Would you buy a D700 today?

[Alpsman]

When I bought the D300 the D70 had to go.
When I bought the D700 the D300 had to go.
When I bought the D800 the D700 had to stay.
I use both as "Digibacks" for Ai/S lenses between 16 to 600 mm, have no AF-lenses. And I will keep them both untill they break down.

The D700 is a rocksolid piece of a Camera, I use it everytime when I dont need the 36 MP. Yes, I thin I would buy it today again.

 

[Ken Ford]

I bought one only a couple of years ago just to use with my manual nikkors works great and really easy to manually focus with the electronic rangefinder, I reckon it worth it just for the Nikkor 55mm 1.2.

Good to know, as I have a 50/1.2. 😉

 

[peterm1]

I still have mine and use it regularly. I have no immediate plans to change. Perhaps in a year or two I will upgrade to a D800 or one of its successors depending on price but till then the D700 is just fine. I especially value its dynamic range and ability to shoot at 1600 ISO virtually without visible grain. Its only disadvantage is its size and weight, especially with a pro grade zoom lens.

Having said this, it occurs to me that as I get older, eventually I may be forced to change to perhaps Sony full frame but I am so invested in Nikon lenses that I am reluctant to make any system jump till I absolutely have to. (This is also a consideration if you travel extensively. Airlines have become so rigid in their rules about weight restrictions it has become difficult to carry extensive camera gear on holidays. A smaller system is an advantage in this respect).

But specifically as to the D700 it has a high value / performance rating and can be had very inexpensively in today's market. Although I gather people tend to hang onto them for the reasons I have stated so getting a good low mileage one may take some searching.

One final consideration and possibly another reason for sticking with D700. I have a Sony NEX 7 which has a 24 megapixel sensor. While my PC is quite new and highly spec'ed when I have tried to process 24 Meg RAW files using my preferred post processing software it really struggles. It handles JPG images fine though. If you move to a later Nikon camera with the larger capacity sensor you may have to budget for a PC upgrade or at least a change of software.

 

[Pablito]

I have a Sony NEX 7 which has a 24 megapixel sensor. While my PC is quite new and highly spec'ed when I have tried to process 24 Meg RAW files using my preferred post processing software it really struggles. It handles JPG images fine though. If you move to a later Nikon camera with the larger capacity sensor you may have to budget for a PC upgrade or at least a change of software.

Odd. My 5 year old Mac Book Pro has no trouble with 36MP RAW files from the D800

 

[peterm1]

Odd. My 5 year old Mac Book Pro has no trouble with 36MP RAW files from the D800

I am using Corel Paintshop Pro x14. Which is a good solid (and cheap) piece of processing software that I like very much in its later incarnations. On top of this I am running Nik software / plugins for most processing effects. It may have something to do with one or both of these items of software running together.

 

[Benjamin Marks]

Yes. 12 MP is just fine for me and the D3 is my dream camera, pretty much.

 

[Rob-F]

My answer is pretty much the same. As much as I love Leicas, and even though I'm thinking of adding an M9 to my M8.2:

If something happened to my D700 today, I would get another one tomorrow. Good camera. Gooood camera!

 

[willie_901]

The D700 and D300 AF systems are essentially identical. This makes for a seamless transition.

Overall the D700 is an excellent DSLR. The D700's data stream's signal-to-noise ratio (and dynamic range) is at least a stop better than the D300's. Shadow regions at ISO 800 render very well with the D700. I didn't use mine for color at ISO 1600 or higher, but with optimum exposure practically all raw color work will be printable at 1600.

 

[john_s]

........., it occurs to me that as I get older, eventually I may be forced to change to perhaps Sony full frame but I am so invested in Nikon lenses that I am reluctant to make any system jump till I absolutely have to. (This is also a consideration if you travel extensively. Airlines have become so rigid in their rules about weight restrictions it has become difficult to carry extensive camera gear on holidays. A smaller system is an advantage in this respect)..........

