Austintatious
Well-known
I have some. Can cover from 28 to 210 in zoom and I have the 50 F1.8. So I have a start.
Would you buy a D700 today?
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peterm1
Veteran
I can only say I still have mine and it still performs as advertised. Assuming you want a DSLR instead of a mirrorless camera it is even better value than when new.
Yes, I would like a sensor that has 20+ megapixels for cropping purposes but the 12 megapixels of the D700 is generally enough. The only time it really is a significant disadvantage is when (not very often) I would like to use a cropped sensor lens on it with auto compensation turned on. Then the final image size drops to something like 5 megapixels.
The other slight disadvantage of the D700 is that the latest sensors and firmware have got even better at eliminating image noise in high ISO situations. But the D700 is still very good in this department.
The bigger question for me is would I buy a DSLR over a mirrorless camera as my main camera in future. On this I am torn. I already own a few mirrorless cameras for those times when I do not want to tote a large camera or cannot do so. So much innovation is going into mirrorless devices that they are getting better and better. I find myself increasingly drawn to try out a Fujifilm top end camera. Why - the image quality including the wonderful colors churned out by their sensors is just so darned nice. I can get good images from other cameras but boy I sure have to work at it sometimes.
And on my last couple of overseas holidays I chose to take a mirrorless camera instead of my D700 simply due to size and weight considerations. When travelling by plane especially when there are multiple flights there is no way I want to risk taking expensive (and effectively irreplaceable while travelling) cameras in the plane's hold where anything might befall them - hell have you seen how some bags get thrown around by baggage handlers?
So for me the answer might be no I would not buy a new D700 today - not because it is not a competitive camera but rather because I am finding smaller cameras are just so darned good and hence the D700 now has so much competition. BTW in saying this video capability is not really an issue for me and neither is being able to zoom the image when focusing (the Nikon green light focus confirmation works well for me). But one consideration is that with mirrorless cameras I can use a far larger variety of legacy lenses whereas with Nikon I am pretty well limited to vintage Nikon lenses. And this is attractive.
Yes, I would like a sensor that has 20+ megapixels for cropping purposes but the 12 megapixels of the D700 is generally enough. The only time it really is a significant disadvantage is when (not very often) I would like to use a cropped sensor lens on it with auto compensation turned on. Then the final image size drops to something like 5 megapixels.
The other slight disadvantage of the D700 is that the latest sensors and firmware have got even better at eliminating image noise in high ISO situations. But the D700 is still very good in this department.
The bigger question for me is would I buy a DSLR over a mirrorless camera as my main camera in future. On this I am torn. I already own a few mirrorless cameras for those times when I do not want to tote a large camera or cannot do so. So much innovation is going into mirrorless devices that they are getting better and better. I find myself increasingly drawn to try out a Fujifilm top end camera. Why - the image quality including the wonderful colors churned out by their sensors is just so darned nice. I can get good images from other cameras but boy I sure have to work at it sometimes.
And on my last couple of overseas holidays I chose to take a mirrorless camera instead of my D700 simply due to size and weight considerations. When travelling by plane especially when there are multiple flights there is no way I want to risk taking expensive (and effectively irreplaceable while travelling) cameras in the plane's hold where anything might befall them - hell have you seen how some bags get thrown around by baggage handlers?
So for me the answer might be no I would not buy a new D700 today - not because it is not a competitive camera but rather because I am finding smaller cameras are just so darned good and hence the D700 now has so much competition. BTW in saying this video capability is not really an issue for me and neither is being able to zoom the image when focusing (the Nikon green light focus confirmation works well for me). But one consideration is that with mirrorless cameras I can use a far larger variety of legacy lenses whereas with Nikon I am pretty well limited to vintage Nikon lenses. And this is attractive.
Austintatious
Well-known
I would like to go there if I can swing it. I don't do video, but if I need it I have a Sony NEX 6 that would do in a pinch as well as the old cell phone. I've heard so much good about the D700, it's just the ten year old camera that makes me inquire as to if they still make sense for someone on a budget today.
I have a number of nice film cameras that if I could turn to cash, I would go for something newer.
There seems to be a slow market for them these days. Even the Leica's on the classifieds here seem to be a bit slow to sell.
johannielscom
Snorting silver salts
I'd still buy one if only I could zoom in on the viewfinder. But since I can't, I'd go for a Sony A7 nowadays, it has a similar look on the lower contrast sensor like the D700 and the zoom function on the EVF allows me to focus the Canon FD 50 and 85 1.2L lenses accurately.
Fraser
Well-known
Still a great camera but would have to be cheap as I just bought a d810 for £600.
colker
Well-known
I print 110x 80cm from those 12mp files. If you need to print bigger, get a D800. If not, D700 is a wonderfull digital camera.
bhop73
Well-known
I bought my D3s just this year. It only came out one year after the D700. I have zero regrets, but my needs/wants might be different than most people. I don't have any issues with "only" having 12mp, in a way, I actually prefer it since the file sizes are smaller.
willie_901
Veteran
If your budget is in the range of D700 bodies from reputable sellers (K.E.H. for example), I would recommend one.
They are very tough cameras.
I found the sensor performance (analog signal-to-noise ratio) is sufficient with raw files up to for ISO 1600 for color and ISO 3200 for B&W. That's 3 and 4 stops of sensor under exposure. As others mentioned, the D700 sensor perfoms much better then the D50's. The sensor's anti-aliasing filter is relatively weak which helps with perceived sharpness.
Austintatious
Well-known
The "cheap" ones seem to have over 200 thousand shutter count on 'em. For one under 100 thousand they are asking more than $500 USD. I've seen some @ $1000 on evil bay.
I have bought several items from KEH, but on used DSLR they don't reveal the shutter count. I hate to buy a "pig in a poke" so to speak. I know that I can return it if it is too many clicks but what a hassle. There seem to be a lot of them out there so I will be patient until a nicer one comes along.
Fraser
Well-known
Austintatious
Well-known
Yes, That would be around $770.00 in USD and a bit more that I can spend on a pension😀
I need to stay at or under &500 if I can. The $350 to $400 ones have well beyond the limit of 150 thousand shutter count and look quite rough as well. There are some to be had at the big auction site for that but the competition is quite keen. There seems to still be quite a demand for these cameras.
