D3s vs D700

Helvegr

Just a quick question. If money and weight was not a concern. Would there be any particular reason to get a D700 over a D3s?

Thanks

Harryb

No

zoomer

Built in flash on the d700. I use it a lot.
I would kill for a d700 sized camera with dual slots and the D3s sensor.

jww

Helvegr wrote: »

Just a quick question. If money and weight was not a concern. Would there be any particular reason to get a D700 over a D3s?

Thanks

Harryb wrote: »

No

If a flash was a concern and money is not an issue, an SB900 is so much better than built in flash. The D3s still wins.

zoomer

That depends on why/how you are using the flash.
I have a d3 and a d700. I take 4 shots with the d700 for every one I take with the d3. I do love the D3 more than the D700 but whenever I use off camera flash it is the d700 I use.

Matthew Saville

D700:

* Pop-up flash, for quickie off-camera flash situations using either commander mode, or optical slaving. I don't care if money is no object, practicality still makes the pop-up flash VERY useful sometimes...

* Metering mode switch is FAR more accessible compared to the 3-series, in fact I really really dislike that the 3-series has a lock on the metering switch. But I'm probably one of the only people out there who switches metering modes mid-shoot, I suppose.

* Size, weight and price do play a role even if they are "no object". Namely, you could buy two D700's for the price of one D3s, and one could be your backup. Similarly, you're more likely to try risky things or get down-and-dirty if your camera is cheaper, smaller, and lighter. (shooting incognito stuff, or crazy stuff like white water rafting, desert sand storms, etc. Or heck, I dunno, maybe you do a lot of shooting in bad parts of town or 3rd-world countries, and you're better off with a D700 and a coupe ugly, small AF-D primes. ;-)


So, any way you look at it, there are advantages to the D700 depending on what you shoot. However, for the professional sports photographer or photojournalist, there are PLENTY of reasons to go with a D3s instead.

And heck, if money and weight are not a concern, buy both! :-P

=Matt=

Helvegr

Matthew Saville wrote: »

D700:

* Pop-up flash, for quickie off-camera flash situations using either commander mode, or optical slaving. I don't care if money is no object, practicality still makes the pop-up flash VERY useful sometimes...

* Metering mode switch is FAR more accessible compared to the 3-series, in fact I really really dislike that the 3-series has a lock on the metering switch. But I'm probably one of the only people out there who switches metering modes mid-shoot, I suppose.

* Size, weight and price do play a role even if they are "no object". Namely, you could buy two D700's for the price of one D3s, and one could be your backup. Similarly, you're more likely to try risky things or get down-and-dirty if your camera is cheaper, smaller, and lighter. (shooting incognito stuff, or crazy stuff like white water rafting, desert sand storms, etc. Or heck, I dunno, maybe you do a lot of shooting in bad parts of town or 3rd-world countries, and you're better off with a D700 and a coupe ugly, small AF-D primes. ;-)


So, any way you look at it, there are advantages to the D700 depending on what you shoot. However, for the professional sports photographer or photojournalist, there are PLENTY of reasons to go with a D3s instead.

And heck, if money and weight are not a concern, buy both! :-P

=Matt=

Money is rarely no object. However I was just wondering if you removed the financial consideration from the equation and really just looked at the two cameras side by side, if there was any special reason somebody would rather own a D700 then owning a D3s.

All really good feedback, thanks.

jww

If money is no object, I still like the D3s better.

I love having the extra card slot either for overflow or backup. What is also cool is faster fps*, much longer battery life*, a bit larger viewfinder to frame coverage, HD video capture (if that matters), higher ISO performance, and to me it feels like it's built like a tank. I also like having the extra shutter button and controls for shooting portrait*. The D3s has a much longer rated shutter life, I think like 300,000 compared to 150,000, but I could be mistaken.

One other issue which might not be one depending on what you shoot. With the D700 popped up for the internal flash, you have broken the seal if out in the weather. Not an issue for some, but for those that shoot outdoors while using it for fill flash and get caught in a sudden shower, that could ruin your day, possibly your camera.

*unless you add the extra battery grip on the D700 and use EL4a's, then all with *'s above are mute points except the D3s is still a bit faster fps at 9fps vs the D700 at 8fps.

Probably needless to say, but both are great cameras.

Zerodog

Size and pop up flash. But you loose the wicked ISO. Monster battery, very comfortable grip, faster frame rate, video, better controls, It all depends on what you are shooting and what your needs are. The 700 is a killer camera too.

But it still drives me crazy to not have a way to trigger my off camera flashes. I wish Nikon put some sort of little lite to work as a signal. I hate using an SB900 to only trigger other flashes.

ziggy53

Zerodog wrote: »

... But it still drives me crazy to not have a way to trigger my off camera flashes. I wish Nikon put some sort of little lite to work as a signal. I hate using an SB900 to only trigger other flashes.

That would be a Nikon SU-800 Wireless Speedlight Commander:

http://www.nikonusa.com/Nikon-Products/Product/Flashes/4794/SU-800-Wireless-Speedlight-Commander.html

It provides 4 - channel, 3 - group wireless flash control and it does not contribute to the scene illumination. It is pretty small and lightweight, not cheap but not horribly expensive either.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/410490-USA/Nikon_4794_SU_800_Wireless_Speedlight_Commander.html

http://www.adorama.com/NKSU800.html

zoomer

So....it does the same thing commander does on the d700 for free.
Don't get me wrong I would take a d3s in second.

One of the things I have always hated about the d3 is the small buffer, which sucks when shooting sports (yeah I know I could pay a bunch to have it upgraded) and that is doubled on the d3s.

Zerodog

ziggy53 wrote: »

That would be a Nikon SU-800 Wireless Speedlight Commander:

http://www.nikonusa.com/Nikon-Products/Product/Flashes/4794/SU-800-Wireless-Speedlight-Commander.html

It provides 4 - channel, 3 - group wireless flash control and it does not contribute to the scene illumination. It is pretty small and lightweight, not cheap but not horribly expensive either.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/410490-USA/Nikon_4794_SU_800_Wireless_Speedlight_Commander.html

http://www.adorama.com/NKSU800.html

For the price of that thing I would rather just buy another flash. It is more versatile and does the same thing.

hiroProtagonist

Having never shot a D3 I can only weigh in on the D700 side of the story. Personally if it had been an option I'd have traded off the D700's built in flash for a 100% view finder, but I'm just an available kind of light kind of guy. The higher ISO of the D3s could be useful in a certain situations, but I somehow wonder if I'd find myself in those situations enough to justify the D3's premium. If we are disregarding the price delta than I would say that for me the D700's one true advantage over the D3 is its portability.