Why upgrade to D800 and not D700??? - FM Forums

Home · Register · Search · Software · Hosting · Software · Join Upload & Sell

Moderated by: Fred Miranda

Pre-order new Rokinon 16mm f/2.0 ED AS UMC lens

Pre-order new Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 DC HSM lens

Bower 35mm f/1.4 price dropped to $379

FM Forums \| Nikon-mount SLRs \| Join Upload & Sell
1 2 3 4 end

Why upgrade to D800 and not D700???

jmcelvoy
Offline
•
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #1 · Why upgrade to D800 and not D700???

I'm looking at upgrade from my D7000 to either the D800 or D700. I'd like the full frame sensor & better image quality at higher ISO. I do mostly High School Seniors with an occasional family and maternity session. With some of he seniors, I go out and photography them at their sport. It's about $800 more to get the D800...will I see that much in return?

Jul 24, 2012 at 04:22 PM

nick53097
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #2 · Why upgrade to D800 and not D700???

Not really, I have tried D800 (actually two of them due to the bad AF) and decided to stay with D700 and D3s. D700 produce just excellent pictures and you can find a very mint one here on FM for $1,800 - $1,700 (makes it even more attractive)

Jul 24, 2012 at 04:52 PM

Kell
Offline
• •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #3 · Why upgrade to D800 and not D700???

get a 700, you'll LOVE it, and put the savings on great glass if you don't already have some

Jul 24, 2012 at 04:55 PM

trenchmonkey
Offline
• • • • • • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #4 · Why upgrade to D800 and not D700???

Yup! ^ Best thing about the D3/D700....no video!

Jul 24, 2012 at 04:57 PM

MackDaddy1962
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #5 · Why upgrade to D800 and not D700???

x 3. The D700's rock.

I bought a low shutter count, one owner unit and loved it. So much so, I bought another one brand new when the price dropped to $2100 @ PhotoCraft (Washington DC Nikon authorized dealer.)

They're fantastic machines!

Jul 24, 2012 at 05:00 PM

jhinkey
Online
• • • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #6 · Why upgrade to D800 and not D700???

The D700 is an excellent camera, but the D800 has many ergonomic improvements to it besides the increase in MP.

You might want to get a D800 if you:
- Want 100% viewfinder
- Need the additional cropping capability that 36MP brings (at the expense of higher shutter speeds to get the detail)
- Really need the additional DR - especially if you lift shadows a ton
- Need the extra storage space/security that the SD card brings
- Want basic video capability
- Need the f/8-capable AF system
- 4 FPS is fast enough
- Can't tolerate the low light sensor blooming of the D700
- Better sensor dust sensitivity (i.e., less dust issues)
- Want a 100g lighter camera

That's a pretty good list I should think.

The D700 is still a fantastic camera and you won't go wrong getting one even if it doesn't work out for you. Personally I went for a D800 for the dynamic range increase and lack of high ISO sensor blooming and lower weight and 100% OVF - the other stuff was just along for the ride.

We all have to make our decisions based on our personal needs/wants/limitations.

Based on what you said I would think starting out with a good used D700 would be a great way to get into FX.

John

Jul 24, 2012 at 05:01 PM

honorerdieu
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #7 · Why upgrade to D800 and not D700???

Having owned the D700 and now the D3s and D800, I would skip the D700.

Jul 24, 2012 at 05:12 PM

VinnieJ
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #8 · Why upgrade to D800 and not D700???

I use to have a D7000 and D700 and now run with the D800. All are great and you cannot go wrong with any of them. The D7000 you have now can handle your needs so if you are looking to upgrade just to upgrade both the D700 and D800 can handle your requirements. If you wanted higher res and video than obviously the D800 is the choice. If not the D700 is more than capable. Good luck!

Edit: BTW, the question regarding is the D800 worth $800 more is a bit subjective. For my own needs I would say it's worth at least double that. With your needs that $800 may not be worth it.

Jul 24, 2012 at 05:18 PM

jmcelvoy
Offline
•
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #9 · Why upgrade to D800 and not D700???

honorerdieu, what reason would you give for me to skip straight to the D800? What does the D700 lack that I would miss?

Jul 24, 2012 at 07:36 PM

myam203
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #10 · Why upgrade to D800 and not D700???

jhinkey really laid it all out there for you. I own a D700, but in a nutshell, the D800 is all-around better if you don't need the higher FPS of the D700 and are willing to deal with the larger files. It will allow you to crop more, print larger, and shoot video, but for many people, those things don't even matter.

Jul 24, 2012 at 07:44 PM

Grantland
Offline
• • • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #11 · Why upgrade to D800 and not D700???

trenchmonkey wrote:
Yup! ^ Best thing about the D3/D700....no video!

lol i need video every now and then so i went with the D3s/D700 combo.

Jul 24, 2012 at 08:51 PM

honorerdieu
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #12 · Why upgrade to D800 and not D700???

jmcelvoy wrote:
honorerdieu, what reason would you give for me to skip straight to the D800? What does the D700 lack that I would miss?

With the exception of the higher FPS, jhinkley pretty much summarized the reasons for going to the D800. The genre of photography I'm into is portraiture, with the occasional weddings as a second shooter. My preferred camera for portrait sessions is the D800 to maximize dynamic range and details from the added resolution. For weddings in low light situations and fast action photography, I use the D3s.

