Product ReviewsDigital cameras
You have to hand it to Nikon: having arrived a full five years late to the full-frame DSLR market (Canon got there first with its Eos 1Ds in 2002), it's shown up with style. The top-end D3 has been wowing professionals since its release last year and with Canon's entry-level full-frame model, the 5D, looking distinctly long in the tooth, the D700 is here to capitalise. Nikon's full-frame sensor is known as the DX format. Practically speaking, you get the same-sized Cmos sensor in the D700 as you do in the Canon 5D at 36 x 23.9mm. This sensor offers twice the surface area of the APS-C sensors (which Nikon calls FX) found in lower-end DSLRs such as the Nikon D300 and Canon 40D. Crucially, this sensor produced stellar images in our tests. Colours were accurately captured, but the real headline for the D700 is its noise-handling abilities. The D700 has 12.1 megapixels at its disposal, similar to both the D300 (12.3) and the Canon 40D (10.1), yet the difference is that the D700's pixels are far more widely-spaced on the sensor, which means less noise. If you approach the D700 from a standard APS-C DSLR, you'll be amazed. Noise simply isn't a factor at all below ISO800, and even at ISO1600 - the top-end for some DSLRs - it's negligible. Nudge the setting higher to ISO3200 and you begin to lose a little sharpness, but to nothing like the extent you do on smaller sensors. The upshot is that the D700 allows you to use a fast shutter speed in failing light without sacrificing image quality. The only time noise becomes a serious issue is at the expanded end of the ISO scale, such as ISO12,800 and ISO25,600, although these are best left alone. Couple the D700 with a fast lens, such as the Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 model that came with our review sample, and it's almost impossible to find a situation in which you can't handhold the camera. The only problem is image
The D700 has ported in almost all of the features in the D300 and D3: the brilliant semi-automatic ISO mode where you set the minimal shutter speed and the maximum ISO at which to shoot, so that as the light fades the D700 automatically increases the ISO to your set maximum. Active DLighting has also been included, which brings out details in both shady and highlighted areas. You also get a self-cleaning sensor, which vibrates when the D700 is turned on and off. The D700's body is made from magnesium alloy, as is the internal frame, and both are well constructed. The upshot is a chunky camera that feels like it will withstand utter negligence. The shutter mechanism has been tested to 150,000 exposures by Nikon - enough for years of intensive use, and potentially decades of more gentle use. The controls are laid out in a way that will be familiar to Nikon users, while users of other DSLRs will find themselves at ease within a few hundred shots. The only problem is the weight: our test unit weighed an arm-bowing 3kg with a lens attached (the body itself weighs in at almost a kilo). It's a shame, given the superlative images produced by the D700, that its performance doesn't match. In high-speed continuous mode, the best we could get was just over 4fps. This is better than the three-year-old Canon 5D, but the D700 is outperformed by nearly every comparable modern DSLR - the Canon 40D has a maximum burst speed of nearly 7fps. Considering the enormous savings offered by these smaller bodies, it's disappointing the D700 can't at least match them. This is the only performance disappointment, though: there's absolutely no shutter lag. Indeed, the D700 was so responsive during testing we frequently found ourselves grabbing multiple frames before we could release the shutter. Above all, the D700 produces nearly perfect images. Professionals will appreciate the near-universal lack of noise, while well-heeled hobbyists will also see the benefits. Indeed, the test shots from our D700 were so good we're more than happy to forgive its twin foibles of performance and weight. You should, of course, ask yourself whether you'll really make full use of a camera that costs £2000 before you add in the cost of some lenses, but once you've spent the cash you won't regret it. By Dave Stevenson
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