Another D700 thread

IronMaskDuval · Mar 11, 2015

I didn't want to hijack the other poster's thread, so I'll ask it here. I found a D700 with a little under 80k clicks. The seller was asking $700, but I talked him down to $500. Would you take it? Do you think it would out perform the D7000? I shoot macro, portraits and candids.

goodguy · Mar 11, 2015

I am just not a big fan of old technology, it so easy to get excited from the D700 but when you look at the hard facts it is yesterday technology and a D610 is just so much better then it when it comes to sensor technology.
But and thats a big but 500$ is very little money for this camera but still you are looking at 80K clicks.
For macro I wouldn't bother to go FF.
For my needs I dont see a huge difference between my old D7100 and now D750 in portraits
Candid, well D7100 can do this and so does a FF camera.

Should you get it ?
Darn hard to answer it, completely personal, price is good but I wouldnt get it, I would do what it takes to save up and get a used D610.
But that's me, I am sure the D700 is still a good camera and if you are good with that then why not go for it

IronMaskDuval · Mar 11, 2015

Thanks, gg. I can buy a d610 right now, but I'm just really hard pressed to drop $1,500 into another camera. Like you, I'm an enthusiast, with the occasional paid shoot. I love my dx, but I am looking for low light performance, and 12mp doesn't bother me much. I've only printed a handful of my photos, but I am sure the 12mp can print a large canvas if I ever wanted one to hang in my home. I'm curious to shutter count and overall IQ of the D700. I think after the D90, other than ISO performance, the return on new sensors is really only marginal and only noticeable by picky people like us.

shrugs

sigh

enerlevel · Mar 11, 2015

oh yes completely!. i was in a similar situation. to be honest for me Nikon D7000 is a weird camera. most of the times it doesnt focus properly at night and with different lens specially 35mm f1.8 DX, the focus is way out of position. at 6400, i get alot of noise along with banding noise. the D700 outperforms the D7000 in every single way. you can also see my thread, i have a few samples of D700 at 20,000 ISO and 4000 ISO....

goodguy · Mar 11, 2015

Here is a little DXO Mark comparison between the D610 and D700 sensor differences.

Nikon D610 versus Nikon D700 - Side by side camera comparison - DxOMark

You will see in DR and low light performance there is a pretty big gap between the two.
You said 1500$ between the D700 and D610, thats only if you compare buying the D610 new vs D700 used.
Comparing the D610 used and D700 will make it much more affordable.
As I said getting this D700 will not be a mistake, just a matter of personal choice, I would go with a good used D610

enerlevel · Mar 11, 2015

^
yes he is right.the D600 and D610 is a better camera than D700. i had the D600 but sold it. not because of the performance , but because of some personal problems. if i had the d600, i would never get the d700. but lately the prices of second hand d610/d600 have increased (it was less when everyone was complaining about the oil dust issue) but as your thread suggests, its about D7000 Vs D700.... i would go D700

tirediron · Mar 11, 2015

If I could find a clean, 'low miles' D700 for $500, it would be in my bag right now. Yes, it is a couple of generations old but it's still a VERY solid camera, which, when you look at all of the factors hasn't truly been replaced in Nikon's line-up. Yes, the 6x0 and 750 have improved sensor technology, and video, but at the expense of build quality. One of my favorite aspects of the D700, aside from the fact that as an 'all-arounder' it's outstanding, is its build quality. A couple of years ago, one of mine took a tumble from about the 5' mark onto the top of a concrete planter, landing right on the prism. The only damage was a few scratches on the housing... I still use the D700 on a regular basis and doubtless will until it finally dies!

Derrel · Mar 11, 2015

For $500, I think it's a good value. Out-perform a D7000? Not sure what that means, but it will shoot "differently", due to the difference sensor sizes those two cameras use. The FF will change the way you shoot with every lens focal length.

