Until now, if you wanted the highest-quality Nikon pro camera, you had to shell out $5000 for the Nikon D3, the company’s top digital SLR. Today Nikon announced a baby brother to the outlandishly heavy D3, and it’s calling the smaller, lighter and $2000-cheaper camera the Nikon D700. The biggest advantage to the D700 is its 12.1-megapixel FX-format sensor, the same relatively huge sensor that's in the D3. Almost the size of a frame of 35mm film, this FX format is called “full frame.”
Besides its long list of pro features, what really makes this mini-D3 worth its $3000 price tag is its low-light performance at 6400 ISO, shooting without a flash with no noise — performance that’s far beyond even that of any $1000+ digital SLR camera. It’s also fast, powering up and ready to shoot in .12 seconds, with near-instant autofocusing that offers uncanny accuracy. Later this month, expect to start seeing this jewel in the hands of many pro photographers, giving them top performance at a smaller size and price.
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Via Nikon USA
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By CJW at 7:02 PM ON 07/01/08
I wasn't expecting to see this today! The feature set is very impressive, but the cost is still out of my league. I'd probably snatch this one up over a D3 if I had the money though. I like to shoot with grid lines in my viewfinder, the popup flash is handy for Nikon's remote flash triggering ability and I like the smaller size of this camera. The 12mp full frame sensor is nice, fast and shrouded in mystery as to who makes it. I'd just like to know, you know? Wouldn't it be a trip if it turned out to be Canon?
I wonder how it will wind up stacking up to the rumored Canon D5 Mk II that is supposed to emerge soon...