From D700 to D750?

[molested_cow]

I've been shooting with my D700 since the tsumani ..... oh that's 2011! It's been a great great beast of a camera and I had no reason to replace it..... then an ad popped up in my FB and the local dealer is having some deals for the D750, which has now gotten me interested. So perhaps you guys can give me some advice?

Reasons why I don't need a new camera:
1. Because it's not a necessity. I am not a pro, just shoot for passion and fun.
2. It's been fine so far, not a single issue even though it's been dropped a few times. Still going very strong!
3. Spending that much for a new camera isn't going to hurt my bank account, but it's still quite a bit of money. I'm a stingy person.

Reasons to get the D750:
1. I recently picked up mounting biking with my photo gears. We do full day or two day rides and currently I strap my D700 at my chest in a small camera bag for easy access. The set up is actually quite balanced, but here's where I wish it's smaller and lighter. The D750 is noticeably smaller and lighter than the D700. Is it enough? I don't know.
2. Much better sensor! I often struggle to shoot free handed in the woods. Currently I have to really push the aperture to get enough light without motion blur, which affects the sharpness big time! I don't like to push my D700 above ISO1250~1600. The newer sensors obviously perform much better under low lights and less noise at high ISO. I think any newer model will be a great improvement. Better low light capability means lots more shooting opportunities.
3. Higher mega pixels. I actually don't need the extra mega pixels because I don't really make prints and the photos from D700 look absolutely fine on monitors. However I don't really do cropping of my photos for "zoom" because 12mp isn't really enough to get decent details for cropped photo. The D750 will have twice the mp, expecting more freedom of cropping.
4. Video! I'm completely new to this and can't wait to try!
5. Flip out screen. Many think this is a gimmick, but I really look forward to using it for difficult angled shots of bugs and plants low on the ground.

I am not considering D610 for the lack of manual control options, and not the D810 because I don't think my computer can handle all that horse power.

Also, if I do get the D750, I will also get the F1.8G 20mm to replace my F2.8D 20mm. It has served me great( had been using it since 2001 and this is my second one!) It's an aging lens and the quality is borderline acceptable on the D700 in difficult situations. I don't think it will do well on a higher mp camera.

I shoot landscape, astro (star/nightscapes) and street (with F1.4 50mm) most of the time. I have a F2.8 105mm macro so I occasionally shoot macro. I don't really shoot with telephoto because I have a lousy one, but have shot sports day events before so it's always a possibility.

So to sum it up, yes it's big money but for the things I can do more(?) with it, is it worth the $$?

Also, I've briefly checked the issues related to the camera. So far the shutter issue seems to be the major one, and then there's the mysterious Err issue. Are these fixed if I get the camera new now?

Thanks all!

 

[molested_cow]

Here are some shots from my recent ride.

It was pitch black with head lamp aid from my buddies. I had to just guess where my camera was pointing since there's no way to get this low. A flip out screen would have been useful.

Shot this with the F3.5~5.6 D 35~70mm kit lens because it's really light weight and I won't cry if it gets bashed around, but the quality was really suffering. Lots of chromatic aberrations, and hard to get a still shot without a tripod.

In the mountains and woods, lots of high contrast lighting situations where I have to use the RAW data to pull the details of the dark areas out. More info recorded by the sensor will definitely make things easier in post processing.

I like to do fun panoramic shots like this whenever I can. Sometimes I use it to compensate for the lack of mp on the D700. Again, if I can get the sky within the dynamic range, the result would have been much better.

 

[astroNikon]

2-5 .. I'd say get the D750.

I have BOTH the D600 and D750.
they are slightly different in operations in regards to AF functionality. But both very similar for basic camera functionality and setup/button placement.

** - If you do long exposure, night time stuff keep in mind neither the D6x0 nor the d750 has a eyepiece Blind. With the D750 you can lift the screen to block direct light going into it, required in my book for longer exposures. In the d600 I make a little spongy rubber cap thing that I push on/off when needed. I have a different eyepiece on it that isn't easily removeable for the eyepiece "cover" that ships with both, but those are "usable" in a sense as long as you've never had a camera with the switch.

The higher ISO and Megapixels will be great to work with. I moved up from a 16mp D7000 and the difference for cropping/ zooming was very significant for me.

I didn't want to spend the money on a d750 but my d600 got broke (then Nikon repaired and charged me before asking for my approval). But I have both. The AF system is different in regards to capturing distance low contrast objects using the center cross section focus points but I think the d750 is more like the d700 than the d600 in that regards.

FYI, I heavily looked into and tested the d700 before I chose the D600 (D750 was not around back then).

FYI2 .. I need to get out on my mountain bike more.

