Nikon D300 vs D700?

[andrew99]

Sort of hypothetical (at least for my budget at the moment, lol), just curious of everyone's opinions on this. The D300 has been my dream camera for more than a few months now, but as I read more about the D700, I think full frame sensors are the way we are heading. Therefor I'm starting to think that investing more money on DX format cameras (lenses and the D300 itself) isn't too smart, I should just save my money for a full frame camera. The high ISO performance of the D3 and D700 just blow everything away! Thoughts?

 

[manaheim]

I agree on the full frame thing... I think market pressures will force Nikon into full frame across the board eventually. That being said, I don't think it means you shouldn't buy a DX camera or lenses now, just that you should be smart about your purchases.

My personal approach is not to spend any real money on any lens that isn't full frame, so that way if I go full frame later I'm covered on the glass I'm most concerned about.

Other than that? It's really about how much money you want to spend and how soon you want the camera. The D300 is an amazing piece of equipment. I love mine. I've used a D3 enough now to know that, yes, it's better than the D300, but not in any way that I miss when I am using the D300. Given that the D700 isn't quite as much of a machine as the D3... is it really worth all the extra money for the difference?

That's not a judgement, it's a question... is it? To you? To me, it's not.

 

[dEARlEADER]

It really depends on the requirements of the user....

A wedding photographer may pick a d700 for usable high iso shooting

A backpacker may choose the d300 and dx lenses for portability

Serious prosumer landscapers may pick a d700 for larger pixels and potentially better large prints

A hungry prosumer may opt D300/DX due to pricepoint

They are both competent prosumers cameras with unique advantages. Having said that.... I most likely won't buy anymore DX lenses and will just use FF lenses until I see where the market curve on the full frame will end up.

 

[JerryPH]

How serious are you into photography? How deep are your pockets? These 2 questions will answer you faster if you go D300 or D700. I think that DX/FF are both going to be around for many more generations. The DX lenses and camreas are not going to drop off the face of the earth anytime soon.

For someone like me, I am just starting to fall into a dilemma of D700 or D3. I had the heart all set for a D3, but now I am considering two D700s instead. This is because I was on the "no thanks" side of the fence about turning pro, and now I am seriously sitting on the fence wondering if I want to add photography as a professional side-line or not.

Decisions, decisions. Either way, it is an exciting time to be a photographer!

 

[dEARlEADER]

How serious are you into photography? How deep are your pockets? These 2 questions will answer you faster if you go D300 or D700. I think that DX/FF are both going to be around for many more generations. The DX lenses and camreas are not going to drop off the face of the earth anytime soon.

For someone like me, I am just starting to fall into a dilemma of D700 or D3. I had the heart all set for a D3, but now I am considering two D700s instead. This is because I was on the "no thanks" side of the fence about turning pro, and now I am seriously sitting on the fence wondering if I want to add photography as a professional side-line or not.

Decisions, decisions. Either way, it is an exciting time to be a photographer!

Why don't you get a D3 and a D300?? The best of both worlds for the same money??

 

[SpeedTrap]

Well, I have been shooting with the D300 and the D700 for a while now and I like the D700 for indoor weddings and wide angle. I like the D300 dor Sports, (My 200mm becomes 300mm and my 400mm becomes 600mm) The D300 is a fantastic camera, and it did very well for me in weddings before I got the D700. YOu need to ask yourself what you are using it for.

If you have no need to shoot at 1/125 sec ISO 3200, then get the D300, if you are going to be shooting indoors and don't want to use a flash, get the D700.

 

[Big Mike]

I agree that crop sensor cameras aren't going away in the foreseeable future. So don't be too worried about investing in DX lenses. Even if they do faze out that format, there will still be millions of people who will have and use crop cameras for a long while.

Ask yourself if you really need the extra capabilities that you get from full frame. Sure it's nice, but do you really need it? I'd venture to say that most photographers don't need it, but for those who can afford it, it's something that they want.

 

[Joves]

Actually I dont see the cropped sensor leaving at all. Wildlife people love the extra reach they give your film/fool frame lenses. I know I do. I have like one DX lens and, the rest are for film/FF. I plan on getting a D700 to compliment my D300 and, to be able to use my wider lenses as they are menat to be used. I dont think any major manufacturer is going to commit to full frame only.

 

[epp_b]

I'm not so sure crop sensors are on their way out, at least not anytime soon. Full frame DSLRs aren't expensive just because they happen to be the high-end pro models with advanced features, but also because full frame sensors are expensive to make.

The nice thing about Nikon FX DSLR bodies is that they will detect when a DX lens is attached and crop the sensor area accordingly. You'll be shooting at a lower resolution, but it is nice to have that bit of future-proofing.

 

[roadkill]

Is there any reason I would get a D3 when I could pick up a D700 and some extra glass?

 

[andrew99]

The high ISO performance of the D3 and D700 is amazing, check out this shot light only by moonlight, by David Hobby: http://www.flickr.com/photos/davidhobby/2776856010/

And as much as it pains me to link to Ken Rockwell, look at this comparison of ISO 3200 between the D300, D3 and D700 .. The loss of detail on the D300 due to noise reduction is somewhat scary: http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/d700/iso-3200-comparison.htm

I think dEARlEADER nailed it above -- for weddings, the high ISO performance of the full frame cameras are awesome, but for sports, the smaller/lighter size and crop sensor effect make the D300 very attractive.

And thanks for everyones reassurance that DX format is not going anywhere fast. I'm currently leaning towards the D300 due to cost and I have some great DX lenses already. Plus the D300 is still an *amazing* camera despite the D700/D3!

 

[joecoulsonphotography]

< very happy with D300 and would love the D700 but I think it would be $3k for a bit more resolution. Worth it?

 

[nik691]

I am new to this board and came across this forum on google. I was in the same boat here. But I keep thinking I never go above 1000 iso, so no biggy there. I don't own any dx lenses yet. I have a d300, tamron 28-75 2.8 and nikon 50 1.4 and 105mm vr. I keep seeing stuff already about a d900 or d700x. Who knows. My only complaint is my lenses are cropped and most have very good edge sharpness. But then again who sits there and analyzes pictures all day long.

It doesn't matter even if crop sensors were on their way out because fx can use those lenses at lower mega pixel count of course but with time will improve. I am personally thinking of holding out till something better comes out then upgrading. It like when hdtvs came out then 2 years later they were 10x better. Electronics suck becuase no matter what you do it is outdated as soon as you buy it.

I bought a d300 knowing about the d700, one because of price and just wanted to take photos period.

 

[tasman]

The D700 can use both types of lenses. The sensor will automatically go from a FF to a DX when you put on a DX lens.

 

[Tiberius]

The D700 can use both types of lenses. The sensor will automatically go from a FF to a DX when you put on a DX lens.

A Nikon-brand DX lens, at least. No guarantee on other brands.