D700 or D800 DILEMMA

[billydoo73]

Certainly what billydoo said is true but the OP just bought a D700 and has option to return and buy the latest and greatest with only a few more dollars.

but is it the latest and greatest? at 36mp, you better have high quality pro glass and excellent technique. otherwise, those 36mp are going to haunt you. the D700 and D800 are going to perform almost the same in low light. etc.

the D800 is a GREAT camera on paper, but sometimes you just don't need the "newer version." even Nikon says the D800 is "Along side" of the D800, not a true replacement.

in any case, it's your money and you know what you need. if you need 36mp and video then go for it!

 

[Trever1t]

Well you could wait a while until there is more information available but by then you'll have missed the D800 boat and not beable to return your D700 in free exchange. The D700 is a great camera, superduper great. It does what anyone really needs but I have had instances where I could have used that 36mp.

 

[billydoo73]

first off, we need to know your lenses. are they all "pro" glass? if not, that 36mp will certainly bring out the flaws in the glass. we're getting to high-end medium format resolution here guys. you can't get a great body anymore WITHOUT high-end optics.

 

[Trever1t]

I suppose I just assume too much, I mean if you have interest in buying a top quality body I'd just assume the same for your lenses.

 

[poker_jake]

I suppose I just assume too much, I mean if you have interest in buying a top quality body I'd just assume the same for your lenses.

Exactly, no one is going to buy a 3k+ body with a $200 lens

 

[Tee]

I am battling between the D800 and D700. Closer to launch date, D700 prices will probably drop somewhere in the neighborhood of $500.

I hope it drops that much. I'd love to snag up a second body. However, I have a feeling the D700 will retain value for a while longer. I have zero data to back up my assumption, just a hunch. The D700 still gains respect and for people like me, I have zero interest in video functions. I'll give it a year before it drops below $2,000. I hope I'm proven wrong, though...and quick.

 

[LightSpeed]

Personally speaking, Why not have the creme of the crop?
Poeple will say they don't want it because a lot of people can't afford it, along with a top notch lens.
Or several top notch lenses.
Who cares about how much hard drive space 36 mp will take up?
Terabyte drives are cheap. Hard drives are cheap.
If you haven't upgraded your computer to a quad4 or better.....with at least 4 gigs of memory......why not?
Doing this, you'll need to sooner or later. If one can afford it, why not have the baddest thing out there?
You're only going around once.
Better do what you like to do now.

Get the D800

 

[ph0enix]

I am battling between the D800 and D700. Closer to launch date, D700 prices will probably drop somewhere in the neighborhood of $500. Something that recently pushed me pretty hard in the direction of the D700 is the price of the battery grip for the D800. MSRP is over $600 and actual retail looks like it will be $500. That is ridiculous...

As of now, I feel like if you don't need video, there is no reason to go with the D800 over the D700, especially when you take into account the possible issues in the first batch. 6 months from now may be a different story when the kinks are worked out and there's much more feedback and tests to compare to.

As much as I would love to agree with you so I could get a D700 for around $500 (despite not planning to go full frame at this time), that's definitely not going to happen.

 

[bertsirkin]

Just curious again - what is the largest you have successfully printed images with the D700? By successfully I mean something that can be framed and hung up on a living room wall.

I've made many 16x20's and a few larger - the D700 is a fantastic camera for that size print.

The 36mp sensor in the D800 has several purposes as I see it:

1) Making really big prints - at 240dpi, the D800 images will create a 20" x 30" print. With a little up-sizing, or lower resolution, you can get bigger prints;

2) Cropping: When shooting subjects such as wildlife at a distance, even with a telephoto lens, you may not be able to get close enough. A 36mp image gives you the ability to crop a significant portion of the image out, and still have a printable image.

3) Low noise: Although the smaller pixel size of the D800 means the high-ISO performance won't be as good as the D700 or D3, it "could" be a lot better. Downsizing an image with a lot of noise can significantly reduce the appearance of the noise. How significant this point will be is to be seen, but I have taken ISO 6400 images from the D800 and downsized them to 12mp, and they seem to exhibit less noise than the D700 native 12mp size at ISO 6400. Of course I can't take the same sample image with the D700, so it's not an "apples to apples" example.

 

[orunraandoreo]

I would definitely go for the new model if I can afford...

 

[Tee]

As much as I would love to agree with you so I could get a D700 for around $500 (despite not planning to go full frame at this time), that's definitely not going to happen.

I initially thought the same as you but I think he means the price will drop $500 not the D700 will cost $500.

 

[Carny]

If being without a camera until march isn't a problem, then I would send the 700 back now. Then you can decide once the 800 starts having feedback, and chances are the 700 will drop in price. You could still get the 700 and maybe cheaper

 

[lemonart]

Just as a bit of a dreamy tangent, what would seriously be cool would be to adjust the MP size without changing the crop. Not sure of that's physically possible... But it'd be a hell of a feature .

Lem

 

[Trever1t]

it wouldn't serve any purpose to do so as the photcite (sp) size would remain constant. Now if you could change that, that would be amazing

 

[Nikon_Josh]

Just curious again - what is the largest you have successfully printed images with the D700? By successfully I mean something that can be framed and hung up on a living room wall.

I've made many 16x20's and a few larger - the D700 is a fantastic camera for that size print.

The 36mp sensor in the D800 has several purposes as I see it:

1) Making really big prints - at 240dpi, the D800 images will create a 20" x 30" print. With a little up-sizing, or lower resolution, you can get bigger prints;

2) Cropping: When shooting subjects such as wildlife at a distance, even with a telephoto lens, you may not be able to get close enough. A 36mp image gives you the ability to crop a significant portion of the image out, and still have a printable image.

3) Low noise: Although the smaller pixel size of the D800 means the high-ISO performance won't be as good as the D700 or D3, it "could" be a lot better. Downsizing an image with a lot of noise can significantly reduce the appearance of the noise. How significant this point will be is to be seen, but I have taken ISO 6400 images from the D800 and downsized them to 12mp, and they seem to exhibit less noise than the D700 native 12mp size at ISO 6400. Of course I can't take the same sample image with the D700, so it's not an "apples to apples" example.

Huh, you have a D800? Even though they are not released yet.