D700 - Finally a Digital F100! (fun pictures with D700)

[jonoslack]

Hi There
Well, maybe you remember the F100, but it was the ultimate film camera in a small tough package - I think the D700 is finally it.

I took it out for a couple of hours this morning - the weather was bright but hazy, not really ideal, still, we do what we can.

I thought the packaging was a little too retro:

nikkor 24-70 - all the others taken with the 105mm VR macro (I'm a lazy little bugger!)

it does come with built in games:

The version of PacMan is almost as good as the one on my phone.

It's going to be a good year for bramble jelly

A thistle and a swoop:

Continuous auto-focus works with macros and the wind:

Chris was so surprised he nearly ended up in the hedge:

Satellite dishes don't go on thatched roofs:

Mind you, there are a couple of new additions that I'm doubtful about:

PC Sync cap:

and finally the CF card door lock is a little unconventional

All these are jpgs out of the camera - cropped and slightly adjusted in Aperture.

PLEASE POST YOUR FIRST PICTURES BELOW!

 

[helenhill]

AWESOME Color/ Clarity & Detail - JONO

Please DO some B&W

Cheers & Congrats !!
Helen

 

[Steen]

What Helen said :thumbup:
Congrats Jono !
Btw. I would guess that if you just edit the camera model from D700 to D3 in Exif with an Exif editor, Aperture will probably be able to read the NEF files just like if they in fact were D3 files.
Apart from that camera model specification I would think the files were identical, or what ... ?

 

[sizifo]

What Helen said :thumbup:
Congrats Jono !
Btw. I would guess that if you just edit the camera model from D700 to D3 in Exif with an Exif editor, Aperture will probably be able to read the NEF files just like if they in fact were D3 files.
Apart from that camera model specification I would think the files were identical, or what ... ?

Yes. Or you can edit the plist file, like people were doing on for the GRDs (I don't have a link, but you could search the dpreview forum), copy the d3 entry and change it to d700. However, it may be that this can confuse aperture once the camera gets supported - although i think it shouldn't.

 

[Terry]

Congrats! These look great. My battery is charging as we speak but won't be able to post until tomorrow evening. Stuck the voigtlander on the camera. The lens is sweet. Feels solo good. More later.

 

[Stuart Richardson]

Those look great Jono. How are you liking the handling, responsiveness and viewfinder compared to the D3? I still have not gotten a chance to see one in person, so I am curious.

 

[PSon]

great capture Jono!

 

[Terry]

Oh my god!!!! Can I say I LOVE this camera. Sorry I can't post for the moment but tomorrow when I'm back in NY I will have plenty for show and tell. Shot 90% of the time with the Voigtlander 58mm f1.4. I blame that purchase on Jono. Thank you!!!!! The arrows along with the dot (from the D3) make life easy, I wasn't so fast but in the conditions I was shooting, I have waaaaay more keepers than I would have with the M8. Finally I need to get one of those little hand exercise balls because the 24-70 is a wee bit heavy and the grip is slightly bigger than my hand.

 

[jonoslack]

Hi There - thanks everyone for the nice comments:

Steen
I think someone has posted a batch utility for changing the name in the file - if there's no support for a while I might try that, but actually I quite like the challenge of getting jpgs right for a few days!
Sizifo
I tried editing the plist - duplicating the D3 entry and changing the name, but it doesn't seem to work anymore - I'm not sure why, but no dice.

Terry
Glad you're having fun - that little lens is a darling isn't it, and the package is stubby and businesslike and not without charm. I must say I also find the focusing pretty easy.

Stuart
I haven't noticed any reduced brightness in the viewfinder - manual focusing still seems fine. Like Terry, I find the grip a touch bigger than my small hands, the camera is heavy and feels very solid, but (for me) it's much nicer than the D3 . . . . but that's largely because I didn't like the ostentatious feeling of carrying such a big camera.
Responsiveness really is the same - shutter noise is not so eggcrackingly delicious, but still better than some stampingonatincan cameras - and I think it's a little quieter as well.

Hi Son
Thanks - it's amazing to me that it's taken this long for this camera to appear - I guess Canon could really have made it 3 years ago if they hadn't been frightened of cannibalising 1Ds sales. Let's hope that Nikon will reap the benefit of their bravery.

 

[Joan]

Lovely shots, Jono. And congrats to Terry, can't wait to see yours, too!

 

[robmac]

Jono/TEB - Congrats on the new toy. Happen to notice any perceptible difference in OOC sharpness vs D3 (e.g. speculation of thinner AA filter)?

Happy to see the dot and arrows focus indicator vs the (useless) D300 flickering dot system. On my D1/H the arrow+dot system was VERY accurate.

 

[Guy Mancuso]

Files look really nice for jpegs . Looking good folks, this maybe more a home run for Nikon than the D3 was.

