Nikon D700

According to SPTS, a Nikon authorized camera repair center, we will see no Nikon D700x, but the next improved version of the Nikon D700 will hold the name of Nikon D700s.

Seeing that this kind of terminology is now used by Nikon these days, it seems credible, even if nothing is said about a confirmation by Nikon.

The Nikon D700 user manual has always been difficult to find on the web. But here we come with the right opportunity to check the features and operation of the D700.

Download the Nikon D700 user manual:

• D700 User manual in English (11.6 MB, PDF file)
• D700 User manual in Spanish (en Español, 11.6 MB, PDF file)
• D700 User manual in French

A correspondent from Taipei transmitted me some very amazing information. Looking for information about the Nikon D700, he was informed that the shop no longer was stocking it in preparation of an upcoming Nikon D900. I would classify this in the “very low probability” folder since I cannot believe that the Nikon D700 is already reaching end of life. It could be either a message from the future or a bad excuse from a shop owner basing himself upon a possible upcoming announcement, but let’s wait for a confirmation.

Update: This is unconfirmed.

This is going to be considered either as the boldest move in years for a whole industry, or the dumbest moment in the career of a doomed photo executive.

'War and Peace' by Jayel Aheram

Akira Watanabe, manager of Olympus Imaging’s SLR planning department, in an interview given to CNet at the Photo Marketing Association (PMA) fair, said: “We have no intention to compete in the megapixel wars for E-System” Olympus’ line of SLR cameras [1]. Instead, Olympus intends to work on improving the Image Quality, the sensitivity, the noise levels, etc.

For most people this may come as shocking news. Everybody has grown used to the continuous increase in number of mega-pixels in photo cameras. But most photographers will have noticed that the larger the sensor and the smaller the number of pixels (in a specific technology generation), the better the images.

For Olympus, 12 mega-pixels is enough. It is enough for nearly all reasonable amateur applications (including some large prints).

Nikon did something less obvious when they launched the Nikon D700. But this is in the same: The Nikon D700 opted for a relatively small sensor resolution (only 12 MP on a large Full Frame sensor) to favor image quality (IQ). But they did not say so.

Let’s hope that many other companies will participate in this truce and transform it into a new competition for quality rather than quantity.

Gizmodo, the gadget blog, sometimes has a few interesting posts about digital photography. Today, this is the case with their “Canon 5D Mark II vs. Nikon D700 Review Shoot-Out” which turned out to face the two digital cameras in real-life conditions of night photo (of course, they wanted to compare high-ISO pictures and noise).

The PMA 2009 fair in Las Vegas is opening its doors and it is time to confirm or correct the rumours.

• Nikon is concentrating on existing SLR products: Nikon D700 is king.
• Sony is not introducing any new SLR camera.
• Panasonic is advertising strongly the existing Lumix DMC-G1

So, where are the news? Here are some of the notable items:

• Samsung offers new compact point-and-shoot cameras (NX series) with an APS-C imaging sensor. Direct competitors for the SLR cameras, in the “Image Quality” category.
• Olympus E-620
• 6 new lenses for the Sony SLR cameras (one undisclosed Sony G Super Telephoto, 28-75mm f/2.8, DT 30mm f/2.8 Macro, DT 50mm f/1.8, DT 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6, DT 55-200mm f/4-5.6)
• A new Panasonic Lumix GH1 (improvement over the G1 in 12MP with 1080p video)
• 2 new lenses for the Lumix cameras (14-140mm & 7-14mm)

We will certainly conclude that this issue of the world photo event is going to be tagged as “consumer-oriented” or “entry-level sensitive”.

I am quite impressed, I keep receiving more and more reviews for the Full Frame SLR cameras of this winter. It seems that the interest is very high. Currently:

• Nikon D3x: 15 reviews
• Canon EOS 5D Mk II: 21 reviews
• Sony Alpha 900: 21 reviews
• Nikon D700: 16 reviews

A lot of reading for those who are either ready to shell several grands on a Full Frame SLR camera or are still waiting to get a new camera in a few years from now.

With the arrival of all these new digital photo cameras with a large sensor (Full Frame) in 2008, like the Sony Alpha 900 or the Canon EOS 5D MkII, it became difficult to find your own path. The more because their main advantage of these is photo cameras is to offer images of ultra-high quality at very high sensitivity. But how do you want to know this? The best is probably to compare. Many web sites published such comparisons, let’s try to find the best ones:

You may want a Nikon D700 as a birthday present, but no! You’ll get a birthday cake, and you’ll be able to photograph it.

