Nikon D700 in 2015? Or Sony A7?

I love my D700. It just gets the job done without getting in the way.

I've only tried an A7 in the shops and didn't get on with the electronic viewfinder. Others seem to have no problem with it though.

Ronnie
 
Had both, have neither now.

The D700, IMHO for my needs, was way ahead of the A7.

I have had 3 different mirrorless cameras...hated them all.

The D700 is fast at everything and the build quality is amazing.

The A7 was slow at everything and build quality was average.

My thoughts....

Peace
 
jett said:
True. I feel that I can be happy or unhappy with either choice. I'm somewhat minimal. I looked at the Sony E mount lens lineup and it's more limited. Do the Leica M adapters work well on the Sony? (I only have 35mm/50mm lenses).
Click to expand...
You'll be happy with adapted 50mm's but 35mm and wider go into the YMMV territory, e.g., some find an adapted 35mm 2.0 Biogon acceptable, some don't. As others have mentioned, for 50mm, your best bet is Sony's own 55/1.8. That's my primary lens on my A7R. Wrt 35mm, I don't shoot that FL on the A7R so I don't have any recommndations. I have heard that the Sony 35mm FE is quite good although it falls just short of the 55mm wrt IQ. Hope that helps.
 
I've been a happy owner of a D700 for quite a while. I moved up to the D700 after owning a D300 because I wanted a full frame camera.

It's a great camera. I especially like the low light capabilities of the D700. I've shot many images at ISO at 4000, 5000 and 6400 and found them to be quite usable, especially for Facebook and internet postings.

The battery life is excellent, as another poster mentioned.

As far as the weight goes, I am 5'3", weigh 115 lbs and have no problem using this camera. I certainly don't find the weight to be objectionable. I would not want to carry it around all day (for that I use my M9) but otherwise it's fine.

When I bought the D700 body, I had only DX lenses for my D300. I purchased three FX lenses that I acquired at very reasonable prices for the D700. I bought the 16-35, the older but still great 35-70 2.8 (that I bought very inexpensively) and the 70-300. This combination of lenses covered my needs very nicely and didn't break the bank.

I don't know anything about the Sony so I can't compare the two cameras, but I don't think you'd be unhappy with the D700.
 
the nikkor 50/1.4 G usually produces harsh bokeh wide open, so i would go with the sony a7ii and 55/1.8 or canon 5dmkii and 50/1.4.
 
I would recommend Canon 6d with latest 50stm 40stm and 35 f2is lenses all very good . 6d is inexpensive for FF and very well made camera, a7 and d700 combined.
 
D3 will give you a 100% viewfinder and higher FPS.
My 700 is a beast. Reliable in an incredible way. Mine has suffered a ridiculous amount of abuse, drops from uncomfortable heights, rainstorms, etc. Not that I don't take care of it, but it gets *used* and used hard and it keeps right on going. I love it to death, it's a trusty sidekick, always. Also a modified focusing screen will open up a usable world of beautiful fast nikkor glass of old.
But, again, it's a beast. If I'm just going out walking, I'll pack my F3 or my CL. The 700 is a workhorse. Even with just the 50/1.4G its a big guy to haul around. I'm considering a Fuji X-Pro or something similar for a small-package digital.
It is a modern classic of a camera, no doubt (and nothing Nikon's yet made can replace it). I hope to have mine around for a very long time. But it's more a serious-business camera than a daily-carry, IMHO.
 
I had two D700, first one I "used up" and got a second one about four years ago. I loved it because of it´s files and handling, specially the b&w files. Still, since I shoot mosty film, I decided to sell it, especially after looking at the Sony A7ii, so I bought that instead. I really like it, great files, light and I use both my M-lenses and some of the good nikkor lenses I got.
Where it´s good compared to the robust D700, it´s also got it´s "weakness" in not feeling so robust, I´m much more careful with the A7ii that my D700. When I got used to the EVF it works very well, still I get very happy when I look thru my F2, F100 or F5.

At the end they are all tools for different use and taste, I don´t regret selling the D700 and buying the A7ii.
 
