Nikon Announces the D700: Second Full-Frame Nikon
by Wesley Fink on July 2, 2008 12:01 PM EST- Posted in
- Digital Camera
Our Take
The announcement of the D700 fills a huge hole in the Nikon model lineup. The $5000 full-frame D3 and $1800 crop-sensor D300 have both been extremely well-received. However, there was nothing in-between, and the D700 fills that void nicely. As Nikon’s second, and most affordable, FX (full-frame) model the D700 should sell very well – at least until the launch of Canon’s replacement for the aging 5D.
Nikon’s new models at the top have clearly out-shined the best from Canon. The 40D has been left to fight for market share on price, and the superb $8000 1Ds Mark III has lost many recent sales to the cheaper D3 with its remarkable performance to ISO 25600. At the top this has been a down-cycle for Canon, but it is likely a cycle and not the last battle in a war. At the entry level most would concede that the new Canon entry models – the XSi and 1000D just introduced in Europe are much stronger than the warmed over D60 and an aging D80 that is looking very short on features these days. As an aside the entry Canon 1000D will make its way to the US around September, but it will be called the Canon XS.
All of this will likely turn upside down again this September at Photokina in Germany. Photokina is still an every other year show, and the big guns like Canon and Nikon usually reserve big announcements for this show. The replacement for the Canon 5D is expected, and we will likely see a new Nikon replacement for the D80 with new bells and whistles gleaned from the D300. There will be many other surprises as well.
This brings us to the larger issue of the D700, and that is why is Nikon introducing the D700 now? This model was expected, but it was not expected until Photokina or later. Nikon could just be trying to strike again at Canon market share in a pre-emptive strike. Or Nikon could know or expect that the 5D replacement will be so good that it will hurt their D3 sales and cut into any sales of of a new lower-priced full-frame like the D700. In that situation you get the camera out first to capture sales while you can.
We don’t really know which scenario is the case, or if either is. We do know something unusual is going on to bring the D700 to market now. Either way the D700 is a really nice new choice in the full-frame DSLR market. Those who wanted a D3 but who didn’t want to spend $5000 or lug around a big, heavy speed demon will flock to the D700. It answers all their concerns and accelerates the move of the Professional DSLR market to the full-frame, no-crop-factor sensor.
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Wesley Fink - Thursday, July 3, 2008 - link
Nikon has also announced a new Top Flash Unit and a couple of new perspective control lenses•SB-900 Speedlight – With an unmatched zoom range of 17-200 feet, and Nikon’s popular wireless capabilities, the intelligent and versatile SB-900 Speedlight takes its place as the new Speedlight flagship. Available in August for an estimated selling price of $499.95.
•PC-E Micro NIKKOR® 45mm f/2.8D ED and PC-E Micro NIKKOR 85mm f/2.8D – Nikon’s newest PC-E lenses give photographers control over tilt and shift to adjust perspective and adjust linear distortion, while providing excellent depth of field control, which makes them idea for shooting buildings or product photography. These two new lenses join the NIKKOR 24mm PC-E lens to give photographers perspective control from wide to medium telephoto. Available in August the new 45mm and 85mm PC-E lenses will have an estimated selling price of $1,799.95 and $1,739.95, respectively.
strikeback03 - Thursday, July 3, 2008 - link
17-200 feet? According to DPReview, it is 17-200mm, i.e. the flash zooms its pattern to cover the field of view of those focal lengths (plus automatic adjustment for DX or FX format).Wesley Fink - Thursday, July 3, 2008 - link
This was a copy and paste from the Nikon Press release sent to us. However in the detailed description at the Press site the zoom range is quoted as 17 to 200mm. Based on the detailed info 17 to 200mm is correct.FreeTard - Friday, July 4, 2008 - link
This was over on Daily Tech as well. I posted the following link there:http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/d700.htm">http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/d700.htm
He sums up what I first thought when I read about the 700. Either get the DX D300 and a decent lens. Or get the FX D3.
I love my 300, and the only upgrade that would make any sense would be the D3. I know the 700 has a few different features compared to the D300, other than just the FX sensor. But it's still a fairly lateral move.
Lord 666 - Friday, July 4, 2008 - link
After reading Ken's preview, not sure I entirely agree with him... and he usually is dead on. Let's see what the consensus says when they start shipping. Ken did make a good point about the apparent lack of CF card lock on the D700 due to the info button now being there. Having dropped my D300 from the top of a baby stroller without any damage, the integrity of a "sealed" design works well.With the body at 3k and a piece of glass that you will buy anyway for a D3, you will still wind up spending less money than buying a D3 body by itself. Granted, you will not get the dual memory card slots, faster fps, or 100% FoV, but the smaller form factor is the perfect size.
It all comes down to what the intention of the camera is for. As I put in my DT post, the D700 would have been greatly appreciated on my recent family trip to Disney due to the native 6400 iso and (assumed) much faster AF than D300. After vacation, the FX sensor would be at home for the indoor/outdoor architectural side work I do, but still be manageable in size for my wife to feel comfortable using it for family shots as well.
Tard and any other D300 users... had a scare on vacation for a bit. During a family action period of pictures around 7pm, noticed "Err" on the display screen flashing along with "Auto-ISO." The body had about 5,500 shutter releass at the time and the manual just refered it to a camera error that if continued to send back to Nikon, but with no real explanation. Has anyone else come across this? Restarted the camera twice with no luck, but pulling out battery and reseating CF card worked.
FreeTard - Friday, July 4, 2008 - link
I can see your point. I think I would need to try this body out for a couple of months and see how it does. Without having the opportunity to do that (my wife would kill me if I bought a D700, as I bought the 300 right after getting the 200), I'd still lean towards the D3 instead. But that's more of a preference in this case I think. It's true, for the price of the D3 you can get the D700 and a decent lens.I keep forgetting to look, what do you get MP wise, when you put a DX lens on the 700?
The only time I've had err come up is if I adjust the f stop on one of my old manual lenses. I haven't seen it any other time. I think I'd be a little worried if I did see that come up for no apparent reason.
One other thing I'm curious about, has there been any hint of a bump to 1/16,000? 1/8000 is nice, but I think I could find a use for 1/16,000
haplo602 - Thursday, July 3, 2008 - link
Now this one is very surprising.I was expecting a middle-tier FX camera but not that soon. Now I have a dilema to stay with slides and my wonderfull F100 or save some money for the D700.
Oh well ... difficult decision ...
Calin - Thursday, July 3, 2008 - link
"A large pixel size of 8.45 µm allows for an extremely low signal-to-noise ratio"Maybe extremely high signal to noise ratio?
Wesley Fink - Thursday, July 3, 2008 - link
I suppose even Nikon Press Releases are not immune to mistakes. I do agree the correct statement should be extremely HIGH signal-to-nois ratio. This is the definition of LOW noise, which is what Nikon is trying to communicate.marokero - Wednesday, July 2, 2008 - link
The D700 will need to use the same battery as the D3 (EN-EL4a) in order to shoot at 8fps. It appears it can't be done using two EN-EL3e in the MB-D10 grip. So a D700 buyer woul also need to purchase at least one EN-EL4a, an MH-21 charger from the D2's, the MB-D10 grip of course, and a BL-3 grip cap for the battery, adding around $500 to the D700's price in order to shoot at 8fps. That would still be $1300 cheaper than a D3 though. If I could I would add a D700 to my repertoire... it's a lighter camera than my D2xs, and a better match to my D3 as a second body. Hope Nikon keeps cranking up great stuff like this. ;^)