Nikon D700 12.1 MP Digital SLR Camera - Black (Body Only)

I finally have a Digital camera that gives me the feeling and performance that I had back with my Professional Nikon Film Cameras. The D700 has all the image capture performance specs of the much more expensive Nikon D3 and a slightly larger size than the D300.
Shooting full frame with an 85mm or 105mm for portraiture is pure bliss as one can again get the perspective and Bokeh that we have loved with these lenses.
Photographing Interior spaces with the Rectilinear 14mm 2.8 on a full frame digital is absolutely exotic! You get all this at 1/2 the price of a D3 with no difference in image quality output.
The D700 has the same capture device, processors and AF system as the D3. It uses the MB-D10 battery pack from my D300 with no constraints. The low light photography capability is outstanding up to 3200 ISO and is acceptable at 6400 and above. You must turn on the low light noise reduction feature for anything above 3200 ISO.
The D2X mode 2 picture control download is perfect for portraits where you want excellent skin tones. The D700 has Excellent battery life on the single EN-EL3e. It gave me over 1150 RAW 14-bit photos and still had some life at the end of a long day.If you are not out shooting fast action sports in the rain for a living or a world-traveling photojournalist, and you just can't wait to use all your old 35mm Nikon lenses for their true focal length, you need the D700.
If you have been using a consumer Nikon DX SLR camera and own a quiver of DX series lenses,and need to step up a notch, get the D300 at almost half the price of the D700.
The D3, D700 and D300 are all 12 Megapixel cameras. The difference is that the D300 has a higher resolution due to the smaller sensor size. More pixels per sqaure millimeter. I shoot groupshots of people with my D300 and a 12-24mm Nikon. The D700 and D3 can shoot in incredibly low light and have a much better Auto White Balance than the D300. I use the D700 for Small family portraits, headshots, and Real Estate photos where a low light camera with Awesome White balance and full use of rectilinear wide angles is absolute heaven. All three focus very fast and Dynamic Auto Focus very well.
The D700 is sealed very well against heavy fog or misty rain. The D3, like the D2 series, can shoot in a rainstorm with no worry of failure with an appropriately sealed lens on it. I have used the D3 in pouring Seattle rain.
The D700 does not have the high-speed shutter of the D3 nor the weather sealing or dual CF card slot. It does however have many cool programming features not found in the D300 or the D3.
If this is your first digital as you leave the film world, but you aleready have a host of Nikon lenses- BUY IT. If you need abackup for your Nikon D3 - BUY IT. If you shoot portraiture, weddings, or family photos in studio or outdoors - BUY IT.

First I did my home work, I'm very picky about my toys. This was going to be a very expensive toy. So I read up on DSLR'S and thier lenses. Very important part of the camera experience is the available lenses and the quality that can be expected. Nikon makes very good lenses and thier quality goes beyond performance, such as durability, and manufacturing standards (no lemons). The thing that was a determining factor was FX format. I have a F3 in mint condition and I wanted lenses that would work on both bodies. I have a AF 28-85 ED MICRO (NO VR OR DISTANCE DATA) and a AF VR 80-400D ED. I was surprised how well the D700 works with these two lenses. The manual is over 400 pages long so it is not easy to understand everything at once, however, I put in a battery, put on the 28-85 lens and started taking pictures. It is that easy. I found a web site that really got me started (kenrockwell.com), I followed his D700 manual (30 pages) left him with $10 (I'm cheap). Its like a new car, have to keep looking where the headlight switch is, but like a new car once you find it - it seems to be in a logical spot. The menu system is weak - its real hard to remember where a particular setting is to be found. The battery life seems good to me. The metering and focus systems are right on. I can not say enough good things about these two systems. I don't have the best AF lenses, but the D700 got the most out of them. And by the way if you are going to get this camera and the 80-400 get a mono-pod, that system is heavy.

I've been 25 years away from photography (kids!) so I have been overtaken by digital technology and needed to re-equip.
Why did I get the D700? I have pretentions to artistry, so wanted to make sure I didn't restrict myself with a camera that wasn't up to Pro specs in terms of image quality, so went for the cheapest (all things are relative) end of the Pro range (ie full frame sensors). Why Nikon? A bit of research narrowed it down to Nikon and one other brand that seem to dominate the current market and, to be honest, I went Nikon because I found it easier to get my head around their range and how all the different models compared with one another, it is a trusted name, and the prices seemed the same as the direct competition.
The D700 has more capability than you can poke a stick at: can (unlike me) do just about anything except sing the national anthem when you fire it up (even that may be possible - haven't finished reading the manual yet), and it does it exquisitely well. The manual is about 2 cm thick (all the same language) and there isn't much padding.
The photo quality is terrific. For a dinosaur like me the difficulty is in coping with the multitudinous choices of digital photography. Its like the ice cream parlour: cherry choc chip fudge, and many of the other 53 flavours, is probably better than vanilla but one sometimes wonders if the world as a whole might have been better off with just vanilla. Similarly the days where it was all over once the exposure had been set, the lens focussed, the scene composed and the shutter released were a lot simpler than now when the camera needs a thick manual to explain the 4 knobs, 4 levers, 24 buttons, 2 screens and 6 electrical connections (I kid you not, and that excludes the battery, memory card and lens connections), and then there are all the post-exposure options of sharpening, colour tweaking, shadow and highlight enhacement etc, etc, and the dozens/hundreds of software programmes that can do them. This all takes some comparative research and learning but the results for the effort are spectacularly good.
I'm not going to explain the operation of the camera - it works sensationally well. It feels good, it uses the great Nikkor lenses, but it is a bit of a beast: bigger than I imagined and very solid (doubtless good for repelling burglars) but that is what you get if you want the Pro grade, full field FX sensor.
How does it compare with the competition? I don't know, and I don't care - it is great.

