D3/D700 Compared

Here we compare the D700 against it’s big brother, the D3. As you can see from the table below, the differences are actually quite minor.

Feature

D700

Effective Pixels

12.1 million

Image Sensor

CMOS sensor, 36.0 x 23.9 mm; Nikon FX format

Total Pixels

12.87 million

Dust Reduction

Via Dust-Off reference photo only

Image sensor self-cleaning, Dust-Off reference photo

Storage

Image Size (FX)

L	M	S
4,256 x 2,832	3,184 x 2,120	2,128 x 1,416

Image Size (DX)

L	M	S
2,784 x 1,848	2,080 x 1,384	1,392 x 920

Image Size (5:4)

3,552 x 2,832
2,656 x 2,120
1,776 x 1,416

N/A

File Format

NEF (RAW): 12 or 14 bit, lossless compressed, compressed, or uncompressed
TIFF (RGB)
JPEG: JPEG-Baseline compliant with fine (approx. 1:4), normal (approx. 1:8), or basic (approx. 1:16) compression ([Size priority]); [Optimal quality] compression available
NEF (RAW) + JPEG: Single photograph recorded in both NEF (RAW) and JPEG formats

Picture Control System

Four setting options: Standard, Neutral, Vivid, Monochrome; each option can be adjusted

Storage Media

CompactFlash (Type I/II, compliant with UDMA); Microdrives

CompactFlash (Type I, compliant with UDMA)

Nikon have dropped Microdrive (CF Type II) support in the D700 - the card slot is not physically large enough to accomodate Type II cards.

Double Slot

Slot 2 can be used for overflow or backup storage or for separate storage of NEF (RAW) and JPEG images

Single-slot only.

File System

Compliant with DCF 2.0, DPOF and Exif 2.21

Compliant with DCF 2.0, DPOF, Exif 2.21, Pictbridge

Viewfinder

SLR-type with fixed eye-level pentaprism

Diopter adjustment

-3 to +1 m-1

Eyepoint

18 mm (-1.0 m-1)

Focusing Screen

Type B BriteView Clear Matte VI screen

Type B BriteView Clear Matte VI screen with superimposed AF points and framing grid lines

It’s nice to see the return of the on-demand grid lines; however many people prefer the D3’s less cluttered AF point display

Frame Coverage

Approx. 100% (vertical/horizontal)

Approx. 95% (vertical/horizontal)

Magnification

Approx. 0.7x (50mm f/1.4 lens at infinity; -1.0 m-1)

Approx. 0.72x (50mm f/1.4 lens at infinity; -1.0 m-1)

We’ll call this one a draw; the viewfinders should be practically the same size, the magnification factor makes up for the fact that the D700’s coverage is only 95%.

Reflex Mirror

Quick-return type

Depth-of-field Preview

When CPU lens is attached, lens aperture can be stopped down to value selected by user (A and M modes) or value selected by camera (P and S modes)

Lens Aperture

Instant-return type, with depth-of-field preview button

Shutter

Type

Electronically controlled vertical-travel focal-plane shutter

Lifetime

300,000 actuations

150,000 actuations

The shutter in the D700 isn’t as robust as that of the D3 - having said that, 150,000 shots is a lot.

Speed

1/8,000 to 30 s in steps of 1/3, 1/2 or 1 EV; Bulb

1/8,000 to 30 s in steps of 1/3, 1/2 or 1 EV; Bulb; X250

Flash Sync Speed

X = 1/250 s; flash synchronization at up to 1/250 s

X = 1/250 s; synchronizes with shutter at 1/320 s or slower (flash range drops at speeds between 1/250 and 1/320 s)

Release

Release Modes

Single-frame [S] mode
Continuous Low-speed [CL] mode,
Continuous High-speed [CH] mode,
Live View [LV] mode,
Self-timer mode,
Mirror-up [Mup] mode

*With Continuous-servo AF, S or M exposure mode, shutter speed 1/250 s or faster; other settings are set at “Default”.

