For those who had it narrowed down to the D700 and D3, but ended up picking the D700...now that time has passed, are you happy with your decision to purchase a D700 rather than a D3? Why or why not?

Thanks.

An undeniable paradox: To think that there is any such thing as an absolute rule is at worst naïve, and at best, shortsighted. There is no such thing as an always-true, all context- or situation-salient, absolute rule that always holds true…including this one!

An interesting question. To preserve honesty I have to say that the D3 was not a serious choice for me when I wanted something better than my D200. So first off price was a factor and still is. the D3 is certainly a more capable camera and if you use a grip on a D700 the D700 is heavier. But if you choose to use the D700 sans grip like I do, you now have a much more compact body and a built in flash that is very handy when you don't want to haul around a larger flash. The images from the D700 are excellent and the capabilities of the camera are very close to the D3. So yes I am very happy that I purchased a D700 almost 4 years ago. It has held its value well, and has allowed me to take pictures I could not have made with a D200. It was in a price range that allowed me to spend more money on glass, always a better choice where the D3 would have not

Bob Baldassano
My Nikonians Gallery

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I'm very happy with my choice.
Size alone makes the choice obvious for me. The additional capabilities of the D3 simply aren't enough to make me willing to carry a heavier and more bulky camera.

Price is of course another factor - again, I just don't see a reasonable correlation between the additional capabilities and the additional price.

So if I had the same choice again, there is no doubt that I would select the D700 again.

Anders

I've never regretted my D700 purchase.

If price was no object then of course the D3 is better, except that the integrated grip is a double edged sword...

When I have the grip mounted I would rather have a D3. But I also often shoot without the grip because a grip creates issues of transport, weight, bulk, etc. And because Nikon has never put a dedicated AF lock button on their grips my own shooting setup doesn't let me use the grip shutter release very effectively unless I'm shooting a lens with focus lock buttons.

The other issue that might be important to me is AF capability with difficult dynamic subjects like birds in flight. I have always heard the D3 is better but I don't have a sense of degree. Probably just a near impossible thing to quantify.

Quick edit: I find the D700 AF to be significantly better than my D300 and very, very acceptable, perhaps remarkably good.

The 10fps would be nice too, and I have some specific subjects that would benefit from that. But not $2500 nice.

The other way I look at it is that there are a lot of lenses I could have bought with that $2500 that would do more for my shooting than the marginal benefits of the D3, and the low light performance should be about identical. The D3s is another matter and if price were viable that would be a different consideration than a "D3" verses D700.

I've never looked back on my decision and, really, throwing $5K at a body that "lasts" 4 years at most (in terms of competitive performance) is just not something I want to do. I value glass more than bodies, simply because good glass will always be good glass and is good for at least 10 years, and maybe nearly a lifetime with a little luck.

If price were no object and the ability to "slim down" without a grip was important enough, I guess I would own both . The two physical formats have advantages in different situations (for me). Neither is necessarily "superior" in a general sense.

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Neil
Nikonians Team
My Gallery

Hi all.

I am totally happy with my decision to purchase a D700 over the D3. The pro build of the D3 is very desirable but in the larger scheme of things the D700 is wholly adequate in terms of high ISO capability, frames per second and autofocus capability. To my way of thinking the D700 is a half priced D3.

I have to admit that I added a D3s when they came out but only because I needed the improved high ISO capability for shooting bands in dark bars without flash. In fact I waited as long as I could hoping a D700s would be released.

So now I have a D300-D700-D2h-D2x-D3s lineup of bodies. The D300 and D700 have grips and I am very comfortable moving fairly seamlessly between bodies.

My opinion is that you would never regret aquiring a D700.

JIM

Hi Al,

I will offer a different perspective: I added a D700 to compliment my D3 and use them interchangeably along with my other bodies. I often shoot with multiple bodies since it is much easier and more convenient to change bodies than to change lenses on the fly.
Good Luck and Enjoy your Nikons!

Best Regards,
Marty