My flirtation with the D700

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jky

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I purchased a D700 a week ago to use with my few Nikkor prime lenses. What a camera - that viewfinder is spectacular and my what a low light beast...!
Beautiful files at all ISO with quite the dynamic range. Fit the hand nicely and quite compact (for a DSLR of this caliber) with a 35mm f2 prime.

Today I returned it.

I'll be the first to sing its praises, but the camera just was not for me; not for the way I use my cameras. I'll revisit FX again when it arrives in a smaller, lighter body...
 
I'm a Canon (SLR) shooter, but if there ever were a Nikon body to make me switch over, it'd be the D700. Nikon really knows how to make bodies that make sense. All the controls are laid out nicely and the ergonomics feel just right. However since I only shoot with primes, I'm sticking with Canon for the time being. If Nikon ever makes a 35mm f/1.4, I'd be very tempted to jump ship.
 
It was a really tough decision to return the camera, but in the end it wouldn't be the first camera I'd grab when leaving the house - unlike the M. I've never been one to let a camera sit there unused hence my selling off other gear to minimize. Mainly, the rig didn't fit the lifestyle. Perhaps if I had gigs here and there...

This past week, I realized how much I enjoy the hobby so much more when the gear is light and small. This isn't a DSLR vs RF thing as I have a D90 on the table as I type... but a D90 with a Nikkor 20mm/24mm is such a light package compared to the FX cameras available at the moment. Imagine a FF sensor in a body the size of an OM, FM3 or Pentax LX?.... this has been mentioned her numerous times.... but just imagine...
 
I'm curious

I'm curious

... for those who work in the trade: How are these returned items handled?
Presumably the packaging is no longer sealed-original and the items can't be presented to buyers as new.
 
I bought one a month ago ish and really like it a lot. Yes it's big and heavy compared to a lot of others but it's capabilities outway that for me. I haven't shot a single frame of film since I got it. The M2 along with my F100 and FM2 are now redundant. The low light ability just blows everything else away. In hi2 which is 25600 ISO and a little dfine post is still perfectly usable. I've carried it everyday since I got it.
 
I enjoy the experience of shooting RF cameras (film and DRF), but I also enjoy shooting sports, macro and the occasional wildlife. For those things, I grab the D200, and hopefully, within a couple of months, a D700.
 
Joe Brugger said:
... for those who work in the trade: How are these returned items handled?
Presumably the packaging is no longer sealed-original and the items can't be presented to buyers as new.
Click to expand...
An honest, decent shop will take it back and either charge a restocking fee for a refund or give the customer full value in-store credit. They will then sell the returned item as a demo at a discount.
Future Shop or Best Buy will take it back no questions and probably just put it back on the shelf, regardless of whether all the packaging and software is there. I've seen it happen!
 
I'm very thankful for the return policies that some places have as there's just no way of truly knowing the gear unless you take it home. Renting a pro body (DSLR) can cost $150/day & up. Multiply that by 3 days and you nearly have a capable entry level dslr. As much as possible I'll borrow the equipment that I'm thinking of purchasing from somebody I know so as not to waste anybody's time - unfortunately, I knew of no one that uses this body here locally.

@kxl: Aside from losing the extended range of that 1.5X crop, the D700 will not dissapoint. I used a D200 extensively over 2 years ago & its high ISO cannot compare to that of the recent crop of Nikon dslrs. Additionally, the responsiveness of the 700 is remarkable - not that the D200 is a slouch... great for sports & wildlife (up to 5fps if I recall correctly).
 
jky said:
I'm very thankful for the return policies that some places have as there's just no way of truly knowing the gear unless you take it home. Renting a pro body (DSLR) can cost $150/day & up. Multiply that by 3 days and you nearly have a capable entry level dslr. As much as possible I'll borrow the equipment that I'm thinking of purchasing from somebody I know so as not to waste anybody's time - unfortunately, I knew of no one that uses this body here locally.

@kxl: Aside from losing the extended range of that 1.5X crop, the D700 will not dissapoint. I used a D200 extensively over 2 years ago & its high ISO cannot compare to that of the recent crop of Nikon dslrs. Additionally, the responsiveness of the 700 is remarkable - not that the D200 is a slouch... great for sports & wildlife (up to 5fps if I recall correctly).
Click to expand...

Hell. 150$/day is really expensive. I just looked at the site where I sometimes rent a pro lens in Germany. A D700 costs 146 EUR for 3 days.

I don't like the body of the D700. It's so big and heavy. Perhaps my hands are too small for it. Just could not hold it comfortably.
 
The d700 is my camera of choise for everyday exursions. I have to admit that a d700 + sigmalux 50 1.4 is a bit.. large, but I still am waiting for the perfect small-package-iso-thing. Right now my priorities are low-light > portability.
 
BillBingham2 said:
They just canned the manual version the other day (;-<. You looking for AF then?

B2 (;->
Click to expand...

Just did a bit more digging. Seems the rumour started here (appropriate that the website is called Nikon Rumors 😉).

However, Nikon USA still lists all the manual focus lenses here, and Nikon Japan lists them here.

Yodobashi Camera has them in stock here.
 
Renting to try before you buy sure can be expensive if you're not a pro who can charge it back to the client!
The store I deal with in Vancouver will apply a one day rental fee towards the purchase of the equivalent new item. They only charge one day for the weekend so you get lots of time to test out the gear.
Too bad they don't carry Nikon - I would like to try the D700!
 
jonmanjiro said:
Interesting to read this, Bill!

The AIS 35/1.4 is still listed as a current product on Nikon Japan's website (here) and isn't yet on the discontinued products list (here) so I'm wondering if this is a Nikon USA thing?
Click to expand...

Not sure it's a 100% dead on but you were spot on with respect to my source. I remember more countries than just US.

http://nikonrumors.com/2009/06/15/more-nikon-ais-lenses-discontinued-at-bh.aspx

They seem to have way too much time on thier hands to dig to this level of info.

B2 (;->
 
nobbylon said:
The low light ability just blows everything else away. In hi2 which is 25600 ISO and a little dfine post is still perfectly usable. I've carried it everyday since I got it.
Click to expand...

A friend of mine bought one a couple of months ago. At a casual get together, shooting in subdued light (I assume high ISO) for a few minutes, he reverted back to blasting away with his SB-900 flash. I've seen people here and on flickr shoot in the same conditions with ISO 1600 film with really good results.

I would think that using the camera in available light would yield much more artistic results. But then, some people seemed disturbed by even a tiny bit or grain/noise these days.
 
I would never buy anything with the intention of "trying it to see if I like it", and then returning it.

I would only return something if it had a manufacturing defect.

You might not agree with me, but I don't think it's ethical to "rent" or "try out" equipment this way. I'd feel lousy returning it, but that's just me.

These modern times are odd.
 
I was seriously tempted by a D700 for a while, the thought of it with Zeiss ZF lenses was enough to give me that warm fuzzy feeling, then I actually went to the shop and picked one up and it was even bigger then my gf's annoyingly large and heavy Canon 5D. Fuzzy feeling over.
 
Avotius said:
I was seriously tempted by a D700 for a while, the thought of it with Zeiss ZF lenses was enough to give me that warm fuzzy feeling, then I actually went to the shop and picked one up and it was even bigger then my gf's annoyingly large and heavy Canon 5D. Fuzzy feeling over.
Click to expand...

Actually, that's one of the reasons I'm looking forward to a D700. The D200 seems "stubby" to me (actual dimensions: 5.8 x 4.4 x 2.9 in.). So, the D700, which is taller, is just right (actual diemensions: 5.8 x 4.8 x 3 in).
 
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