Upgrade from Nikon D7000 to D700 or D600?

[hari07]

I know that a similar topic might have been discussed in the past a few times but I see few owners of the new Nikon D600 and a lot of D700 owners.

Although I believe that the camera is just a tool and its all about the eye/the person behind the camera, I havent been much happy with my D7000. I very eagerly upgraded from my D70s after 6 years when the low light photography started becoming a problem.
I still have my D70s because I like the colour and tone of the pictures that it produces without any PP.

Just to justify my move from D7000, I would like to list some of the issues I have been facing, otherwise I would get some nice bashing from the genuine Photogs. I have honestly tried all of these with D70s to see if "ME" is the problem.

1) AF speed: Tried everything from AF-s to AF-C to focus and release priority. I am still missing out on the % of keepers. Not to talk that it takes a while to lock on low light. The AF 50 1.8 works great on D70s still and locks spot on while with D7000 it locks but still not up to the mark. I certainly have had sharp photos from it but not consistent.
Some tips would be greatly appreciated.

2)Over exposure with faces despite being prepared to underexpose by 1/3 or 2/3 stops.

3)Similar issues while metering with flash when it overexposes in bounce flash when I just need it as a light fill.

4) Sharpness of the image- Always a little low on sharpness at 100%. Increased the shutter speed, still found that I couldn't get as many keepers as I used to have with old camera. May be more Mega Pixel is a problem.


I would want to change and was wondering if a second hand d700 which still sells for almost the same price as a new D600 would be a good move. I have heard a lot of discussions about sensor dust and AF speed with D600 but it is always good to ask someone who owns rather than some random website reviews.
I have heard that D700 still beats D600 on focus but loses slightly on High ISO. For me, D600 would prove as a small advantage as it has 10MP DX mode, however I am so upset with the AF issues on the D7000 that I am afraid to touch the FX version of the same AF system.

Appreciate the help.

[Doublehelix3216]

I don't own a D600, but I made a similar decision last summer and ended up with a D800 over the D700.

Don't get me wrong, the D700 is still an awesome camera, and I continue to see amazing images posted from that body all of the time.

For me however, since I was making a serious investment, I thought it best to invest in the latest technology that Nikon had to offer (EXPEED3, etc.) rather than something that was several years old. As great as the D700 is, a lot of those shooters have been clambering for Nikon to upgrade the body for a long time, which told me maybe it was getting a bit long in the tooth.

But just as you still love your D70s, there are still a lot of lovers of the D700 for the very reason you mention in your post... the camera is just a tool.

I find the D800 focuses quickly in most situations, even in low light, and the metering when shooting in one of the auto modes is very, very good. I am pretty sure the D600 uses similar technology.

I will let the D600 users chime in here, but just my 2 cents to think about buying the latest technology (AF, metering, sensor, etc.).

Best of luck with your decision.

[Douglas]

I had the d7000 and it was one with the focus issues and I never trusted its AF again, even after getting it fixed by NIKON. I just recently (last friday) got the D600 and have been happy with what I have seen so far.

http://www.imaging-resource.com/PROD...kon-d600A5.HTM

I just read the above article. There is some good information there.

[sic0048]

If it was me, I'd go for the D700. But that's just one man's opinion.

[mistermonday]

If you have not seen this comprehensive review, it may prove very helpful. If you don't have time to read all the detail you can go to the Conclusion page for the summary. There is also a similar review to the other cameras for comparison.
Nikon D600 In-Depth Review: Digital Photography Review
Cheers, Murray

[jerryph]

Originally Posted by hari07

I know that a similar topic might have been discussed in the past a few times but I see few owners of the new Nikon D600 and a lot of D700 owners.

That is because the D700 is still an awesome camera, but it has also been around for a lot longer. Also, though the 2 cameras are only one generation apart, there has been a big shift in the dynamics of the DXXX line at that level. Where the D700 was considered a pro level camera with a smaller body (it was 95% of a D3, including sensor, AF and EXSPEED processing), the D600 is further away from a D800 and even that much further than a current D4. The range of differences between the models has expanded a lot.

MP aside, I would still consider the D700 superior to the D600 in noise, AF speed, internal processing speed, FPS and a couple other specifications, for a start. The D700, however, has no video capabilities and is 12MP.

Originally Posted by hari07

1) AF speed: Tried everything from AF-s to AF-C to focus and release priority. I am still missing out on the % of keepers. Not to talk that it takes a while to lock on low light. The AF 50 1.8 works great on D70s still and locks spot on while with D7000 it locks but still not up to the mark. I certainly have had sharp photos from it but not consistent.
Some tips would be greatly appreciated.

Does the D7000 have lens microadjustment capabilities? If it does, are all your lenses calibrated to the camera?

Originally Posted by hari07

2)Over exposure with faces despite being prepared to underexpose by 1/3 or 2/3 stops.

That depends on many factors, starting with what modes you are shooting, what is your experience and what is your level of understanding of how TTL works.

Originally Posted by hari07

3)Similar issues while metering with flash when it overexposes in bounce flash when I just need it as a light fill.

Again, that depends on many factors, starting with what flashes you are using, what modes you are using, what is your experience and what is your level of understanding of how in general metering and specifically, how TTL works.

Originally Posted by hari07

4) Sharpness of the image...