If you are a professional photographer, do not read this review. You will just dump all over it. Most likely you have a D3/D3S, and the D700 is your backup. The D700 is great, light (compared to the D3) and you do not need advise from an rank amateur photographer
Advantages: Uses FX lenses and you do not have to multiple the focal length by 1.5. pixs look better than D200, very subjective I think. I like the vertical leveler. It takes a little time to figure how to use it by assigning fn function. Directions are many and difficult. But you are rewarded for the effort and time. I am glad I have bought it, but if I did it again, perhaps the D90 at a third of the price makes more sense. I bought mine because I got a almost new (90 shutter releases) for $2100 (after shipping, handling, taxes, bing cash rebate).

Negatives: Did i mention how complicated the manual and camera was. I almost thought it did not work when I tried to format the CF through the menu. You sometimes absolutely must use the OK button and not the selector. I did not read that anywhere. If you format the CF and you do it from menu, when you get to the last step, and highlight the ok and press the center select button, nothing happens. Must use the button labeled OK. I think you must use the OK button for selecting ADR. Of course, figuring it had to be the camera software, not me I tried to upgrade it to the newest firmware. I got to the the last step and it ask you if it is OK to upgrade. I selected the OK to upgrade and I push the center select button. And nothing happens. It took me at least 6 tries. By this time, I was deep into self loathing for having spent all this money for a camera I did not really need but figure would make up for my inadequacy. Of course if I went to a therapist, he would have told me I really was inadequate for thinking a D700 would make up for my failing.
Both ways I would be out $2100, but this way I at least have a camera. But back to the review: Then I saw it, I noticed there was a button labeled OK. Eureka, You have to push the OK button, Left side back. I can understand why since these are very important events and you do not want to accidental say OK because you hit the select button accidentally. I upgraded, selected auto for ADR and formated my CF. I took some very good pictures, used all my old FX lenses.

other negatives: it is heavy. try holding it in one hand for long. it does not fit in your shirt pocket, or in your wallet or your purse. Without lens, it weights the same as a notebook; with lenses, a laptop.
It is expensive, but at least you can not complain that your lenses cost more than your camera. Well you can find some that do cost more than 3K. But there are few nikon lenses that cost less than the D40, D6O. of course my expensive nikon lenses from 20 years ago, still are excellent and usable and my FA is a doorstops. Actually the FA is still a beauty if you do film.

If you want to take great pictures and that is it, buy a D90 and buy 1 or 2 excellent lenses. In 3 yrs, the D700 will not be as good as the new cameras and the mid level camera that replaces the D90 position will be better than the D700. But your lenses will still work great. If you want FX, buy FX lenses now, they work on DX. Wait for FX on the D90 replacement.

The D700 is truly a beauty. But for the price, I could have bought the D90 and the next two cameras that replace it.

I couldn't be more happy with the purchase of Nikon D700 Digital SLR camera. It replaced my 3-year old and retiring Nikon D200, which I have put well over 100,000 images through (and it's still going strong.)

The camera have a very solid construction, it is said to use a thicker magnesium body than the D300 and D200, and is very water-resistant (one reviewer used the camera for 4+ hours in the rain with absolutely no problem).

For the first time, I have absolutely no worry about setting my ISO at 6400 and know for a fact the images will come out far superior than that would produce on my old D200 with iso of just 640, sharpness and resolution wise. The High ISO performance is astonishing on D700, thanks to Nikon's full frame 12mp sensor (the exact same sensor that's been used in Nikon's top of the line D3). The sensor's default setting produces neutral, film like results, with the ability to fully customize color/contrast/sharpness.

The ability to produce 14bit raw files would put some of the most critical photographer on the ease, knowing that they will not compromise on the shadow and highlight details while shooting in 14bit raw. However, in my field test the difference is impossible to distinguish with human eye, it can only be detected with the aid of a histogram.

I love the cameras ability to customize at least 3 different function keys for various tasks (the DOF button, Function button and AE/AF-Lock button). The ability to use the en-el4a battery with the MB-D10 grip is a huge plus (although the grip, adapter, the battery itself and the charger for battery costs well over $500 dollars), it enables the ability to shoot well over 2,000 images on a single battery charge, and amazing 8.1fps frame rate (16 raws continues shooting, or unlimited jpgs)

The LCD screen is truely a joy to stare at, it offers 3x more pixels than the old 320x240pixel screen. With 178 degree viewing angle, and anti-glare coating all help ensure accurate color rendition. (mine comes with 1 stuck pixel however that's not noticeable unless screen is displaying complete black)

If you've used Nikon's DSLR before, you'll be at home with D700's menu system, very intuitive with a help function which explains every setting on the fly. Some really useful features include: Self sensor cleaning, Mirror lockup, Multiple exposure, Intravelmeter, Visual horizon and much much more.

Nikon's Speedlight flash system is the best in the industry, and Canon's offerings are all far behind. This camera's build-in flash can remotely control SB-900/800/600 flashes to be fired at distance. Nikon's i-TTL metering is spot on every time during most normal shooting situations.

Some little detail that I really appreciate is the build in rubber caps for the accessory socket and the pc flash sync socket, now I would never have to worry about losing those little caps anymore.

Rival Canon 5D Mark II have the pixel count advantage and the ability to record videos, which would attract a lot of photographers who's also doing motion film works, or landscape photographers who want the absolute highest resolution at lowest iso settings, downside of the 5d mk ii is the increased noise pass iso 1600, lower frame rate, cheaper build, and lower quality lens offerings. Oh wait, did I mention about the ultra tiny buttons that's impossible to press when wearing gloves during winter time?

I would highly recommend Nikon D700 for it's serious high iso performance and incredible usability.