 

[harmsr]

Jono,

Nice shots. These are very encouraging. It is also tempting for me, but I'm going to hold out until I see if Nikon does anything with their primes.

If Nikon comes out soon with a few great new primes, this camera might really take the place of my M8.

The D3 was and is a great camera, but I'm with you for it being just too large for what I want to do with it. The same thing goes for the the 24-70. (Great lens but just tooooooooo huge.) I normally shot the D3 with ZF primes, the 105 Macro, or the 70-200.

The issue is if I go back to Nikon in a nice size body like the D700, I want new modern primes that are auto focus and VRII for the longer focal lengths.

When I compared the D3 to my M8, the M8 won at lower ISO if I was using the 24-70. If I was using ZF primes, then they were virtually identical at the low ISO and the D3 would win with high ISO.

Nikon - Please give me an updated 35/1.4, 50/1.4, and 180/2.8 VR. I'll buy all three tomorrow and the D700. I still have the 105 Macro and the 1.7X convertor, in hopes of this happening.

Best,

Ray

 

[robmac]

I'm right behind you Ray - primes get announced, my 1Ds2 will likely hit the block.

 

[Arne Hvaring]

Hi Jono,
congrats with new toy, seems you've put it to good use already
Generally images I've seen are very similar to the D3, but I guess subtle differences might emerge after more use. I'll be watching this space...

 

[woodyspedden]

I'm right behind you Ray - primes get announced, my 1Ds2 will likely hit the block.

Me too although I am not too sure about getting rid of the M8. As a travel companion there is still nothing as lightweight and unobtrusive as this baby. I can get five lenses and a body in a small A&A bag. So I expect that when the dust settles i will still have the M8 although if it breaks one more time and Leica N.J. screws up the repairs I may well go over the edge.

Woody

 

[sizifo]

Hi There - thanks everyone for the nice comments:

Sizifo
I tried editing the plist - duplicating the D3 entry and changing the name, but it doesn't seem to work anymore - I'm not sure why, but no dice.

That's strange. The only thing I can think of is to be careful of where the plist file is. I know at some point, I think with Leopard, it moved from System/Library/Frameworks/ApplicationServices.framework/Versions/A/Frameworks/ImageIO.framework/Versions/A/Resources/Raw.plist
to

/System/Library/CoreServices/RawCamera.bundle/Contents/Resources/Raw.plist

Maybe the old file still exists for some reason.

Googling brings up this discussion most of the time, which doesn't help...

 

[jonoslack]

That's strange. The only thing I can think of is to be careful of where the plist file is. I know at some point, I think with Leopard, it moved from System/Library/Frameworks/ApplicationServices.framework/Versions/A/Frameworks/ImageIO.framework/Versions/A/Resources/Raw.plist
to

/System/Library/CoreServices/RawCamera.bundle/Contents/Resources/Raw.plist

Maybe the old file still exists for some reason.

Googling brings up this discussion most of the time, which doesn't help...

Hi There
Well, I can go back, find it, edit it, and the D700 bit is still in there . . . but it still doesn't work!

Mind you - I've been using the little exe file which changes the nef, that DOES work, so I'm cool for a while. . . . see next post

 

[jonoslack]

Hi There
here are a couple of landscapes which have been processed in Aperture from RAW with the D700, using a little exe file to change the camera name in the RAW file. As far as I can see they're pretty much identical to the D3 files (lovely in fact).
I first tried to process these from the jpgs - of course, the minute I tried to do anything they fell to pieces.

Anyway, So, here are my first D700 RAW files processed in Aperture!

All were taken with the wonderful bulbous 14-24 - no perspective correction applied (it really is a remarkable lens).

 

[jonoslack]

Hi Joan
Thank you - I can't wait to see Terry's either (where IS she hiding!)

Rob
I'm not sure about sharpness - I've just been importing raw files 'pretending' that they're D3, and they certainly look sharp . . . . I think I'll leave it to those with better pixel-peeping credentials to tell us!

Guy
I think the D3 WAS a home run . . . or perhaps it's the sensor. I just think that bringing out two bodies with the same sensor is a wonderful idea, and I hope they do it with the high res body as well. . . . tempted?

Ray
I've done lots of testing with the new zooms, and it seems to me that they are just as good as the old primes - of course, we'd all like to see some smaller lenses to go with it, but I won't be letting go of the 14-24 and the 24-70 easily!
If I'm going to use primes, then the M8 still delivers the best results (IMHO). Still, I'd like to see a couple of new primes, especially if they reflect Nikon's apparent new appreciation of the art of bokeh!

Arne
There may be subtle differences, but if so, they're too subtle for me! To be fair, the weight advantage is not that great - it's the size which matters to me, and getting rid of the damned vertical grip (which I always had switched off!).

Woody
I hear you - my M8's aren't going anywhere just yet awhile!