I seldom – actually, never – reveal my works in progress online until I complete it. In this case, I cannot contain myself on the exhilaration of testing the Nikon D700. Although it’s been a few weeks late since it launched officially in Singapore on 22 July, it’s better late than never.
Thanks to T3 Magazine Singapore, I have a chance to try out not just the D700, but also the SB-900 speedlight flash.
D700 is one of those equipment that inspires you creatively, and such inspiration is important to motivate you to create works.
D700 is fatter than D300, and that translates to a more comfortable grip. Last night I was fervently comparing images between both cameras using same lenses. The only major difference is the ISO noise and the image sharpness.
This morning, I was snapping at Mayenne in her playful mood. At ISO6400 and a shutter speed of 1/125 seconds, I didn’t miss a frame of her moment.
The only limiting factor is the maximum 5fps: that’s even slower than the D300’s 6fps. But the D700 compensates with a memory buffer that allows you to shoot at 5fps regardless of the image processing setting you have. 14-bit lossless RAW+JPEG Fine and Active D-lighting enabled, and you still can shoot at full 5fps. Not for D300, it drops to 2.5fps. Bleah.
The SB-900 is equally impressive. It’s got a huge flashhead that auto-zooms with your camera zoom setting. It’s wheel dial means you can quickly select your desired setting. The only irritating issue is the operation noise: the zoom mechanism is noisy, the wheel clicks when you turn. In other words, it’s not ideal to operate the flash in a quiet environment (as if the DSLR mirror slap is not loud enough… sigh).
More detailed review, after I have spend some more time.