Nikon D700

I finally pulled the trigger on the D700 and after playing with it over the weekend want to set it up. I would certainly appreciate any feedback from you Nikon shooters on your suggestions as to what works for you in your landscape work. Ken Rockwells site has a good tutorial on setting this camera up, but I would like to hear from you.
Thanks in Advance
Joe Rogers
Vernon, Tx

Use Adobe RGB, High ISO noise reduction : off, Long exposure noise reduction : on, Multi selector center button for playback: medium (100% crop), Matrix metering, 51 AF point with wrap around on, and RAW of course...

I sorta lost respect for Ken Rockwell after reading what he wrote on lens sharpness http://kenrockwell.com/tech/lens-sharpness.htm

and what he think about tripods:

"Tripods are no longer required, and actually often degrade sharpness..."
"Don't use a tripod if you can help it. Having to carry one is a pain and thus cripples creativity...It's a common misconception among photo teachers and amateurs that tripods are good, although no one really knows why. I guess some people just associate tripods with serious photography."
-Ken Rockwell

Sounds like Aaron gave some specifics. I have a D700 and basically use the histogram for my shots. Depth of field often requires preview since I don't have a DOF calculator. I use spot focusing when something is close in the foreground. Always use the lowest ISO possible. I think the D700, like most Nikons, is calibrated best at ISO 200. However, you will love the lack of noise up to 800 or higher in the D700. Some say to get the most out of Nikon you should use Capture NX 2 which I do. Slow but the alogrhythms are the same as the camera's.

And I use a tripod for sharpness. Try the "delayed shutter" feature [esp. for telephoto] for bracketing and then do some HDR or Overlay. "Mirror Up" is faster and does the same thing.

And don't forget the artificial horizon...

What lenses will you be using?

the fisch

Congrats on the D700, as a D3 owner I'm sure you will love your new camera.

Ken Rockwell lives in his own world. Take his comments with a grain of salt and filter out the whacky personality from the good information. Same as you would with anyone else dishing out free advice.

Let's face it, you'll never shoot a twilight (or most landscape) images worth a dime without a tripod. If your shooting your children playing on a sunny day then he is right, you don't need a tripod. There is also a whole new genre of handheld HDR that really fascinates me.

I test all of my lens so I know what minimum shutter speed I need to get a sharp image handheld.

I rarely ever shoot an image, especially landscape, that is not on a tripod. What I was getting at in my question was, I am aware that Nikons defaults are probably going to be good for most general applications, but, are there specific departures in the menus that most good landscape photographers would alter and why? For example, I have seen some fantastic nightime images taken with this camera. When the ISO gets to 6400 the next step up is called Hi (something) I know the ISO s should go up farther numerically, but, how do you set the camera for that? It seems too that the lowest ISO is 200. Is there anyway to set it at 100 ISO.
Joe Rogers

Hey Joe, ISO 200 is the optimum for this camera - you can go two clicks down to 100 but it is not true ISO and you begin to lose dynamic range. It can work in a pinch if you need a longer shutter speed but your results will not be the best the camera can deliver. Unlike back in the dark ages of film, going to a lower ISO is not better. On the other end, ISO 6400 can get ugly, and I would avoid using the "boost" clicks to make it even higher - they get really ugly. It does quite well at 1600 and even 3200 in a pinch, but there is quite a bit of noise. How much noise you get will depend on the temp - these sensors love cold temps but hate normal and higher temps. You might be able to get away with 6400 when it is 20 degrees outside, but in the summer there would be a lot of noise. Of course, your best bet is simply to experiment with your particular situation and see what you can live with. But ISO 200 is ALWAYS going to give you the very best quality image with this camera if you can shoot at that speed. It certainly is one sweet camera....

Thanks all.....there is some really good information here. Tim, this clears up the ISO question quite well, thanks again. Larry, I also use Caplture NX2 for the same reason you stated and Aaron, thanks for the setting suggestion also. Thanks for chiming in, Ed, Ive always enjoyed going to your site and seeing the great photography....I also just bought a Spot due to your recent ordeal.
Joe Rogers

Two good reads on histograms:

http://www.luminous-landscape.com/tutorials/understanding-series/understanding-histograms.shtml

http://www.luminous-landscape.com/tutorials/expose-right.shtml

That's definitely one of the most helpful things I've learned with my DSLR. For the first couple years I tried to eye-ball the exposure on the LCD and that yielded very inconsistent results. Awesome camera by the way.

Congratulations on the D700 purchase--I think you will enjoy it very much. I bought one about a year ago and I really enjoy it. I previously shot with a Canon 20D and briefly with a 5D. Although the Canon's are nice cameras I was surprised at the difference in build quality on the D700 compared to the Canons. Much has been made about the D700 being "only" 12 mp but unless you are going to print very large this should be more than adequate. Overall the image quality is very pleasing. This is a camera that I will enjoy for years to come (at least until technology advances to the point that you can get large format resolution with the ISO performance of the D3s for the price of a D300 ).