Hello everyone! I want to hear about the Sony D700. Please tell me about your experiences with it. All your comments, tips, and advice is eagerly sought. I am thinking about purchaseing this camera, but a search here turned up only old and speculative guesses about it. Has anyone actively participating in this forum used this camera? If not this camera what else and why? The Sony specs sound truely great (except for the whimpy resolution). If I kept waiting would they release a similar upgrade with better resolution?

-- John Keiffer (keiffer@pobox.com), August 20, 1999

Answers

The D770 is now available which replaces the D700. I Have had a D700 on loan and it is a great camera (still waiting for D770). Resolution is sufficient for my needs (display famaily snapshots on screen). Love the SLR feel and ergonomics of adjustment dials. Camera is very easy to use. LCD not visible in sunlight, but not needed either. Battery live great. Needs external flash for photos beyond 20 feet. Whit IR would review D770!

-- Gary Rosner (grosner@adelphia.net), August 21, 1999.

Yes, we've had the D700 on our own review "wish list" for a long time too! - Sony's finally coming around in their thinking about IR though - I *think* we're going to get a D770 to review. Meanwhile, FWIW, our news editor Mike Tomkins just bought a D700 for himself, and appears * very* happy with it.

-- Dave Etchells (detchells@imaging-resource.com), August 22, 1999.

As one who owns both a D700 and a D770 and uses them professionally, I can offer a couple of tips. Both cameras are EXCELLENT for a professional who doesn't mind post-processing the shots. Sony chose the 1.5 megapixel resolution CCD over the 2.1 because it is inherently less noisy. The 5x zoom is adequate compensation for the lower resolution in most cases (you can apply the full 1.5 megapixels by zooming closer to the subject) where with 3x you sometimes include more background than you want. The D700/770 is NOT a point and shoot camera. Sony's approach to the raw image appeals more to the professional who wants to tinker with the image in PhotoShop than to the consumer who wants a sharp, image with good contrast and saturation out of the camera. Without post-processing, the Sony's images will appear somewhat washed out and lacking in saturation. That said, there is presently NO OTHER DIGITAL CAMERA UNDER $5000 available with the plethora of features of the D700/D770 for the professional. Maybe the Olympus C2500L will be the first and closest true competition. If you don't mind tweaking your photos, you will LOVE the D700/D770. If you must have instant histogram review, and would rather have ISO 50, 100 and 400 than ISO 100, 200, and 400 go for the D770. Otherwise choose the D700. Anyone wanting further detailed information on the differences can contact me directly.

-- Lin Evans (data2@earthnet.net), October 02, 1999.