At the risk of causing trouble...

Redundancy is looming for me so I have a last gasp chance to upgrade my camera from a D300/D2Xs combo to either a D700 or a D3.

I'll almost certainly keep the D300 for its long range ability but the D2Xs can be chopped in against the D700 or a D3 (i'll also be getting a 24-70 f2.8 lens to fulfil the full frame capability).

Now the question is, is the D3 worth the extra money ?, I'm well aware of the spec differences but just cannot make my mind up, my heart says D3 but my head says D700.

And of course I already know for certain that the day I place my order Nikon will anounce a yet another fantastic upgrade

Would very much appreciate some thoughts/opinions guys

cheers

Hi have a D700 & D300, and love it, a professional photographer friend of mine said that if the D700 had been out he would have purchased that instead of his D3.
The D700 has Sensor cleaning, too, and if you add the battery grip there is hardly any difference. Plus its alot lighter than the D3.
Just my penith worth.

But is there a D400 around the corner with 14-16MP who knows.

Cheers
Mark

When i bought my D3 i had the same problem,There are plus and minus's for both,The D700 is lighter but if you add the battery grip its actually heavier than a D3,The D3 has 100% view finder the D700 is around 94%, With the grip fitted to the D700 there is little differnce in the speed,The D700 has a built in flash/transmitter and sensor cleaning-horses for courses-but when it came to it i took the D3 and have a D300 as back up-which i actually use more than the D3
Happy shopping
Dave

Hi I actually had the D3 D300 combination but have ended up with the D700 D300 both with grips as they fit my hands better than the D3s did, the extra thumb pad on the D300 D700 grips are incredibly useful also the main thumb pad is a little closer with the D300 D700 than on the D3.

If you prefer how the D2x feels in your hand compared to the D300 with grip then I would say go for the D3 but if you prefer the D300 with grip then get the D700 & grip.

Phil.

Hi Steve,
Your post could have been written by me! I have exactly the same dilemma at the moment. I also have the D2x and D300 combo and cant decide on D3 or D700. A good second hand D3 works out at not a lot more than a new D700 plus grip. When I look at the benefits of a good second hand D3 for the small additional cost (dual card, faster frame rate, shutter life, 100% viewfinder, build) I think thats the way I'm going to go. I will also get the 24-70 f2.8 but I'm interested to see how the new Sigma version looks.
I'd be very interested to hear which way you go.

Tony

Hmm I tried the D3 and really liked it, I ended up going for the D700 though. I decided that the D700 was fast enough, and the ability to use it sans grip makes it a light and small package for hiking.

Having just hammered a D3 in Norway for a week all I can say is that one will definitely be living in my camera bag before too long.

I had one on a 4 week test when they first came out and wasn't too impressed to be honest, but the one I've been using in Norway with the proper firmware has been brilliant shooting in 14bit.

It has occasionally given me a card error on the 2nd card (had it set to overflow on the second card option) but that's been my only niggle - though it did cost me a couple of cracking sequences

On the D2Xs front I wouldn't get rid of mine for anything - at 100-200 iso for macro at least, it's the best body for the job imo - when the shutter collapses I'll just send it to Fixation for a new unit.

I've heard some horror stories about the trade-in prices of D3s against D3Xs so I'd seriously consider a second-hand D3 body before going to "toy-town" for a D700 (that's only to wind Phil T up ).

24-70mm - superb bit of glass

I'm not famalier with Nikon, but high on my shopping list requirements for nature photography would be three things that usually differentiate pro-spec bodies from advanced pro/am spec ;

1 - Bouncability of body when dropped with a [big lens] attached ie mountings/internal frame durability/body material

2 - weather sealing/resistance capabilities

3 - and any shutter life differences

The internal workings etc tend to be very similar, what you pay extra for is the overall durability and ruggedness of pro bodies over pro-am when working in the field

Mike

Update, went for the D700 in the end, grip compatibilty with the D300 and feel in the hand, the D3 just felt too big and chunky, still want one though