I'm completely happy with my D700 except for the weight. As I advance in years/decades I will probably look at a lighter Nikon FF DSLR. I tend to not use zooms so the weight/unwieldiness is not quite such a problem. But I still want to use my wides.

One reason I like the camera so much is that 12M is enough for me and probably suits my older lenses better. Sure 24M or more could be better in some ways but that might lead me to have to upgrade older lenses which I acknowledge are not state of the art.

 

[Addy101]

I am using Corel Paintshop Pro x14. Which is a good solid (and cheap) piece of processing software that I like very much in its later incarnations. On top of this I am running Nik software / plugins for most processing effects. It may have something to do with one or both of these items of software running together.

It is memory, I used PSP X2 with my old system and 24mp pictures from my A900 and it was okay. I now use the latest PSP version on a state of the art machine and it is faster. But the difference between 12, 16, 24 or 36mp is mainly memory, not some fancy computer. Also consider updating your harddrive to an SSD for a faster running system.

 

[Ken Ford]

I'm trying to tell myself I don't need a new AF lens to go with the D700... but an AF-S 50/1.4 is very tempting. I have a 50/1.2 AIs and a 50/1.8D, but no FX AF-S glass at all.

 

[tedium]

To be honest , I do regret selling my 700, I have the 800e now but for some reason it never felt as good as my 700.
I enjoyed shooting with it more.

 

[Ken Ford]

Uh-oh. I was just reading up on a Nikkor that I've never heard of before - the 58mm/1.4G AF-S. I sure hope my MF 50/1.2 works out or I can see myself springing for one of these. I still miss my Noctilux.

 

[Fraser]

I've posted this before d700 1.2, which i paid £120 could hardly get a leica hood for that!
15fbpicMartha1.2_01 by f4saregreat!, on Flickr

 

[Ken Ford]

Sweet - I love the look of the 50/1.2!

 

[Ronald M]

Nice strong build with somewhat low MP count. I have made wonderful 11x14 from 200 iso files. It gets noisy to modern standards fast.

For more versatility, my D750 is better, much better.

 

[Ken Ford]

D750 is more expensive, much more expensive. ;-)

 

[kxl]

I'm trying to tell myself I don't need a new AF lens to go with the D700... but an AF-S 50/1.4 is very tempting. I have a 50/1.2 AIs and a 50/1.8D, but no FX AF-S glass at all.

If you want AFS primes and f1.8 is fast enough, then the newer Nikon f1.8 AFS FX G primes are definitely great value. They are available in 20, 24, 28, 35, 50 and 85.

If you want f1.4, AF and willing to spend more, then nothing beats the Sigma ART prime lenses - 20, 24, 35, 50. The 35 is legendary, and the 50 comes close.

If you are looking at the 50/1.4 AFS G, I'd pass and instead get either the AFS 1.8G or the Sigma ART lens.

 

[Ken Ford]

I've been giving this some thought, and I'm seriously considering picking up the 50/1.4G AF-S for an everyday lens and saving the extra money for something else (see below.) I'm hoping this will be a satisfying body for use with my MF Nikkors like my D1 and D300 have been. My old D70s was a real hair shirt to use with MF glass but gave great results.

That 58/1.2 is looking very tempting for a specialty lens, though... I miss my Noctilux!

 

[Highway 61]

D750 is more expensive, much more expensive. ;-)

The D610 is cheaper and has the same sensor as the D750 ; and the MF Nikkors do very well on this 24MP chip. 24MP on a 24x36 sensor will give you way more interesting files than a 12MP sensor the same size. Plus, the files from the D750 or the D610 are still very manageable with your home mid-range computer, no need to upgrade your PP digital workflow.

The D700 has recently gained a fame of some sort (last prosumer Nikon DSLR to have been "made in Japan", build quality over the top, very reliable machine, superb battery life, shutter which can last forever) yet you don't want to skip some of its cons : 12MP only, 95% coverage viewfinder, big and heavy camera.