Help on deciding: Nikon d300 or Nikon d700

[marie]

hi,

I am looking to upgrade my Nikon d70s camera that has served me well for the last 4 years. I have mostly been using it with my sigma 18 - 200mm lens and have been pretty pleased with that.

But as I lately have been getting into a bit wedding photography and some fashion photography for a magazine, I need an upgrade.

So while having my eyes set on the d700, I am not sure whether or not I would really need it and if the d300 could be a good enough option for me.

The thing is that while I love photography I am not very technical provident yet, as in I of course use manual settings and understand the basic of what the different lenses offer I do not understand everything. Especially not when it comes to FX, DX and the different lenses and options and so on.
This is something I want to learn more about though…


So I would mainly be using the camera for weddings, fashion shoots, some street photography, and most likely very often as I shoot a lot.

Does anyone have any opinions on what would be good options for me camera and/or lens wise?

Any input would be great!

[junqbox]

D300 cheaper, more money to spend on glass, which you'll probably need judging by the what your plans are. D700 is likely to be upgraded in the next 6 months so they might become cheaper as that date nears.
I use a D300 and the only lament I had was the loss of wide angle coming from FF (film). I bought a wider lens to add to the kit and all's good. Coming from the D70, this isn't going to be 'going backwards' so to speak. An FF (D3, D700) would be nice, but it's not something that's holding me back.

My 2c worth anyway.

[Big Pix]

there is no choice....... D700, far better camera

[Lani]

there is no choice....... D700, far better camera

I agree, so long as you don't want or need the extra reach from the crop factor and can afford the extra cash. I have both and use the D700 90% of the time.
But as has been mentioned, the lenses you get are a more important consideration.

[arthurking83]

D700!

you lose nothing by going from the D70s to the D700 in terms of pixels.

The D700 in Dx crop mode gives 6Mp.. the D70s is (funnily enough!!) 6Mp.

But the difference in pixel quality is vast!

D700 is better/faster in every respect due to the 12mp sensor's design.

Get the D700 now, and work on getting lenses as you progress through the stage of knowing what you want(from each type of lens).

If you're reasonably happy with what you're getting from your gear now, then the D700 is the 'logical' upgrade.

if you can afford the D700 and at least one(or two) new lenses to boot .. all the better

[Colourised]

D700 now, solve other problems later

[Wayne]

The D300s would be a better DX option over the now superseded D300. In saying that, I would get the D700 and enjoy the hi-ISO capability and other benefits. It's true the D700 will soon be end of life as a new retail product, and prices may fall slightly initially as people move to the newest model, however I would expect demand for used one's to be high, and the used price to reflect that.

[Lance B]

I would suggest the D700 for your needs as a wedding photographer as it has superior low light abilty and DR, which can be important for weddings. I am constantly amazed by the high ISO and DR abilities and overall IQ of the D700. If you were shooting birds or where you needed long telephoto lenses in good light, then the D300s would be the choice.

[TOM]

Marie, the D700 is a nice camera, as is the D300. You are obviously happy with the 1/2 frame, so considering you will likely need to buy two cameras (a minimum as a working photographer -weddings, fashion et al), you may find the D300 a better option. For studio work, the D300 will not really offord you much improvement over your D70, and is likley only high ISO shots where the improvement wiill become visible. For weddings, that can be important. So when you say you need an upgrade, what exactly is it that you are looking for? For normal lighting, and studio, neither of the two new cameras will give you a lot.

[arthurking83]

..... from what you have said in your post, it would seem that a D700 is far from your current expertise, ....

Not really sure how you've come to this conclusion WN, and I don't really understand where the rationalisation is going either.

D300 and D700 are almost exactly the same in operation.
if you can work a D300(ie. the controls), then a D700 is second nature.
Apart from the sensor size, and the larger vf prism and hence the view through the vf, there really is no difference.
The D700 is a D300 with a D3 sensor shoved into it.
There are a (very)few extra menu items to choose from, but I found that navigating through the D700's menu system(with only my use of the D300) I could easily navigate the menu, and the two or three extra menu items, intuitively!

As for the Dx vs Fx factor.

The D700 works just as well as the D300 as a Dx camera(ie. with Dx lenses, giving the exact same FOV, DOF, and the same inherent crop factor problems), with the only negative element being lesser pixels in Dx mode.
But considering the OP has gotten by with the D70 for this long(and it's measly 6Mp! ) .. in Dx mode there is no disadvantage.
But when the time comes for the OP to consider adding new lenses to the gear list and these lenses will be full frame lenses, of course.. well... the camera then works in Fx mode with the increase in number of available pixels to work with(12Mp as per the D300), but you then have the option for using a shallower DOF(which you simply can't get with a Dx camera, using the same lenses!), higher and better ISO/noise handling, a bigger brighter vf to look through, faster frame rates at 14bit colour sampling(the D300 slows down to under 3fps in 14bit mode raw!!.... etc, etc.

I think the $1K price premium of the D700 is definitely worth it, and I'd prefer to go without a lens or two for a while.... as eventually, the funds for a new lens will became available.
if need be, a D700 and 50/1.8(used!!) will work a treat.. both in Fx mode and in Dx mode.

There is one(possibly important) advantage of going with the D300 over the D700.
I could see it becoming relevant in some cases, as it's one thing I love about the D300.

it has to do with focusing and recomposing. It's more critical in the D700 and could be prone to a more variable hit and miss ratio. The D300 could be an advantage as you can maintain a focus point, using AF over a wider area in the frame.
The two camera use the same AF system, but the difference is that the D700, due to the larger vf area, has the AF points spread across a smaller percentage of the screen.
With the D300 being Dx, you can almost focus right to the edge of the scene, using an AF point.
With the uber cool(but temperamental) focus tracking feature in the D300/700/3 series, where the AF system tracks an object for you, all you have to worry about is composition.. not having chosen the correct focus point, and making sure the framing is right, and .... etc, etc. to get good results with it, you just need to know when it's more likely to work reliably, and in what conditions it won't.

[fr33lanc3r]

wow thanks arthurking83 that was a good read with some good points in a similar position to the OP so thanks to the OP for starting the thread and everyone for their responses.

[ving]

an idea... buy both and which ever you dont like just give to me