Resolution And Dynamic Range D700 vs D7000


sonq9

Member
May 18, 2009
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I'm getting a camera for work and the images needed to be blown up to AO size or beyond for trade shows etc. Some of the images may require to show subtle shades of tone without use of flash.

Can someone advise whether the old D700 FX or newer D7000 with smaller sensor will be more suitable assuming similar optical quality of lenses.

Thanks.
 

D700......
 

IF got budget then D700 with a good lens, else D7000 will do.
 

Can't tell u the different as I hv not used d7000 but I can comment on d700. It is a very sweet camera. On 3200 ISO u cant tell the noise compare to my previous camera. Then again I am not expert. If u think that you will go far w photography than bite the bullet to get something that will serve u for a long time. I was told by some if u r into portrait u should go with full frame which D700 offers. word of caution is the lens can be quite steep. Just make do what u hv first n buy lens when affordable la.
Those were the thing that drive me to buy D700. There are other benefit which u can read up on the net.
Hope you make the right choice for yourself.
 

is there any pic to show DR diff between D700 and D7000?
 

is there any pic to show DR diff between D700 and D7000?

Refer to DxOMark test, which is unnoticable unless you are pixel peeper, D7000 are the best among all in term of Dynamic Range.
(Taken from their website):

COM_6.jpg
 

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I'm getting a camera for work and the images needed to be blown up to AO size or beyond for trade shows etc. Some of the images may require to show subtle shades of tone without use of flash.

Can someone advise whether the old D700 FX or newer D7000 with smaller sensor will be more suitable assuming similar optical quality of lenses.

Thanks.

Will you be bumping up the ISO for what you need to shoot for work? If not, then go for D7k.

If you need big big big prints, consider a medium format. 60MP.
 

I am told by an award winning wedding photographer that while on paper MF digibacks have higher DR, you will need to light the situation if the light levels are not enough. MF digibacks are not high iso devices, noise issues ect will make lowest iso possible the prefer shooting point. Given your requirements for AO and above size prints that have excellent color tonal range a DSLR may not be the best option for a tool. It take more skill to massage files to print big both in shooting and post processing work.

Question is when you say work do you mean for your work or buy for the company ? Normally if are not the owner it is some time safer not to be involved in camera equipment purchase. The person task to shoot will also have some thing to say about the equipment is not good enough when he can not deliver (hehehe unless you are the one shooting as well)

There seems to some issue on the D7000 over exposing for mid tones - not major but enough to warrant concern if you are able to meter precisely.
 

I am told by an award winning wedding photographer that while on paper MF digibacks have higher DR, you will need to light the situation if the light levels are not enough. MF digibacks are not high iso devices, noise issues ect will make lowest iso possible the prefer shooting point. Given your requirements for AO and above size prints that have excellent color tonal range a DSLR may not be the best option for a tool. It take more skill to massage files to print big both in shooting and post processing work.

Question is when you say work do you mean for your work or buy for the company ? Normally if are not the owner it is some time safer not to be involved in camera equipment purchase. The person task to shoot will also have some thing to say about the equipment is not good enough when he can not deliver (hehehe unless you are the one shooting as well)

There seems to some issue on the D7000 over exposing for mid tones - not major but enough to warrant concern if you are able to meter precisely.

Yup. Some Hasselbalds top out at ISO 800.

But resolution wise, MF have the big advantage.

And TS has yet to answer if he needs ISO performance for his work.
 

What a nice bottle of poison. :bsmilie: They are still in the conversation of 35mm and the MF shoot out suddenly. That's another league up the ladder that reach into the cloud.

Will you be bumping up the ISO for what you need to shoot for work? If not, then go for D7k.

If you need big big big prints, consider a medium format. 60MP.
 

Hasselblad is totally out of my budget.

I'm buying it for shooting interior architecture, so optics will mainly be between 21 to 35mm with low distortion and reasonably sharp off centre. FX zoom lenses will likely cost a bomb unless I buy a 21 & 24mm Ais Nikkors (I already have the 28mm).

The DXO chart seem to indicate superior DR on D7000.
 

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I recommend the following. You can go trial it using lens rental to prove my point.

1) 1x D7000
2) 1x Nikon 10.5 FE
3) 1x Nikon 17-55 f/2.8
4) 1x DxO 6 S/W

DxO will be able to undistorted if not all, most of the Nikon lens even if it has wavy lens distortion, not just simple pincushion or barrel distortion. Using DxO, FE can be unwrapped into very wide angle with stretches at the side. All UWA have it, so it's not surprising FE gives more, but human eyes are not too concern conceptually unless you are trying to measure things.

All of the above has trial and rental to allow you try it out before committing.

As for your Dynamic Range, I am not sure what kind of Dynamic-ness you are looking out for. It is really that subtle that even D7000 cannot resolve it ? I am pretty skeptical about it. The top end Hasselblad will set you back in range of 20K or even more, obviously for your usage it's way over the head. If dynamic range is really an issue, perhaps Photomatix can help ? Again you can trial on it too.

