Some questions for satisfied D700 users.

Bike Tourist said:
Hi Keith —

I haven't been by here lately. What a surprise, the interest generated by your question and the informative replies thus engendered. I can't add too much of value. Maybe my personal experience.

You have your 5D protagonists, and it is a great camera. I've had one. But for me, the Nikon D700 is the best camera I've ever had, including all the Hasselblads, Nikons, Leicas and other assorted brands owned by me over the last 60+ years. I guess that's an unqualified endorsement!

Also, the Sigma 50 has as good a reputation as the Nikon 50G.

Let us know what you've decided.
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Hi Dick ... nice that you could drop in so to speak! 😀

Seems like the D700 is one of the unsung heros of the DSLRs and I'm surprised also at the response to my questions in this thread. The unwavering admiration for this camera is a sign that Nikon got it right which bodes well for it's longevity even though it is a DSLR.

Cheers ... Keith.
 
Jamie123 said:
Keith, you might want to enquire how much it would cost to rent the camera for that one job. As others have said Nikon is (apparently) likely to release a successor to the D700 soon. As soon as the new camera is announced many people who want to 'update' will start putting their gear up for sale so you'll have a)a wider choice of used D700 and b)probably a lower price.

Also, renting the camera first will give you enough time to fall in love with it so you won't feel even a bit of remorse when clicking that "buy" button 🙂
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Thinking back to when Nikon replaced the D70 with whatever superceded it (who can remember) the camera held good resale value for a long time after in spite of it's puny six megapixel sensor. I supect that because the D700 is such an obvious gem prices may not exactly plummet when the successor is released because it will be a bit more expensive logically.

That said I may decide to torture myself with the M8 at the upcoming gallery opening one more time and see what happens before the next event is due.

Or not of course as the case may be! 😛
 
I can tell you one thing from playing with the d700 - the old 50mm f1.4 AFD is absolutely rubbish wide open 🙂

Keith when is your gallery opening?
 
fdigital said:
I'll be in Brisbane from the 20th onwards (covering a music festival) - want to borrow the 5d/35L overnight on the 23rd?
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Hi Gavin,

Thanks for the offer but I'm actually not overly concerned about the M8 at the opening on the 23rd and have sort of resigned myself to using it once more ... it's the only one of the year that provides a fairly open gallery with relatively even light. They seem to get progressively darker and more segmented as the year goes on for some reason and I'd also be a little concerned about using a camera system I'm completely unfamilar with regarding menus and settings etc ... I've never touched a Canon DSLR but of course have experience with Nikon from my D70 ownership.

One interesting thing that's happened is I'm meeting a fellow Brisbane RFFer tomorrow morning for a coffee and chat at our local cafe. He wants to check out my Ikon as he's reasonably keen on buying one so I'll drag it along for him to have a play with. I've discovered that he has a D700 so I've asked him to bring that along so I can have a gander at it and see how it fits with me!

This is good timing ! 🙂
 
No problems, if you change your mind feel give me a PM - it sucks buying into expensive cameras when you don't know what you're getting. The 5d is great in that you don't need to a touch a menu to use it to it's full capacity.

Pretty convenient that the fellow has a d700 though, I bet you'll be mighty impressed. Let us know what you think from your first encounter!
 
fdigital said:
No problems, if you change your mind feel give me a PM - it sucks buying into expensive cameras when you don't know what you're getting. The 5d is great in that you don't need to a touch a menu to use it to it's full capacity.

Pretty convenient that the fellow has a d700 though, I bet you'll be mighty impressed. Let us know what you think from your first encounter!
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I've obviously been completely taken over by the dark side now, because after playing with a D700 for a couple of hours I'm hooked! 😛

I took my ZF Planar with me to put on the camera to see how it felt and fired off a few shots and checked them on the LCD screen ... which can't show a lot admittedly but the OOF areas of the Planar at f1.4 looked superb when I zoomed in and pixel peeped on the display.

The camera certainly is heavy and not something I'd want hanging off my neck all day but the ergonomics are brilliant and more than compensate for the bulk and weight IMO.

It appeared to me to be a photograher's tool ... and a damned fine one at that.

YES PLEASE! 🙂


oh yes ... and David loved the Ikon!
 
I think majority of the responders here expected that reaction exactly...
Regarding its weight - neoprene, neoprene, neoprene. On my trip to Asia last fall, the D700 hung around my neck/shoulder for 8-12 hrs/day and all was fine... really decreased the fatigue one would normally feel with a regular strap.

