Jose Angel 
, Jul 30, 2008; 08:21 a.m.
Thanks God, the digital Nikon cropping era has finished to me. I`s so satisfied. The D700 has been long awaited... at
least by me. Years. I have used some Nikon loaned D3s, I even bought (and returned days later) one of this
monsters. I passed over
the D3. This camera was not for me. The D700 does. Like with the F3, or F6, I feel I`m shooting a Nikon again.
It`s also great the D700 is practically a D300 -with the FF sensor and the obvious viewfinder-. Otherwise, this issue
makes on me the sensation of a truly expensive camera; for my way of photography, always at the lowest ISO
settings, the D300 image quality is every bit as good (if not better) than the D3 or D700. Even being made in
Thailand, the D300 has some better details than the D700. QC is not an issue here. But as a currently film camera
user, the FX format is a
great relief. I`m so satisfied I can now choose between the F6 and D700 using the same lenses, same DoF, same
field of view, etc. on both. Both have a very similar fit, size and weight. For non-film users or younger DX
photographers I understand the D700 could not give them anything worthy for the money.
I think I`m more on the practical side as a camera user; some things have more value that the ultimate pixel pitch or
the clinical measure of noise levels: the bigger viewfinder, the classic round eyepiece, the simpler upper screen, the
right&left arrows on
the electronic rangefinder aid... I`m looking forward to use my f1.4
manual staff. Great.
D700 - 50/1.8 AFD
Jose Angel , Jul 30, 2008; 08:36 a.m.
... and I love that big mirror bounce sound... shclack!... a real macho mirror...
Arun Seetharam , Jul 30, 2008; 09:44 a.m.
Jose, Did I understand you right? D700 has a big mirror and makes that big sound? Sounds like the recoil of a gun!! Is that true? :-)
Sanford Edelstein 
, Jul 30, 2008; 09:56 a.m.
How does the D700 in DX crop mode compare the the D300?
Emilio Gutierrez , Jul 30, 2008; 10:19 a.m.
All this talk about the D700... maybe THIS could be the camera that would turn me to the dark side...
I couldn't agree more with Jose Angel and his thoughts about lenses, viewfinders, that rounded eyepiece.. I've never been a fan of the DX format, mostly a subjective kind of thing I guess, don't misunderstand me I acknowledge its strengths, and advantages... but maybe I'm just old school and like to feel the camera is actually doing something as I press the shutter release... cause and effect...
Jose Angel , Jul 30, 2008; 10:27 a.m.
Arun, I hope not to have too much mirror "recoil" on the D700... I can feel it in my hands. It`s noisy. Definitely way more noticeable than on the D300.
In DX mode the D700 shows a thin frame into the whole frame, almost the same width of the AF sensor area. Looks like a rangefinder frame, like a 50mm frame on a M6 camera. If you use the grid feature on the FX mode, the DX area appears as part of the grid. The crop is 5.1 Mpixels. The only advantage (thought) is to have the sensor`s high ISO advantage, but at the cost of a half the image size.
Sanford Edelstein , Jul 30, 2008; 10:34 a.m.
Jose, are you saying that the crop is to 5.1 MP or 5.1 MP less than the 14MP of the D700? I was wondering about quality of
results compared to the D300 as I have several DX lenses now and IF I somehow found myself in a position to afford the D700
I would have utilize them.
Justin NGO , Jul 30, 2008; 10:39 a.m.
Jose,
Congrats and enjoy your great D700 ! I have 50mm 1.8 but can not produce that sharp picture with my D80!
Frank , Jul 30, 2008; 10:41 a.m.
"How does the D700 in DX crop mode compare the the D300?"
It's just a compromise with a strong loss of IQ. DX compatibility is nice to have but no real advantage.
Jose Angel , Jul 30, 2008; 10:46 a.m.
If you like/have to use DX lenses, the D300 gives you the best 12.3Mp images up to date.
The 12.1Mp D700 use only 5.1Mp in DX mode. It is an available but almost useless feature (to me). Unless you want FF for whatever the reason, IMO it isn`t worth for DX lens owners/users to have a D700.
