Nikon D700 Review

With external dimensions of 147 x 123 x 77 millimeters, the new Nikon D700 is about as big as a D300 (147 x 114 x 74 mm). On the outside, both cameras are also very similar, whereby the D700 rather looks for a comparison with the flagship or professional model D3. Like this one, the D700 has a round eyecup and a built-in eyepiece shutter; while the D700 integrates an integrated miniature flash (LZ 11 and light angle up to 24 mm) into the viewfinder’s prism housing, which can also be used as a control flash for wireless TTL flash control, the D3 comes without an on-board flash. The D3 retains the advantage of one hundred percent field coverage. Your new little sister has to make do with a 95% viewfinder – and that with a 0.72x magnification of the viewfinder image. The D700 in turn compensates for this with a liquid crystal layer embedded in the viewfinder mat screen, which allows a grid to be faded into the viewfinder. For a grid you have to change the viewfinder mat screen of the D3.

Short evaluation

Pros

• A reasonably effective sensor cleaning system
• Most advanced and best exposure measuring system on the market
• Extremely high range of functions and equipment, compared to the D3 only minimally slimmed down
• Low noise even at highest sensitivity levels (max. ISO 25.600)

Cons

• Vignetting correction at current firmware status ineffective to counterproductive
• Built-in flash cannot be used with continuous shooting function (not even at reduced frame rate)
• No exposure preview in LiveView mode (not even as a separate setting)
• Bright white AF auxiliary light

 

The D700 and D3 have the image sensor in 35mm film size (FX format with 36 x 23.9 mm) in common. This not only affects the image quality (the relatively large pixels provide less noise and a larger dynamic range), but also allows the use of 35mm compatible lenses (old and new) without changing the captured image section (image angle narrowing or “focal length extension”). For both cameras, the net resolution of the sensor is 12.1 megapixels, and you can increase the signal gain/sensitivity from ISO 200 to ISO 6,400 (plus Lo1, Hi1 and Hi2 settings for an even greater range of settings). The Expeed signal processor should also be the same, so that – depending on whether the same noise reduction algorithms are used or not – one can expect approximately or exactly the same picture quality.

Other common features include the shutter unit used (for shutter speeds from 30 to 1/8,000s and for a normal flash sync time of max. 1/250s), autofocus (MultiCAM-3500FX sensor with 51 AF metering points), exposure metering (3D color matrix metering II with 1,005-pixel sensor) and scene detection (SRS system). The camera screen (3″ or 7.6 cm LTP TFT LCD with 922,000 pixels and extended viewing angle independence), the live image function (can even be activated at the touch of a button with the D700), the WT-4 compatibility (for wireless image transmission via WLAN/WiFi network), the camera orientation function (virtual horizon) and the built-in HDMI interface are also identical.

So where was the red pencil used compared to the D3? For example, the D700 is not quite as fast as its big sister. The shutter delay is slightly longer, and the maximum frame rate in continuous advance mode is 8 frames per second (vs. 9 fps in FX format and 11 fps in DX format in D3). This frame rate is only possible when using the optional MB-D10 battery/portrait handle, which is familiar from the D300 – without which the D700 even achieves “only” 5 frames per second. And because the handle has to be bought for it, the D700 allows a comfortable position and operation of the camera for portrait format shots only at an extra charge. The D700 also has space for only one (CompactFlash) memory card, while the D3 has two slots for it. As a further economy measure, the D700 does without a built-in microphone/loudspeaker set for recording and reproducing voice memos, as is known from the D3.

But what the D3 doesn’t have and the D700 does, is a built-in sensor cleaning system like the D300. The D700 is supposed to have the same splash water protection as the analog F6 and weighs 995 grams without battery or 1,076 grams with battery. Of course, the functions are also on board, which are now almost part of the basic equipment of all Nikon DSLRs. These include the Picture Control System, the Info Display (on the D700 with direct control of the recording settings and parameters displayed on the screen), the Active D-Lighting function (for electronic contrast compensation with light-saving shadow illumination in real time) and the comprehensive image post-processing functions. And all this will be available from the end of July (i.e. at the end of this month) at a price of around EUR 2,600 (RRP). This is a bit higher than the current street price of the Canon EOS 5D, but Nikon users will now be happy to have a cheaper alternative to the D3 or a “full format camera” in the mid price range.

 

Ergonomics and workmanship

The D700 is just as tough as a D300 or D3, so to speak, “made of one piece” (magnesium) and “sealed all around” (see picture).

