Nikon D700

Nikon D700 is a new digital camera which is a more affordable version of the very popular Nikon D3 camera released earlier this year.

Intro:
Nikon D700 shares many of Nikon D3 features and specification so the image quality obtained with this camera is also very similar to what you might get from D3, however, the Nikon D700 is a lot more affordable. Nikon D700 looks, feels and operates in a very similar fashion so for about 60% of the D3 price you get almost equally good camera.


Nikon D700 pros:
+ 12.1 megapixel full-frame CMON sensor
+ 3-inch 920,000 pixel LCD display
+ Extraordinary high ISO performance
+ Great image quality
+ Very fast start-up
+ Built-in dust reduction system to protect the lens
+ AF system with 51 focus points
+ Solid construction
+ All-around high performance
+ Very god battery life

Nikon D700 cons:
- Viewfinder only 95 percent coverage
- Shorter shutter duty cycle
- AF times slower than the D3, but performs almost equally well in the real world


The design:
measures 5.6 x 4.8 x 3.0 inch and weights 35 oz. (995 grams). It is made of very high quality materials: magnesium metal, very durable plastic and rubber on the handgrip. Moreover, it is weather-proof and solid so you can take it practically everywhere with you. At the back of the camera is the bright and clear 3-inch 920,000 pixel LCD display excellent for reviewing and editing photos. There is also an optical viewfinder, yet, unfortunately it has only 95% coverage so on some rare occasions you might need to trim your photos a bit if you choose to use it. There are plenty of dedicated and configurable keys at the back so as to make it easier to access the most frequently used features. At the top of the camera is accessory shoe and the pop-up flash. All in al the ergonomics of Nikon D700 is very good.

Performance:
Nikon D700 has a very nice continuous mode in which it can take from 5 to 8 fps in the highest resolution and quality until you run out of free space on your memory card. The camera performs well in all circumstances. In low light it achieves focus without any trouble, unless it is completely dark and you cannot see anything. The flash is recharged quite fast, so depending of conditions it can take less than a second to recharge if it was barely used, or almost four seconds if you took a photo in almost complete darkness. Nikon D700 is compatible with practically all Nikon Nikkor ‘F’ lenses and it can store 9 lenses for recall. Thanks to the built in dust reduction switching lenses is as easy as pie.
Then it comes to the image quality achieved with the Nikon D700 it is just great which comes as not surprise as we are talking about a digital camera for almost $3000 and that’s not a low price. Thanks to its D-Lighting feature Nikon D700 which optimizes the highlight and shadow detail the photos takes with it come out really great. The images come out sharp, noise-free (to an extent, of course) vivid and well exposed. What I liked about it was the really excellent high ISO performance.

Menus / ease of use:
Because the back of the camera has plenty of buttons situated is a thought out way you will probably not delve into the menus too often, but use the buttons instead. The buttons are placed where they should be and are bit enough for comfortable use so there’s no worries that you could slip from a button or push two at the same time. Also thanks to the rubberized handgrip the camera feels very well in hand. In general, the Nikon D700 is very intuitive, easy to master and pleasant to use.


Selected Nikon D700 features and specifications:
•    Image Sensor Format
•    CMOS
Image Sensor Type
•    23.9 x 36.0mm
Sensor Size
•    12.87 million
Total Pixels
•    12.1 million
Effective Pixels
•    FX-format
•    (L) 4,256 x 2,832
•    (M)3,184 x 2,120
•    (S)2,128 x 1,416
•    DX-format
•    (L) 2,784 x 1,848
•    (M) 2,080 x 1,384
•    (S)1,392 x 920
Image Area (pixels)
•    5 frames per second
Top Continuous Shooting Speed at full resolution
•    FX-format
•    CH: Up to 5 frames per second
•    CL: Up to 4 frames per second
•    DX-format
•    CH: Up to 5 frames per second
•    CL: Up to 4 frames per second
Continuous Shooting Options
•    3 in. diagonal
LCD Monitor Size
•    Wide Viewing Angle TFT-LCD
•    Super Density
LCD Monitor Type
•    920,000 Dots
LCD Monitor Resolution
•    170-degree wide-viewing angle
LCD Monitor Angle of View
•    Brightness,7 levels
LCD Monitor Adjustments
•    30 sec.
Slowest Shutter Speed
•    1/8000 sec.
Fastest Shutter Speed
•    Yes
Bulb Shutter Setting
•    Yes
Mirror Lock Up
•    200 in steps of 1/3, 1/2, 1 EV
Lowest Standard ISO Sensitivity
•    6400 in steps of 1/3, 1/2, 1 EV
Highest Standard ISO Sensitivity
•    Hi-2 (ISO 25,600 equivalent) 
Highest Expanded ISO Sensitvity
◦    Lo-1 (ISO 100 equivalent), in steps of 1/3, 1/2, 1 EV
◦    Hi-1 (ISO-12,800 equivalent), in 1/3, 1/2 or 1 EV steps
◦    Hi-2 (ISO-25,600 equivalent), 1 EV step
•    
Expanded ISO Sensitivity Options
•    Uncompressed 12/14-bit NEF (RAW)
•    Uncompressed 12-bit NEF (RAW)
•    Compressed 12/14-bit NEF (RAW, Lossless compressed): approx. 60-80 percent
•    Compressed 12/14-bit NEF (RAW, Compressed): approx. 45-60 percent
•    JPEG: JPEG-baseline-compliant; can be selected from Size priority and Optimal Quality
•    TIFF (RGB)