Is The Nikon D700 Camera Still Viable In 2021?

[Gone]

What really annoys me is that so many companies, Nikon included, only support use with Windows and MacOS - not Linux.

Thank goodness for GIMP and Darktable, the latter similar to Lightroom in functionality.

[Birna Rørslett]

It is a not-so-secret secret that Photo Ninja installs and runs well under Linux .... if you aren't familiar with this RAW conversion program, you ought to be.

I'm in particular fond of PN's capabilities for handling my UV and IR captures.

RawTherapee is another program that comes in a Linux flavour. Like PN, it digests almost anything RAW-wise.

Aftershot by Corel does well under Linux, cannot remember whether it comes in a native Linux version, but that doesn't mattrer as long as it works. Aftershot hails from the old and beloved 'Bibble', unfortunately after Corel purchased it development has been on and off. Largely the latter if truth is to be told, thus support for the latest cameras is so-so.

I discovered by accident that Monochrome2DNG (which I use for my monochrome NEX-5N) runs perfectly under Linux as well.

[Gerhard2006]

Glad to see you picked up a D700 Bruce, it’s my favourite camera. I also have the D300 but I rarely use it except when I want my lenses for birds or more reach on my telephotos. When I got my D700 I got all my lenses back as in my wide angles where wide and my telephotos weren’t too long. I didn’t want to invest too much in DX wide angles as I knew I would eventually go full frame. So shooting with your 85 1.4 will be an eye opener on how you can isolate your subject compared to shooting on micro four thirds. The guy I bought my D700 from was complaining about how big the files were on his D800 as well so that’s another plus and I find this file size to be more than adequate for my use as I do very little post processing. Anyways enjoy your new camera, it has lot’s of life left in it. Regards Gerry

[Snoogly]

It’s easy to add a focussing screen, BUT! On the D700 you can’t hide the red focus point when using manual lenses. Rather gets in the way of the split screen … An S type screen is probably the best bet.

The back of the camera is easy to remove, and all the back parts (buttons, multi selector, LCD screen) are readily available. <<< Just in case you need to fix anything ;-)

[David H. Hartman]

It would not be fast but rather a number of days but B&W film in a Nikon FM2n or FE2 would very likely result in higher quality images. If a shutter speed of 1/2000 is not needed a Nikon F or Nikkormat FTn would offer superior image quality. The dynamic range of B&W film is vastly greater than a DSLR even today.

This is not a recommendation as I have not done business with this company but it offers develop and scan services today...

https://northcoastphoto.com/

Dave

[BruceSD]

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Been there done that.   I have decades of experience shooting premium medium format cameras & B&W film which I developed and printed in my own dark room.   Have no interest in every again returning to film.

[David H. Hartman]

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Been there done that.   I have decades of experience shooting premium medium format cameras & B&W film which I developed and printed in my own dark room.   Have no interest in every again returning to film.

I'd like to shoot a little B&W negative. I'll never shoot color film again. A few years ago I threw out about $400.00 worth of color film.

Dave

[pluton]

.
Been there done that.   I have decades of experience shooting premium medium format cameras & B&W film which I developed and printed in my own dark room.   Have no interest in every again returning to film.

Same here, except 35mm B+W. I have no romantic attachment, as some seem to, to film grain and soft fuzzy Tri-X.

[David H. Hartman]

There are a lot of steps from shooting Tri-X 135 through developing and printing it. They all have to come together to get really sharp 8x10 or 11x14 inch prints. For example D-76 straight or 1:1 yielded mush grain by me. I diluted my D-76 1 part developer with two parts water. This gave me tight, fine grain with out being excessively harsh as with 1 part developer with 3 parts water.

I enjoyed printing for myself. 12-16 hour days getting an editor to press not so much.

Dave

[BruceSD]

How did this thread get so far off track?

[Snoogly]

How did this thread get so far off track?

I feel your pain 

But the only merit is that you haven’t been relegated to the mundane online epithet of the ‘OP’.

[Wannabebetter]

How did this thread get so far off track?

I was wondering that, too. But what the hell, it's all very enjoyable and quite informative. At least, to me.

[David H. Hartman]

The question "Is the Nikon D700 still viable in 2021" asks for comparison to modern digital cameras like the D800e, D850 and Z7 II among others. If image quality is the criteria of comparison the answer is no. If comparing the Nikon D700 even on introduction in mid 2008 to film cameras of years past the answer again is no. What the Nikon D700 offered is immediate results and convenience not superior image quality.

Many of us are viewing photographs on better quality consumer LCD monitors. Our monitors filter out much of the quality of better digital and scanned film images. Not only is the image quality constrained but the image size is small. Typical LCD monitors can't compete with a good quality 8x10 or 11x14 inch print.

Dave

[BruceSD]

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I doubt that the monitors used by the expert photographers here on the NikonGear blog are "typical".  For example, I use two, expensive, modern, 27-inch NEC monitors.

[Erik Lund]

When D700 and D3 came out they where all the hype since they where FX, Full Frame - Finally it was possible to use the whole line of F optics without any constraints. I bought into the D3 immediately,,, if you enjoy shooting as a hobby it's a fine camera IMHO