Nikon D3 or D700

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ipswichboy

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I'm considering upgrading from my Nikon D300 to either a second hand D3 (£1500ish) or D700 (£1100ish). Much of my photography is aviation based and I find that I suffer with poor image quality and lots of noise in grey overcast conditions. I would appreciate any thoughts on the above. I know that going from cropped sensor to full frame is going to reduce the reach of my lens but am hoing that the improved image quality will more than make up for it. I have considered the possibility of a D800 but the large image file size puts me off.
 
Given that there's the exact same sensor in both, the choice really comes down to the size/type of body you want. The D700 feels exactly as the D300 does, where as the D3 is obviously a larger "pro" body (not to say the D700 isn't well built, because it is!) The D3 also has dual card slots, but lacks the pop up flash of the D700.

I love my D700 but if I had the choice between the 2 I would probably go for the D3, but that's down to a personal preference of preferring the larger body. Having said that I have a grip on my D700 and it's great to use.

You won't go wrong with either. You just have to weigh up the differences and see which one you want.
 
Never really noticed a problem with the D300 and aviation

http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=70848

I also have the D700. as for this or a D3, if you need the even better wether proofing get the D3 but I've never had a problem with the D700 in the wet.

My advice, don't wait for what might be coming, get a D700 now. It is a great camera and will still be so when a replacement comes along.
 
I've owned all of these cameras except for the D800. Noise I can see in certain challenging lighting conditions but poor IQ overall I'm curious about because FX isn't going to solve that problem. The D300 is no slouch although there are better crop sensors that have come out since.

The loss of reach is significantly noticeable and will cause you to want to crop more and lose some IQ if you print past a certain size. Burst mode aside, the D800 is more forgiving from a cropping standpoint but it may reveal other shortcomings in lesser quality lenses and/or technique as it is all somewhat magnified with those 30+ megapixels. Planes are bigger than birds so the crop size may not be too bad on FX. In other words, planes can fill the frame more than a bird but it depends on how close you are and how long your lens is.

The number one reason to go with FX is low light capability. Lack of reach is the biggest complaint due to your old lens now being shorter. Even my old 200-400VR was short at times at air shows.

If you do want to go FX, a D700 is pretty much the same thing but I have to admit the D3 fits much better in the hand. Gear heads go for D3's. :lol:
 
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If you want something new then go for the D800, if file size scares you then use it in 1.5x crop mode which still gives you a 16mp file and gives you the effective reach of the D300 crop but with all the goodness of a full frame body and full frame IQ
 
I'm in the same boat, but going from a pair of D90's

For extra reach, I have a Sigma 150-500mm lens - will it work in FF?

Out of curiousity -has anyone been in a situation where they would of wanted onboard flash on a D3?
 
The D800 also has the option of 12-bit compressed RAW files that are only about 25-30mb per file compared with the 70mb of a 14-bit uncompressed RAW.

having said that, I've done aviation with a D300 and never had a problem with image quality. Perhaps it is your lens, settings or technique that is the problem.
 
Scout n' About said:
Out of curiousity -has anyone been in a situation where they would of wanted onboard flash on a D3?
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Never owned a D3 but I would always want a pop-up flash on a camera. I VERY rarely use it but I like it to be there for when I want to trigger CLS flashes.
 
gramps said:
No ... it's a man's camera, get an SB600/800/910 :D
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:thumbs: Already have a SB900 & 2 Yongnuo's with a buch of triggers!

Intended itinerary to use with the D3

Nikon 24-70 f2.8
Nikon 70-200 f2.8 MkII
Nikon 50mm f1.4
Nikon 60mm f2.8 AF Micro

Sigma 150-500mm

I'll leave my 10.5 f2.8 fisheye for the D90 ;)
 
Scout n' About said:
:thumbs: Already have a SB900 & 2 Yongnuo's with a buch of triggers!

Intended itinerary to use with the D3

Nikon 24-70 f2.8
Nikon 70-200 f2.8 MkII
Nikon 50mm f1.4
Nikon 60mm f2.8 AF Micro

Sigma 150-500mm

I'll leave my 10.5 f2.8 fisheye for the D90 ;)
Click to expand...

Good combination - the 70-200 f2.8 MkII is a really cracking lens.
 
Yeah - I love them all! :)

Don't even get to use the Sigma zoom as much as I had hoped to now - crap weather and it is very light-hungry even on a good day
 
-Rob- said:
Never owned a D3 but I would always want a pop-up flash on a camera. I VERY rarely use it but I like it to be there for when I want to trigger CLS flashes.
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Yep, that's what I use it for. It's nice that I can use both my speedlights off camera TTL with no other equipment.

Most of it has already been said. I went through this same dilema when I bought my D700 and I must admit I still go through it a bit now.

