveleo]

I use a consumer grade (APS sensor) DSLR and it is versatile, small, and makes wonderful pictures for (at least) 8X10" prints.
Uses "legacy" Nikkors as well as the new lenses. Even has a built in intervalometer and motor drive ! What's not to love ?

Ruggedness? . . . well then you need pro-grade equipment, whatever kind of camera design that you go with.

 

[nighstar]

Actually I noticed that Camera Pro here in Brisbane are now listing the D700 as discontinued. Have Nikon given it the chop in favour of the new D800 or is that just a local thing I wonder?

i don't particularly follow Nikon news, but i'm pretty sure it's being discontinued everywhere. it was discontinued in Japan upon the arrival of the D800, so it's not surprising that it'd now be discontinued elsewhere as well. i think it's only Canon who is keeping the older full frame model in their lineup.

...as for the topic of the thread, i agree with what others have said about DSLRs not needing to be defended as different jobs are best suited to different cameras. besides, there are those of us who actually love the feel of a weighty, full-bodied camera in our hands out in the field... 😉 i'd much sooner complain about lugging my tripod around than having my 5D MK III with me. on the other hand, i obviously wouldn't and couldn't use that camera in every situation.

 

[kehng]

I've been lucky enough to go to a few events at the London olympics and I've only brought my DSLR to all events. A M7 or M9 would just be annoying there methinks!

 

[nobbylon]

I think the 700 is still being made? Hope so. It's my main camera and would only replace it with another or a D3/D3s.
As far as film bodies go, nothing beats the speed and durability of an F5. Not even an F6!
All my lenses focus faster on the F5 than anything else including the digital bodies.
My main gripe has always been the size of the viewfinder on Dslr's, even the new ones. Full frame bodies are better but still not quite there. I've added a DK17-M eyepiece magnifier to my Nikon bodies and the transformation is superb.
The D700/D3 finders are now as big as an F2 with the added bonus of being brighter.
I think there will always be a market for Dslr's especially the pro stuff simply because, as others have said, they do pretty much everything and in all weather situations.

 

[Murchu]

Actually I noticed that Camera Pro here in Brisbane are now listing the D700 as discontinued. Have Nikon given it the chop in favour of the new D800 or is that just a local thing I wonder?

Would have thought so, and that the D700 was discontinued as soon as the D800 landed, with stores & Nikon just selling existing D700 stocks until they ran out.

EDIT: If there was the option of a reduced raw size option (say 12 megapixels), would there be any benefit to a D700 over a D800? Curious more than anything else, as the D800 seemed to me to offer the same high iso performance, while improving in other areas like dynamic range as well as obviously resolution.

 

[jsrockit]

After many years of resistance, I purchased a DSLR recently. I just wanted one camera with fast AF and a good OVF viewfinder. EVFs are like peep holes in comparison. Mirror slap doesn't bother me. If the X-Pro1's AF was like a high end DSLR, I wouldn't use anything else. Unfortunately, it is not.

 

[Keith]

Would have thought so, and that the D700 was discontinued as soon as the D800 landed, with stores & Nikon just selling existing D700 stocks until they ran out.

It's had a good run and deservedly so ... if mine got destroyed or had some major catastrophy I think I'd be shopping for a D3s as a replacement.

 

[Keith]

After many years of resistance, I purchased a DSLR recently. I just wanted one camera with fast AF and a good OVF viewfinder. EVFs are like peep holes in comparison. Mirror slap doesn't bother me. If the X-Pro1's AF was like a high end DSLR, I wouldn't use anything else. Unfortunately, it is not.

When they can get a camera like the Xpro to focus the way my D700 does I'll want one! 😀

As for mirror slap .... that turned into mirror shuffle years ago IMO. No perceptable reaction through my D700 and I shoot it down to 1/8 hand held quite often.

 

[boomguy57]

As they say, Keith--"horses for courses". My D700 will be with me until one of us croaks...I don't particularly enjoy shooting with it, but it gets results every time.

 

[Murchu]

It's had a good run and deservedly so ... if mine got destroyed or had some major catastrophy I think I'd be shopping for a D3s as a replacement.

Fantastic camera alright, and redefined high iso performance. A low light shooters wet dream, and would have loved to own one. Am happy with my D300, even though a lesser sensor in most regards, but would be prepared to drop a serious chunk of change when digital sensors reach the holy grail of film negative dynamic range. Nearly everything else is there sensor/ image quality-wise, and the only thing that counts against the modern dslr in my book, is the shooting experience.

 

[kshapero]

Although I would be happy shooting my M3 all day, economics require me to have a digital camera for certain jobs. I use a D7000 because the AF is very fast and accurate, the body is sturdy enough for me and an optical VF is a must for me (tried the Sony A65). That being said I was at the beach the other day with my Nikon F, my 105/2.5 and some rolls of XP2 shooting away and a guy was knocking of snapshots of his kids. He asked me why it took 10 seconds or so after he pressed the shutter button for his camera to fire. I told him he set his rig to the self timer mode (duh!) on his NIKON D800!!!!

 

[Keith]

As they say, Keith--"horses for courses". My D700 will be with me until one of us croaks...I don't particularly enjoy shooting with it, but it gets results every time.

It's hard to define how I feel about my D700. In the gallery it feels somewhat cumbersome and intrusive but produces results that blow me away ... at the Moto-X track it was in it's element and really felt like the perfect tool!

 

[Murchu]

It's hard to define how I feel about my D700. In the gallery it feels somewhat cumbersome and intrusive but produces results that blow me away ... at the Moto-X track it was in it's element and really felt like the perfect tool!

Can understand that. For me a dslr feels intrusive in more intimate atmospheres, or rather the camera feels as if it becomes part of the moment, rather than just being an observer of the moment. Hard to explain more than that, I find, at least for me.