considering the D700...

jacobsen1 wrote in post #8613237
but with the nikon you CAN choose shutter AND focus. In that mode it will pop off ONE shot regardless of lock or not, then a SECOND once it's got the lock which is pretty sweet.

that sounds useful. You can get the must have OOF/artistic shot then the second shot must be in focus.

pnmd wrote in post #8613418
You can get the must have OOF/artistic shot

that's not why I use it, it's just that shooting kids or other things that get too close at times, I'd rather have the shot that's just slightly OOF but timed right than NO SHOT AT ALL...

http://www.youtube.com​/watch?v=rbanzFj-JxY&fmt=18

Had to see what all the hype about the Nikon 51 point AF was about. Found a youtube video. Looks like the 9 point AF is best for wedding, portraits...

jacobsen1 wrote in post #8613003
yeah, except I thought it would mean I'd end up with the 7D, but at the time (it happened 10 days before the announcement) I was thinking the 7D would have either been a XS with FF to replace the old 5D. Basically the same specs as the old version so they could reel in more FF users, OR a D700 competitor.

because it wasn't, and because I had a week to wait I rented the D700 as on paper it is the perfect camera to me so I figured what the hell. Well it's a better body for what I do so I've switched. I've officially sold off everything but the XSi, it's kit lens, the 35mm f/2 for it for low light and my beloved 24L. I'm still not sure if I'll buy a 5D (classic) for the 24L or sell it (purely sentimental reasons, the sigma 24mm is quite good).

That review has pretty much everything covered, but here's some brief points after having it for a week now:

• high ISOs are close to a draw if you get your exposures right in camera
  
• blow the exposure and a 5Dii file bands when pushed, the D700 gets grainy
  
• the D700 AWB is better under artificial light
  
• AWB outside (landscapes) is a draw, sometimes the canon is better, sometimes the nikon. Raws look VERY similar if WB the same
  
• the difference between 12mp and 21mp isn't as big as I remembered in terms of details in images/prints
  
• Nikon's file sizes are MUCH better at high ISOs (nikon only gives you RAW so 12mp, but they're ~14mb, Canon's sRAW2 [5mp] are only a mb or so smaller at 3200)
  
• the nikon layout isn't that bad if you shoot with it for a week (some things are better, some things worse, but it can be frustrating at times)
  
• the menus are worse, but once you go through them a few times and setup "my menu" they're not that bad at all
  
• double delete kicks ass
  
• 3 buttons I can assign fucntions to also kicks ass
  
• the response time/mirror blackout are SICK
  
• their grips are AMAZING
  
• the AF is better, it's NOT what I switched for as the 5Dii was "good enough" and the D700's outer points (L/R) are NOT cross types either but it IS better in low light AND OR for action
  
• once you sit down and start processing there's not a TON of difference in the files, the D700 has better/more DR and grainier noise, but it's not a MASSIVE difference
  
• the D700 feels more solid and is supposedly sealed better (hopefully I won't be testing it)
  
• their lens lineup isn't as bad as I thought, but it is confusing and this depends on what lenses you like....
  
• so far, so good.

someone on my forum asked about 6400 performance on both cameras, so I put this together:

Thanks for this information! Very helpful! Did you try any other Nikons before deciding on the D700? Any other FF bodies from any other manufacturer?

pnmd wrote in post #8612682
Would love to hear from Canon users who've switched to or tried out the D700. I have the 50D now and have a wedding shoot in November. I want to go FF and shoot shallow DOF images. Also, interested in the D700 autofocus vs 5DMkII especially in low light. I know there's a million threads on this but would love to hear recent experiences since more POTN members have switched/tried out the D700 as of late...

I have a D700 and love it. The fast AF and the High ISO low noise is the best. The D700 would be perfect for your wedding shoot. I would go for it. But Canon stuff if you can. It's nice to have both systems.

D700 AF smokes the 5DMk2. Not even close. If you do any type of sports photography the D700 is the one to have; it's ability to maintain focus on a moving target, even off center and with obstructions moving in and out of the frame, is unbelievable. for indoor sports like basketball it's a dream.

paddycook wrote in post #8614383
D700 AF smokes the 5DMk2. Not even close. If you do any type of sports photography the D700 is the one to have; it's ability to maintain focus on a moving target, even off center and with obstructions moving in and out of the frame, is unbelievable. for indoor sports like basketball it's a dream.

Can anyone comment on the D700 AF compared to a 1D series AF?

I've decided my first lens will be a 50mm.
DPreview said this: "The Nikon AF-S Nikkor 50mm 1:1.4G comes into its own on its native FX format. Sharpness is notably even right across the image even at F1.4, with the corners better than any other full-frame 50mm we've tested."

Ben, is there a reason you went with the Sigma 50mm?

paddycook wrote in post #8614383
D700 AF smokes the 5DMk2. Not even close. If you do any type of sports photography the D700 is the one to have; it's ability to maintain focus on a moving target, even off center and with obstructions moving in and out of the frame, is unbelievable. for indoor sports like basketball it's a dream.

high praise for D700 and you own both. What about AF comparison in low light for typical still people shots?

kevinmcdade wrote in post #8614413
Can anyone comment on the D700 AF compared to a 1D series AF?

I can tell you the D3 AF smokes every 1 series I've used (1D II, 1D IIn, 1Ds II, 1D III) and I'd imagine the D700 is probably somewhere in the same ballpark as Nikon pretty much just stripped a few features out of the D3 and crammed it into a D300 body.

