Nikon D700

[Bill Hark]

Nikon has recently released a new very high-end amateur camera, the D700. It's similar to the D300 with the larger sensor of the D3 and a cleaning system.

Jim Reed had a preproduction model and was out chasing with it during storm season 2008. Check out these cool images; worth looking at even if not interested in the D700.
http://www.jimreedphoto.com/gallery.html?gallery=New Nikon D700

Jim Reed's review of the D700.
http://www.jimreedphoto.com/content.html?page=5

Here is Ken Rockwell's take on the D700.
http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/d700.htm

I am still using the D200 and would like to get a few more years before upgrading. I have always loved Nikon products. I am working the learning curve as it is my first DSLR. The specs on the D700 look great if one has the money especially if planning on a major upgrade from one of the earlier models.

Anybody else planning on getting one or has had experience with the 300.

Bill Hark

 

[John Wetter]

I'll likely still keep a DX sensor for some time yet. I have a D80 and really like it and have gotten some great pictures with it. I added the 12-24mm lens this spring and that doubled my love for the Nikon system over-night! Great lens and great camera. The future is obviously FX but they still have some great DX cameras!

 

[Heidi Farrar]

Bill, you probably have already seen this, but Ken Rockwell has a review of the D300 in his archives: http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/d300.htm He does a great job comparing it to the D200.

We have both the D200 and D300 at my house. My husband and I got the D200 in 2006 and we shared it until he got a D300 this Spring to use mostly for his wildlife and macro photography. He rarely takes the 100mm lens off of the D300, and I have never used it for storm or landscape photography, so I can't offer anything by comparison. (However, after reading Rockwell's review, I am definitely taking the D300 on any Plains chases I should happen to make in the future.)

Not that this is necessarily a huge issue, but one thing I can offer in contrast to Rockwell's review of the D200 vs. D300 is that we have not noticed that the D300 has "three times the battery life of the D200." It may be true that in our experience the D300's battery lasts longer, but I would not go so far as to say it's 3-times as long. In our experience, if you're using a lot of external flash or a 80-400mm lens with (motor-driven) image stabilization, it goes through battery on the D200 for sure, but we haven't noticed a marked difference in battery longevity when using the D300 for the same things.

Things we like about the D300: Less noise at higher ISO. (The D700 is absolutely astounding when it comes to high-ISO photography. I was VERY impressed with Jim's high ISO sampling.)

- Live view on the D300 is a plus for macro photography or photography that requires odd camera angles (such as on a very low-to-the-ground tripod). I would like to try it for lightning photography and see how that may or may not be helpful/useful.

- "Active D-lighting". It's something that is very beneficial for wildlife photography (which I know you do also), and I am certain it would be great for storms and landscapes as well. My husband's example is that when he's photographing a wildflower, mushroom or butterfly, ideally he wants to have the light coming in to highlight the subject, but have the background dark so that the subject will stand out. The D300 has an on-off switch in the menu that takes care of natural light's tendency to blow out the details in the lightest area and underexpose the darkest by balancing the dynamic range. The link provided does a good job explaining how it works and why it's important, so I won't go on about it.

 

[mark humpage]

I'd like to pin the D700 against my Olympus E3 on a shoot. It would be an interesting comparison. High ISO low noise is a no brainer with the Nikon but apart from night time shots I think it would be a good challenge. Each system has their own merits thats for sure.

I'm monsoon chasing in a few weeks so if any D700 users want to meet up

Mark