Nikon D7000

The D700 is Nikon’s second full-frame DSLR. Announced on July 1st 2008, the D700 essentially takes the D3’s large ‘FX’ format sensor and squeezes it into a D300-sized body. Along with being smaller and lighter than the flagship D3, it’s also comfortably cheaper, making the D700 Nikon’s first ‘affordable’ full-frame DSLR. Like Canon’s EOS 5D, this puts it within reach of well-heeled enthusiasts who demand excellent performance at high sensitivities, along with pros looking for a backup body.

The headline feature of the D700 is of course its full-frame sensor. It employs the exact same 12.1 Megapixel full-frame CMOS sensor as the D3, which conforms to Nikon’s FX format and delivers images with 4256x2832 pixels when coupled with an FX-compatible lens. The D700 also shares the D3’s broad sensitivity range running between 200 and 6400 ISO, with low and high modes extending it to between 100 and 25600 ISO.

The D700 additionally shares a number of features with both the D3 and D300. All three sport a powerful 51-point AF system, a high resolution 3in VGA monitor with Live View, the same 1005-pixel metering system, along with an HDMI port for connection to HDTVs – albeit using a mini-jack on the D700. All three are also very tough, offering resistance to dust and moisture.

Continuous shooting is rated at 5fps, which may be slightly slower than the 6fps of the D300, but unlike that model the D700 doesn’t slow down when shooting in 14-bit RAW mode, nor reduce its buffer until much higher sensitivities. The D700 can also share the same MB-D10 battery grip as the D300, which boosts both model’s continuous shooting rate to 8fps (with the right battery).

A new user interface makes it easy to change key settings, and the D700 also inherits the D3’s Virtual Horizon feature which helps you level the camera using a heads-up display. The D700 makes this even more useful by additionally now offering the Virtual Horizon in Live View – although a firmware update now equips the D3 with the same facility.

Overall the D700 boasts one of the most powerful and complete feature sets of any DSLR to date. It greatly appeals whether you’re looking for a step-up from the D300 or a more portable and affordable version of the D3. But while the D700 may at first glance simply appear to be a D300 with the D3’s full-frame sensor, there’s a number of variations between all three models between the obvious specifications.

Wide sensitivity range of ISO 100 to 6400

The ISO sensitivity range of the D7000 is wide, from ISO 100 to 6400 at normal setting, and it can be raised up to Hi 2 (ISO 25600 equivalent). It delivers sharp images with minimized noise while maintaining resolution even at high ISO setting. The D7000 lets you select a faster shutter speed and expands creative possibilities in lowlight situations and sports scenes without worrying about image-degrading noise.

ISO 100

ISO 400

ISO 1600

ISO 6400