This depends on:
- if the camera has MA adjustments, is it used?
- the quality of the optics
- the quality of the post processing in relation to what kinds of files you are producing. RAW files, for example, come out *always* needing at least some sharpening.

Originally Posted by hari07

I would want to change and was wondering if a second hand d700 which still sells for almost the same price as a new D600 would be a good move. I have heard a lot of discussions about sensor dust and AF speed with D600 but it is always good to ask someone who owns rather than some random website reviews.
I have heard that D700 still beats D600 on focus but loses slightly on High ISO.

I currently have two D700 cameras that I shall in the near future put up for sale because I have moved up to a D4, and possibly will get a 2nd D4 before this year's wedding season starts. I can, therefore, speak with a lot of experience about the D700 camera.

AF quality is excellent, even when compared to cameras like a D4 today. It is in essence the same AF as the pro bodied D3 has, and as a wedding photographer, I have found myself taking photos effortlessly in conditions where other cameras were left useless. AF speed is excellent, it is not that far behind my D4, though there is a small speed advantage there, of course.

High ISO? I would be really surprised if the D600 in *real life* gave the same quality. I used ISO 1600 on that camera like most people use ISO 200. I have gotten *very* clean ISO 6400 and clean ISO 25,600 out of it. I can get more than useable ISO 51,200 shots out of it with a post processing (I sold many an album with a shot taken at ISO 51,200 and they looked great in the album). This however, does not come automatically, you really need to nail the exposure to get the best out of that camera... and that means time and practice, but with those, you can do so consistently.

Here is a couple of examples of high ISO using the D700:

ISO 1600:


ISO 3200:


ISO 6400:


ISO 25,600:


Where I see the big differences between these 2 cameras, is that while the D700 is the better camera, the D600 is the better video camera with a pretty good camera as well, but the choice will ultimately come down to if you value phtography higher (D700) or videography higher (D600).

Originally Posted by hari07

Appreciate the help.

I was glad to have been able to offer my 2 cents.

[hari07]

Hi All,

Thanks for your valuable input and thoughts.

@ JerryPH-

The photos speak for itself and they are a great proof of the Photographers ability and to a lesser extent the camera.

I have just tried ISO 6400 on D7000 a couple of times and they are not of acceptable quality even if you shoot in RAW. Forget JPEG completely as it loses all the details in the world.

I might use ISO 12800 or even 51200 given an oppurtunity and confident that my gear wont let me down. I still can't believe that D700 gave that good a 25600 shot, not to talk of ISO 51200.

Does the D7000 have lens microadjustment capabilities? If it does, are all your lenses calibrated to the camera?

Yes I have tried the micro adjustments and it only made things worse.

That depends on many factors, starting with what modes you are shooting, what is your experience and what is your level of understanding of how TTL works.

I understand TTL and only use manual modes in the camera. I never found any problem with my knowing how to operate the camera so far and infact I try to stick to the basics. The camera shows the metering and I underexpose it based on D7000's history of overexposing.

Quote:
Originally Posted by hari07
4) Sharpness of the image...
This depends on:
- if the camera has MA adjustments, is it used?
- the quality of the optics
- the quality of the post processing in relation to what kinds of files you are producing. RAW files, for example, come out *always* needing at least some sharpening.

I usually use MA unless it is really required to use M. I can say that the quality of optics are decent and atleast it should give a reasonable sharp centers if not the corners.

I have tried with the Sigma 70-200 2.8 APO OS HSM. It is a great lens and I have used on other cameras including D700 and it works great. Somehow the quality is still not upto the mark but better than some consumer lenses. So I know that the 16MP sensor is quite demanding and I suspect that it should be even more demanding with the d600/d800.

I generally shoot raw so that I can deal with noise if I am shooting at the so called High ISO's of 3200 but I generally stick to 1600 as I am not confident to move up.

I somehow don't get your comparison of videography. D600 is a newer camera where they have included the video features but that doesn't make it an inferior still camera and they have done the same with D800 as well.

Above all, Four year new technology compared to D700 should in theory, produce better higher ISO images. having said that, after having an experience with D7000, I have stopped believing in the values on paper.

So it looks like, its still not bad to go for D700.

Thanks,

[hari07]

Originally Posted by Douglas

I had the d7000 and it was one with the focus issues and I never trusted its AF again, even after getting it fixed by NIKON. I just recently (last friday) got the D600 and have been happy with what I have seen so far.

Nikon D600 Camera Exposure - Review

I just read the above article. There is some good information there.

Hi Douglas,

Thanks, I saw the D600 first shots and they were really good. Now, how do you see the high ISO comparison to your eyes? No need to go as high as 25800 like Jerry but may be a generous ISO 6400. Again, does it hunt in low light and are you happy with IQ? Considering the MP, it should be quite optics hungry.

Now, do you find the 4800FX system any better?

[Great Pixel]

Why not go for the D800?

Nikon D800 vs D700 - Our Analysis

[jerryph]

Originally Posted by Great Pixel

Why not go for the D800?

Nikon D800 vs D700 - Our Analysis

I would not really call that "analysis" as anything more than sales, and a lot of the points are wrong or incomplete. It's like someone visited a few websies, got a couple of specs and then made up the rest. I'd feel bad for anyone that used that page to make a decision for either camera.