Nikon D700 Digital Camera Review

Nikon D700

Digital Camera Review

Sep 10, 2008 - By Steve Morgenstern
4.3 Is it rational to call a $3000 camera a bargain? It is when it delivers nearly all the features of the company’s revered $5000 pro model, which is precisely the case with the Nikon D700. Basically the D700 takes the best parts of two established cameras and blends them seamlessly. The $5000 Nikon D3 contributes a full-frame 12.1-megapixel image sensor with low-noise performance that makes previously impossible photos as simple as pressing the shutter. From the Nikon D300 comes a nearly unchanged body that’s hefty but nicely balanced, tightly sealed against the elements and nearly 20% lighter than the D3. For the full rundown on one of the year’s most important cameras, read on.
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Nikon D700

Picture Quality / Size Options (9.25)
The D700 CMOS sensor has a gross pixel count of 12.87 million pixels, and an effective resolution of 12.1 megapixels. The FX-format sensor measures 23.9 x 36.0mm, matching the size of a 35mm film frame.

Using an FX-format lens, three image sizes are available 4256 x 2832 (L), 3184 x 2120 (M) and 128 x 1416 (S). With a DX-format lens (which results in a 24 x 16 image area, a subset of the full 36 x 24 sensor size), image sizes are 2784 x 1848 (L), 2080 x 1384 (M) and 1392 x 920 (S). There are no really small native image sizes that would be appropriate for web postings or emailing, nor is there an image resizing option in the Retouch menu.

The D700 supports JPEG, TIFF and RAW (NEF) file formats. JPEGs are available in three quality settings, fine, normal and basic. There are two JPEG compression options, a Size priority mode that aims to achieve approximately the same file sizes, and Optimal quality, which prioritizes image quality over file size.

Files shot in Nikon’s own RAW format, NEF, can be stored Uncompressed, with Lossless compression (the default setting), which shrinks file sizes without losing any data, or  Compressed, which does sacrifice some data but shrinks file sizes by roughly 40-55%. Users can also choose between storing NEF files in the default 12-bit mode or with 14-bit color data.

NEF (RAW) files can be shot with the same image automatically saved as a separate JPEG file (at any of the three available JPEG quality settings), making a version of the photo available without post-processing on the computer.

The D700 can also shoot in uncompressed TIFF (RGB) format, producing files that are very large, but also fully compatible with most image editing software.

Picture Effects Mode (8.50)
As mentioned in the Custom Image Presets section, the Nikon Picture Control System offers four shooting settings, Standard, Neutral, Vivid and Monochrome, each of which can be fine-tuned for sharpening, contrast, brightness, saturation ad hue with anal retentive precision. What’s more, these settings can be saved to a memory card and copied from compatible camera to camera (the D3 and D300 use the same Picture Control System format), so you can tweak every Nikon in your collection to the same image settings in an instant.

Both the sRGB color space and Adobe RGB are supported by the D700. Ordinarily the default sRGB is the right choice, but for files to be used in a commercial printing environment, or subject to extensive retouching, the more in-depth Adobe format is preferred.

Additional image adjustment tools are available in the Retouch Menu. D-Lighting, a dyanamic range enhancement system similar to the Active D-Lighting option offered while shooting, After choosing a stored image, the display shows side-by-side before-and-after thumbnails displaying the relative effects of low, normal or high D-Lighting processing.

The D-Lighting control provides interactive feedback
when setting retouch levels.

In-camera red-eye fix and image cropping are available. Monochrome processing, in black-and-white, sepia and cyanotype, are also available in the Retouch menu, with adjustable lightness and darkness for the sepia and cyanotype effects.  Filter Effects digitally mimic the impact of a skylight or warm filter. The Color Balance option allows adjustments along the red, green and blue axes viewing a thumbnail image and individual histograms, though the thumbnail is too small to make this a very practical tool.

Finally, the image overlay option combines two images shot in NEF (RAW) format, with user control over the relative gain of each component photo. 

 
Control Options Page 10 of 15 Connectivity / Extras
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