Along with Nikon’s announcement of the new D90 DSLR (which we won’t cover here), they have released details of the forthcoming GP-1 GPS unit which is compatible with the D700.
Acquired data: Latitude, longitude, altitude, time information
Time required for satellite acquisition: Approx. 45 sec. (cold start), approx. 5 sec. (hot start)
Power source: Supplied from camera body
Receiving indicators:
Red blinking (GPS data not recorded)
Green blinking (GPS data recorded utilizing three satellites)
Green solid(Four or more satellites detected, GPS data are more accurate)
I’ve now updated the 5D vs. D700 “fight” with more real-world high ISO comparisons, and also audio recordings of the noise their respective shutters make.
You can view what is probably the worst example of noise at ISO 25,600 that I’ve ever seen, and can download the RAW files to play with yourself if you feel so inclined.
I still have more to come on this - including some comments on the 5D’s AF system - but in the meantime, please take a look and leave your feedback.
Responding to a request on the forums at DPReview, here’s a short video I just threw together showing how the D700 ranks against the D3 where continuous shooting is concerned.
Listen to the sound they make, too - the D700 is higher pitched, but also quieter. In my experience, the D700 has more of a “double-click” sound per shot, the D3 seems to have a faster mirror/shutter mechanism.
Thanks to a local photographer, I have been able to borrow a Canon 5D for a week. So, this weekend I’ll be putting it up against the D700 to see just how well Canon’s excellent but three-year-old (though still current) model fares.
This is mainly going to be a test of image quality, as the two bodies are too far removed in terms of construction to be compared directly in any other meaningful way. I do wish Nikon would produce something like Canon’s 24-105 f/4L USM though - the frankly mediocre 24-120 VR AF-S just doesn’t cut it.
If there’s anything specific you’d like to see in the comparison, please leave a comment on this post and I’ll see what I can do.
It’s truly a beautiful thing when all the hype and hoopla pumped out by camera manufacturers actually proves true when you finally get your hands on the camera being hyped and hoopla-ed. In the case of Nikon’s FX-format D700, all the hype and hoopla have proved to be true.
Do you own a Canon EOS 5D and 50mm prime lens, and live near Winchester, UK? If so, I’d like your help to run some tests for my 5D vs D700 page. The temporary loan - just an hour or so - would be very much appreciated. Please leave a comment below if you can help. Thanks!
Adobe have today released an update to their popular ACR (Adobe Camera Raw) package, and also the long-awaited version 2 of Lightroom.
Although they don’t seem to mention it, I have both apps here happily opening my D700 files. Perhaps the support isn’t “official” yet, but it does work.
Also, Nikon have released version 1.40 of their RAW Codec, which enables Windows users to view D700 .NEF files from within Windows Explorer.
Until third-party RAW converters start supporting the D700, you’re a bit stuck if they’re part of your normal workflow.
So, a helpful user of the dpreview forums has posted a small but useful command-line application that will change the D700 RAW files to look like they came from a D3 - this enables applications such as Lightroom to handle them without complaint.
It does nothing beside changing the model name string from D700 to D3. It has two parameters: the input file name (a D700 NEF) and the output file name; if the second parameter is not specified, then the output file name will be “input name_D3 input extention”.
), so keep an eye on it!