Nikon D700
Nikon D700 12.1MP Digital SLR Camera
The D700 holds the honor of being the first full-frame, professional digital SLR camera to be introduced at a retail price under $3000 USD.
In Japan, the D700 body is likely to go for around ¥328,000 JPY - see the Nikon Nikon D700 page at Yodobashi.com.
The Nikon D700 is a professional, FX (full-frame) digital SLR camera in a more compact form than that of the D3.
There'll be quite a number of folks who'll have a tough time figuring out which of the latest digital SLR cameras from Nikon they should buy, so here's a comparison of pros and cons of each model:
Features and specification highlights
Maximum burst rate
In the Nikon D300, maximum fps (frames-per-second) in continuous mode drops to only about 2.5 when shooting 14-bit RAW / NEF files.
Thankfully, the D700 maintains its 5 / 8 fps (with / without the MB-D10 battery grip) regardless of the file quality and format chosen. This was confirmed by a Andy Westlake, a DPReview.com staff.
Focus indicators
Folks who do a lot of manual focusing will appreciate the fact that the D700 has all three focus indicators (just like on the D3): > o < (confirmed by Thom Hogan).
This is better than on the D300 which only has a single green dot as the indicator on the D700 also indicates the direction in which you should turn the focusing ring on the lens in order to achieve focus.
Official Nikon D700 websites
Nikon | Imaging Products - read about the D700’s key features, technical specifications and related accessories. Download the product brochure and perform product registration.
Nikon D700 Micro Site - there's some pretty heavy animation going on there, but the extensive set of image samples makes it worth it. The extreme weather photos in the landscape section were photographed by Jim Reed - read his Nikon D700 review.
My favorite section from the site is the Travel series of photos shot in Vietnam.
Nikon D700 Reviews and User Opinions
View these high ISO test photos comparing the D3 and D700 in terms of image noise.
Here's a most excellent Nikon D700 review by professional photographer Jim Reed.
dc.watch.impress.com.jp has a series of D700 ISO 200 to 25600 tests.
Watch an superb video on the Nikon D700.
AF similar to the D3's: Michel feels that the AF (autofocus) performance on the D700 is similar to that on the D3. This is based on his brief hands-on session with the camera.
New D700 report
This just in from a Nikon D200 owner. Slight vignetting with the 70-200mm f/2.8G lens wide open at f/2.8, but is gone by f/3.5. No banding encountered yet.
Lee Rothman's test photos with the Nikon 70-300mm VR lens - gallery of full-sized images (remember to select the original link after you've clicked through the thumbnails) and related forum post. The photos showcase the D700's ISO performance (at ISO 3200, ISO 6400) and crop difference between the FX and DX mode shooting. The D2x Mode 1 Picture Control was used.
Nikon D700 Sample Photos
RAW / NEF samples
Here are two ISO6400 RAW / NEF files that you can download for evaluating the image noise characteristics of the Nikon D700.
This ISO1600 photo was taken in good light, but it should prove useful for evaluating dynamic range and how the Nikon D700 handles shadow detail in such situation.
Thanks to Ben Horne who took three photos and hosted the NEF files and full-sized JPEGs on his site.
ISO 6400 football training photos
The location was Chicago Bears training camp in Bourbonnais, Illinois. ISO 6400 was necessary for 1/400 sec and faster shutter speeds.
Six, full-sized D700 sample images
Find these sample photos at NikonImaging.com.
If the images load too slow for you, I've mirrored them at my Flickr account:
- Nikon D700 Image #1 (dog), ISO 200, shot with a Nikon 60mm f/2.8 G AF-S macro.
- Nikon D700 Image #2 (wedding gown), ISO 200, taken with a Nikon 200mm f/2G.
- Nikon D700 Image #3 (aerial shot), ISO 200, photographed with a Nikon 24mm f/3.5D ED PC-E Nikkor.
- Nikon D700 Image #4 (warm interior), ISO 400, shot with a Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8G.
- Nikon D700 Image #5 (half-body portrait), ISO 400, ISO 400, taken with a Nikon 200mm f/2G.
- Nikon D700 Image #6 (arms-on-the-table portrait), ISO 200, photographed with a Nikon 60mm f/2.8G AF-S macro.
14 photos at NikonUSA.com
Even though the images are not available as full-sized versions, they're a delightful collection of photos taken with the new D700.
Go to this link, click on the first thumbnail of the photo gallery section and go through all the pictures - my favorites are the wedding shots, fire truck, skate boarder and the snaking river.
It turned out that the fire truck shot was photographed by Joe McNally - read his superb post on how the shot was set up, and the equipment and lenses (mainly the Nikon 14-24mm) used.
Nikon D700 Accessories
Michel likes the Crumpler 6 MILLION DOLLAR HOME Shoulder Photo Bag.
Resources
Nikon D700 prices in Malaysia.
Archive of D700 announcements, rumors and speculations.