Single-frame [S] mode,
Continuous Low-speed [CL] mode,
Continuous High-speed [CH] mode,
Live View [LV] mode,
Self-timer mode,
Mirror-up [Mup] mode

Continuous Shooting Speed

1-9 frames per second in [CL] mode, 9 fps (9-11 fps in DX) in [CH] mode.

With Rechargeable Li-ion Battery EN-EL3e: 1-5 frames per second in [CL] mode, 5 fps in [CH] mode

With Multi-Power Battery Pack MB-D10 with batteries other than Rechargeable Li-ion Battery EN-EL3e or AC Adapter EH-5a/EH-5: 1-7 frames per second in [CL] mode, 8 fps in [CH] mode

5fps max with just the body, increasing to 8fps max with the MB-D10 and EN-EL4 (not the EN-EL3e - you’ll need the bigger battery to get the higher rates)

Self-timer

Electronically controlled timer with duration of 2, 3, 10 or 20 s

Exposure

Metering

TTL full-aperture exposure metering using 1,005-pixel RGB sensor

Metering System

3D Color Matrix Metering II (type G and D lenses); Color Matrix Metering II (other CPU lenses); Color Matrix Metering (non-CPU lenses if user provides lens data)
Center-Weighted: Weight of 75% given to 8-, 12-, 15- or 20-mm circle in center of frame, or weighting based on average of entire frame
Spot: Meters 4-mm circle (about 1.5% of frame) centered on selected focus point (on center focus point when non-CPU lens is used)

Metering Range

0 to 20 EV (Matrix or Center-Weighted Metering),
2 to 20 EV (Spot Metering) (ISO 100 equivalent, f/1.4 lens, at 20°C/68°F)

Exposure Meter Coupling

Combined CPU and AI

Exposure Modes

Programmed Auto (P) with flexible program,
Shutter-Priority Auto (S), 3) Aperture-Priority Auto (A), 4) Manual (M)

Exposure Compensation

±5 EV in increments of 1/3, 1/2 or 1 EV

Exposure Lock

Exposure locked at detected value with AE-L/AF-L button

Exposure Bracketing

Exposure and/or flash bracketing (2 to 9 exposures in increments of 1/3, 1/2, 2/3 or 1 EV)

Sensitivity

ISO 200 to 6400 in steps of 1/3, 1/2, or 1 EV; can be set to approx. 0.3, 0.5, 0.7, or 1 (ISO 100 equivalent) EV below ISO 200, or to approx. 0.3, 0.5, 0.7, 1 (ISO 12800 equivalent), or 2
(ISO 25600 equivalent) EV over ISO 6400

Active D-Lighting

Can be selected from [High], [Normal], or [Low]

Can be selected from [Auto], [High], [Normal], or [Low]

Focus

Autofocus

TTL phase-detection AF, 51 focus points (15 cross-sensors) by Nikon Multi-CAM 3500FX autofocus module

Detection: -1 to +19 EV (ISO 100 at 20°C/68°F);

AF fine adjustment possible

TTL phase-detection AF, 51 focus points (15 cross-sensors) by Nikon Multi-CAM 3500FX autofocus module

Detection: -1 to +19 EV (ISO 100 at 68°F/20°C)

AF fine tuning possible

AF-assist illuminator (range approx. 1.6-9.8 ft./0.5-3 m)

Lens Servo

Autofocus: Single-servo AF (S); Continuous-servo AF (C); Focus Tracking automatically activated according to subject status,
Manual focus (M) with electronic rangefinder

Focus Point

Single AF point can be selected from 51 or 11 focus points

AF-Area Mode

Single-point AF,
Dynamic-area AF [number of AF points: 9, 21, 51, 51 (3D-Tracking)],
Auto-area AF

Focus Lock

Focus can be locked by pressing AE-L/AF-L button or by pressing shutter-release button halfway (Single-point AF in AF-S)