The D800's high ISO performance is actually comparable to the D3s up to ISO 6400 in my experience so far without cropping a D800 file. The AF on my D800 seems to acquire focus in much lower light situation than my D700 and D3s, with the latter being a little more accurate. Still, both the D800 and D3s seem to have better AF performance than the D700.

I think the reason you're debating between the two cameras is because of the FPS since you're doing sports photography on the side? That's why I have both the D800 and D3s.

Jul 24, 2012 at 09:01 PM

jhinkey
Online
• • • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #13 · Why upgrade to D800 and not D700???

honorerdieu wrote:
jmcelvoy wrote:
honorerdieu, what reason would you give for me to skip straight to the D800? What does the D700 lack that I would miss?

With the exception of the higher FPS, jhinkley pretty much summarized the reasons for going to the D800. The genre of photography I'm into is portraiture, with the occasional weddings as a second shooter. My preferred camera for portrait sessions is the D800 to maximize dynamic range and details from the added resolution. For weddings in low light situations and fast action photography, I use the D3s.

The D800's high ISO performance is actually comparable to the D3s up to ISO 6400 in my experience so far without cropping a D800 file. The AF on my D800 seems to acquire focus in much lower light situation than my D700 and D3s, with the latter being a little more accurate. Still, both the D800 and D3s seem to have better AF performance than the D700.

I think the reason you're debating between the two cameras is because of the FPS since you're doing sports photography on the side? That's why I have both the D800 and D3s.
Hmm , , , I thought I got it right - D800 has 4 FPS and the D700 6 (both w/o a grip).

John

Jul 24, 2012 at 10:50 PM

Chestnut
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #14 · Why upgrade to D800 and not D700???

I was going to chime in, but jhinkey and honorerdieu both nailed it...

Regardless, they are both great cameras. The D700 holds its own pretty well, but the D800 would just be more of an upgrade if you compared the two. Plus, two to three years from now, which camera would you like to/rather be using?

But whether the difference is worth $800 to you, well, you're on your own there.

Jul 24, 2012 at 10:55 PM

lukeb
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #15 · Why upgrade to D800 and not D700???

trenchmonkey wrote:
Yup! ^ Best thing about the D3/D700....no video!

+100000000

The D-700 is one fantastic camera from my experience - and you can print 20x30.

If you need larger prints (like wall sized), you may want to think about a D-800.

If you want video, then you would want the 800. Personally, I keep video to a video camera.

Jul 24, 2012 at 11:01 PM

molson
Offline
• • • • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #16 · Why upgrade to D800 and not D700???

It depends on whether you want a new camera or not... since the D700 has been discontinued for a few months now.

Jul 24, 2012 at 11:31 PM

honorerdieu
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #17 · Why upgrade to D800 and not D700???

jhinkey wrote:

Hmm , , , I thought I got it right - D800 has 4 FPS and the D700 6 (both w/o a grip).

John

Almost. The D800 will go 4 fps and the D700 5 fps. The advantage of the D700 over D800 is being able to go 8 fps with the battery grip, while the D800 will max out to 6 fps only in DX mode.

Jul 25, 2012 at 12:03 AM

MackDaddy1962
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #18 · Why upgrade to D800 and not D700???

The D700's are still available new from Amazon right now. Well, at least one is from J&R.

They should be available through other authorized dealers for a few more months too.

I still vote D700, and keep the D7000 for reach, video & slightly better portability. If you can afford to do so.

Jul 25, 2012 at 12:04 AM

tntcorp
Offline
•
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #19 · Why upgrade to D800 and not D700???

honorerdieu wrote:
jmcelvoy wrote:
honorerdieu, what reason would you give for me to skip straight to the D800? What does the D700 lack that I would miss?

With the exception of the higher FPS, jhinkley pretty much summarized the reasons for going to the D800. The genre of photography I'm into is portraiture, with the occasional weddings as a second shooter. My preferred camera for portrait sessions is the D800 to maximize dynamic range and details from the added resolution. For weddings in low light situations and fast action photography, I use the D3s.

The D800's high ISO performance is actually comparable to the D3s up to ISO 6400 in my experience so far without cropping a D800 file. The AF on my D800 seems to acquire focus in much lower light situation than my D700 and D3s, with the latter being a little more accurate. Still, both the D800 and D3s seem to have better AF performance than the D700.

I think the reason you're debating between the two cameras is because of the FPS since you're doing sports photography on the side? That's why I have both the D800 and D3s.

there was another fmer who took the slower d800 to a polo (horseback) competition and post the crisp action photos as samples of the d800 af. from my opinion, i don't believe the images received much post processing.

do a search on "d800 autofocus is crap... not" or some similar phrase to view the images for yourself.

tom

Jul 25, 2012 at 12:12 AM

honorerdieu
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #20 · Why upgrade to D800 and not D700???

I don't think the fact that the D800 has video as a feature should be seen as a negative. When the D700 came out, the MSRP was $2999. The D800 was recently released at a MSRP of $3000, and it has a lot more features.

FWIW, I have a friend who used to shoot weddings primarily with the D800, and that was with a new D4 in his bag. When he exited the wedding industry to focus on sports photography full time this year, he had sold his D800, bought another D4, and reacquired a used D3s.

So, while the D800 is better than the D700 on most comparable features, it really boils down to the FPS when you want to shoot fast action events.

Jul 25, 2012 at 12:16 AM

1 2 3 4 end
FM Forums \| Nikon-mount SLRs \| Join Upload & Sell 1 2 3 4 end