2 Nikon D300 or D300 + D700

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Archive 2009 · 2 Nikon D300 or D300 + D700

nick53097
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p.1 #1 · 2 Nikon D300 or D300 + D700

Have a decision to make...
I am using 2 Nikon D300 for weddings, seniors, and other events
Love these cameras with 17-55 f2.8 and 85 f1.4 lenses and SB900
Last year saw thinking

to buy D700 and 24-70 but not sure is that worth $2500 difference

Good adwise would be very welcome

Nov 19, 2009 at 05:08 PM

Leo - Zoom
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p.1 #2 · 2 Nikon D300 or D300 + D700

Yes, it is. If You keep one D300 with 17-55 - I'd say You don't urgently need 24-70. Use a 50 mm insteead on D700.

Nov 19, 2009 at 05:21 PM

Aberdeen Photo
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p.1 #3 · 2 Nikon D300 or D300 + D700

D700 for the full frame goodness

Nov 19, 2009 at 05:21 PM

deepbluejh
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p.1 #4 · 2 Nikon D300 or D300 + D700

The D700 would be a better choice than the D300. Just use FF compatible lenses with the D700 and the DX compatible lenses on the D300. You don't *have* to pick up a 24-70 to make good use of the D700. In addition to the 85/1.4, you could also pick up a couple cheap FF primes which would shine on it.

Nov 19, 2009 at 05:22 PM

Carl Feather
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p.1 #5 · 2 Nikon D300 or D300 + D700

By all means, go with the D700. I have the D700-D300 combo. The 24-70 will basically give you what the 17-55 offers on DX, but even better image quality. The 85 f/1.4 is even more beautiful on FX, great bokeh.

My next step would be two D700s with 35 f/1.4 on one body, 85 f/1.4 on other for weddings. But since Nikion does not have an AF 35 1.4, I'm not springing for a second D700.

Nov 19, 2009 at 05:27 PM

phatnev
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p.1 #6 · 2 Nikon D300 or D300 + D700

deepbluejh wrote:
The D700 would be a better choice than the D300. Just use FF compatible lenses with the D700 and the DX compatible lenses on the D300. You don't *have* to pick up a 24-70 to make good use of the D700. In addition to the 85/1.4, you could also pick up a couple cheap FF primes which would shine on it.

What he said. I really enjoy the FF world, you could shoot a 35mm and that 85(135mm effective on DX) and have a great kit.

Nov 19, 2009 at 05:28 PM

Carl Feather
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p.1 #7 · 2 Nikon D300 or D300 + D700

Nov 19, 2009 at 05:28 PM

4honor
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p.1 #8 · 2 Nikon D300 or D300 + D700

D700 for sure. Simply for the full frame sensor. Also, instead of getting the 24-70, why not the 70-200? I am sure the Nikon version is better than the Sigma one (I use Canon so I wouldn't know...)

Nov 19, 2009 at 05:53 PM

Saad Syed
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p.1 #9 · 2 Nikon D300 or D300 + D700

I had the D300 and it was very nice, especially coming from a 40D/5D combo. However, the iso performance and the "depth" of FF makes a huge difference. A lot of people go FF and wind up going all FF. I, personally, didn't like having a mixed bag of crop and FF even though it has advantages in terms of varied focal lengths. The IQ from the D700 is on a different level and you'll be able to see that right off the bat.

A nice setup would be a D300+17-55 and D700+ 85/1.4 and Sigma 50/1.4.

Nov 19, 2009 at 07:12 PM

mrkon
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p.1 #10 · 2 Nikon D300 or D300 + D700

just be prepared to get two D700s after a while... it's hard to go back to crop after using FF. I have the D700/D300 combo, and plan on selling the D300 after the wedding this weekend.

Nov 19, 2009 at 08:02 PM

stecson
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p.1 #11 · 2 Nikon D300 or D300 + D700

d300 for farther reach if you need it and don't want to invest in a longer lens

Nov 19, 2009 at 08:18 PM

ShaneMD
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p.1 #12 · 2 Nikon D300 or D300 + D700

I think the d700 is absolutely worth it. I have the d700 d300 combo and I will be changing to full frame for weddings next year for sure. I actually just picked up the 85/1.4 and it does look amazing on the d700, the 300 looks awesome as well but it feels different. I think it's just the camera body.

One thing I know for sure is that when I look at my photos in lightroom from the last wedding and see what they were shot with, the d700 with 24-70, or 85 mm were a way higher % than shot with the d300.

Nov 19, 2009 at 08:20 PM

Miker Reid
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p.1 #13 · 2 Nikon D300 or D300 + D700

Get the D700 and get ready to replace your d300 with another D700.
Once you start shooting the d700 the d300 will not satisfy you...at least that was my experience, especially for wedding use.
I only use my d300 now for ring pictures with the macro and for a knocking around camera.

Nov 19, 2009 at 08:53 PM

curryphoto
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p.1 #14 · 2 Nikon D300 or D300 + D700

D700 , you will love the 85mm 1.4 on it. I shoot a d300/d700 combo with a 20 - 35 f.8 on the d700 and either a 35-70mm f2.8 or 80-200mm f2.8 on the d3000. Also, the extra reach is sometimes nice with the DX.....thomas

Nov 19, 2009 at 09:09 PM

Victor S
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p.1 #15 · 2 Nikon D300 or D300 + D700

Sell all your DX equipment and get 2 Nikon D700's!