1jz said:
Coming from film why would you want to look at a viewfinder full of pixels. Horrible. Get a nikon dslr.
Click to expand...
Because you can see the picture you're about to take? Why wouldn't you want that?

Oh, btw, if you want OVF real estate, go Sony A900 with a 100% viewfinder, while the Nikon only has 95% - if the viewfinder would be your prime consideration, don't get a Nikon 😱

(Nothing wrong with a Nikon DSLR, I have before said why I would think the A7 is better for your intended use)
 
OK,

So I went to adorama today to try out a Sony a7. The build isn't that bad and the focusing, menus, and EVF work fine.

The camera's build and ergonomics are probably worse than the D700 but "good enough". I'm most unsure about the manual focusing in picture taking situations. I would prefer to use AF with this camera but I'd rather continue investing in LTM/M lenses too, so I'm probably going to use the camera in MF-only with M lenses. MF worked fine at the store but I need to own the camera and use it for a while to get a real feel for it. Maybe I'll get that 55/1.8...

I'm leaning towards the a7 over the Nikon because of it's form factor. I think the D700 offers a better shooting experience given it's ergonomics and OVF, but the a7 is easier to carry. Honestly, I spend much more time carrying my cameras than shooting them.
 
De_Corday said:
Is the shutter actually a different p/n?
Click to expand...

Yes, and the MTBF specifications are different as well.

This is the reason professional sports photographers pay more for Nikon (or Canon) top line bodies. They abuse the shutter mechanism 100% of the time with six to eight frame bursts.
 
jett said:
OK,

So I went to adorama today to try out a Sony a7. The build isn't that bad and the focusing, menus, and EVF work fine.

The camera's build and ergonomics are probably worse than the D700 but "good enough". I'm most unsure about the manual focusing in picture taking situations. I would prefer to use AF with this camera but I'd rather continue investing in LTM/M lenses too, so I'm probably going to use the camera in MF-only with M lenses. MF worked fine at the store but I need to own the camera and use it for a while to get a real feel for it. Maybe I'll get that 55/1.8...

I'm leaning towards the a7 over the Nikon because of it's form factor. I think the D700 offers a better shooting experience given it's ergonomics and OVF, but the a7 is easier to carry. Honestly, I spend much more time carrying my cameras than shooting them.
Click to expand...

Focus by peaking and/or focusing wide-open and stopping down is something that gets considerably better with practice. One trick is to look for things that are most likely going to show peaking (eyes, hair, buttons) and use those as hints for where the actual focal point is. Sometimes I work with Jpeg rendering set as B&W, but I feel that with color it is easier to judge DOF and find the focal plane.
 
The most important part is that it works for you. I like manual focus with peaking but it is different from manual focus through an optical viewfinder - there is indeed a learning curve. It still is the best affordable digital camera for M/LTM lenses.

If you can afford the 55/1.8 - well, it is nice to have something that good for when AF is useful.
 
ferider said:
I'm like you and moved recently, partially due to my wife gifting me a digital RF last Dec.

I debated long which SLR to add. In the end I picked a Sony A850, and I couldn't be happier using it with Minolta AF lenses. In particular the 35/2 (there is no Nikkor equal), and the 85/1.4. Love the cameras bright 98% viewfinder, it feels almost like a film camera.

Just saying, the D700 is not your only option when you want to look at the world through an optical VF. And check the used prices of both cameras and lenses ....

Roland.
Click to expand...

Euhm... http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/35mm-f18-fx.htm

😀
 
I've got a d700 I bought really so I could use all my old Nikon lenses great camera 12mp is plenty, as to d700 v d3 the d700 with the grip and double AAs actually has faster frame rate but more importantly the d700 has sensor self cleaning. Why does it need to be a Nikon what about as someone already suggested a Canon 6d a bit smaller and a brilliant sensor.
Sizes-
15fbpicd700size01 by f4saregreat!, on Flickr
D700 3200iso
15fbpicd700_3200 by f4saregreat!, on Flickr
6D 25600iso
15fbpic6d_25600 by f4saregreat!, on Flickr
crop from this-
15fbpic6dwholepic by f4saregreat!, on Flickr

Good luck with whatever you choose🙂
 
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