 

The workmanship is superb, and the only plastic parts are the controls, access doors to the battery and memory card compartments, and the part of the prism housing that houses the built-in miniature flash. Despite its larger image sensor, the D700 with its dimensions of 147 x 123 x 77 millimeters and its weight of just under 1.1 kilograms (with memory card and battery, but without lens) is only slightly more voluminous and heavier than the D300, which is very similar in appearance.

Thanks to its well-balanced weight distribution and excellent ergonomics, the D700 hardly notices its weight. And when it does, it’s more positive. The feeling of security is good; rubber applications in a grained leather look contribute to the grip. Only with portrait format shots one can wish for an even higher holding comfort, but one can buy it with the optional multifunction handle MB-D10. The user-friendliness leaves nothing to be desired in this price/equipment class: although the D700 is littered with buttons and switches, you don’t need to make an excursion into the camera menu for all the more important settings, and everything can be operated intuitively without finger acrobatics. Thanks to the front and rear control dial, aperture and shutter speed can be set simultaneously with one hand; an overview of the settings and active camera parameters can be seen on the upper liquid crystal display (alias status LCD) and – in addition – by pressing the info button on the rear 7.6cm colour screen of the camera.

The screen is not only used to display various parameters and settings (some of which can also be changed via the control buttons on the screen), to display the menus and the image display, but also as a viewfinder substitute or alternative in LiveView mode. With excellent imaging performance (resolution of around 920,000 pixels, viewing angle of 170° h/v, high brilliance and color fidelity, low noise in low light, very smooth image display even with fast camera pans), the monitor is also a worthy viewfinder replacement; in terms of image field coverage, the screen (image field: 100%) is even superior to the viewfinder (image field: 95%). One looks into the viewfinder through the Nikon-typical round eyecup. A diopter adjustment (-3 to +1 dpt.) is of course available – its locking option and the presence of an integrated eyepiece shutter are less obvious. The viewfinder image is pleasantly large with its 0.72x magnification and quite bright thanks to the glass prism. Due to the 18 mm entrance pupil, spectacle wearers also have a view of the entire viewfinder field, and the grid that can be displayed in the viewfinder (made possible by a liquid crystal layer embedded in the focusing screen) partially compensates for the lack of possibility of changing the focusing screens.

If the viewfinder is quite clear, this also applies to the menus. The menu structure is clear, i.e. logically structured, and the menu items are easy to read at all times thanks to the high-contrast display; together with the 50 individual functions, the menu comprises around 111 menu items with which well over 200 different settings are possible. So it might take some time until you have discovered all the possibilities of the D700, and since it is hardly possible to use them all at the same time, you will probably first familiarize yourself with the extensive personalization options (freely assignable/new keys, setting sets, restructuring the camera menu, etc.). For many menu items there is a short explanatory text at the push of a button (help function), and with a simple key combination you can instantly reset the D700 to the factory settings (quick reset); you can even “take along” your settings (separately also the image parameter settings) or transfer them to another D700 by saving them to the CompactFlash card.

The memory card is housed in its own compartment, which – in contrast to the D3 – has only one slot. So pictures and settings have to share the space on the map. The EN-EL3e battery of the D700 (Li-Ion) is inserted into the camera from below, i.e. via the battery compartment access, on the camera underside. Thanks to the generous distance between the battery compartment and the tripod thread (1/4″ metal thread) in the optical axis, it can also be removed without any unscrewing actions when using larger tripod quick-release plates.

Equipment 

That the D700 is a camera class in itself and not a “slimmed down” D3 is proven by some striking differences between the two cameras. For example, the D700 has automatic sensor cleaning, which the D3 lacks. Strangely enough, the D700 doesn’t have an airflow system – as you know it from the D60. What both cameras have in common, however, is the way the dust is supposed to get off the sensor.

Elements on the low-pass filter plate in front of the image sensor generate wave-like vibrations that are supposed to “knock” the dust particles off; according to the “ColorFoto” test in issue 6/2008, this already works quite well with the D60 (at least better than the “shaking method” from Sony, Pentax and Samsung).

 

Only very fine dust should still stick to the antistatic coated surface of the sensor or low pass filter, but even if this should be the case with the D700, there is still the possibility of manual sensor cleaning (with a suitable “cleaning tool” from the accessory trade) and/or dust referencing (on the basis of a reference image, the dark areas in the image caused by the dust can also be subsequently calculated out of the images).

