D700 Purchase Checklist Help....

[AlexColeman]

Not quite that much... $1500-$2200 per lens would be the range for any one of the "holy trinity". There are the 3 main Nikkor ones:
14-24, 24-70 and 70-200. Then you have your specialty lenses like the fisheye, macro and zoom lenses above 200mm. That is where things get REALLY expensive... like 5-digit (not including the pennies) expensive on some of the longer focal point ones.

I am shooting with that kit now for my wedding photos, as well as my amateur work, and it is incredible. I really don't think that this is your right kit. You would be much better suited by a 16-85, 105 2.8, and a 70-300 VR.

 

[Flash Harry]

Sell the lens you have now, buy the 700 and lens to suit with your change, 50mm 1.8 is cheap n good for starters, there are also various zooms to be had from the nikon range, not all need to be "fast", there's also plenty of primes under a grand and also second hand, just learn the camera and all will be fine, learn by your mistakes, read a few photography books.

Just because one model is more technical than another is no reason to buy a lesser model, as I've said before, buy the best you can afford and get to know it, after all that's all Jerry and many others have done on here, hobby photographers, no formal education, picking things up as they go along, some right, some wrong, so don't be put off, buy what you like. H

 

[manaheim]

It always makes everyone howl when someone with a bit less experience is buying some major equipment.

 

[JerryPH]

No... The camera does not make you work hard to get a decent picture. If you could get a good picture with another camera, you will get a good picture with a D700.

Hmm... you think, huh?

Explain to me how this is "hard"

What metering modes are available with the D700?
In detail, how do they work?
What metering mode you going to use under what conditions?
What setings for D-light settings are available in the D700?
In detail, how do they work?
What setings for D-light you going to use under what conditions?
What settings for image quality are available in the D700?
In detail, how do they work?
What settings for image quality you going to use under differing conditions?
What different settings for the kind of lens does the D700 use?
In detail, how do they work?
What settings for the kind of lenses you own are you going to use?

Want me to go on? I could add another 75 questions EASILY to that list, but I hope you get the idea.

Check your light meter... set your shutter and aperture... shutter is to slow.. choose anywhere from 200-6400iso... Take a picture. Honestly, what is so hard about that?

For someone with a beginner level understanding of photography and the capabilities of the D700? Nothing. But then again, driving a Ferrari around in the parking lot at 2 MPH in first gear doesn't get you very far either.

I would actually say it is much harder to get a good picture from a D40

Not even close to reality. The D40 hand-holds a photographer through almost the entire process and though it's capabilities are way lower, it is much more forgiving.

Look for a recent thread about why a guy with a D200 wondered why he was getting better pictures from a D40 he bought as a gift for someone, and how disappointed this caused him to be with his D200. It was certainly NOT becuase the D40 was a better camera than a D200... it was lack of knowledge, understanding and expectations.

If you know how to use a camera and know photography... You can shoot with a D700 and get a good picture.

No, you will get *a* picture, I highly doubt it will be "good".

There are alot of Menu's, and a lot of things that you can customize to your liking.. does that mean you have to in order to take a good picture? No.. it doesnt.

Riiiiiight.

Ok... so you without a D700 seem to know more than me, who owns a D700. Sorry, you are just wrong. Your lack of knowledge using this camera is vast. Mine is a little closer to reality, becuase I own one and know how it works in real life. The D700 has no automatic modes like the D40. Looking at the OP's photostream, 99% of the shots are taken in automatic mode. This tells me that the OP's understanding of even basic photography is lacking deeply. A D700, that has no such hand-hodling modes, will not help him, it will frustrate the hell out of him to the point that he is going to be one very unhappy camper for quite a long time.

To get a picture out of the D700 is easy. I can hand it to my 17 year old niece who knows nothing and she can press the shutter, but thats a snapshot... not a photograph. Put a Stratavarious voilin in your hands, I am sure you can make that thing wail and sound like a dying cat in heat... but put that same violin in the hands of someone knowledgeable, you have music. This is what I am talking about. Real results. Getting the most from the thousands of dollars that you spent.

You make it out like you have to take a class on it just to understand it... Or that it takes a rocket scientist just to figure it out.

Let's look at something...

