The Nikon D700 in detail

The never ending game of engineering and marketing "chess" between the top digital single-lens-reflex manufacturers can now add a King, Queen and Crown Prince line-up from Nikon.

The king would be the Nikon D3, while the prince can be the D300. Comfortably nestled between the two is the queen – the newly announced D700. She gets that title because she's capable of making practically all the moves of the rest of the line-up and she's arguably the most versatile of the bunch.
 

If price was a deal-killer, Nikon has sweetened their new DSLR line-up by producing a camera that shaves nearly $2000 off the king's price while absorbing the best of features from the D3 and the D300.

Judging from the first 24 hours of posts in the brand new Nikonians D700 Users Group forum, it looks like Nikon's engineers have managed to please both professionals and serious enthusiasts with the new D700.

Smaller in price and size (almost)

The D700 offers a boat-load of features previously the exclusive domain of the D3 and D300 cameras and manages to pack it all in a D300-style body with a $2,000 savings added as incentive.

Nikonian David Dalziel (dave58) sums up the impact of the price break, noting: "I've been waiting for a 'Full Frame' but the D3 was just too much for my budget. The D700 although still expensive is almost within my reach and I would imagine many other people who have held off for the same reason. I'll still wait a few months to let the price settle & then add it to my kit bag along with my D200. I honestly thought I'd be waiting another year for an 'affordable' FX body so I'm happy. Thank you Nikon."

The lower price is not the only reduction offered by D700. At 2.19lb (995g) without battery, memory card, body cap or LCD monitor cover, it comes in lighter than the D3's 2.7lb (1,240 g) by half a pound.

The flip-side is that once you add the optional MB-D10 Multi-Power Battery Pack you've just added 11 ounces (310 grams) to the D700 (not counting the batteries), loosing the weight advantage -if you were interested in that. On the other hand, those accustomed to pro bodies will find it comforting. The battery pack also adds an additional $235 USD (average in the USA) to your purchase price, but it is a very popular option for photographers requiring plenty of juice and the ability to take the D700 up to its advertised eight frames per second.

Without the pack you can expect five fps. That pack by the way was surely an influencing factor in the D700's remarkable similarity in body style to the D300. The original design of the MB-D10 was matched to the D300.

In an interview with the design staff behind the pack, Ms. Michiyo Ogasawara of Nikon's Product Design Department explained: "Since this device was to be used as an attachment to the D300, it would have been tempting to think only of producing clean lines that matched the camera itself. However, we were also aiming to make use of the standard battery holder used on the F6 camera, in order to allow an EN-EL4a to be used, and I had a hard time getting the shape of the battery pack to conform." Now, with the pack already in production and key shape and size conformity to the camera body this critical, the close physical resemblance between the D700 and D300 is a natural progression. Of course Nikon also factored in the cost-saving benefits of using hardware already in production. Both the battery pack and the camera share durable magnesium allow protection.

Features combine best of the D3 and D300

Pulling from the high-end features listing of the D3, the D700 goodies list begins with the 12.1-megapixel FX-format CMOS sensor covering a 36.0 x 23.9 mm area (making it the second full frame DSLR in the Nikon stable). It's not only as large as the D3's sensor, but also adds the D300's Image Sensor Cleaning function.
 

Also pulled from the D3 bag of tricks is the same Multi-CAM 3500FX autofocus sensor module featuring 51 AF points, the high-resolution 3-inch LCD monitor with tempered glass providing a 170 degree viewing angle.

The D700 will also have the same ISO range (up to ISO 6400, and beyond, to 25,600) and the same Scene Recognition system as the D3. It shares the Nikon's exclusive EXPEED Image Processing System with the D3 and D300. The pop-up Speedlight at the top of the pentaprism sits a bit higher than the one on the D300, but it features the same basic guide number of 17 at ISO 200. The D3 does not have a pop-up flash unit. Shutter life-span estimates on the D700 match the D300's 150,000 (contrast that with the D3's 300,000 clicks).

The D700 defies simple descriptions

This cross-breeding of features and D3/D300 design elements has been a source of speculation for Nikonians in the D700 Users Group forum. As with all new camera announcements from Nikon, the first impulse is to "categorize" the new body.

Nikonian Bill Ely (d50extreme) sums up his take on the positioning of the D700 with a simple comparison: "The D700 isn't an upgrade from the D300. It's a whole new camera. Something that many D300 users will want to use along as a second body or for people who want FX but not in the size of the D3. With a D300 and D700 you would have high ISO, long reach, wide angle FX capability, and two semi-pro bodies that share accessories. Nikon is just filling in the gaps between their models so there is a body for everyone. It could also be a great 2nd body for D3 users who want two cameras that are both FX but one which is smaller and lighter.
The D700 isn't a replacement, it's just a new camera Nikon made for people looking for FX in a semi-pro body."

Will the DX format suffer?

The majority of posts in the forum continue the Nikonians time-honored tradition of trying to second-guess Nikon's engineers and marketing specialists. A few debates have sprung up in trying to decipher Nikon's intentions with the DX format. This format, predominant in all but two of Nikon's DSLR's (D3 and D700) has a smaller image sensor and has given birth to a an entire line-up of Nikkor glass that is lighter and smaller than the full-frame versions (also in many cases less expensive).

With world economies in a tight state, the purchase of cameras costing nearly as much as a decent used car requires careful budgeting, and many Nikonians are wondering if they choose to go the DX route – will it still be a viable system in the future?

Daniel Stainer (spiritualized67) sums it up like this: "As for the DX gear loosing value, that's not a big issue for me. I'm not into photography as a speculator, but as an artist. When the time comes, it will sell for what somebody's willing to pay. For some, the D700 will be an epiphany--as it definitely fills a specific niche. But for many, the D700 is just another evolutionary notch on Nikon's never ending technological belt."

Other features

Nikonians co-founder J. Ramón Palacios (jrp) is ecstatic about his D700 and has added to these Resources an article on Picture Control

Nikon D700 specifications

As supplied by Nikon