So I guess we can all look forward to your posts (images) in the near future....? 😉
 
Good to hear your initial reaction to the D700 was so positive. My only reservation was how you would like manual focusing with it and that seems to be ok with you too. Yea, a neoprene strap goes a long way to making it easier to carry. If/when you do get one make sure it has the latest firmware installed. With the latest firmware the AWB seems much improved.

Bob
 
The other thing that impressed me was the shutter sound ... more of a shuffle and not loud at all ... quieter than my M8 in fact I suspect!

It was also interesting to pick the camera up and note how instantly I felt at home with it ... fingers aligned comfortably with buttons and command dials and suddenly my old D70 was back in my hands! 😛
 
That's it, my soul has officially gone to the devil ... clicked the 'checkout' button five minutes ago!

The deed is done ... now for the wait. (five to ten days for delivery apparently) 🙁

😀😀😀
 
Keith said:
That's it, my soul has officially gone to the devil ... clicked the 'checkout' button five minutes ago!.......
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Now if we can just get you to pick up a GRD III to put into your pocket the deal will be sealed😎😎😎😎😎 ..........😱

Good luck with her.

B2 (;->
 
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I read carefully this interesting thread and I have to say there is one thing I like and one thing I do not like. The first is that, not owning any digital camera till now, I was thinking that the only one I could consider wa sth D700 (I like to shoot wide angles and my 20 mm f2 would be great on this camera, I suspect, as my AIS 50/f1,4). Till a short time ago I was used to my F100 and I think the D700 is not too much heavier. In a few words it could be ok for me. But what I hate is that now I'm thinking too much about it...and what to do with my RF's cameras ? I'm now used to RF's, I have the lenses I need and ... do not know what to think about ! Just seriously joking, this is a good thread anyway!
robert
 
Keith,
get yourself a nice wide strap, I use the Leica wide strap from my old R8, leica number 14235 and find it the best strap i've used.

Robert,
The D700 is to all intents a digital F100. I sold mine as soon as I got the D700. The F100 without the powerpack is however quite a bit smaller than a D700.
 
The only thing I wish the D700 had was built-in Wi-Fi to wirelessly transmit images to your laptop or a printer. I had a WT3A wireless transmitter for my D200, and it was absolute rubbish. The wireless transmitter for the D700 is worn on your belt and has a wire going up into the D700 -- cumbersome!

As well, I don't find that the sensor cleaning function is that great - usually you have to get in there with a blower to clean the sensor properly.

Another thing I find is that if you are shooting RAW and in quick succession, the camera will eventually stop shooting until it's 'processed' all the images onto the card. I guess that could really apply to any digital camera that's working with large files, but it's still a bit frustrating when you're working in the studio doing fashion, and you're having to tell the model to 'hold on, the camera's still thinking'.

Overall though, it's a great camera. I would however, be interested to see what those Sony digital cameras are like (full frame, 24mp), but they don't come in a Nikon mount.
 
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Vince Lupo said:
The only thing I wish the D700 had was built-in Wi-Fi to wirelessly transmit images to your laptop or a printer. I had a WT3A wireless transmitter for my D200, and it was absolute rubbish. The wireless transmitter for the D700 is worn on your belt and has a wire going up into the D700 -- cumbersome!

As well, I don't find that the sensor cleaning function is that great - usually you have to get in there with a blower to clean the sensor properly.

Another thing I find is that if you are shooting RAW and in quick succession, the camera will eventually stop shooting until it's 'processed' all the images onto the card. I guess that could really apply to any digital camera that's working with large files, but it's still a bit frustrating when you're working in the studio doing fashion, and you're having to tell the model to 'hold on, the camera's still thinking'.

Overall though, it's a great camera. I would however, be interested to see what those Sony digital cameras are like (full frame, 24mp), but they don't come in a Nikon mount.
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Agree with you on the Wireless "thing", the D2H/D2X has better approach but is model depended..
Regarding the number of pictures in NEF/RAW just be sure to get all NEF compression right, the active-lighting off, NR off as well and a fast (UDMA) fast CF card, gives a buffer 18 images.
 
Thank you very much for the update, JSU.

What you say is very interesting. I'm not surprised though - I've only been a D700 user for a few months, buying a good condition used body, and I never cease to be amazed at the outstanding quality of the camera and its images. My only wish is that it had been designed with a 100% viewfinder, something I'm always reminded of whenever I use the F6. But even here, having recently discovered the brilliant combination of D700 and Silver Efex Pro 2 (coming rather late to the party, I know) I'm using the F6 less and less. It does get an outing from time to time though cos I'm still delighted with traditional wet prints from Fomapan 400 film.
 
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