Name of product:
Nikon D700 DSLRApproximate date of purchase:
July 2008My Review
I was just on the brink of ordering a D3 when I learned of the imminent arrival of the D700, with the same focus system, same sensor, full frame, etc., and much less expensive. So I waited and bought the D700, along with a new 14-24mm f/2.8 Nikkor zoom wide angle and stayed within my budget.
The camera is a joy to use. By now, February 2011, I've run many thousands of frames through it and couldn't be more pleased. I use the body for studio food shots, portraits, interior, and landscape panoramas and gigapans. It is a tremendous workhorse that does exactly what it's promoted to do: Pretty unerring exposure (unless I set the compensation wrong) and very clean images even at high (6400+) ISO. I'd moved up from a D300, so this was of great joy to me.
Eight frames per second is more than fast enough for the stuff I shoot. Fast focus and follow focus is wonderful for people moving around the room at a function. Probably a small thing but a big deal to me -- Nikon's design (the rubber covered bump on one end of the body) makes it comfortable to carry in hand, even with heavy lenses. Initially I worried about the camera slipping from my lowered hand, but the design and "sticky" rubber on the gripping surface really makes it easy to hang onto.
To anyone who wants all of the pro performance without the D3 price, I couldn't recommend it more highly.
By the way. the Nikkor 14-24 f/2.8 zoom wide angle lens is absolutely tack sharp edge to edge, shows no light fall off, and the wide angle distortion (at 14mm) does wonderous things with clouds.
Camera "pros"
Full frame (FX), fast focus, unerring exposure, very low noise to image ratio (even at high ISO), easy on the hand, and easy to hang onto
Camera "cons"
Full frame (FX) lenses are expensive (but worth it), 10 frames per second would be better for sports
