Nikon Announces the D700: Second Full-Frame Nikon
by Wesley Fink on July 2, 2008 12:01 PM EST- Posted in
- Digital Camera
The Nikon D300 is currently the darling of the DSLR market. Nikon has built the D300 on a Magnesium frame with weather sealing that makes it the top crop-sensor model, or DX format in Nikon lingo, in their current lineup. It is really a Pro model, but with pricing at the upper end of the prosumer market. This formula has worked well for Nikon. The D300 is selling very, very well. We were not immune to the charms of the D300 as you saw in our blog Singing the Praises of the Nikon D300.
The Nikon D3 has similarly created huge excitement in the full-frame DSLR market, which Nikon calls FX format. It is hard not to notice its stand-out high speed performance - with its normal ISO range to 6400 and expansion to an amazing and usable ISO 25600. There is also the raw speed in image capture to make the most of this amazing sensitivity. The D3 can fire at a blistering 9 fps in full-frame, or up to 11 fps in DX (APS-C) mode.
At $5000 the D3 is something of a value compared to the $8000 Canon 1Ds Mark III, but it really couldn’t compete in value with Canon’s aging full-frame 5D, which is now selling for around $2000, down substantially from the price of $3500 when it was first introduced.
Photo Enthusiasts have been clamoring for another Nikon full-frame to fill that void – a full-frame to fit the space between the $5000 D3 and the $1800 APS-C D300. Clearly Nikon was listening intently to those wishes. Today they announced a new full-frame Nikon D700 that will be available in the market beginning the end of this month.
No one was really surprised that Nikon introduced another FX DSLR as it was widely expected that Nikon would not sit back as Canon introduced the successor to the 5D, likely the 5D Mark II. That introduction is widely expected at Photokina in Germany in late September, but there have been many other expected dates for the 5D successor that have come and gone. The Nikon surprise was the introduction of the D700 NOW, some 3 to 4 months before Photokina. Most expected the cheaper full-frame to be perhaps announced at Photokina, or maybe even later to put some distance between the D3 and D300 introductions late last year.
So what is the D700? In simplest terms take the full-frame FX sensor and electronics from the D3. Put them in the smaller but rugged body of the D300, and add unique 3-phase self-cleaning to the sensor. The result is basically the D700.
This makes the D700 the first full-frame DSLR with a built-in pop-up flash, which will likely be trashed by traditionalists. However, given Nikon’s superb wireless flash system many will welcome the ability to control exterior flashes with the built-in flash, as can be done on the D300.
The D700 also uses the same MB-D10 Battery Grip used by the current D300, and it manages 8 fps full-frame compared to the 9 fps of the D3. There is no DX speed-up, however, and 8 fps is the top speed. Put this in perspective by comparing it to the Canon 5D at 3 fps.
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Wesley Fink - Wednesday, July 2, 2008 - link
You are correct in the needed parts, which is why I mentioned "up to" 8 fps with the MB-D10 grip. If you insist on Nikon parts from your local dealer you can easily spend $500 for the 3 needed parts.However, I just did a little shopping on eBay and found you can get a Nikon MH-21 charger from several sources delivered for about $120. A Nikon BL-3 battery cap can be delivered for a total $45, and a compatible generic EN-EL4a battery delivered is about $30. That's a grand total of $195, which is a considerable improvement over the $500. You can probably do even better than the $195 if you shop a bit more.
It is always safest to go with the manufacturer's parts, but 2 of the 3 are genuine Nikon and only the battery pack is generic. A Nikon battery would be around $120 which still keeps an all Nikon solution below $300.
Lord 666 - Wednesday, July 2, 2008 - link
Or just buy 8 AA batteries for the times you need 8fps over stock 5fps (6fps in D300)Pneumothorax - Thursday, July 3, 2008 - link
I hope you meant nimh batteries. I got stuck one time with a depleted EN-EL3a and ended up using alkalines with my D300. I liked the 6fps speed, but the batteries only lasted about 40 shots or so. I tried it again with nimh and I got about 300 shots instead.chibimike - Wednesday, July 2, 2008 - link
You multiple times mention comparisons of the D3 to the 1Ds Mk III, but that is not the appropriate camera to compare it to. The D3 analog in Canon is the 1D Mk III. They are both high speed sports/photojournalism shooters, with similar resolution at ISOs upto 1600. The D3 excels at extremely high ISO shooting, nothing comes close.The 1Ds Mk III is competition to medium format digital backs and has a 21Mp resolution, that captures way more detail than any other 35mm digital SLR.
strikeback03 - Wednesday, July 2, 2008 - link
For lack of any better comparisons, the D3 compares to both the 1DIII and 1DsIII. In resolution and speed it is closer to the 1DIII, but like the 1DsIII it is full frame and top dog in the lineup. Until Nikon releases a "D3x" and relabels the D3 the "D3h", the D3 will be compared to both Canons.So Nikon uses flashes of light to control their wireless flashes as well? Does Pocket Wizard have a patent on better control methods? Would be nice to have the flexibility to not need the wireless flashes to be able to see the camera.
slashbinslashbash - Wednesday, July 2, 2008 - link
Page 1: "The D700 also uses the same MB-D10 Battery Grip used by the current D300..."Page 2: "The MB-D10 Battery Grip, which fits both the D300 and D700..."
Page 3: "The MB-D10 Multi-Power Battery Grip that was introduced with the D300 also fits the D700."
You mention 3 times in as many pages that the MB-D10 battery grip fits both the D300 and the D700. I think I got it the first time, thanks.
Also, "This is in stark contrast to Nikon EF-S lenses for their APS-C models which will not even mount on the Canon 5D or 1Ds models." -- should be Canon EF-S lenses, not Nikon.
Wesley Fink - Wednesday, July 2, 2008 - link
This is what happens when the Web Editor is sick and you have to self-edit and self-post :)Reference on page 2 was eliminated, so the two remaining are less redundant.
The incorrect Nikon moniker on p.3 has been morphed to Canon. Thanks for bringing these to our attention.
Lord 666 - Wednesday, July 2, 2008 - link
Since when does 3Com make digital cameras?haplo602 - Thursday, July 3, 2008 - link
Wesley, correct the article header:Date: July 2nd, 2008
Topic: Digital Camera
Manufacturer: 3Com/U.S. Robotics
Author: Wesley Fink
I doubt 3Com is the manufacturer ...
Wesley Fink - Thursday, July 3, 2008 - link
Corrected to Nikon.