 

[goodguy]

I have a feeling you want us to tell you to get the D750, well I am here to tell you GET IT LOL

I have my D750 for over a year and a half, got it right when it came out and it gave me only pleasure since, I use it for pro and personal stuff, its a work horse, amazing low light performance, very good AF system, it's not too heavy and I think good value for money.
I think you will be happy with it and after few days of using it the D700 will be collecting dust because you will hardly use it anymore

 

[molested_cow]

I have a feeling you want us to tell you to get the D750, well I am here to tell you GET IT LOL

Haha damn right! Actually it's pretty obvious the perks of getting the D750, I guess I want people to tell me if my assumptions are right or wrong.

 

[astroNikon]

Go for it
but buy it outright

I used the BestBuy 12 months same as cash.
So I get emails all the time now ... gonna pay it off and close the stupid account as I get spammed now all the time. And I get reminded of the interest amount piling up unless I pay it off .. ouch.

Another thing.
Review your post processing steps.
I stuck with LightRoom v4.4 for years and it supported my d600 (though not the d610). The d750 I upgraded to the latest version at the same time.

 

[molested_cow]

If you do long exposure, night time stuff keep in mind neither the D6x0 nor the d750 has a eyepiece Blind.

FYI, I heavily looked into and tested the d700 before I chose the D600 (D750 was not around back then).

FYI2 .. I need to get out on my mountain bike more.

Wow didn't know that, but I think that's an easy fix. The D700 is quite dated in terms of technological capabilities, but very capable in terms of functionality.

Yes I try my best to get on my bike whenever I can. Right now the summer here is blazing hot and humid. I have to start riding at 6am (45min away) and by 9am it's getting too hot to ride. For these long rides, they are usually in higher altitude mountains far far away from the city. I follow a group of veteran hiker/cyclists who "seem" to know what they are doing. I myself is a noob out there in the wild.

 

[robbins.photo]

I am not considering D610 for the lack of manual control options, and not the D810 because I don't think my computer can handle all that horse power.

I understand your point about the D800/D810's larger files being slower to process and taking up more HDD space.. but I have to admit I'm not sure what you meant when you said the D610 lacked manual control options.

I was wondering if you could elaborate what manual control options you were looking for that the D610 lacked.

 

[molested_cow]

I stuck with LightRoom v4.4 for years and it supported my d600 (though not the d610). The d750 I upgraded to the latest version at the same time.

I don't use light room. I use photoshop all the way. Right now I have CS5 at home and CS6 at work. Any compatibility issue?

 

[molested_cow]

I was wondering if you could elaborate what manual control options you were looking for that the D610 lacked.

Actually now I look at photos online, they are the same. One spec that kinda put me off when the D600 first launched was the auto exposure bracketing settings. It can only do 2~3 shots. I do use exposure bracketing when I shoot sunset or sun rise, or any time when there's high light contrast, so this is quite important to me. Also, D610 at 850g, whereas the D750 at 840g!

 

[astroNikon]

I do believe CS5 is *NOT* supported for the D750. But CS6 is.
but you may want to confirm it as I do not have CS any version.

 

[astroNikon]

FYI,
from the d700
for both the D6x0 and D750
you lose
- the professional controls, button layout
- Shutter speed max is 1/4000 on d6x0 and d750 ... not the 1/8000 on d700
- does not have the flash cable connectors built in
- eyepiece blind
those were the major things for me.

I do miss the 1/8000 from time to time from my d7000 but I then just use ISO 50 with 1/4000. The d700 I think is only ISO 200 too.

 

[robbins.photo]

I was wondering if you could elaborate what manual control options you were looking for that the D610 lacked.

Actually now I look at photos online, they are the same. One spec that kinda put me off when the D600 first launched was the auto exposure bracketing settings. It can only do 2~3 shots. I do use exposure bracketing when I shoot sunset or sun rise, or any time when there's high light contrast, so this is quite important to me. Also, D610 at 850g, whereas the D750 at 840g!

Lol. well, 10 grams.. sure.. that makes perfect sense....

Seriously though, The D750 does have some advantages over the D610, wouldn't mind owning one myself. Was just kind of curious as to which options you were citing so I asked.

I don't use shot bracketing myself but if you do being able to do.. I think it's 9 frames on a D750 would certainly be worth checking into.

 

[goodguy]

I have a feeling you want us to tell you to get the D750, well I am here to tell you GET IT LOL

Haha damn right! Actually it's pretty obvious the perks of getting the D750, I guess I want people to tell me if my assumptions are right or wrong.

LOL, asking us here if you should buy a new camera is like asking a small kid if he would like another candy.
The answer will always be yes, we LOVE new gear
But seriously you will love the D750, its just the perfect balance for a general use full frame DSLR.
It does everything very well with no serious weakness in any field.

 

[molested_cow]