Nikon D700 12.1MP FX-Format CMOS Digital SLR Camera with 3.0-Inch LCD (Body Only) (OLD MODEL)

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Its a full frame DSLR with a big LCD screen and a pretty extensive menu. This being my only digital camera, it has and is serving me well. Digital cameras come and go while my film cameras stay...however, I know this will be my final digital camera because it is absolutely perfect.

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This review is directed to the serious or advanced amateur who may have sold an occasional shot or had work published in various media from time to time, but doesnt make a living from photography. I"ve been a Nikon user, both lenses and camera bodies, since 1954. Almost all of that time was spent with film as I waited for the digital results to come close to the kodachrome, etc quality I wanted. After learning a little about digital on a NIkon 8700, I purchased a D200, but as a film shooter found its limitations somewhat unsatisfactory. Also, with a large collection of prime AIS lenses, the 1.5 crop factor was annoying. The ability to upgrade to the full frame format (FX) opens up a whole new range of capability to enhance results especially for an old film shooter . If one has an extensive array of prime lenses predating AF days, the camera provides a helpful assist to focusing if one follows a few simple steps in programming. Also, FX allows one to exploit the full range of that prime lens inventory as well as many currant ones. While I continue to use a D200 for certain applications with a DX lens, the D700 is the customary carry. In film days for work involving heavy street or crowd activity accompanied with selected close ups as well as some architecture, I usually carried two film camera bodies with zooms mounted to cover the desired focal lengths. (By architecture, Im referring to the ability to capture at 200mm intimate details of things like Frances gothic cathedrals as well as ones overall views with the 35 to 50mm range (perhaps with a prime,) for example.) Today, for comparable coverage of these applications, I wonder if the new 28-300mm VR Nikon eliminates the need for a second D700 carrying the marvelous new 16-35mm for those special close details. Im ignoring the overlap for purposes of conversation. Perhaps other shooters have some insight on this challenge. To keep a new D700 price in prospective, think what you would have paid for an F3HP in the early 80s in todays dollars. Even though rumors are swirling about introduction of an alleged D800 by late summer or early fall of 2011, the pleasure of FX results shouldnt be delayed if ones main interest is the rewards from still photography.

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UPDATED: 6/20/2012: WOW. WOW. WOW. Yes, I repeat myself. I just love this camera so much. Images are clean at ISO 1600, and very usable at ISO 3200. Im now over 90,000 clicks and couldnt be happier. I do have on order the new D800, but may cancel that if the new D600 is released before I receive the D800. This camera (D700) is revolutionary IMHO. It just works. It feels good with the larger lenses and my Zuiko battery grip. The images are amazing. Ive printed 30 x 20" wedding and landscape images that will blow your mind. Super reliable. Never a glitch, or a hiccup at any events I have shot. You cant go wrong with this beast. UPDATED: 3/10/2010: WOW. WOW. WOW. Those three words really say it all. I cant believe how nice this camera has worked. I love it. I thought my D300 was great in low light. Nothing compares to this camera. I just returned from a trip up north to photograph the Canadian-American Dog Sled Racing Championships and the camera functioned flawlessly in the cold and snow. I shot over 1900 frames between the dog sled racing teams, and some landscapes. All I can say is that Im blown away by the quality. I have been shooting with the Nikon D300 since 2008 and it was stolen in January 2010. I then ordered two D300s which I returned and then purchased the D700. WOW. I am so happy I did that. The camera is amazing. Nice weight, and heft. Even after i took my Zeikos (also purchased here) battery grip from the d300 and attached it to the 700. Sharpness wise, the D300 and D700 are on par. However, I have shot many events at high ISO upto 1600 with my D300. I wish I had had the D700. The images with the D700 are absolutely amazing whether at lower ISOs or higher. Here is one of my test images shot at ISO 3200: [...] Also on this blog are "philadelphia Flower Show" pictures that I shot at ISOs up to 3200. Check them out and youll see none of the reviewers here are exaggerating when we say its truly amazng. The downside is I can no longer use my go-to lens the Nikon 18-200VR but I found in one of my boxes of "old"gear a Nikon 28-200AF-D lens that works beautifully, and a 50mm F1.8 For now, these two will do the job for me.

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I have been a faithful Olympus user since the E300. Including the 300 I have owned the E510, E520, and E30. I love the in-camera stabilization and the multiplier the 4/3 system gives me with lenses, but the poor low ISO capabilities frustrate me. It seems most of my shooting is in a gym, theater, or church. Anything above ISO 640 and I am disappointed with the amount of noise. I tried the D700 and was anxious to see if it lived up to its billing for low light prowess. Unreal is all I can say. ISO 6400 is not only usable, but better than I normally try to salvage at ISO 800 on the E30. I went to the Omaha Zoo this last weekend with my grandchild and shot ISO 6400 constantly in some of the venues like the Aquarium and Madagascar. I am thrilled with the result. I have two weddings to shoot in June and I am anxious to try it out in a church setting. I found the white balance very good. The colors were bright and natural. I found I had very little post processing in CS3. I am using cheap lenses until I can build up my war chest again, but the Nikon 50mm F1.8 is bright and a steal. I can work the Olympus menu in my sleep, but I found the Nikon menus intuitive and adjusted quickly. I would like a faster way to set the ISO. It may be that I have not read far enough to see a short cut. I cant part with the E30 yet. I love the rich warm colors of the pictures and Olympus has great digital lenses. I can see that the Nikon will dominate indoors and allow me to shoot discreetly. As I become more adept it may lure the Olympus out of my hands when I am outside.