The other big difference between the D700 and D3 is the built-in miniature flash unit Ersterer. The scene is divided about its usefulness. The anti-flash fraction states that the flash is shaded by most lenses anyway, that the D700 could have been equipped with a larger viewfinder prism without the on-board flash (in order to achieve an image field coverage of 100%) and that a built-in flash is another part that can break in the event of a camera impact. The Pro-Bordblitz group points out that in case of emergency (forgetting to attach the flash in the car, broken, empty, etc.) a built-in flash is better than none at all, that the on-board flash can be used as a control unit in a wireless TTL flash system and that a more powerful system flash unit is not required for short distances or for fill-in flashes.

No matter how you look at it: The flash is here, and the iTTL flash metering and control system ensures perfect flash results even with the built-in miniature flash (LZ 12). The small light dispenser also cuts a (very) good figure in other respects (flash cover up to 24 mm corresponding to KB, colour neutrality of the flash light, flash synchronisation time of max. 1/250 s, sufficient installation height for extensive avoidance of the red-eye phenomenon, number of flash functions and settings etc.).

The equipment of the D700 also includes a number of integrated image processing functions, some of which intervene in the image result as soon as it is taken. Almost standard on all newer Nikon digital cameras (at least those with a powerful Expeed processor) is Active-D-Lighting for electronic contrast compensation in real time. Shadows are brightened automatically and light-sparingly, i.e. without the brightest areas of the image being overshadowed or “burned out”. Since Active-D-Lighting can sometimes do too much of a good thing, it is adjustable in three stages, can be switched off completely and in the manual form (D-Lighting without Active-Prefix) can also be applied to already taken pictures afterwards. We could not find in the menu the correction of chromatic aberrations advertised in the brochure – after consultation with Nikon we learned that this function works automatically in the background and therefore cannot be switched on and off. The electronic vignetting correction (Off, Moderate, Normal, Strong), the noise reduction for long exposures (Off, On) and the noise reduction for high sensitivity settings (Off, Weak, Normal, Strong) are adjustable. In a separate menu you will find functions for the subsequent removal of red eyes (automatic recognition and retouching), cropping of images, conversion of photos into monochrome images (b/w or grayscale, sepia, blue tone), imitation of various filters (skylight, warm tone filter), hue correction and image montage (alternative to the multiple exposure function of the camera).

The functions and setting possibilities of the D700 are generally so extensive that their complete enumeration alone would go beyond the scope of this test. However, one should mention the most important of them, such as the RAW/NEF settings (optionally lossless/uncompressed, 12 or 14 bit), the interval function, the world clock function, the image comment function (text input), the image authentication function, the function for adding a copyright notice (in the embedded IPTC data), the camera alignment aids (on the monitor as a “virtual horizon” and/or as a tilt indicator via the line display of the exposure balance) or AF fine tuning (to correct any front or backfocus problems).

 

The 50 individual functions hide a multitude of further functions and settings, from the fine tuning of the exposure measurement (a fixed exposure correction value can be entered for each exposure measurement mode, to which the zero value is then assigned in the exposure correction display/function) up to the mirroring of the scales (thus optionally – 0 + or + 0 -). In summary, the D700 is a camera with (almost) unlimited possibilities in terms of functions and settings.

With a frame rate of up to 5 frames per second in continuous mode (two speed levels to choose from), the D700 is already one of the faster DSLRs. With the optional MB-D10 handle and a set of powerful AA/Mignon cells, the camera gets enough power to boost the frame rate to an even faster 8 frames per second. How many pictures can be taken in a row depends primarily on the data throughput of the memory card used (the D700 supports the UDMA mode of the fastest CompactFlash cards), since there is no fixed limit to the number of pictures that can be taken in a row and, in principle, you can continue to “fire” as long as there is no “backlog” in the buffer memory. Of course, the D700 is also capable of bracketing (even with extensive configuration options), but the auto bracketing is limited to automatic bracketing, flash bracketing and white balance bracketing. The D700 lacks automatic sharpness, colour saturation and/or contrast series, such as those offered by the much cheaper Pentax K20D. In any case, a dimming function/button and a mirror lock-up function are included. On the hardware side, in addition to the PictBridge-compatible USB 2.0 high-speed interface (data throughput: approx. 12 MByte/s), the mains input (manufacturer-specific 9-Volt plug) and the low-resolution standard video output (jack socket), a PC sync socket, an HDMI video output (settings: 480p to 1080i) and a 10-pole system plug (for connecting a GPS receiver, WiFi/WLAN module or other remote triggering accessories).

Lens

With the D700, one can probably assume that the buyer wants to make an individual lens choice or already owns suitable lenses, so that Nikon doesn’t sell it as a set with any lenses. That’s why there is no set lens that we have to go into, but it’s also possible that some dealers will bundle their own packages as part of various special promotions.

