A Departure From the Norm

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I have added some new gear to my bag. So really powerful new gear.

I recently purchased a Nikon D700, along with a Nikkor 50 1.8 and 80-200 2.8, and Tamron 28-75 2.8 and 17-35 2.8-4 to mount up to it.

Big move. HUGE move really!

I was previously shooting Canon and was wanting to go to a full frame body. I had been ready to buy a Canon 5DMKII, but one afternoon I had some time to kill and wound up at Wolf Camera near the studio. I played with the Nikon D700 and instantly fell in love! The camera felt like it belonged in my hand, like it had been built to fit in MY hand. I was shocked.

I have been through 3 different Canon bodies and never found the need to pick up a Nikon…let me tell you I was surprised beyond believe.

So I contemplated the Nikon all the while saving my pennies to buy the 5DMKII…but when it came time for me to actually make the purchase I just couldn’t do it. The way the Nikon felt in my hand was still forefront in my mind.

There were other things as well. I think I best explained it in this post to my fellow photog, Lori:

Well Lori it really started with how the Nikon felt in my hand compared to the Canon. The D700 felt like it was made for my hand, it fit perfectly with no strain. Hard to explain, but it was like putting on those old worn in gloves to go play in the snow instead of the new ones that mom had just bought you.

Secondly, the FPS on the D700. I shoot a lot of sports and the Canon was, IMO, a tad slow in the FPS department to really get things going on the sports side for me. With the grip on the D700 you can get 8FPS…that is crazy. 5DMKII is 3.2 I believe.

Third I felt that while the video on the Canon is cool, it would not be something I would use much if at all.

The high ISO IQ between the two cameras are about equal, nikon may edge out just a tiny bit, but no big deal…they are both great in that respect.

I would say go play with both of them and see how they feel.

The D700 for me just works and fits better. I still have my 40D setup, until I am solid on all the controls of the Nikon I want to keep it for those important shoots where I know things will need to be changed a lot on the fly.

Due to a shoulder injury I haven’t been able to get out and really test it out the new equipment but a few quick shots has me convinced I made the correct choice for myself. The image in this post was a quick shot on the way in to a restaurant with my family.

Shooting a wedding next weekend so that will be the real test, but so far I am delighted with the new equipment.