Nov 19, 2009 at 10:33 PM

Wolfe_boy
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p.1 #16 · 2 Nikon D300 or D300 + D700

I'll play counter-argument...

If you need to upgrade one on your bodies, then yes, going FF will probably be worth it. Outside of some of the image-quality intangibles that FF provides, if you make good use of the shallower DOF and better high-ISO performance then you will benefit from a new D700.

That said, I don't know that a D700 + 24-70 will significantly outperform a D300 + 17-55. Not in a way that will meaningfully effect your revenue. If both of your current bodies are working fine and your clients are happy, maybe you don't need to spend that money for another year. Maybe by that time the D700x will be out. Who knows?

Nov 19, 2009 at 10:42 PM

Paul Reams
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p.1 #17 · 2 Nikon D300 or D300 + D700

We're in the process of making a similar decision, and I think that we're going to get the D700 to pair with the D300 and Fuji S5 that we use. I'm excited about the FF possibilities, and I think that we can maximize our coverage by using the crop body in addition to the new FF body.

Nov 19, 2009 at 11:58 PM

swim_r
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p.1 #18 · 2 Nikon D300 or D300 + D700

We shoot with a D3 and 2 D700's. The 24-70 is money on those cameras, it stays glued on the camera 90% of the time.

Nov 20, 2009 at 03:10 AM

DavidWEGS
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p.1 #19 · 2 Nikon D300 or D300 + D700

Well, here's my spin, though not the most popular.

I have a D300, two D300s' and a D700.

I only shoot the D700 with the 85/1.4. I have the 24-70 but never put it on the D700 as that lens was always used on a body with dual cards (D3).

However, I just got the 17-50 VC from Tamron and coupled with the D300s, I don't use the D3 and 24-70 now. In fact I sold the D3, but still have the 24-70.

So for my shooting, I prefer the smaller/lighter D300s with dual cards and the Tamron (once I got a good one) with VC.

I have been playing with using my other D300s with the 50/1.4 instead of the D700. Not because I don't like the D700 / 85 combo, on the contrary, love it. Its because I like to use cameras with dual cards.

So for now I am more often choosing the D300s till the D700s comes along with dual cards.

If dual cards are not needed, the 700/24-70 combo is better for IQ than the D300s with the Tamron, but not till you get over 1600iso, IMO.

nick53097 wrote:
Have a decision to make...
I am using 2 Nikon D300 for weddings, seniors, and other events
Love these cameras with 17-55 f2.8 and 85 f1.4 lenses and SB900
Last year saw thinking

to buy D700 and 24-70 but not sure is that worth $2500 difference

Good adwise would be very welcome

Nov 20, 2009 at 04:19 AM

KJbruin
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p.1 #20 · 2 Nikon D300 or D300 + D700

WARNING: once you try the D700, you're D300's will see very little use. It's that good. Hands down the best camera I've owned for PJ wedding work.

Nov 20, 2009 at 04:32 AM

iShoot
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p.1 #21 · 2 Nikon D300 or D300 + D700

2 D700s, and don't look back.

Nov 20, 2009 at 05:17 AM

DavidWEGS
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p.1 #22 · 2 Nikon D300 or D300 + D700

I respectfully disagree.

There is a place for both sensor types until we have a body that offers about 30mp with the crop mode offering 15mp, IMO. I also think that this camera needs dual cards, fast frame rate and high ISO performance equal to, or better than the current D700.

iShoot wrote:
2 D700s, and don't look back.

Nov 25, 2009 at 11:51 AM

souljourney
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p.1 #23 · 2 Nikon D300 or D300 + D700

I went in to purchase a D300, ended up with the D700 and never looked back. I may end up with a D300 in the spring as well...maybe. I am already leaning towards another D700. I am blown away by the camera every time I use it.

Nov 25, 2009 at 12:17 PM

weeums
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p.1 #24 · 2 Nikon D300 or D300 + D700

I'm currently selling 1 D300 - and keeping my other and upgrading to a D700 - and I'm thinking that for my highschool sports work that the D300 - with the crop sensor for reach will be a good thing and I'll prolly shoot more of the high school stuff with the D300 - and the D700 will be my seniors, engagements, weddings and portrait work.

I'm excited... and I think I'm going to be good hanging onto a D300 for some time.

great question.. thanks for asking it and thanks for all the great feedback - this thread was right up my current alley !

- travis

Nov 25, 2009 at 12:27 PM

hendrikm
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p.1 #25 · 2 Nikon D300 or D300 + D700

I didn´t switch - still use my D300.

One simple reason for me: Coverage of the af-areas is much larger on the D300 than on the D700. With the D300, if your subject is left, you use a left af-area.

The D700 uses the same af-module, but as the sensor is larger, the af-areas are mainly placed in the middle of the picture. So you need to go back to focus/recompose for all the shots where your subject is not centered. And focus/recompose with 1.4 lenses isn´t reliable.

This is why I stayed with the D300 - and wait for a D400...

Nov 25, 2009 at 01:57 PM


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