5D Mark II vs D700

[molested_cow]

Okok this is like a century old topic so please bear with me a bit.

I've held onto my SLR when every friend is betting on when I will move on to digital. So far they've been losing. It's not that I am reluctant to migrate to digital. I'd LOVE to, but I want to be able to use my Nikon lens on a full frame camera body.

With this requirement, I am limited to D700 (D3S is way out of my league). I have not gotten a D700 because I want something with video too, so I am hoping that its replacement will have HD video. Then I waited, and waited and waited... Now I am starting to think if I should just go with Canon instead.

The lens I have that I want to migrate to digital are:
Nikkor AiS F1.2 50mm
Nikkor AiS F2.8 20mm
Nikkor EF AF F4~5.6 70~300mm

Granted that they are not SUPER awesome lens, but they are definitely more than worth holding on to. I'd hate to give them up. ( I don't like to trade stuff, so I will probably keep them for good).

Obviously I can find all the spec comparison between the 5D Mark II and D700, and that they cost roughly the same (5D looks like a better deal), what is the real difference?

By "real" difference, I mean, from owner's user experience, what you like about yours and what you wish yours have? How do the low light capabilities compare between the two? What issues do you have that you find challenging to resolve/work around?


If I stick with Nikon, I will continue to use my lens and upgrade later. If I go with Canon, I will have to reinvest in everything. What else should I be aware about as a part of the consideration?

 

[Derrel]

Canon 5D-II. $389 EOS Elan film body heritage body with a crap AF system pulled from the EOS 30D crop-body, colr-blind ambinet light metering, color-blind flash metering,no flash commander, slow mirror return, slow shutter lag time, no pop-up flash, $2,000 worth of sensor and electronics. The 5D is "slow" compared with a D700, or a D1 or D2 or D3 Nikon. The EOS ELAN 3 is the parent of the 5D.

Nikon D700 $1,299 body with 51-point professional AF system, color-aware light metering, accurate flash metering WITH color aware metering, fast mirror and fast shutter lag times, fast frame rate, $1499 worth of sensor and electronics.

IOW, the Canon is a cheap body with an excellent sensor. The Nikon is a professional-level body with a very good sensor. The D700 body is much more akin to the D1 and D2 series professional bodies in terms of the speed of its subsystems, and the body features, like color-aware metering, and a wider-area AF system than the 5D has.

 

[molested_cow]

Where can I find the $1299 D700 body? Every reputable site I've gone to price it at around $2350. I am talking about brand new of course.

 

[Bitter Jeweler]

Stay with Nikon.

The 5DmkII is so lacking, it's a wonder anyone can take pictures with it.

 

[CNCO]

Exactly where can you get a D700 for that price?

 

[zoogirlbc]

Where can I find the $1299 D700 body? Every reputable site I've gone to price it at around $2350. I am talking about brand new of course.

What he meant was the value of body of the camera. Not the total cost of buying the camera.

I'd say go for the D700 also. I love mine although I have no real use for video most of the time and when I do I use our camcorder. Just go to the store with a memory card and try both. You should have a better sense after using each of them personally.

 

[Sw1tchFX]

..Add the 1400 and 1300=general price of D700's..


Stick with the Nikon unless you need a buttload of resolution and cannot live without video. The D700 is superior in pretty much every way besides those two things.

Also if you're into working with primes, the new 24, 35, and 50mm Nikkors are optically better than than the Canon versions.

 

[Derrel]

Stay with Nikon.

The 5DmkII is so lacking, it's a wonder anyone can take pictures with it.

Canon users who have never owned, or even used a professional-grade Nikon camera often defend the 5D and its crap sub-systems. I own a 5D...it cannot even reliably focus primary school kids running toward the camera with the 24-105mm f/4-L zoom lens in BRIGHT sunshine...the AF system is very weak, and prone to subtle mis-focusing with any f/4 lens. The pro Nikons will NAIL focus indoors, in dim light because they have PROFESSIONAL-level AF modules, and are color-aware in terms of autofocus and subject tracking. With consumer-grade lenses, with slower apertures, the professional level Nikon AF modules give you reliable AF, in poor light, under tough conditons.

The 5D's AF system is color-blind, cannot track as well as a pro Nikon with slow-aperture lenses, and works well ONLY with high-speed primes like the 135/2, 85/1.8, and 70-200/2.8,and the 50/1.4. At f/4, the 5D's primitive AF system is quite weak; it requires f/2.8 for double precision AF performance...

THe professional Nikon bodies with PRO-level autofocusing systems, are much faster-reacting cameras. Faster shutter lag times. Faster mirror up, Faster mirror down. Faster FPS. FASTER handling, in all ways.

But, you'll find that Canon shooters who have a 5D and have never used a pro Nikon body will defend the 5D...out their rears...all day long...and make smart-ass comments about how great the 5D is compared to.....what? The $389 EOS Elan it was derived from??? The EOS 30D from which its AF system was lifted and transplanted?

One is a Porsche...the other is a VW microbus. Both are automobiles.

 

[cfusionpm]

Nikon D700 $1,299 body

Say whaaaat?

 

[Derrel]

Nikon D700 $1,299 body

Say whaaaat?

Are you really that dense Matty?

