This Nikon D700 digital SLR camera review offers an unbiased review of the cost, features, and reliablity of the Nikon D700. Find out how to buy the Nikon D700 body only or as a package, and what price to expect. Keep reading to see how the Nikon D700 compares to other DSLR's.

Another great digital SLR offering is the D700, which fits comfortably in the mid-range of Nikon cameras at a price of $2,999 for the body only. The D700 includes everything great about the higher priced ($4,500) Nikon D3 in a smaller camera body.

The D700 is available in two kits: body only at the $2,999 price or with a 24 - 120 mm VR lens for $3,599. Both kits include the 12.1 effective megapixel D700 camera body, an EN-EL3e lithium-ion rechargeable battery, battery charger, body cap, LCD cover, shoulder strap, USB cable, video cable, CD-ROM featuring Nikon software suite, and a hard copy manual. One thing you may have noticed is missing: a memory card. You'll have to pick up a Type I CompactFlash or UDMA card if you don't have one already.

If you purchase the lens kit you'll be ready to shoot right out of the box, though the kit lens isn't without its issues. The D700 is a full frame camera and the kit lens is decent, but not great. Another problem you might run into is that a DX-format lens will drop the resolution to five megapixels with a 1.5X focal length conversion ratio.

Battery life of the Nikon D700 is significantly better than its competitors at 1000 shots per battery charge. The comparable Sony Alpha DSLR-A900, for example, only gets 880 shots per battery charge. Keep in mind that a replacement battery for your D700 is not cheap, usually running around $30, and you can use regular batteries as a back-up if your rechargeable dies. The rechargeable takes about 2 1/4 hours to charge. The D700 also has an optional battery grip that can hold an additional EN-EL3e or eight AA batteries. While using the battery grip, you can take about 2,900 shots without recharging!

The feel in hand of the D700 is definitely that of a bulky, heavy camera. Truthfully, though, you wouldn't want a $3,000 camera to feel cheap and chintzy. There is a good-sized right hand grip on the D700 body, though you'll need to support the lens because of the camera's heft. Unfortunately, the body isn't simply laid out and there are a plethora of buttons.

When you turn the D700 on, the dust reduction will be activated. This feature passes ultrasonic waves through the low-pass filter to shake the dust off. You can also run this feature manually or leave it set to come on when the camera is turned on and off. The pop-up flash is also released manually and the D700 is actually the only mid-range, full-frame digital SLRs to offer a built in flash. If you want to use an external flash, you can do so by using the hot shoe, flash sync port, or even by connecting wirelessly.

The 3-inch LCD on the back of the D700 is the same as the D300 and D3 and supports live view. The screen display is very sharp as it features a whopping 920,000 pixels. With live view, you can compose your shots just like you would on a compact camera. The D700 also features a "virtual horizon" tool that will help you keep your photos straight. When the LCD isn't being used for live view, it can be used as an information display (there is also one on the top of the camera), from which you can change some settings like D-Lighting and noise reduction.

As previously mentioned, the D700 has a large number of buttons. The most used among these are the menu button and the release mode dial. From the release mode dial, you can choose from the following options: single frame, continuous low speed, continuous high speed, live view, self-timer, and mirror up which flips the mirror up before a photo is taken to reduce the risk of camera shake. The menus on the D700 are particularly extensive. Do yourself a favor and spend at least a day familiarizing yourself with the menus and where the features that you think you'll use most are located.

Another well used button is usually the mode button. From this button you can choose from the following options: program mode (point and shoot, you select from various aperture and shutter speed combinations), shutter priority mode (you select shutter speed, the camera picks the appropriate aperture), aperture priority mode (you select the aperture, the camera picks the shutter speed), and full manual mode (you select both the aperture and shutter speed). The D700 does not include any scene modes.

Image quality from the D700 is superb, as it should be. Some might think the images are a bit soft, but this is the case with most digital SLRs. The D700 takes photos that are completely noise-free from ISO 100 - 400. Noise starts to creep in at ISO 800, but it's really hardly noticeable until ISO 3200 and even then you could still make a nice looking medium to large size print. The D700 actually produces some of the best images we've seen at higher ISOs.

There's not much to dislike about the Nikon D700. This camera doesn't pretend to be for a buyer taking a step up from a point and shoot, however. If you're looking for an entry level D-SLR, the D700 may not be for you. The fully customizable features of the D700 lend themselves better to those more familiar with SLR cameras. That said, the performance of the D700 is first rate. The images are fantastic. You would be hard pressed to find a better midrange, full frame camera.

Recommended: Yes

D700 Key Features and Specs:

• 12.1-megapixel FX-format (23.9 x 36mm) CMOS sensor: Teamed with Nikon's exclusive EXPEED digital image processing, the D700 delivers breathtakingly rich image quality
• Broad ISO sensitivity up to 6400
• Continuous shooting up to 5 frames per second
• Three-Inch, super-density 920,000 pixel LCD display with live view 
• 51-point AF with 3D Focus Tracking: Exacting autofocus precision, plus three Dynamic AF modes. 
• Dynamic Integrated Dust Reduction System
• Active D-Lighting with NEW Auto mode
• In-camera image editing
• Built-in manual pop-up flash
• EN-EL3e lithium-ion battery

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