The D700 may appeal to many old owners of Nikon cameras and lenses, as you can continue to use your beloved optics without functional limitations. Thanks to the image sensor in the order of 35mm film (in vernacular “full format sensor”), one photographs as usual with one’s old lenses; the same image detail is captured as usual, as there is no narrowing of the image angle (in vernacular “focal length extension”). In principle, the D700 can be used together with any old lenses – as long as they are compatible with the Nikon F bayonet that has existed since 1959. Of course, Nikon also thought about equipping the D700 with a mechanical aperture driver, which is missing from the D40 models, the D60 and the D80, for example. Thus, even with lenses without electronic aperture transmission, the exposure metering and control is almost completely retained. If you call up the menu item “Lens data” in the camera menu under the system settings in order to enter the largest aperture and/or the focal length of the lens, even with the lenses of the Ai and Ai-S series (Non-Ai lenses can and do not work), you can use the “Lens data” menu item. The camera can be converted to Ai, etc.) & Co. the color matrix measurement, the adjustment of the zoom reflector of external flash units, the display of the aperture value on the camera (LC status display, viewfinder) in the image data as well as the adjustment of the flash output when the aperture is changed. Only the program automatic and the aperture automatic are omitted, since the aperture transmission logically only goes in one direction (from the lens to the camera). For non-AF lenses, focusing is then done manually, but with the support of the focus indicator and the direction of rotation indicator (small arrows symbolize the direction in which the focusing ring must be rotated).

But even owners of more recent Nikon lenses are not “left in the lurch”. If you upgrade from a Nikon DSLR with a smaller image sensor (APS-C or DX format) to the D700, you may be able to continue using your DX lenses. The D700 automatically detects when such a sensor is mounted on it, and then uses only the area of the image sensor that is also covered by the lens (due to the smaller image circle or lens diameter). The viewfinder adapts to the changed image section immediately; the undetected image areas are “dimmed” or shaded (the liquid crystal layer in the matt screen makes this possible). However, it should be clear that the partial use of the image sensor is of course also associated with a (drastic) loss of resolution. The resolution drops from 12 megapixels to just 5.1 megapixels, but that’s the price one has to pay for the continued use of DX lenses.

If one works with an autofocus lens, one has the choice between two operating modes for the LiveView function. In the so-called freehand mode, automatic focusing is performed using the phase detection principle or the MultiCAM-3500FX autofocus module in the camera floor is used. For the time of focusing, the mirror has to fold up for a fraction of a second – which can be somewhat irritating at first due to the mirror beat audible each time the shutter release button is pressed and the short interruption of the image on the camera monitor. Without interruption, but slightly slower when focusing in the so-called tripod mode. Here the camera uses the contrast comparison method known from compact digital cameras and uses the image sensor for this purpose. Autofocus is no longer activated by the shutter release button or the AF-ON button, but only by the AF-ON button. While the MultiCAM-3500FX’s 51 AF fields (behind 15 of them “plug in” cross sensors that are particularly keen on discovery) can be used in hands-free mode (or the camera), the D700 focuses in tripod mode on any point in the targeted scene, whereby the “AF field” can then be freely moved and placed on the screen using the control buttons. In both freehand and tripod modes, the focus can be controlled via the magnifier function, and in both modes you can choose between three shutter release settings (single shot, continuous shooting slow, continuous shooting fast). In the end, which live image mode one prefers, or whether one makes use of the live image function at all, depends on the shooting situation and/or the personal preferences and/or shooting habits.

Picture quality

We don’t want to discuss whether the “full format” is the right way and whether it should be more than 12.1 megapixels with a modern digital SLR camera of this class. Therefore we limit ourselves to the evaluation of the image quality on the basis of the DCTau test protocols. The D700 was tested in the test lab together with the Nikon AF-S Micro Nikkor 60mm 1:2.8G ED, because at that time, much more than a decade ago, we could only test it that way. Even if this was a forced choice for me, due to the particularly high demands that macro and repro shots (the specialties of macro lenses) place on image quality, it is not necessarily the most outlandish. The D700 could have better beeen tested with more common lenses (e.g. the AF-S Zoom-Nikkor 14-24 mm 1:2.8G ED, the AF-S VR Nikkor 200 mm 1:2G IF-ED, the AF-S VR Zoom-Nikkor 70-200 mm 1:2.8G IF-ED or the PC-E NIKKOR 24mm/3.5D ED).