The EOS 5D was derived from a low-cost EOS ELAN film body....with sub-systems borrowed from low-cost,low-specification camera bodies.

The D700 is built upon an entirely new, high-end digital SLR body--something in the $1,300 price/specification range, like say a Nikon F5.

Canon EOS 5D Mark II Review: 40. Conclusion: Digital Photography Review

"pedestrian"


Nikon D700 Review: 32. Conclusion: Digital Photography Review

"class-leading"

THe body and sub-systems of the 5D are described by dPreview as "pedestrian" because the CAMERA, the guts, the machine, the AF, the metering, the viewfinder, the mirror system, etc, are EOS ELAN-level...the Nikon D700 on the other hand, is a camera body, subsystems, metering, etc,etc, much more akin to a Nikon F5 than an EOS ELAN...

 

[cfusionpm]

Nikon D700 $1,299 body

Say whaaaat?

Are you really that dense Matty?

Not really. I'm just feeding your trolling posts. I actually don't really like the 5D myself either, for mostly the same reasons.

I'm curious why you have one though... If you hate it so much, why not just buy and use a D700?

 

[prodigy2k7]

Stay with Nikon.

The 5DmkII is so lacking, it's a wonder anyone can take pictures with it.

Canon users who have never owned, or even used a professional-grade Nikon camera often defend the 5D and its crap sub-systems. I own a 5D...it cannot even reliably focus primary school kids running toward the camera with the 24-105mm f/4-L zoom lens in BRIGHT sunshine...the AF system is very weak, and prone to subtle mis-focusing with any f/4 lens. The pro Nikons will NAIL focus indoors, in dim light because they have PROFESSIONAL-level AF modules, and are color-aware in terms of autofocus and subject tracking. With consumer-grade lenses, with slower apertures, the professional level Nikon AF modules give you reliable AF, in poor light, under tough conditons.

The 5D's AF system is color-blind, cannot track as well as a pro Nikon with slow-aperture lenses, and works well ONLY with high-speed primes like the 135/2, 85/1.8, and 70-200/2.8,and the 50/1.4. At f/4, the 5D's primitive AF system is quite weak; it requires f/2.8 for double precision AF performance...

THe professional Nikon bodies with PRO-level autofocusing systems, are much faster-reacting cameras. Faster shutter lag times. Faster mirror up, Faster mirror down. Faster FPS. FASTER handling, in all ways.

But, you'll find that Canon shooters who have a 5D and have never used a pro Nikon body will defend the 5D...out their rears...all day long...and make smart-ass comments about how great the 5D is compared to.....what? The $389 EOS Elan it was derived from??? The EOS 30D from which its AF system was lifted and transplanted?

One is a Porsche...the other is a VW microbus. Both are automobiles.

5D Mark II is the best camera out there. Gosh what were you thinking...

 

[gsgary]

Stay with Nikon.

The 5DmkII is so lacking, it's a wonder anyone can take pictures with it.

Canon users who have never owned, or even used a professional-grade Nikon camera often defend the 5D and its crap sub-systems. I own a 5D...it cannot even reliably focus primary school kids running toward the camera with the 24-105mm f/4-L zoom lens in BRIGHT sunshine...the AF system is very weak, and prone to subtle mis-focusing with any f/4 lens. The pro Nikons will NAIL focus indoors, in dim light because they have PROFESSIONAL-level AF modules, and are color-aware in terms of autofocus and subject tracking. With consumer-grade lenses, with slower apertures, the professional level Nikon AF modules give you reliable AF, in poor light, under tough conditons.

The 5D's AF system is color-blind, cannot track as well as a pro Nikon with slow-aperture lenses, and works well ONLY with high-speed primes like the 135/2, 85/1.8, and 70-200/2.8,and the 50/1.4. At f/4, the 5D's primitive AF system is quite weak; it requires f/2.8 for double precision AF performance...

THe professional Nikon bodies with PRO-level autofocusing systems, are much faster-reacting cameras. Faster shutter lag times. Faster mirror up, Faster mirror down. Faster FPS. FASTER handling, in all ways.

But, you'll find that Canon shooters who have a 5D and have never used a pro Nikon body will defend the 5D...out their rears...all day long...and make smart-ass comments about how great the 5D is compared to.....what? The $389 EOS Elan it was derived from??? The EOS 30D from which its AF system was lifted and transplanted?

One is a Porsche...the other is a VW microbus. Both are automobiles.

I don't get many out of focus shots with my 5Dmk1 i could show some of my indoor dog shots

 

[Village Idiot]

Stay with Nikon.

The 5DmkII is so lacking, it's a wonder anyone can take pictures with it.

I don't know how I manage. I must be some kind of miracle working by being to use such a piece of **** camera.

 

[Sw1tchFX]

I don't mean to feed, but the last wedding i was shooting, my good friend and assistant was shooting with a 5DII with the 50 1.4 and 70-200IS. Almost all of his images were a little bit out of focus. Having 500 or so images from my 2nd shooter that are borderline deliverable because of AF issues was not a good feeling. I had to resize the pictures down to 6 MP until they looked sharp enough where i could hide most of the softness with sharpening. He hates the camera. He usually shoots with 1D's but his personal camera has been a 5DII and he said that he just cannot rely on the AF system.