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Nikon DSLR Cameras
Out of Production DSLRs
D700
Searching for a D700 a good idea?
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<blockquote data-quote="spb_stan" data-source="post: 707741" data-attributes="member: 43545"><p>A lot of the memory of how good the D700 was came from comparing to cameras of the time and it certainly was good in comparison but things changed very quickly about 2008-9 in sensor performance and even the D90, intended as a enthusiast camera at a lower price point, ended up with very competitive image quality compared to pro cameras costing far more in other brands. Here is a chart of the plots of Photographic Dynamic Range of some of the models in this discussion. The D700 had lower noise contributed by the sensor and analog amplifiers bu as you can see the Dx D90 released shortly after beat it in dynamic range, a measurement really important to landscape shooter. n DX mode the D700 was a full stop poorer at base ISO than the consumer D90, which also had higher resolution. The larger photosites on the full frame sensor gathered more light then other FF cameras on the market until the D3s update came out. So for color depth, signal to noise ratio(the level difference between the lowest light level capture that still had a 6 db more signal than noise in the signal, compared to the highest level of light representing full well exposure(the point of clipping when no additional light adds to the output signal) really improved in the D3s over the D3 and D700 which shared the same sensor and off chip analog amplifiers. For a few years nothing else in the market competed for dynamic range or low light performance of Nikon DSLRs. The D90 was the first hobbyist camera to rival pro cameras for image qulity. Canon users were crying because it would be years later when they started to catch up.. Now, the state of the art is not much different in performance of the lowest cost DSLRs and many crop cameras now beat all ff DSLRs of 10-12 years ago. </p><p>All this is to illustrate how close those camera are. A D750 for example, used, is well under $1000 yet is neck and neck with the Z6 and D850. IF image quality, printability, color depth, resolution and dynamic range are important for your work, ....usually they are with landscapes than modern cameras are a better investment. If you are doing portraits, DR and resolution are not so important, in fact most modern cameras are too good for portraits which are aided by decreasing res and DR. The D700 still is a great portrait camera. So is the D90 and any camera made is if fed good lighting.</p><p></p><p>In the list of features or accessories for landscape shooters, DR and Resolution are key but external to the body is low distortion lenses or at least single axis distortion that is easy to correct, sturdy stable tripod, and a set of ND and graduated filters. It is easier to make wide angle lenses of a specific field of view for Fx but most are also faster lenses which increases their weight and cost over Dx lenses of the same field of view. If you do not have a good tripod, that, for a landscaper, is more important than the body. IF you are printing large for close viewing, high resolution really helps. But for normal viewing(where you are far enough away from the image to see it fully without scanning your eyes or moving your head, to see it as a whole, identical to how paintings have an intended viewing distance) then high res is not important. A 12mpx image 48 inches on the longest side viewed from 5-6 feet away will be a finely resolved as a larger mpx count. Billboards intended to be viewed from 40 feet away look good a 4-5mpx. </p><p>Unless there is some compelling feature, I would suggest staying with the body that has worked fine and focus on great tripod, and a nice wide angle </p><p>lens</p><p>[ATTACH]317722[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>Note on the chart how much degradation occurs even with high performance sensors when increasing ISO. A lower performance camera often does better at a stop lower ISO than a higher performance camera with ISO set higher than needed. An image shot at base ISO always had more detail and dynamic range than at higher ISO. That means you shooting a D90 at ISO 100 will have better signal to noise ratio than any excellent high ISO camera like the Z6 shot at ISO 400. So a good tripod allows shooting longer exposures and low ISO so as to equal top cameras shot at commonly used ISOs</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="spb_stan, post: 707741, member: 43545"] A lot of the memory of how good the D700 was came from comparing to cameras of the time and it certainly was good in comparison but things changed very quickly about 2008-9 in sensor performance and even the D90, intended as a enthusiast camera at a lower price point, ended up with very competitive image quality compared to pro cameras costing far more in other brands. Here is a chart of the plots of Photographic Dynamic Range of some of the models in this discussion. The D700 had lower noise contributed by the sensor and analog amplifiers bu as you can see the Dx D90 released shortly after beat it in dynamic range, a measurement really important to landscape shooter. n DX mode the D700 was a full stop poorer at base ISO than the consumer D90, which also had higher resolution. The larger photosites on the full frame sensor gathered more light then other FF cameras on the market until the D3s update came out. So for color depth, signal to noise ratio(the level difference between the lowest light level capture that still had a 6 db more signal than noise in the signal, compared to the highest level of light representing full well exposure(the point of clipping when no additional light adds to the output signal) really improved in the D3s over the D3 and D700 which shared the same sensor and off chip analog amplifiers. For a few years nothing else in the market competed for dynamic range or low light performance of Nikon DSLRs. The D90 was the first hobbyist camera to rival pro cameras for image qulity. Canon users were crying because it would be years later when they started to catch up.. Now, the state of the art is not much different in performance of the lowest cost DSLRs and many crop cameras now beat all ff DSLRs of 10-12 years ago. All this is to illustrate how close those camera are. A D750 for example, used, is well under $1000 yet is neck and neck with the Z6 and D850. IF image quality, printability, color depth, resolution and dynamic range are important for your work, ....usually they are with landscapes than modern cameras are a better investment. If you are doing portraits, DR and resolution are not so important, in fact most modern cameras are too good for portraits which are aided by decreasing res and DR. The D700 still is a great portrait camera. So is the D90 and any camera made is if fed good lighting. In the list of features or accessories for landscape shooters, DR and Resolution are key but external to the body is low distortion lenses or at least single axis distortion that is easy to correct, sturdy stable tripod, and a set of ND and graduated filters. It is easier to make wide angle lenses of a specific field of view for Fx but most are also faster lenses which increases their weight and cost over Dx lenses of the same field of view. If you do not have a good tripod, that, for a landscaper, is more important than the body. IF you are printing large for close viewing, high resolution really helps. But for normal viewing(where you are far enough away from the image to see it fully without scanning your eyes or moving your head, to see it as a whole, identical to how paintings have an intended viewing distance) then high res is not important. A 12mpx image 48 inches on the longest side viewed from 5-6 feet away will be a finely resolved as a larger mpx count. Billboards intended to be viewed from 40 feet away look good a 4-5mpx. Unless there is some compelling feature, I would suggest staying with the body that has worked fine and focus on great tripod, and a nice wide angle lens [ATTACH=CONFIG]317722._xfImport[/ATTACH] Note on the chart how much degradation occurs even with high performance sensors when increasing ISO. A lower performance camera often does better at a stop lower ISO than a higher performance camera with ISO set higher than needed. An image shot at base ISO always had more detail and dynamic range than at higher ISO. That means you shooting a D90 at ISO 100 will have better signal to noise ratio than any excellent high ISO camera like the Z6 shot at ISO 400. So a good tripod allows shooting longer exposures and low ISO so as to equal top cameras shot at commonly used ISOs [/QUOTE]
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