Dave442 · Mar 11, 2015

I would go for it. My sister still uses her D700. The price sounds about right for that number of actuations, just in this year have I seen them dropping below $1000. It is a workhorse of a camera. I prefer the feeling and button layout of the D700 over the D7000. I think at that price you could resell it in another year for about the same.

pixmedic · Mar 11, 2015

when I went looking for a second used D600 as a backup, I also looked at D700 prices.
at the time, (and maybe still) used D700's and used D600's were pretty close in price so it didnt make much sense for me to get a D700 over a D600.
at $500, i would have picked up a good condition D700 with 80k clicks instead of almost $950 for the used D600.
i really dont know why people keep dismissing the D600 though. it is a fair amount cheaper used than a D610, and if you do like I did and get one from Henrys, or KEH, or Adorama where you have a 90 day warranty, the sensor problem isnt a real issue. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend a D600 to someone. they are a great value right now.

if you dont end up getting the D700, I would recommend a used D600.
I have two I purchased used, one for $1000 with 1500 clicks, and one for $900 with 5200 clicks. both in EX condition with a 90 day warranty. Ive taken dozens of test shots with both and no oil spots to be found. either way, Nikon replaces sensors for free now anyway.

the D700 is just as capable a camera today as when it was released in 2008. it is a pro built body with a 51pt AF system.
dont let newer tech pixel peeping dissuade you from an older body. this camera was used by tons of pros for many many years, and still is by some. In good shape, $500 is bargain.

boomer · Mar 11, 2015

I would go for the D700 at that price. I had the D700 for a few years. I even had it along side my D610 for about 1 year. I ended up selling it to buy a second D610 since I like having 2 bodies and it made sense to have 2 of the same bodies. While I am glad I have 2 D610s now, I actually kinda miss the D700...it's an awesome and very capable camera!!!

astroNikon · Mar 11, 2015

For $500 I'd get the d700
But as mentioned above don't discount the LowLight and DR of the d6x0 cameras.

The biggest stumbling block for me ... took nearly 4 months ... was spending the money for my used refurb'd d600. But since after about 5 minutes in my hands I was a FF convert !!

I still have my d7000 but truthfully I don't really use it for anything. okay, I took pics of a few things the other day that I was selling on eBay ..

FYI, I needed also video on my camera .. one BIG sway to the d600 vs d700.

It's alot of money ..
I'm sure if you get the d700 you'l be wondering how much better the d6x0 is.
Looks like you need just a little shove .... :spank:

pixmedic · Mar 11, 2015

astroNikon said:
For $500 I'd get the d700
But as mentioned above don't discount the LowLight and DR of the d6x0 cameras.

The biggest stumbling block for me ... took nearly 4 months ... was spending the money for my used refurb'd d600. But since after about 5 minutes in my hands I was a FF convert !!

I still have my d7000 but truthfully I don't really use it for anything. okay, I took pics of a few things the other day that I was selling on eBay ..

FYI, I needed also video on my camera .. one BIG sway to the d600 vs d700.

It's alot of money ..
I'm sure if you get the d700 you'l be wondering how much better the d6x0 is.
Looks like you need just a little shove ....

agreed.
if you can budget a D600/610, i would go that route.
but $500 for a clean D700 is a really good deal.
just make sure, like with any used equipment purchase, you go over the camera and test it really well before handing over cash.

IronMaskDuval · Mar 11, 2015

well, i'm mainly looking fro image quality in low lighting. am i being dumb and should just keep my d7k. is a 1 stop difference going to make a difference?

pixmedic · Mar 11, 2015

IronMaskDuval said:
well, i'm mainly looking fro image quality in low lighting. am i being dumb and should just keep my d7k. is a 1 stop difference going to make a difference?

there was a pretty noticeable difference between noise in low light between my D7100 and D600 while i had them both.
i was originally going to just keep the D7100 as the backup, but when i got the D600 and compared it side by side to the D7100, I sold the D7100 and got another D600.

i think, just with the benefit of being full frame, you would get better low light performance from the D700 than you do with the D7000.