The Nikon manual (downloadable directly from NikonUSA), of the D40x is 139 pages (yes I downloaded it and checked this out personally). Relatively impressive and a lot of information.

From that same site, the D700 manual is 472 pages. What do you think... do you think that we need to have more than a couple of differences between the D40x and the D700 to generate 333 pages of extra material, no?

Food for thought now... Thom Hogan is an acknowledged reliable source of good information concerning Nikon products and his manual on the D700 PDF is double the size of the Nikons D700 PDF and close to 900 pages!

"Oh no... there are no differences between a D40 and a D700. If you can shoot a D40, a D700 is a walk in the park, just pick it up and shoot... irrespective of the fact that there are over 700 more pages of information in a Thom Hogan PDF manual compared to Nikon's 139 pages on the D40x... even your understanding of the basics of photography is weak."

If this is what you are trying to tell me, permit me to say... uhhmm... no.

I am not a rocket scientist and I took no real classes, however, let's look at a fact... I spent 2 years, thousands upon thousands of pictures and countless hours of diligent focused study to get my BASICS of photography down pat. I am *still* in this same mode and constantly refining my skills.

I fully understand and can talk ISO, aperture, shutter speed, exposure, lighting, chew gum and walk at the same time without forgetting to breathe and passing out... lol.

To get more than a snapshot out of a D700, the above statement is a mandatory requirement for the D700. If your understanding of the basics in photography are weak, how can you even get into the advanced functionality of a camera as complex as a D700? The answer is... you cannot.

How can you learn about each setting and how to best use your camera if you have not read through several times, studied, memorized, tested out and played many times over, with EACH and every setting in the D700? The answer is... you cannot.

Your end results will not be better than those from your D40... in fact initially they will even be worse. My first few days with the D700 and it's results were far worse than my D200 results, even with all the pre-learning, researching and reading in advance before I received my camera. This is normal.

So... bottom line... anyone can purchase a D700 and even use it to take snapshots, but if your understanding of photography is weak AND your understanding of the intricacies of the D700 is weak... your pictures will match your levels with incredible clarity. THAT is what I am saying.

 

[kundalini]

Thom Hogan is an acknowledged reliable source of good information concerning Nikon products and his manual on the D700 PDF is double the size of the Nikons D700 PDF and close to 900 pages!

830, actually. But then you have to tack on all the other files, worksheets, videos, etc.

Jerry, are your corn flakes a bit sour this morning? :lmao:

 

[JerryPH]

Jerry, are your corn flakes a bit sour this morning? :lmao:

Not at all, I am in a grrrrrrrrreat mood! For the first time in 3 months, I get to have an afternoon off today *and* I have an entire Saturday off to go and do some city shooting. On top of that, the local weather looks cloudy and PERFECT for a day outside. Better than working 14 hour days, 7 days a week.

Life is good.

 

[Flash Harry]

"What metering modes are available with the D700?
In detail, how do they work?
What metering mode you going to use under what conditions?
What setings for D-light settings are available in the D700?
In detail, how do they work?
What setings for D-light you going to use under what conditions?
What settings for image quality are available in the D700?
In detail, how do they work?
What settings for image quality you going to use under differing conditions?
What different settings for the kind of lens does the D700 use?
In detail, how do they work?
What settings for the kind of lenses you own are you going to use?"

All this and other questions will be answered by reading the manual, many functions are just gimmicks imo, if you understand exposure, know what file size you want, which aperture/shutter to use in a situation and the performance of your optics and PP ability then why can anyone not produce a photograph equal to any of yours without the added gimmickery of a thousand menus/sub menus to mess around with.

I've got a computer here, in the field a camera equipped with metering, iso, shutter and aperture control and a decent lens is all that's required, not a multitude of crap. H

 

[Village Idiot]

It always makes everyone howl when someone with a bit less experience is buying some major equipment.

Word. If the guy's got the cash then buy it.

I mean, you don't have to be a professional driver to own a ferrari, you just need the money and want.

 

[Village Idiot]

For someone with a beginner level understanding of photography and the capabilities of the D700? Nothing. But then again, driving a Ferrari around in the parking lot at 2 MPH in first gear doesn't get you very far either.