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The camera comes with three issues: AF, locked buttons, and memory card slot issues. From the last, I have returned to Adorama three defective lenses and one camera. The did even relist a defective lens I returned. Be aware!!! Dont be too excited.

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Ive had this camera for over two years now and I recently purchased a Nikon AF medium zoom lens for it. (I chose this camera because it was full-frame, had a live-view screen, and supported nine of my older but still excellent Nikkor AI lenses.) Every time I pick up this camera and I aim, compose, focus (sometimes I have to gently touch the shutter release button to have it auto-focus) and shoot, I realize that we mere mortals are unworthy of such a wonderful piece of photographic equipment. Its too easy... I felt really bad about abandoning my two old Nikon Fs, but I love this camera. Over two hundred npeople gave this camera a 5-star rating because its that good. They cant all be Nikon employees :)

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I love this camera, as a semi-professional photographer specializing in portrait photography, this camera takes very beautiful photographs, excels in creating the dreamy blurred background with sharp focus in the forefront, and captures a large color scheme. Only reason Im giving it a four star instead of 5 is the frustrating black vignette problem. Under settings, vignette control exists but it doesnt matter if I have it off or on high - theres always at least a slight black vignette eating at the corners of all my photos. Sometimes its fixable in PS, but a lot of times it makes my photos unusable. TLDR; great camera, please fix vignette problem.

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I am very please at the performance of the D700 compared to the D200 I was upgrading from. Little to no noise even if Im pushing it to the limit and having to bring back some details through the raw editor from extreme low light situations, fast start-up, great manual controls... I hate having to go through the menu as some other camera manufactures give you. My five stars are for Cameta and for the D700, NOT for Amazon. I originally placed an order for the D800 and was given all kinds of stories of why it wasnt shipping on time, customer service and the management need to re-think their approach tremendously. I waited far too long with the fairy tales Amazon kept giving me, and being put on another waiting list somewhere else would have certainly given me more of a distaste, so I opted for the D700. The ONLY reason I purchased it through amazon with Cameta is because I was traveling when I placed the order, otherwise I would have went to Cametas website. Their customer service was beyond great and I look forward to doing much more business with them in the future. Shame on you Amazon. If you dont have something, dont lie about when it will be in, I would have been willing to wait on the D800 from Amazon had I just been given the truth. I love my D700 though, and I look forward to having it as my secondary instead of my D200 when I purchase the D800 in a few months directly from Cameta as soon as all the shipping issues with Nikon are resolved :-)

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Im one of those individuals that thinks 2, 3, 4 or maybe 5 times before buying a camera with this price, so based on the price and type of investment I did my homework, long hours of reading reviews, viewing hundreds of pictures taken with the D700 on Flickr until I decided to buy it 2 weeks ago. Got the camera from The Shutterbug store bought through Amazon, I bought the refurbished version to save a little over $500 on the camera and dont regret it. Its the seconds refurbished nikon unit ive bought ( bought a D60 for my sister ) and they work flawlessly. First impressions on the D700 1- Extremely responsive 2- Great view finder ( although you get a 95% view, its awesome ) 3- Love the bulky solid feeling of the camera 4- LCD Screen rocks ( very similar to the quality of the D90 or new D300s ) 5- Contrast and colors taken on this camera are simply stunning, awesome, beautiful Only negative so far is that the rubber cover for the mini usb & hdmi connectors constantly opens, this is a little weird considering that on my D90 its very solid and doesnt open that easy. Ive been using the D700 with the Sigma 24-70mm new HSM lens, which i highly recommend as well. I have some test pictures I did over the weekend on my personal blog in case you feel like checking them out. [...] The lens im using can be also purchased from amazon Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 IF EX DG HSM AF Standard Zoom Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras Hope this helps =) This camera is fun to use, totally professional , of course im no professional but i can tell right away how it differs from the D90 ive been using for the last few months. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

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I did months of research before upgrading from my Sony A100. It was an entry-level DSLR and my initial plan was a mid-level upgrade. Since I enjoy wedding and event photography, I was immediately drawn to Nikon for their superior low-light, high-ISO performance. 5D II aside, theres no competition. Obviously, my first thought was a D90 kit. But after some initial research online I found that it would be in my best interest to make the jump to the Nikon D300. It just so happens that a co-worker of mine owned a D300 and after a few lunch-time outtings with it, I was in love. Having made my decision, I began saving and scouring Amazon on a daily basis and checking Nikon Rumors for price drops and deals. After some time it dawned on me that for the price of a D300 with a kit lens, I could have a D700 body. To me, it made perfect sense to save instead for the D700. Id be getting the D3 sensor, engine and the go-ahead on full-frame (FX) glass. Ive had my D700 since Christmas along with the 50mm f/1.8 (fast prime) and 18-35mm f/3.5 (wide zoom). So far Ive shot one wedding and a handful of events with it and its performance has been outstanding. In a world where gimmicks abound (megapixels, HD video), its nice to know that this camera can hold its own against them all.

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