Flash

Flash Control

TTL flash control with 1,005-pixel RGB sensor; i-TTL balanced fill-flash and standard i-TTL fill-flash available with SB-900, 800, 600 or 400
Auto aperture (AA): Available with SB-900, 800 and CPU lens
Non-TTL auto (A): Available with SB-900, 800, 28, 27 or 22s
Distance-priority manual (GN): Available with SB-900, 800

Flash Sync Modes

Front-curtain sync (normal),
Slow sync,
Rear-curtain sync,
Red-eye reduction,
Red-eye reduction with slow sync

Flash-ready Indicator

Lights when Speedlight such as SB-900, SB-800, SB-600, SB-400, SB-80DX, SB-28DX, or SB-50DX is fully charged; blinks after flash is fired at full output

Flash Compensation

-3 to +1 EV in increments of 1/3, 1/2 or 1 EV

Accessory Shoe

Standard ISO 518 hot-shoe contact with safety lock

Sync Terminal

ISO 519 standard terminal

Nikon Creative Lighting System

With Speedlights such as SB-900, SB-800, SB-600, SB-R200, SU-800 (commander only), System supports Advanced Wireless Lighting, Auto FP High-Speed Sync, Flash Color Information Communication, modeling flash and FV lock

The D700’s built-in flash supports commander mode. The D3 has no built-in flash.

White Balance

Auto (TTL white balance with main image sensor and 1,005-pixel RGB sensor);
Seven manual modes can be preset with fine-tuning; color temperature setting; white balance bracketing: 2 to 9 exposures in increments of 1, 2 or 3

Live View

Modes

Hand-held mode: TTL phase-detection AF with 51 focus areas (15 cross-type sensors)

Tripod mode: Contrast-detect AF on a desired point within a specific area

Monitor

LCD Monitor

3-in., approx. 920,000-dot (VGA), 170-degree wide-viewing-angle, 100% frame coverage, low-temperature polysilicon TFT LCD with brightness adjustment

Playback

Playback Function

Full-frame and thumbnail (4 or 9 images) playback with playback zoom, slide show, histogram display, highlight display, auto image rotation, image comment (up to 36 characters), and voice memo input and playback

Full-frame and thumbnail (4 or 9 images) playback with playback zoom, slide show, histogram display, highlight display, auto image rotation, and image comment (up to 36 characters)

No voice memo support - the D700 does not have a microphone or speaker.

Interface

USB

Hi-Speed USB

Video Output

NTSC or PAL; simultaneous playback from both the video output and on the LCD monitor available

HDMI Output

Type A connector is provided as HDMI output terminal; simultaneous playback from both the HDMI output terminal and on the LCD monitor not available

Supports HDMI version 1.3a; Type C mini connector is provided; simultaneous playback from both the HDMI output terminal and on the LCD monitor not available

The connector type has changed.

Ten-pin Terminal

GPS: NMEA 0183 (Ver. 2.01 and 3.01) interface standard supported with 9-pin D-sub cable and GPS Cable MC-35 (optional)
Remote control: via Ten-pin terminal

Supported Languages

Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish

Power Source

Battery

One Rechargeable Li-ion Battery EN-EL4a/EL4, Quick Charger MH-22/MH-21

One Rechargeable Li-ion Battery EN-EL3e

Battery Pack

N/A

Multi-Power Battery Pack MB-D10 (optional) with one Rechargeable Li-ion Battery ENEL4a/EN-EL4 (battery chamber cover BL-3 required) or EN-EL3e, or eight R6/AA-size alkaline (LR6), Ni-MH
(HR6), lithium (FR6) batteries, or nickel-manganese (ZR6) batteries

AC Adapter

AC Adapter EH-6 (optional)

AC Adapter EH-5a/EH-5 (optional)

Tripod Socket

1/4 in. (ISO 1222)

Dimensions/Weight

Dimensions (W x H x D)

Approx. 159.5 x 157 x 87.5 mm (6.3 x 6.2 x 3.4 in.)

Approx. 5.8 x 4.8 x 3.0 in./147 x 123 x 77 mm

Weight

Approx. 2.7 lb./1,240 g without battery, memory card, body cap or accessory shoe cover

Approx. 2.19 lb./995 g without battery, memory card, body cap or LCD monitor cover

Smaller and lighter than the D3, but not by as much as you might expect. This is still one hefty camera.