This has got to be the stupidest comparison ever. I've driven many cars. Put me in a ferrari and show me the controls and I can drive to the mall, grocery store, beach, etc... just as well as I could in my Pathfinder and probably better since the Ferrari handles better, acclerates faster, and stops sooner.

This guy uses a D40. It's a DSLR. Hand him a higher powered DSLR and once he figures out the controls, he can take pictures just as well as when he was taking pictures with a D40.

And what's it matter to you? He's got the money to spend. Does it irk you that he wants to buy a "luxury" item that it takes some people so long to save up for and that you don't see as something a hobbyist is fit to use?

 

[Dao]

If money is not an issue, why not?

What is the worst case scenario if OP buy the D700? I will say he need to replace his lenses. And if he is planning to do that anyway .. I do not see why not.

 

[Guitarfool5931@yahoo]

Wow. A lot of passioned responses.

First, thanks to everyone for taking the time to read and respond to the post.

I do realize, especially now, how large of a purchase this could be which is why I have been doing research online and here in the forums before I buy the camera. Photography is and continues to be one of my favorite hobbies that I have picked up over the years. Let me really quickly compare this to one of my other serious hobbies which has been drumming.

I am sure that there are many much more advanced drummers out there that would listen to my drumming and say you know what that guy needs some lessons. While I don't consider myself to be that bad of a drummer, I would not drop my sticks at the suggestion. I strive to be a better player choosing not to take formal classes but at my own pace. Reading books, listening to lots of music, networking with other drummers, watching videos, doing research, playing with other musicians, etc....

I don't have delusions that my band will someday hit it big and become Rockstars. I do it for myself. I enjoy the process of learning, writing songs, and playing shows. The reason for the comparison is I've approached photography the same way. I approached photography at first because I had some extra cash, was taking a trip to Puerto Rico, and didn't want the typical point and shoot camera. I figured I could not only take it up as a hobby but use it to make fliers, take band pictures or whatever it came in handy for in the future.

Yeah, I kept in on auto for a while but I eventually took the time to learn the controls on Manual, Shutter/Aperture priority and have been taking a lot of pictures (not uploaded on my expired Flickr account).

Bottom line: I have no aspirations to become a full time wedding photographer or dreams to become one for TIME magazine. I personally feel that I have outgrown the current camera I own and want something more flexible and with better features. It's something I will continue to enjoy and if I can afford it why not indulge?

 

[kundalini]

I've had a re-think and after reading your response ^^, I say buy the D700. I'm in the same boat. I want to get good photos, but it's a hobby for me.

The high ISO capabilities of the D700 will certainly help you out with low light situations. The one word of caution is to consider getting at least one good lens to compliment the body. Also bear in mind that your FoV will change dramatically from a DX sensor to a FX sensor, so for lens choice is worth going to a local shop and test drive a couple different focal lengths. (I still recommend a prime, but that's just me). I don't know off the top of my head if your Sigma 30 is a FX mount (I think it is), but it is supposed to be a nice piece of glass. It's nick-name is the Dirty Thirty.

 

[manaheim]

...and keep in mind that a D300 would also be a great option. It's not as good as a D700, but then a D700 isn't as good as a D3 either. You do have to draw the line somewhere, unless you have essentially unlimited funds.

 

[kundalini]

Ummmmm, I dunno. It's the same guts as the D3. The viewfinder suffers at only 95%, but being housed in the (pretty much same) D300 body is pretty 'kin awesome.

 

[JerryPH]

D3 and D700 have identical picture results. Only real world differences that comes I hear from people that own both are:

- slightly faster focus aquisition on the D3. We are talking 10ths of a second here max
- extra CF card slot
- 100% viewfinder vs the D700's 95%
- Second rear LCD and added control buttons on rear
- Uses a larger longer lasting battery
- Expanded Function button options
- More robust shutter life
- Minor menu and control differences

What does the D700 have that the D3 doesn't?
- ultrasonic sensor cleaner
- less weight
- integrated flash for CLS control
- you can add a MB-D10 grip and use the D3's longer lasting battery

All this for $2000 lower cost and identical pictures to a D3.

About the D700, I have never said not to purchase... but I am the kind of guy that says do it once, do it right, or don't do it at all.