First major outing with D700 - Impressions
Posted: Sun Sep 20, 2009 7:41 pmWell my first major outing with my new sexy D700 is a trip to New Zealand. I am still here too, returning in a few days. 
While I will reserve my better photos for later post processing when I get home (Especially panoramas) I will post this offering and my major impressions of the D700.
There are two things that make this camera a winner for me.
1. It is FX so my stock of full frame lenses are finally being put to good use on an appropriate sized sensor.
12mm IS 12mm, not 18mm. The difference in photographing dramatic landscapes with an FX over a DX camera is significant and well worth the few extra dollars it costs.
2. The fantastic contrast ratio. Simply put, the range of dark to light is amazing. I have shot images directly into the sun and still gotten plenty of foreground exposed. This has allowed me to shoot some creative images that would have otherwise have been impossible on previous generation CMOS's and CCD's. I also suspect the firmware on the D700 contributes to this as well as the CCD.
Also of note is the brilliant LCD screen on the read of the camera. The resolution is fantastic and when I zoom right into the images on playback, I am surprised at how much detail I can make out. I have also tested the interval timer with a series of images showing the morning sun rising over Mt Cook. I just need to work out how to convert 300+ jpegs into a short movie. (Anyone?) The D700 also works at temperatures below freezing.
But here is a self portrait image that shows how us photographers go to great lengths to take an image that we want. I climbed about 1000 metres up the side of a cliff to get some images of Mt Cook and the Tasman Glacier and valley. The 4 hour climb was well worth it in the end even though I had to traverse snow and make my own way across parts of the track that had disappeared over winter due to avalanches.
While I will reserve my better photos for later post processing when I get home (Especially panoramas) I will post this offering and my major impressions of the D700.
There are two things that make this camera a winner for me.
1. It is FX so my stock of full frame lenses are finally being put to good use on an appropriate sized sensor.
12mm IS 12mm, not 18mm. The difference in photographing dramatic landscapes with an FX over a DX camera is significant and well worth the few extra dollars it costs.2. The fantastic contrast ratio. Simply put, the range of dark to light is amazing. I have shot images directly into the sun and still gotten plenty of foreground exposed. This has allowed me to shoot some creative images that would have otherwise have been impossible on previous generation CMOS's and CCD's. I also suspect the firmware on the D700 contributes to this as well as the CCD.
Also of note is the brilliant LCD screen on the read of the camera. The resolution is fantastic and when I zoom right into the images on playback, I am surprised at how much detail I can make out. I have also tested the interval timer with a series of images showing the morning sun rising over Mt Cook. I just need to work out how to convert 300+ jpegs into a short movie. (Anyone?) The D700 also works at temperatures below freezing.
But here is a self portrait image that shows how us photographers go to great lengths to take an image that we want. I climbed about 1000 metres up the side of a cliff to get some images of Mt Cook and the Tasman Glacier and valley. The 4 hour climb was well worth it in the end even though I had to traverse snow and make my own way across parts of the track that had disappeared over winter due to avalanches.