d700 question

Hi all, firstly, I currently own a 5dmarkiii with a 50mm L. Money has become a bit tight for me lately with the crappy economy we are in right now and I was hoping to sell both lens and body soon. However, I know for a fact that I would like to buy another camera in the mean time, but an inexpensive one. I used a d700 in the past and it was such a nice camera, I really liked it. Now I dont shoot sports or anything crazy, I would just like something that is good in low light, has a capable focus system and good build. I know the d700 is basically a dinosaur, but I was wondering if going from the miii to the d700 will be a good idea? I am not a pro or anything, just a hobby photog...

Thanx.

Hi there,

I had to pay my school years ago so I had to sell my 50D with Tamron 17-50/2.8. I bought 20D with 50mm/1.8 instead. AND I HAVE TO SAY - best desicion ever. I started to think more, I started to shoot better pics. Then I got myself 30D and then 5D Classic(ff is really awesome).

The point is - 5D mkiii is a really great camera(my goal actually) and it is a fullframe one. So going down from modern technology but still maintaining the ff chip is not that bad. U re a hobbyist so u wont shoot for billboards so anything downscaled to a reasonable resolution 960*540 or fullHD 1920*xxxx will look just great - considering low light conditions. There is no need to denoise 5D Classic outputs nearly at all.

I may not offer side by side or pixel by pixel comparison but I have the experience that even with 20D and 50mm I have achieved a great result - sometimes even better than guys with a very expensive gear - BECAUSE I USED BRAIN

Now I have a 5D Classic and 50mm/1.4 and in the photography business I have no problems to compete with people having better cameras. I am still learning, I am developing and what the most important - I am using brain.

I am not a Karl Taylor or Erik Almas but I did some progress - here have a look www.martincapal.com
Almost everything taken with 5D Classic.

A 6D is slightly better in low light, has a good AF point (yes, 1 good AF point--but it's even more sensitive in low light than 5DIII), good build quality, and matches or exceeds the 5D3 in general image quality in any type of light.

I got my 5D Mark II for the same price that D700s are going for now, so that's also an option. Even the 5Dc is good and it's under $400.

You can get a 50 1.4 from either Canon or Sigma (non-Art) and it would be a lot less than a 50L and produce similar looking images.

I cannot say whether or not the D700 compares well to the 5D3, but I can tell you I have shot D700 and 5D2 alongside each other for weddings and other events.

The D700 just beats it in many ways. I could never use ISO 3200 confidently on the 5D2, 3200 on D700 is a cinch.

The autofocus is light years apart. Add in the battery grip and you have a 8fps machine with good tracking ability.


So, would you miss the 5D3, sure. But the D700 is a fantastic camera.

If you're ok with single point focusing, I would recommend the 6D as well, because I think it's a step up from the 5D series in terms of overall picture quality.

I shoot weddings professionally with two D700 cameras. They're very capable, I'm comfortable up to ISO6400, great AF but in low light you need a speedlight otherwise the AF is slow. Lens quality is important - I find Nikon G series lenses best, from the cheapish 50 F1.8 G which performance very well given its price up to the 24-70 and 70-200 II. I once used a cheaper, older Nikon lens, standard zoom but variable aperture, it didn't focus well and I wasn't happy with it.