My Nikon D700

D700, 70-300 VR lens at 300mm

My friend asked me how do I feel about my new D700?  The first thing to answer is why I buy the D700.  (A) Nikon announced the D3x at $8000, I knew that I would not be able to afford any new full-frame Nikon anytime soon.  (B) With the introduction of Canon 5D Mark II, D700 price really dropped.  (C) My 70-300 VR lens felt so much better on a full-frame camera then on the DX format D300, without me stepping back 5 steps (the 1.5x factor) whenever I raised the camera to photograph.  (D) Even today, other than the D3x, D700 has the best sensor of all DSLR, in pair with Canon's 1Ds Mark III, 5D Mark II and Sony's Alpha 900, that is according to DxoMark.  Sadly D3x out performs every other camera, but most people can not afford it including me.  It is important to know that DxoMark does not compare simply the sharpness of the sensor, it compares SNR, dynamic range, tonal range and color sensitivity.  I left the ISO sensitivity out since we all know that D3 and D700 have the highest ISO sensitivity in the industry.   My older D300 is DX format, not full-frame, due to its smaller sensor of cause performed less well than D700 and all these full-frame camera.

D700, 70-300 VR lens at 300mm

The first picture was my first try with D700.  It was over-exposed and was adjusted down 2 stops using Capture NX2.  The Picture Control setting in the camera was at "Vivid", ISO640.  The second picture was taken with exposure carefully adjusted according to the in camera RGB histogram and using Picture Control setting at "Standard", ISO640.  I like the color of both pictures very much.  

D700, 105 VR Micro lens

This close-up of the yellow flower was taken using D700 and 105 VR Micro lens with Picture control setting at "Standard", ISO320.   The image may look very nice on the web, It was cropped from the original and the print size at 300 dpi would only be about 4 x6.  Using D700 and D300 at the same time, cause me to pay much more attention to framing.  If I still need to crop the pictures of D700, then I may be better off just use the D300, which will bring me closer to the subject and give me a higher pixel density.

D700, 105 VR Micro lens

This pink cosmo was photographed with Picture Control setting at "Neutral", ISO400 and again the exposure was carefully adjusted according the in camera RGB histogram.  Are these pictures start make me feel the quality of D700 is better than D300? 

D300, 105 VR Micro lens

This close-up was taken using D300, Picture Control setting at "Neutral", ISO 640.  Under the right condition, both camera performed very well.  Now I carry D700 with 70-300 VR lens and D300 with either 105 VR Micro or 12-24 lens.  The 70-300 VR lens is not good for close-up, it can not focus too close.  I may switch the 105 VR to D700 if I do not need to be very close to the subject.  I will also switch the 70-300 VR to D300 when the subject is really far and I need to have a closer shot.  At low light, then of cause I will us D700.  It is a very versatile system, till the next new Nikon comes out.