Nikon D700: What is the image quality like?

#Nikon #D700 #Legend #Resolution #IQ

I finally got to shoot with the legendary Nikon D700, and after a couple of weeks of shooting I address the following questions:
- Is the 12 MP sensor too little in 2020?
- Is there something magical or extraordinary about the D700's image quality (IQ)?
- Is it a good landscape camera?
- How does the IQ compete with the Nikon D750?

Table of contents:
00:00 Introduction to this video
01:24 The four questions presented
03:00 Q1: Is the 12 MP sensor too little in 2020?
03:58 Q2: Is there something magical or extraordinary about the D700's image quality (IQ)?
06:25 Q3: Is it a good landscape camera?
08:52 Q4: How does the IQ compete with the Nikon D750?
11:49 Summary and conclusion

You can also find the points relayed in this blog post, along with the additions I have made since I made the purchase decision:

[richardrh]

Loving all your videos on the d700. I sold mine about 4 months ago and bought a Z 5 with a variety of Z prime lenses. Don’t like it so I have just bought another d700. I take mainly people and animal portraits. The colours in the d700 are so much more natural. The photos I print are 10 x 8 size and are really excellent. So the moral of my post is “ if you are thinking of selling your d700, don’t !

[UnusSedLeo-wl]

Excellent video. I love the D700. Bought one in 2018. The colours are so beautiful. It is very film-like. Build quality is excellent. Made in Japan!

[jcleaver]

I used to have a D700, and I had to sell it during the financial crises of 2008. It was my favorite camera ever. As far as the 'magic' of the D700, it isn't so much that the photos pop, as that the photos look more film like. That is the magic, at least to me.

[ssb]

I've been shooting for some 50 years. I only moved into digital about 10 years ago. I bought an old D700 with about 75, 000
shutter actuations on it. In the ten years I have had it, I've put about another 75, 000 actuations on it. Never a single issue. It is built like a rock. Super solid. I shoot landscapes only. Even though it only has 12 mp the images easily print in sizes up to 30x40. I have 2 30x40 hanging in my living room and would have many more if I had the wall space. For the person on a budget, you can't beat it.

[dario]

I shot professionally with this camera for many years. Above all it is indestructible, colours are pleasing and natural rather than punchy (in my humble opinion). You can comfortably print 24x36 prints with it if you use good technique and sharp lenses. My camera looks like it went through a war but it still works like new):.

[johnpeschke]

i don't care about the cons...I'm not a pro. I just love the images my D700 produces. I often shoot velvia with my F4 and compare the scanned transparencies with the jpeg images from the D700. I love both.

[studioraleigh]

The Guest sees more in an hour than the Host sees in a year ...
I love this guy!

Seriously though, absolutely great vids, man! Some of the very best on the subject.

Don't take this the wrong way, but I've spent many an hour listening to your voice (which strangely I love), and learning about Photography (especially n-EYE-con cameras!)
Love ya, happy shooting! - USA (come visit! we take pictures here too!)

Don't take my Kodachrome away.
Mamma don't take my Kodachrome!

[Sam-chmn]

I’m an amateur/enthusiast and have been considering buying a full-frame body having shot only with cropped sensor cameras, inc a D300. Your review has been very helpful and thank you for your honest opinion on the D700. No false claims or starry-eyed hype - how refreshing. Great style of presentation with clear descriptions of your real-life experience with the camera.
I’m almost certainly going to go for a D700 to compare its ergonomics and it’s output. If you (or anyone) have any experience with a D300 and can comment on it compared with the D700, I’d be very interested.

[antonius]

Nice to see that this is still an active topic. I am doing events, portraits and weddings using the D700 with the 28-300, 50 mm and 85 mm. The D700 is my main camera and highly appreciated by women. Sometimes I get comments about the noise but mostly in a positive way. Other full frames I have tried are the D610 and D810 but they are not quite up to the job because of ergonomics and so on. For travel photography I use the D300s with the 18-70 also an underappreciated camera but better than 7100 and 7200. Also had Z5 and Z7 but there is no romance in these computerized cameras. Comparing images doesnot cover the feeling the true photographer gets when picking up a D700, D300 or D3-4. That's a lesson most manufacturers seem to forget nowadays looking at the cheaply made bodies and lenses.