I suppose first things first, the D700 has some fundamental advantages. It's cheaper for a start. It has a built in flash which as said previously might be pretty useless as a flash but is damn handy as a wireless trigger. It also has built in sensor cleaning which I believe the D3 lacks. The biggie for me though was the size of it. I love to use the pro bodies with built in grips, in fact I also have a D2X but they're pretty big! I also feel a bit self concious using them as they very much scream 'pro' and my photography very much doesn't. If I'm out just to take photos, this doesn't bother me. If I'm out for some other reason but want a camera with me, it does. The D700 isn't small of course but with a small prime on the front, it doesn't look or feel too big.

There are times when I wonder if I'd prefer a D3. I love to use pro bodies and I don't feel that a D700 with a grip is the same (I always think it feels a little clumsier). The D3 also has a 100% view finder and higher native FPS which doesn't bother me for my use but might if I were shooting planes. They're nicer to use too, with more controls at your fingertips. Dual memory cards and better built and weatherproofed as well...

Hard to draw a conclusion as there isn't a wrong answer here but personally I've decided to keep my D700. I think it doubles better as a 'casual' camera when I'm not on a photography mission whilst still dealing with the serious stuff in a very agreeable manner.
 
gramps said:
No ... it's a man's camera, get an SB600/800/910 :D
Click to expand...

Yeah, only "girly" cameras like Hasselblads have an onboard flash :lol:

hsb_h1.jpg
 
Hadn't even thought of the sensor cleaning function - which I hardly use on my D90 anyway so I woudn't "miss it" would I?
 
Hi,I have one of each,I enjoy both of them,as those I have used the D700 more,did think of the D800 just before I brought the D3,but to be honsent I don't need 36mp.

I think you will be pleased whichever way you go,just one thing the D700 does have dust removable build in,the D3 does not :)
 
I actually sold a D3 and got a D700. I'm not a pro, never used the 9fps, never used the voice memo function etc. The only thing I really found useful was the twin card slots, but as It was the first camera I'd ever owned with two, it's wasn't something I had to have.

As have been mentioned, the beauty of the D700 is it's size and weight. Whilst it is certainly larger with the grip attached, the beauty of it is, is that it can be removed, obviously something the D3 can't do.

Also don't forget the D700 has a built in flash ideal for fill in or for acting as a master for off camera flash in iTTL mode, as well as a dedicated "info" button giving fast access to constantly used settings.

Image quality - the same, AF speed, maybe a tad slower but I do mean a tad, certainly not massively slower (at least in my experience). to be honest, I've not really missed the D3 since it's gone.
 
Scout n' About said:
Hadn't even thought of the sensor cleaning function - which I hardly use on my D90 anyway so I woudn't "miss it" would I?
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I think it happens automatically when you turn the camera off.
 
I own a D3S and 2 D700's but i work semi professionally

D3S with 400mm f/2.8 plus a 1.4x for stuff 30-100 yards out
D700 with grip, 70-200mm f/2.8 plus a 1.4x for stuff 5-30 yards out

However for casual everyday use its the D700 everytime, simple, light and inbuilt flash
 
Gary Coyle said:
If you want something new then go for the D800, if file size scares you then use it in 1.5x crop mode which still gives you a 16mp file and gives you the effective reach of the D300 crop but with all the goodness of a full frame body and full frame IQ
Click to expand...

This is actually really good advice.

You get a FX and a good resolution crop camera...
 
I am waiting to find out more about the proposed D600.

realspeed
 
I bought a D700 and grip three years ago and to date 123,000 shutter actuations. I'm now thinking about a second hand D3 as back up as I near the 150,000 clicks the shutter was tested to. The D3 is tested to 300,000 but I'm sure neither will self destruct when they reach these figures - at least I hope not. I believe the D3 is better weather sealed - the D700 less so as I discovered to my cost after a session working in a heavy shower (of rain - before the puns come rolling in)!
Eight LR6 batteries in the grip will boost to 8 fps but it is a tough choice, both are great cameras but I think if I was starting again I would go for the D3 (then I remembered the reason I did'nt in the first place was cost)
 
I debated long and hard between a D3 and a D700 myself. In the end it came down to the fact that the D700 without the grip, which I have was just easier to carry around and I still have the option of using the grip for when I need the extra fps or longer battery.
 
I have debated between the 2 all day myself and sat watching a D3 go on the bay of E there tonight - went over my budget though :(

I wouldn't mind the grip on all the time as I have one permanently on both my D90's and I like the dual card idea as some jobs I do I dont use my own memory card and it's a ballache if I want to copy some files to work with myself

Plus always having the 9fps/11 in DX mode - awesome! :)
 
Thanks all. I must admit I was hoping to get a concensus of opinion which would make my decision that much easier. From the comments made I shouldn't be disappointed with either. The D800 is also an option with the crop mode but I can't really justify the expense. I do like the idea of the wireless trigger on the D700 which is something I've used on the D300. Not too fussed about fps rate or waterproofing, but the speed of autofocus is very important (although I'm not sure how much of this is down to the camera).
In terms of my current setup, I use a Sigma 120-300 with 1.4x converter for airshows and am usually shooting at the far end. I suppose that my other option is to keep the D300 and upgrade the glass which would offer the opportunity to increase range - anyone got any thoughts on the lens' options available?
 
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