It's also got a bigger AF chip - the AF chip on the D3/D700 covers pretty much the same amount of the viewfinder that the 1D sensor covers on the 1.3 croppers. The 1Ds AF area seems tiny in comparison.

Also, I'm going to be honest here. If someone contemplating switching doesn't have a real reason to switch other than "for the heck of it" it might be time to reconsider if the switch will really give you what you need, which in my case it did.

Thalagyrt wrote in post #8615151
I can tell you the D3 AF smokes every 1 series I've used (1D II, 1D IIn, 1Ds II, 1D III) and I'd imagine the D700 is probably somewhere in the same ballpark as Nikon pretty much just stripped a few features out of the D3 and crammed it into a D300 body.

It's also got a bigger AF chip - the AF chip on the D3/D700 covers pretty much the same amount of the viewfinder that the 1D sensor covers on the 1.3 croppers. The 1Ds AF area seems tiny in comparison.

Also, I'm going to be honest here. If someone contemplating switching doesn't have a real reason to switch other than "for the heck of it" it might be time to reconsider if the switch will really give you what you need, which in my case it did.

Thanks James! I'm actually thinking of switching to the D700. It offes me FF with the FPS that I need (when necessary), great AF, in a small form factor that a grip can be added to when needed. I don't need two cameras but I have two because there are times when I just don't want to take my large 1D3 so I take my 5D. I like the image files that both of my bodies produce but like the speed, AF and all of the other bells and whistles of the 1D3. I'm basically trying to find one body that can combine what my two current bodies offer.

kevinmcdade wrote in post #8614334
Thanks for this information! Very helpful! Did you try any other Nikons before deciding on the D700? Any other FF bodies from any other manufacturer?

5D for 18 months, 5Dii for 9 months (in which time it's "sealing" failed me and it died. I've owned a 1Dii so a 1Dsii was not what I wanted.

pnmd wrote in post #8614200
Had to see what all the hype about the Nikon 51 point AF was about. Found a youtube video. Looks like the 9 point AF is best for wedding, portraits...

not sure what you mean? you weren't impressed with that demo? Or you just don't need all 51 points (because it waters down to 11 not 9)?

kevinmcdade wrote in post #8614413
Can anyone comment on the D700 AF compared to a 1D series AF?

it's the D3 AF basically. The D3 is what "a lot" of 1 series users are/were switching to from the 1Diii because of it's AF bugs.

pnmd wrote in post #8615097
Ben, is there a reason you went with the Sigma 50mm?

sigmalux has MUCH better bokeh basically. I've owned all 3 canon 50s and the sigmalux and I love the siggy. So I figured why risk it with the nikon when I know I'll like the siggy? Also, the nikon 1.4 G is know to have slow AF. Not sure if the siggy is faster but the nikon guys aren't too thrilled with the 50 1.4 G.

and I did some more low light AF tests tonight. The non cross sensors like horizontal (in landscape) lines. With them the outer points can AF in pretty dim light at the way left or right point. Regardless of the direction the next row in using 11 points (which are not cross types but they're next to some) are faster/better. The center column is VERY fast. I was using my 70-300 VR @ 300 just so it'd be 5.6 and "tough" and it did fine. The outer points should be avoided but they still worked if time wasn't crucial. The interesting thing is in continuous mode moving it across my carpet (diamond patterns) it could track no problem with all the points turned on (auto selection).

very impressive.

jacobsen1 wrote in post #8615540
not sure what you mean? you weren't impressed with that demo? Or you just don't need all 51 points (because it waters down to 11 not 9)?

sigmalux has MUCH better bokeh basically. I've owned all 3 canon 50s and the sigmalux and I love the siggy. So I figured why risk it with the nikon when I know I'll like the siggy? Also, the nikon 1.4 G is know to have slow AF. Not sure if the siggy is faster but the nikon guys aren't too thrilled with the 50 1.4 G.

and I did some more low light AF tests tonight. The non cross sensors like horizontal (in landscape) lines. With them the outer points can AF in pretty dim light at the way left or right point. Regardless of the direction the next row in using 11 points (which are not cross types but they're next to some) are faster/better. The center column is VERY fast. I was using my 70-300 VR @ 300 just so it'd be 5.6 and "tough" and it did fine. The outer points should be avoided but they still worked if time wasn't crucial. The interesting thing is in continuous mode moving it across my carpet (diamond patterns) it could track no problem with all the points turned on (auto selection).

very impressive.

on the contrary, I was very impressed with that youtube demo. He used a Nikon D3 in the demo and suggested 9 point was best for portrait, weddding and 51 point was more suited for fast moving objects...

sigmalux 50mm- after researching some more it appears the the Nikon 1.4G's bokeh is "okay." So you confirming that the Sigmalux has much better bokeh is helping make me an informed decision torwards the Sigma. I'm all about the shallow DOF.

Thanks for doing the low light tests. Currently, with my 50D I use single point AF selection because I don't like its Automatic AF selection. So much more AF options with the D700!

thx,
Peter

Peter,
I'm pretty sure the AF point number was 11 though? Or are you talking about the number of helper points in dynamic mode? Basically, the number of points you can actually SELECT is either 51 or 11. But you can have 9 21 or 51 (or 51 in 3D mode) "help" the point you picked.

I still use single point or dynamic modes right now though... I've never been able to trust a canon's auto point selection, so it'll take time to learn if I can trust Nikons....

Thalagyrt wrote in post #8615151
Also, I'm going to be honest here. If someone contemplating switching doesn't have a real reason to switch other than "for the heck of it" it might be time to reconsider if the switch will really give you what you need, which in my case it did.

What did it give you?