This ? has probably been asked a ton but here it goes

I'm wanting to add a body to my my 7000 and I'm looking at a used 700 or 800. I hear the 700 nails focus pretty much all the time and that is a big plus for me. The 95%ish viewfinder will take some getting used to I'm spoiled with 100% and frame every shot as tight as I can. I'm not in the market for a d3/x/4 so if you wanted a Nikon body that has very fast and accurate focus would the d700 be your choice?

I'm not a cropping machine and not into landscapes, advertising or any other field that needs the 800's MP. Don't get me wrong, that is a ton of detail and I will welcome it if the 800 is better at AF and buffer. I also like the crop shooting options the 800 has and the fact that it is a better D7000 with a dx lens attached so I can offload a body in the process. Of course the dual slots a nice touch love redundancy. And it has the same battery I think as the 7000 so another plus. I shoot a lot in burst with AF tracking. It's not really spray and pray it is toddler shots of my daughter and her face changes faster than I can blink so I set the camera to high frame rate when taking shots of her.

I really think the d700 is the way to go but would love input from people that have shot both the machine and the studio/landscape giant.

You do know that none of your D7000 DX lenses will work on a D700 or D800? Those are FX bodies and your D7000 is a DX body.

Depending on your budget, remembering that getting good quality glass for the FX will set you off about 5,000.00$, I would seriously consider getting the newer 7200 or a 7100.

If you have the funds, I'd probably go for the 750, specially for it's articulated screen that would come extremely handy for shooting toddlers since it brings the camera down at their eye level without the contortion of the eye view level. And the 750 has the latest focusing technology as well and very high iso capabilities.

If you want to go full frame I'd suggest the D750 over the D700. The auto-focus system is far better on the D750, it has better color depth and more than two-stops more dynamic range over the D700. You'll also keep the 100% viewfinder and dual card slots like you're used to and you can use your existing EN-EL15 batteries.

Glass is another matter. Personally I haven't spent anywhere near $5,000 on glass for my D750 but I guess I could if I was so inclined. I'd tell you to put a bone-stock Nikon 24-120mm on there and you're good to go for probably +90% of what it sounds like you shoot. Personally, I use a Tamron 70-200mm f/2.8 that set me back just over $1000 and a couple fast primes and I'm good to go without getting anywhere near five-grand. You can use your DX glass on the D750 in "DX Crop Mode" but trust me, you won't want to.
....

I looked at the d750 and love the specs and from what I can tell its a very nice camera. Its a little more than a used 700 but maybe I should wait until I can budget the 750 after all. I didn't expect to see this many people pulling for the 750 over a 700 so thanks for all the input gives me something to think about. Is the 750 a pro body? I mean I know you can pretty much use any camera as a pro body but is it a tank like the 300 and 700 bodies?

I'm well aware that DX glass isn't the way to go on an FX camera. 95% of the time my 35 stays on my d7000 and I have a 50 1.8g so that transition will be fairly flawless will just have a narrower depth of field. I would probably add a Tamron 70-200 2.8 with VC in the future and an nikor 85 1.4 probably and maybe the 105 micro. You would spend 5k if you bought the Nikon trinity but I'm not going to do that. In the rare times I need wide angle stuff I'll still have the d7000 and have a 12-24 f4 for that.

ideacipher said:

... Is the 750 a pro body? I mean I know you can pretty much use any camera as a pro body but is it a tank like the 300 and 700 bodies?

Click to expand...

Nikon lists the D750 as a Professional body. It's lighter than the D700, but it's way solid in the hand. The body is a made from a combination of magnesium alloy (top and back) and what Nikon refers to as "carbon composite". To me, it looks and feels like carbon fiber and I suspect it is. In round numbers the D700 body weighs in at just over two pounds and the D750 comes in at a pound and three-quarters.

Hope that helps...
....

Nice! Sounds good, I'll give one a wirl and see how I like it. I hope they didn't trim to much off of the grip size - the chunky cameras always felt better in my hands. I know I have a little d7000 and that is one of my main complaints about how it feels is the grip size. Guess at the end of the day you don't know until you try it for yourself. Man if it fits like a glove all the other specs are spot on for a body I should be able to shoot for many years.

Thanks again for the info

Also what is up with that rectangle viewfinder? Don't they usually put the big round ones on the pro FX bodies? Might sound petty but those big round ones are supper bright I looked through a D810 a while back and was amazed at how much a difference it made. Don't get me wrong I'm still going to look into grabbing one of these guys just wondering why they skimped on the pro viewfinder.

ideacipher said:

Also what is up with that rectangle viewfinder? Don't they usually put the big round ones on the pro FX bodies? Might sound petty but those big round ones are supper bright I looked through a D810 a while back and was amazed at how much a difference it made. Don't get me wrong I'm still going to look into grabbing one of these guys just wondering why they skimped on the pro viewfinder.