[Gustavo_Weckesser]

You did an excellent video. I made my humble career as a weddings photographer with two Canon EOS 5D MkI (classic) bodies. Their sensor has a similar resolution like the 700D. To my taste, the color rendition of the 5D is superb, but the 700D has a clear advantage vs the 5D in terms of processing speed, low light AF, and back screen quality. The couple of years of technology progress between the appearance of each of the two cameras is evident. Nowadays I´d buy a Canon eos 6D MkI if I am looking for a low priced camera with an outstanding image quality and a 20 MP sensor that produces really beautiful pictures. Anyway, that is my personal opinion, just to make a contribution to the subject of this excellent video. Greetings.

[garethwilliams]

Thanks for an honest and fair judgement on what remains one of Nikon's finest cameras of any period. Superb build quality and great image quality too. It can produce excellent A3 prints from the full frame which have won prizes in international competitions and was used at their favoured camera by many top professionals. Sadly many are deluded into buying the latest cameras for features they will never need but who minds that if it makes cameras such as this affordable?

[MichaelVincentMagic]

I enjoyed your honest evaluation. 12 Vs 24 Meg Pixels. its interesting how 12mp was considered a big deal. Good news Fredrik, I ordered a D700 on ebay yesterday. It will be here next week. I have a D750 and a museum worthy collection of Lens. I bit the bullet for one character of the images. My research has all said the same thing, the image quality is a bit special. Your images proves it even though you didn’t feel that “magic” about thus camera. My X-Pro 1 blows me away for the same reason, its about the character of the image. Thank you sir, I appreciate your video. 👍🏽

[dominicwroblewski]

I have the little brother to the D700, the D300. I can say that there is a difference in images that those cameras produce when I compare them to the D7000 and the D600. The images somehow look better. I can not quantify this but the images just seem better and more pleasing. I did a little research and found out that the D3, D700 and the D300 had sensors made by a company that is now a subsidiary of Panasonic. All Nikon camera models made since these three are made with sensors made by Sony. As you shoot more with the D700 you will start to see the subtleties of the images. I was so impressed with my D300 that I ended up with 5 of them because of the images and the low price on the used market. I only buy used which allows me the opportunity to get a lot of gear cheap and compare gear.

[maitai]

I currently shoot with 2 d700’s and a d3s. There is always a learning curve, that being said proper exposure is key to a good clean image. From what I see today people are always saying that they can fix it in post production and they rely on presets to fix the problem. Most people now do not even print so what would you need 12 plus megapixels for? I have no problem printing 16” x 20” prints with 12 megapixel.

[smarissmarason]

after many years of use, I notice the color difference when shooting portraits between my D810 vs D700, when editing I saw how natural and good skin color D700 has, in many photoshoots I could use the photos straight out of the camera with a minimum editing.

[Zapruderfilm]

I’ve owned a D700 for two years now.
It’s been with me as one of my street photography cameras on the streets of NYC on a bi weekly basis.
Is it conspicuous for street photography?
Oh yeah, I get noticed a lot with it but it creates a genre of street photography because of that.
I have a D3 coming this week to go along with my D700.
I’ll never sell my D700, it’s an extraordinary camera with something that keeps me and others that own it coming back to it time after time after time.
I’ll never sell it, I love it madly!

[frankvardeman]

Wow! Just read comments and watched this video. So great and so honest. Can’t wait till I get my mine! Thanks Frederick!

[geoffreystone]

The importance of aspects of photography in this order

The brain
The light whether artificial or not, filters etc
The lens
And lastly the camera

Capture the image in camera and expose on the computer.

All that said the D700 is awesome! Thanks for the video.

[filmdigitalvideos]

If you were thinking of getting a D700 as your only camera then I think the points raised in this video are perfectly valid. But if, like me, you already have your "main camera", then any limitations in your "fun camera" no matter what it is, either don't really matter or actually become it's strengths. I haven't yet done any side by side comparisons with my D750 but what I've noticed so far (I've only had my D700 for a couple of weeks) is the out of focus areas seem a little smoother, more like film grain than digital noise. Maybe it's just the power of positive suggestion rather than fact but I definitely like the images I've been getting with it. Plus, remember, you're not just buying a camera, but joining a cult :-)

[RollingShutterPhotography]

Just picked up my D700, first full frame. Really appreciate all of your insights, great videos!