Of course, if you add the MB-D10 grip, things change - the D700 actually becomes larger than the D3.

Operating Environment

Temperature

0-40°C/32-104°F

Humidity

Under 85% (no condensation)

Accessories

Supplied Accessories
(May differ by country)

Rechargeable Li-ion Battery EN-EL4a, Quick Charger MH-22, USB Cable UC-E4, Audio Video Cable EG-D2, Camera Strap AN-D3, Body Cap BF-1A, Accessory Shoe Cover BS-2, Eyepiece DK-17, Battery
Chamber Cover BL-4, USB Cable Clip, Software Suite CD-ROM

Rechargeable Li-ion Battery EN-EL3e, Quick Charger MH-18a, USB Cable UC-E4, Video Cable EG-D100, Camera Strap AN-D700, Body Cap BF-1A, Accessory Shoe Cover BS-1, LCD Monitor Cover BM-9,
Software Suite CD-ROM

Main Optional Accessories

Wireless Transmitter WT-4/4A, Magnifying Eyepiece DK-17M, AC Adapter EH-6, Capture NX Software, Camera Control Pro 2 Software, Image Authentication Software

Wireless Transmitter WT-4A, Magnifying Eyepiece DK-17M, AC Adapter EH-5a, Accessories Capture NX 2 Software, Camera Control Pro 2 Software, Image Authentication Software

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9 Responses to “ D3/D700 Compared ”

# 1 Alex Says:
July 21st, 2008 at 10:51 am
Do you have compare photo between D3 & D700, is it the same or D3 will be a little better.

Thanks
# 2 admin Says:
July 21st, 2008 at 11:53 am
@Alex - Not yet - I have a D3, and a D700 on order with NPS priority allocation, so will post comparisons ASAP. However, I expect them to have identical image quality.
# 3 PJS Says:
July 30th, 2008 at 5:21 pm
In the live view mode, the D700 does NOT allow live histograms. The D3 does. BIG difference for some.
# 4 Ravindra Says:
August 19th, 2008 at 7:00 am
I want to connect the camera with laptop/PC for operation purpose, For example I want to operate the camera through computer interface so that I can programme the exposure time, number of shots, type of output file RAW format or standard files, time interval between shots etc. I want to make the camera totally automatic by using my laptop. Whether this facility is available in D3 or D700.
# 5 Cooriander Sez » Blog Archive » The D700 or the D3, which one should I get? Says:
September 28th, 2008 at 5:24 pm
[...] http://www.nikond700.com/nikon-d3-d700-compared/ http://www.digitalcamerareview.com/default.asp?newsID=3664 [...]
# 6 dmw Says:
February 14th, 2009 at 11:18 pm
what is meant by a dust off reference photo? please explain
# 7 Malaysian Says:
November 1st, 2009 at 11:46 pm
Is there an external mini LCD screen available which runs on battery that I could output from the D700?
I wish I could take a shot from a higher point or very low point without using the Live View.
Live View mode dries up the battery very fast.
Maybe I could attach this LCD monitor on my strap and frame my shot while holding the D700 at an impossible angle
# 8 alex Says:
January 22nd, 2010 at 12:39 pm
@Malaysian: are you kidding? Why would reading the sensor in realtime cost less energy when using external monitors? The problem is not powering the screen, but running the cpu at full throttel, and running the sensor, all the time. Btw you only could take the hdmi out plus external HD screen. There are also angled viewfindpers, you can screw in insread of the eyepiece

@rowinda
There is an open source software for that, called sofortbild, which works with all nikons
# 9 MT Says:
May 25th, 2010 at 9:10 am
Can you pls let me know if the focusing screen : Type B BriteView Clear Matte VI screen with superimposed AF points and framing grid lines used for D700 same part number as the one used for the D3?

D3/D700 Compared

9 Responses to “ D3/D700 Compared ”

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