The successor of the legendary Micro-Nikkor 60mm, with its ED glasses and nanocrystal coating, could be thought to be in top form on the D700. And that’s the way it really is when it comes to detail reproduction! The resolution of the AF-S Micro Nikkor 60mm 1:2.8G ED is already as high as it is homogeneous from an open aperture and even increases minimally due to dipping (the diffraction blur caused from aperture 11 is also absolutely negligible). Unfortunately, the fact that the lens doesn’t dampen the aggressive camera-internal processing of fine image details can also be seen in the form of clear brightness and color moirés on some images. But even more obvious than the Moirés is the (near the edges of the picture strongly increasing) violent vignetting of more than two and a half f-stops with open aperture. Although the largest aperture is rarely used for macro shots, it is most obvious that a full-frame camera and a high-performance lens together do not guarantee consistently high imaging performance. If the vignetting decreases when the aperture is closed, the camera’s internal vignetting correction is ineffective to counterproductive (overcompensation of the edge shading) if it is switched on in the menu. The test laboratory noticed a very similar behavior with regard to vignetting correction, e.g. with the AF-S Zoom-Nikkor 24-70 mm 1:2.8G ED on the D700, and the suspicion that the D700 is generally not yet optimally tuned is thus confirmed. In expectation of an accordingly revised firmware (the current version is 1.00) you might want to switch off the vignetting correction. The camera-internal correction of chromatic longitudinal aberrations seems to work more convincingly. In any case, we could not discover colour fringes in the pictures. The distortion in the tested camera/lens combination is very low; the barely visible cushion-shaped distortion is probably due to the zoom-like inner architecture of the internally focusing lens and should only be perceived as a limitation in repro photography.

Regarding noise behaviour of the D700, in summary it can be said that the D700 is hardly inferior to its big sister, the D3. Nikon’s decision to forego record resolutions in favor of larger pixels makes the D700 and D3 the cameras of choice for available-light photography with their powerful electronics (12.1-megapixel CMOS with 12 data readout channels, high-speed processor, 14-bit analog-to-digital conversion, 16-bit signal processing) in combination with powerful lenses. From ISO 100 to 1,600, the D700 is in top form both in terms of noise behavior and input dynamics. At ISO 3.200, there is minimal brightness noise in detailed image areas and the input dynamics decrease slightly; at ISO 6.400, the noise increases further and the input dynamics decrease further, but the actual quality drop (where the noise increases disproportionately at the expense of the fine image details and the input dynamics are descending) only occurs at ISO 12.800. But it’s astonishing that even up to ISO 25.600 you still get useful images from the camera.

Nikon’s trick is not exactly the “fine Japanese way” to reduce the color information of the finest image details at different sensitivity levels in order to avoid color moirés caused by low-pass filters. If the image magnification is very high, a kind of unwanted “black-and-white effect” can become noticeable in particularly detailed image areas. We also criticized the automatic white balance under incandescent light, which Nikon also did not master properly, as well as the excessive compression (1:40) in the “Basic” quality level (at the highest resolution level); however, the relatively neutral tonal value reproduction and the restrained sharpness (i.e. the image result was not too distorted) were pleasant to notice. Of the very first quality is of course the exposure when photographing with or without flash. Since 1996 and since the F5, Nikon’s Colormatrix metering has provided unsurpassed exposure quality by taking into account the coarse color distribution in the image (using a 1,005-pixel CCD intended only for exposure metering), and with the D3 and D300 this system has been further refined. By using a kind of “beam splitter” in front of the 1,005 pixel sensor, the measuring accuracy could be increased while the number of pixels remained the same. The (3D) color matrix measurement is now able to assign the color information to the image foreground or background due to the more accurate or finer measurement data and can thus – in combination with the 51 AF sensors of the camera and the distance information of the lenses – not only determine the position of the main subject in the image quite reliably, but also properly analyze the targeted scene (Nikon even speaks of “scene recognition”). This not only works in theory, but is also extremely impressive in practice (the false exposure rate is virtually zero); the information collected also benefits the autofocus and white balance.

Bottom line

Surely the Nikon D700 is also within the financial reach of some “geeks” and such amateurs who think that good pictures are only possible from a certain sensor size or a certain technical level. But basically, it is a solid tool that belongs only in the hands of photographers (whether hobby or professional photographers) who don’t reduce the D700 to the number of pixels and the sensor size. The D700 has a lot of ultra-modern technology on board, but it’s not there to make the competition look old, but to discreetly step into the background and help the photographer better express his creativity. The D700 offers so many new possibilities that you have to deal with it for a long time to get to know them all. The D700 is not suitable for those photographers who are always on the cutting edge of technology, but the D700 is a camera for a “long-term relationship”, where enthusiasm for the possibilities it offers does not diminish even when it is considered technically outdated after a few months.