Is the Newly Announced Nikon D700 the F100 for the Digital Age?

Wouldn’t it be the case… I’m out of the office for a day and Nikon drops the big annoucement.  The new full-frame Nikon DSLR – the D700 (retails for $2999.) This camera was officially announced on July 1, 2008.  For long-time Nikon users, this is a significant announcement. This reminds me of when the film F100 was announced, many photographers (like me) were thrilled to have about a 95% F5 in a more compact, lighter, pro-performance camera. Again, with the advent of the D700, we may really have a true, full-frame D3 lite.

Additionally, now the discrepancy Nikon vis-à-vis Canon regarding camera offerings is shrinking even more. Now that Nikon has reached or surpassed Canon in regard to image quality at high ISO (I guess it depends on who you ask) the only area that Nikon is lacking in is with a high-megapixel studio camera (like the Canon 1Ds MkIII.) Although unannounced, there are many rumors that a new Nikon DSLR will also be announced this year to compete at the 1Ds MkIII high-megapixel level. For people like me, a super high-megapixel camera isn’t really what I need to do my job well. However, this new D700 sounds like the killer-app for wedding photographers. Great high-ISO performance, lighter weight (about the same with a grip though), and the option to use standard 35mm-type lenses – sounds pretty appealing to me.

Many of you already know from reading my previous blog that I’m using the Nikon D300′s. I think the D300 is an amazing camera, and now I can capture subjects in conditions that would have been very challenging in the past. I feel free to raise the ISO to 3200 in camera to get those low-light subjects without compromising on digital “noise” or the smearing or muddling of pixels. Whether I decide to get the D700 is something that I will consider later on in the year, or perhaps purchase one next year as a compliment to the D300′s.

If any of you are planning to get a D700 this month, let us know what you think once you have a chance to use it.

Along with some new tilt-shift Nikkor lenses and a great new Nikon Speedlight SB-900 (retails for $499) [I'll be blogging about some uses of Nikon's Creative Lighting System in the near future] these are certainly exciting times in the world of photographic artists – especially if you’re a Nikonian.