Click to expand...

You seem to have plenty of things that you'd miss if you get the D750, size, round viewfinder. The thing you have to ask yourself is "How large will you be printing". If you're not going to print very large (16x20 and below), you could be very happy with the D700. I think the size and handling of the D700 is very similar to the D800-810. And the camera has been proven faultless for years. So if this is the one you're envying, just get it and I'm certain you'll love it. And when and if the envy to more pixel ever hits you, you can always get a more recent camera and you won't loose too much.

I have the Df (after switching a D600 for it) and can't convince myself to sell the D700. I just love the images I can get with it so so much. For me and my use, 12 MPs are plenty.

Personally, while I like a lot of the things about the D750 the grip is not one of them. It will however feel very similar to the current D7100 where it has the deep grip vs the thicker body of the older D700. So if you have a larger hand I suspect that it may not feel very comfortable to you, unless you have long fingers or long nails to dig into the new body grip.
IMHO printing would be the biggest thing between the two bodies. If you were not planning on doing large format printing, then the +24mp may not be needed at all. If you aren't planning on doing video, then you can save more there as well. I think the D700 is just the better camera aside from going D3/4 bodies. It also has DX crop mode on it (when you only have DX lenses), but then you would also be looking at less MPs from the loss of area.
D700>D750

ideacipher said:

Nice! Sounds good, I'll give one a wirl and see how I like it. I hope they didn't trim to much off of the grip size - the chunky cameras always felt better in my hands. I know I have a little d7000 and that is one of my main complaints about how it feels is the grip size.
...
Also what is up with that rectangle viewfinder? Don't they usually put the big round ones on the pro FX bodies? Might sound petty but those big round ones are supper bright I looked through a D810 a while back and was amazed at how much a difference it made.

Click to expand...

The grip on the D750 feels good to me and I have pretty large hands. The finger grip is deeper than the 7100 but the chunk factor, I would say, is about the same overall. I have a battery grip on mine entirely for the ergonomics and it gives you a lot more to hold on to. Still, ergonomics is a very subjective thing and if it's a potential deal-breaker you should definitely try one on for size.

As for the big round viewfinder, I don't know; it's something I've never given much thought to, personally. Camera's are just tools to me and all I really care about is getting what I want out of them. As long as I can frame my shots accurately through the VF, well... I'm pretty much good to go.
....

I'm fairly new to Nikon but the images I get from the D700 are spectacular. It also doesn't hurt that 12 megapickle image sizes are a lot smaller than the 24 or 36 MP files. There are enough used lenses out there that you don't have to spend a ton of money on them. Just my $0.02.

I have reasonable large hands too and the grip of the D750 is ok. It could have been slightly larger since my grip isn't a tight fit. It's not that it'll drop out of my hands but there's room between my fingers and the cam.

I use a leather cord securing the cam to my wrist to have that little "extra" should things ever go wrong.

I can't speak about the D750, never had one in my hands, but it sounds like a great camera. During last years airshows, i used a D700 and a D800. The D700 managed more keepers than the D800. This can also be affected by the fact that the D700 had the Nikon 70-200 f/2.8, and the D800 had the 80-400G, so glass is a factor, and something to keep in mind. That said, the D700 is no slouch, and sell for bargain second hand prices.

If I had the funds for an FX camera, my first choice would be the D700. As it is, I'm very happy with my D300, which is the same as the D700, only in a DX format.

I decided it was time to rationalise my camera collection as I have too many that aren't being regularly used. Also, as age catches up with me I have made a move to smaller, lighter, and easier to carry cameras (a pocketable sony RX100 III and a Nikon V1 with a 30-110 lens, both with 1" sensors). I have a D7100 and a D700. The problem is that they are both great cameras but one had to go. The D7100 is up for sale on ebay at the moment. I don't think I will ever sell my D700 but that is just my personal preference. I use the light, small set-up for travel and the D700 for family occasions (birthdays, christenings etc). Maybe if my D700 dies I will look long and hard at the D750 which no doubt is a better camera.

Just a few pics from my D700 to remind people that this is still a very capable cam.

Marcel said:

Just a few pics from my D700 to remind people that this is still a very capable cam.

Click to expand...

I'll first must pixel-peep some shots very carefully before I'll agree.

I think Marcel might be the greatest camera salesman ever!