D700 owners - Are you happy?

bl0at3r

bl0at3r

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I'm still torn between a selection of cameras for my next purchase.

The D700 is pretty near the top but I have concerns that I hope any owners can help with.....

1. Does it really produce useable very high iso shots? What is it's acceptable maximum?
2. Does 12mp give enough resolution for cropping?
3. Is the autofocus really far superior to that of the 5d2?
4. Any D700 owners had a 5d2 and moved oved to nikon?

This is not a canon v nikon thread but when you look at the specs of the d700 versus the 5d2 it seems a bit expensive for what it offers - if the IQ is worth the money then fair enough. There also doesn't seem to be many D700 owners on here that I have noticed?
 
bl0at3r said:
I'm still torn between a selection of cameras for my next purchase.

The D700 is pretty near the top but I have concerns that I hope any owners can help with.....

1. Does it really produce useable very high iso shots? What is it's acceptable maximum?
2. Does 12mp give enough resolution for cropping?
3. Is the autofocus really far superior to that of the 5d2?
4. Any D700 owners had a 5d2 and moved oved to nikon?

This is not a canon v nikon thread but when you look at the specs of the d700 versus the 5d2 it seems a bit expensive for what it offers - if the IQ is worth the money then fair enough. There also doesn't seem to be many D700 owners on here that I have noticed?
Click to expand...


really - there seem to be loads of d700 owners on here.

To answer your q's

1. Yes. I've presented shots regularly at iso 5000 without a concern

2. I've never had an issue with printing double album spreads at 36" wide. You should be filling the frame and not cropping far any any camera though, but how big do you need to print

3. Yes it smokes it

4. There are alot, but I'm not one so can't answer.

Its a great camera, slightly different to the 5d mk ii, but well worth the money
 
Interesting thanks
I'm trying not to get caught up in the higher megapixel and hd video of the 5d2 which seems to be the biggest plus over the d700 - not sure I'd use the video and 12mp seems enough if you can get a3 prints out if it
 
1. Yes - I use up to 6400 without much thought.
2. I don't really crop that much, but it seems fine to me when I do.
3. It's far superior to the 5D mkI, can't comment on the mkII.
4. I have a 5D and a D700, bought the D700 for the AF and high ISO.

The D700 doesn't disappoint, but at the same time it doesn't make me want to sell the 5D either. Not sure how to put this, but the D700 feels more like a gadget I guess, and the 5D more like a tool. No denying that the D700 would perform better in awkward situations though.
 
Thanks Ian

My last dslr was a 7D, so having used the new canon af, metering system and fps - I wonder if I got a 5d2 I'd be disappointed.
 
Well...I had a 7D
Very happy with my D700
Frequently shoot and print up to A4 at ISO 6400. Never need to print larger.
Happy to crop, but I guess it depends how deeply you want to cut !
AF for me is on a par with 7D
Previously also had a 5D. Only used it for people and landscapes. Never asked much from it in AF terms or High ISO

It's every camera I need.
 
trevorbray said:
Well...I had a 7D
Very happy with my D700
Frequently shoot and print up to A4 at ISO 6400. Never need to print larger.
Happy to crop, but I guess it depends how deeply you want to cut !
AF for me is on a par with 7D
Previously also had a 5D. Only used it for people and landscapes. Never asked much from it in AF terms or High ISO

It's every camera I need.
Click to expand...

Thanks Trevor, as a fellow 7d owner who defected, what was your main reasoning - was it to move to FF and if so why did you not choose the 5D2?
 
Can't comment on the Canon comparisons but, no issues with high iso. I had a recent wedding where the couple wanted a 18x12 images that was taken at high iso and you couldn't tell! As for cropping, I try and get it right in camera to avoid it, but to be honest unless you are severely cropping I can't see you having a problem.
Yes I'm happy :)
 
bl0at3r said:
Thanks Trevor, as a fellow 7d owner who defected, what was your main reasoning - was it to move to FF and if so why did you not choose the 5D2?
Click to expand...

For me the 7D and I just didn't work well together. It coped okay with the low light situations for my indoor Equestrian stuff. The AF was OK. But it wasn't a match made in heaven. Wanted to go for the 5D2 but ruled it out on reports of dodgy AF in low light and also the frame rate.
I had a 7D and 5D at the time so wanted to keep full frame for general photography. In fact I did get a 5D2 later for a short while a bit after the Nikon switch. That's gone now and I've added another D700.

Very expensive to make the switch and of course hindsight is 20-20 vision.
My advice.....tricky.....but for all round use including sport where reach is not the issue it's gotta be the D700. Factor in good glass though. The new 24-120 f4 VR is getting good reports.
 
bl0at3r said:
1. Does it really produce useable very high iso shots? What is it's acceptable maximum?
2. Does 12mp give enough resolution for cropping?
3. Is the autofocus really far superior to that of the 5d2?
4. Any D700 owners had a 5d2 and moved oved to nikon?

This is not a canon v nikon thread but when you look at the specs of the d700 versus the 5d2 it seems a bit expensive for what it offers - if the IQ is worth the money then fair enough. There also doesn't seem to be many D700 owners on here that I have noticed?
Click to expand...

1) it does and 5000 is good for sure, dont have any shots at 6400 ... here is an example of 5000ISO in max res click me for 5000iso

2) not as much as 5d2
3) yes it is
4) I moved from 5d2 to d700...AF is much better then on 5d2...depends what you are using it for...I used 5d2 for sports with no problemos :) I shoot this with 5d2 ( athletic champ in Ireland

do I miss Mpix from Canon ? yes I do...Would I swap back to Canon if it would offer better AF ? dunno....do I want d700 with more Mpix and same ISO ? yes :)

hope it helps:)
 
When I had my D700, I tended to keep it on auto ISO up to 1600, because you really are hard pushed to see a major difference up to that point. I also used upto 3200 indoors and got great results.

Not the worlds best shot...

reindeeriso3200.jpg

ISO 3200, 1/50 sec, f/3.2, Sigma 105mm macro.

Im going back to Nikon, and probably a D700. The D300s is tempting, but the D700 just eats light, and I dont think I'll be happy with anything less. Oh and as for the AF. I was messing around with it and had it in the 3d tracking mode. I pointed it at a bird flying around and the camera tracked it exactly. I held the camera pretty much still as the bird flew around in the frame, and you could see the camera tracking this bird. Incredible..
 
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Not to suggest that you haven't already done so, but a search brings up multiple threads asking exactly the same questions....

here and here and here and here and here.

Hopefully some of those will help you with the decision making process, one way or t'other :)
 
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I love mine, I've gone from a D60 to D90 to D700 all within the space of a year and have no desire to go any further as the D700 does all I need it to do and more. ISO is just unreal, I've not had to go much about 2500 yet but even at that it's just amazing.

I doubt many people buy one and end up disappointed with it. Taking everything into account, I'd say that pound for pound you'd be hard pressed to find a better DSLR.
 
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