I am pretty confident your problem is totally resolvable with both adequate software and hardware combination. It doesn't require you to go into the MF range unless you wanna see texture on a art painting ?

Hasselblad is totally out of my budget.

I'm buying it for shooting interior architecture, so optics will mainly be between 21 to 35mm with low distortion and reasonably sharp off centre. FX zoom lenses will likely cost a bomb unless I buy a 21 & 24mm Ais Nikkors (I already have the 28mm).

The DXO chart seem to indicate superior DR on D7000.
 

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Hasselblad is totally out of my budget.

I'm buying it for shooting interior architecture, so optics will mainly be between 21 to 35mm with low distortion and reasonably sharp off centre. FX zoom lenses will likely cost a bomb unless I buy a 21 & 24mm Ais Nikkors (I already have the 28mm).

The DXO chart seem to indicate superior DR on D7000.

If shooting interior architecture, you will probably be using a tripod. So ISO performance may not as critical. So any crop frame sensor body will work ok. Even D90 or D80 is good enough.

Then again, some folks need to use PC lenses, which will force you to get a pro level cam like D3, D3s or D3x. Why? you sort of need the FX frame to take advantage of the focal length, and tilt shift lenses will run into trouble when mounted on a D700.
 

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I remember reading somewhere that D700 prism holder at the top, will block the adjustment of the T&S lens moving right ?

If shooting interior architecture, you will probably be using a tripod. So ISO performance may not as critical. So any crop frame sensor body will work ok. Even D90 or D80 is good enough.

Then again, some folks need to use PC lenses, which will force you to get a pro level cam like D3, D3s or D3x. Why? you sort of need the FX frame to take advantage of the focal length, and tilt shift lenses will run into trouble when mounted on a D700.
 

But the fundamental problem is not solved by a camera with high DR in interior shoot isn't it? Lighting is the more important factor in an interior architecture shoot IMHO.
 

I remember reading somewhere that D700 prism holder at the top, will block the adjustment of the T&S lens moving right ?

It's the built-in flash which results in the camera having a pronounced 'lip', thus blocking the full range of movement (shift) of the PC-E lens :)
 

I'll just get a D7000 since there's no DR advantage on the heavier and more costly D700.

I struggled to balance exposure between well lighted and darker areas on my last job using a NEX5; some area is always over or under exposed with detail lost. Software manipulation is an option but is time consuming for the semi-skilled like me. I just realized that there's actually HDR feature within the camera which I could have used to overcome this.

Hi guys, thanks for the input.
 

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I recommend the following. You can go trial it using lens rental to prove my point.

1) 1x D7000
2) 1x Nikon 10.5 FE
3) 1x Nikon 17-55 f/2.8
4) 1x DxO 6 S/W

DxO will be able to undistorted if not all, most of the Nikon lens even if it has wavy lens distortion, not just simple pincushion or barrel distortion. Using DxO, FE can be unwrapped into very wide angle with stretches at the side. All UWA have it, so it's not surprising FE gives more, but human eyes are not too concern conceptually unless you are trying to measure things.

All of the above has trial and rental to allow you try it out before committing.

As for your Dynamic Range, I am not sure what kind of Dynamic-ness you are looking out for. It is really that subtle that even D7000 cannot resolve it ? I am pretty skeptical about it. The top end Hasselblad will set you back in range of 20K or even more, obviously for your usage it's way over the head. If dynamic range is really an issue, perhaps Photomatix can help ? Again you can trial on it too.

I am pretty confident your problem is totally resolvable with both adequate software and hardware combination. It doesn't require you to go into the MF range unless you wanna see texture on a art painting ?

Thanks for the suggestion. I hope to get done with nothing more than slight tweak on Curve and White Balance before cropping.

The 10-24mm DX seems to fit the bill since I'm unlikely to go past 14mm where distortion can be an issue.
 

Thanks for the suggestion. I hope to get done with nothing more than slight tweak on Curve and White Balance before cropping.

The 10-24mm DX seems to fit the bill since I'm unlikely to go past 14mm where distortion can be an issue.

With an ultra-wide angle lens, distortion is pretty much unavoidable. The trick is to minimize it with proper alignment, and careful choice of composition.
I don't know if distortion is "not an issue" >14mm. I suppose it will be less severe than at 10mm.
But often for interiors, you will really need the wideness. So you'll need to learn how to work around the issues.
 

I'm not sure what you are getting into, but I have not encounter lens with no distortion at the wide end. Even for 24-70 f/2.8 at 24mm shows pronounced barrel distortion when taken against straight line.

On all lens, perspective distortion are always there. For wide angle perspective, which is what used to cover buildings or interior, you will find perspective distortion towards the side, which is anticipated and most photographers are living with such phenomenal.

Perhaps you would like to re-consider after reading this ?
http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/dxo/optics-pro.htm

Thanks for the suggestion. I hope to get done with nothing more than slight tweak on Curve and White Balance before cropping.

The 10-24mm DX seems to fit the bill since I'm unlikely to go past 14mm where distortion can be an issue.
 

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