Camera Labs

I know it's Oct 25th and that "just may be" Nikon may introduce a new FX camera tomorrow, but I wonder is it a good moment to buy D700 now.
At lowest price $2,699.99 despite the rumors about D800 it didn't drop not even a cent down (as Canon 5D MarkII did).
I have a D7000 and from some time have decided that I'll upgrade to FX.
I know that's a very personal choice and it depends on how I'm going to use the camera, but do you think it is worth to replace D7000 with D700 (especially now).
I don't have unlimited budget and I'm not a pro and even the price of 2.7k is quite big. That's one of the reasons I'm asking. I believe D800 will be over 3k for sure, but it could be close to 4k. This will automatically exclude it (no matter my desire) from the list.
The other thing that bothers be a little bit is the new sensor (still rumored) of 34MPx. I do like the 16MPx of my D7000, I could use let's say up to 24 for some really big prints, but 34 on APS-C sensor....???
I'm sure Nikon will show a very capable camera and with very high quality, but I'm still concerned about the performance in low light, where D700 is a king. (excluding D3S of course)
So what do you think - price-wise, technology-wise and time-wise - is this a good time to buy D700??

"but 34 on APS-C sensor....???"
Hmm, many rumors are talking about 36MP on a FX-sensor.
I very much regret having got the D300 instead of the D700. But today I have decided to wait for the D700 successor. Even if it's more expensive than the D700. You don't buy an FX-body to replace it every three years, so by getting the latest and greatest I hope to be immune to any upcoming temptation(s) that might come along in the following years.
Honestly after 36MP in an FX-body the only thing I like to see is body-based image-stabilization. And unless Nikon decides to come to its senses on this topic I'm not going to get another new body (after the D800) for a very, very long time!
((with a D700 I'd feel the itch very soon after the announcement of the newest thingy...))

_________________
Thomas (beware: Nikon-fanboy and moderator!) My Lens Reviews, My Pictures, My Photography Blog
D800+assorted lenses

(uups, sorry for the 34MPx and the APS-C - my head is a mess with cameras right now)

I hear you about the D700 - I feel the same way - I'll buy it - but besides the amazing low noise in high ISO, there won't be much to offer comparing with the D800. Even my D7000 has better dynamic range than D700.
So Yeah - I guess I have to wait for the D700 replacement.

Also - I read your reviews where you say we don't have to worry about the many MPx, because sampled down it will have the same image quality and low noise as 12 or 16Mpx camera for example. This makes sense, but did you do any actual tests for this process or it's a simple mathematics.

Do you think Nikon will come up with body stabilization soon?
Hah, in that case we won't need 24-70mm with VR.

I see you're following many of my posts
And no: I don't believe that Nikon is coming up with body/sensor-based stabilization (unfortunately) for quite some time.
And yes: The dynamic range of the D7000 is very, very good and I'd love to have a camera with a sensor double that size - and would immediately buy it!
And no: I haven't tested the assertion that down-sampling does indeed reduce noise to the level of comparable lo-MP sensors. But there are others having tested the D700 vs. a down-sampled D7000 (x2 to match the sheer sensor-size) plus there are established calculations to support this view. There will not be an exact match because a hi-MP sensor will always have more noise from read-out circuitry and from the higher percentage of non light-sensitive area. So in real-life the lo-MP sensor will always have the best hi-ISO performance (in addition to simply being faster), but experts estimate that the loss(es) will be around 1/4 of a stop up to ISO 3200.
And that is certainly nothing I would worry about!

_________________
Thomas (beware: Nikon-fanboy and moderator!) My Lens Reviews, My Pictures, My Photography Blog
D800+assorted lenses

I'm thinking now.... as the D700 has a DX mode (5MPx) do you think D800 will have DX mode with let's say 16MPx.
Well, that will be something I would appreciate a lot, because I have some DX lenses, which I really like.

If you want more megapixels, than the d700 isn't for you. The d700 is 12mp or something like that.

So in my opinion you should wait till the d700 successor is announced. If the new one is to expensive, you can always look for a shop that sells off its last d700.

_________________
www.pimvandevelde.com

I was at a photo shoot in Alaska last month and for the first time I experienced the limitations of the crop sensor camera (when we were chasing the whales with a boat) in very foggy/rainy/low light day. I needed the speed to freeze the action with everything moving around (the boat, the whales, the waves) so the best I could achieve with D7000 was speed of 1/500-1/600 sec with ISOs 400-800 (70-200mm VR II lens).
I got some amazing shots at ISO 800, but looking at the 100% zoom after that I'm really disappointed by the huge amount of noise.
I see how easily D700 handle ISO800. (DXOMark shows 2x better performance in low light for D700 vs D7000).
My concern again with the re-placer of D700 would be only the many MPx.
If I want noise - I have my wonderful D7000 (and it's famous for very good performance in low-light).
I don't mind many pixels, but as we discussed above with Thomas the less MPx sensor with bigger pixels will always perform better in low light.

"the less MPx sensor with bigger pixels will always perform better in low light" yes, but as I said: We're perhaps talking about 1/4 of a stop - that's not enough to base any decision upon...

_________________
Thomas (beware: Nikon-fanboy and moderator!) My Lens Reviews, My Pictures, My Photography Blog
D800+assorted lenses

well, true.

Then all what left is to wait and see what the new "beast" will look like.
I believe Nikon will go for better, not worse. I just hope the price will be acceptable.