By fsumaria

Sony Alpha 900

Comparing two SLR cameras with very very different prices is realy a tough task. So tough that it is often useless. In the Online Photographer, Michael Johnston still tries this daunting task of comparing the Sony Alpha 900 and the Nikon D3.

These are two cameras that are mostly linked by the fact that they have a 35mm Full Frame sensor. Their prices are not even in the same ballpark and the Sony is brand new, while the Nikon is on the market for more than a year now. However, I think that the comparison is quite interesting. To the point, that I invite you to read it from top to bottom.

There is no mere conclusion, but interesting comments that could be summarized by a few items:

1. The D3 is much faster in nearly all aspects; It’s also bigger and heavier.
2. Michael Johnston prefers the digital noise quality of higher ISOs from the Sony (but I think this is very subjective).
3. From the photos shown, I would say that the Sony Alpha 900 is helped by a better dynamic lighting optimization, but the added pixels are helping a lot images that need to be enlarged (or cropped) somewhat. Photoshop and DxO and other Raw file developers may compensate this, but shooting nearly right from the beginning is important.

Nikon D700

This kind of comparison is also quite interesting because it emphasizes the important differences that we can find between high-pixel count Full Frame cameras and high-ISO (low-pixel count) Full Frame cameras. If you stay at relatively small images sizes (or printouts up to A4/Letter size) the Nikon D3 and its sibbling Nikon D700 are very powerful beasts that will run to the darkest place a camera can shoot. And this can be amazingly dark.

But if you start shooting large images (or print more than A4/Letter-size, or intend to significantly crop your images; like for large panoramic photos), a larger pixel-count may become quite critical. Then, you start looking at the Sony Alpha 900 or the Canon EOS 5D MkII. It really depends on the kind of use you have.

The comments from Michael Johnston about the “shoot-to-carry ratio” (ratio between shooting time and effort, and carrying time and stress) are also quite interesting and a very urgent reminder for all people who may be tempted to follow the Full Frame madness. If you go from a relatively light-weight camera to one of the heavier models, you should really think about the impact on your photographic behaviour. If you keep the camera to the eye and/or shoot a lot, a heavy camera is not a critical issue (that’s for pros), but if you carry the camera around and shoot only sparsely the mere weight may become a burden (that’s for many amateurs, even enthusiasts).

This is all over the Internet rumours now. People think that Nikon is going to unveil a new 35mm Full Frame SLR camera at around 24MP. Let’s summarized what has been popping everywhere:

• The Nikon D3 is getting more difficult to find (this would be a signal that its replacement is coming)
• Announcement is scheduled for November 20th (but nobody seems to have any details and is just repeating the same tired old news).
• People speak about a Nikon D3x or a Nikon D400 (the latest fad), but nobody really knows its name, though. Even, the guy who sent poor photos to Nikon Rumours earlier this month.
• A German Nikon web site has been seen using a D3_2 name for a folder to store firmwares (could mean anything).
• But most interestingly, the Sony sensor guys revealed that they no longer intend to sell their 24MP sensor to outsiders. This is a major change compared to the previous deals between Nikon and Sony that led successfull cameras like the Nikon D200. That probably removes most of the fuel from the previous rumours of 24MP sensor size. Nikon would be ready to use any size as far as it is larger than the one from the Nikon D700.

Did I say BIG?

I would not be much surprised if I saw a really large pixel count… Stay tuned.

Digital noise, this eternal ennemy of the photographer, is going to find a real opponent at its level: The 35mm Full Frame sensors of the new FF dSLR that just arrived on the market (or were there for a relatively longer time):

• Canon EOS 1Ds Mark III
• Canon EOS 5D
• Canon EOS 5D MkII
• Nikon D3
• Nikon D700
• Sony Alpha 900

As a matter of fact, this is a considerable advantage of the big/large sensors which can make use of pixels whose size is proportionnelly bigger and so apter to capture light without using the ammplification devices (usually generating or increasing noise image defects).

This is a good reason to find it interesting to go and check the images présented by DPreview in its Sony Alpha 900 test. They compare some of these cameras at sensitivity settings between 50 and 6400 ISO.

Think about what any other SLR camera would do at the same settings (ISO 3200, no less!): More or less colored blurred blotches.

Surprising (or not), we observe that Nikon started to lower the price of the Nikon D700 (Full Frame reflex camera) by a nice $300.