Nikon D700 vs D3 vs D300

So what's the main difference between the new Nikon D700 and the D3 and D300? All cameras are 12 Megapixels. It comes down to speed, noise, crop factor and durability. Both the Nikon D3 and the Nikon D700 have the full frame FX chip and the Nikon D300 has the DX chip.

Durability of Nikon DSLRs
Nikon D3 - 300,000 shutter actuations
Nikon D700 - 150,000 shutter actuations
Nikon D300 - 150,000 shutter actuations

Noise with Nikon DSLRs
Nikon D3 - 8x10s at 6400 ISO
Nikon D700 - 8x10s at 6400 ISO*
Nikon D300 - 8x10s at 1600 (okay at 3200)ISO
* Speculative


Tattooed Bride Photos Taken with Nikon D300 by Allebach Photography

And of course the crop factor comes into play. So who would want each of these cameras?

Photojournalists and landscape photographers who own the famed Nikon 28mm 1.4 lens will definitely want to buy the D700. At $2000 less than the D3 the only thing they are losing is speed. And since when did Ansel Adams need a camera that did 10 Frames per second. The Nikon D700 will also be a hit in the wedding photography market much as the Canon 5D was for wedding photographers(we hope to purchase one soon.) But for most photographers the Nikon D300 is still the best deal. Unless you own the 28mm 1.4 lens why buy a D700 or D3? Save the money and get better glass! That is my opinion anyway.

Here are the Nikon D700 specs
* FX Format
* 12.1 Megapixel CMOS Sensor
* EXPEED Image Processor
* 14 bit A/D Conversin
* 16 bit Image Processing
* Magnesium Alloy Body
* Compatible with MB-D10 Battery Grip

Nikon D700 Full Specs
Price (body only):

* US $ 2999

Sensor:

* 36 x 23.9 mm CMOS sensor
* FX format
* RGB Color Filter Array
* Built-in fixed low-pass filter
* 12.9 million total pixels
* 12.1 million effective pixels
* 3:2 aspect ratio

Image processor:

* Nikon EXPEED

A/D conversion:

* 14 bit

Image sizes:

(FX format)

* 4256 x 2832 Large 12.1 Megapixel

File formats:

NEF, Tiff & Jpeg

Auto Focus:

* 51 focus points (15 cross-type sensors) with Multi-CAM 3500FX
* AF working range: -1 to +19 EV

Exposure modes:

* Program Auto [P] with flexible program, Shutter-Priority Auto [S], Aperture-Priority Auto [A]

Metering:

* 3D Color Matrix Metering II, Center Weighted and Spot

Sensitivity:

200 - 6400

Flash Sync Mode:

* Front-curtain Sync (normal)
* Red-Eye Reduction
* Red-Eye Reduction with Slow Sync
* Slow Sync
* Rear-curtain Sync