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I currently have Nikon D3300 and love it - only use it in manual mode, etc, but I am quite limited with the size of the frame and just in general want to advance further in photography.

I have an opportunity to pickup a D700 that is quite used 250k+ shutter clicks on it, but still works great with no artifacts or any issues what so ever.

So the questions are:

1) D700 is much older than D3300, but is the sensor technology and larger size of sensor make D700 perform better in low light conditions assuming same lens? 2) Is there any reason one would prefer D3300 over D700?

Alexus
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  • Do you own any FX lenses? Without them, you're wasting a lot of the D700's value. – Philip Kendall Oct 24 '17 at 18:41
  • the D700 has a 150,000 click life on the shutter box. Might be stepping into the unknown and risk an expensive repair – cmason Oct 24 '17 at 19:04
  • No, I only have DX lenses. I assume I would have to get FX lenses to get the true potential of larger sensor and frame. @cmason Yeah, that kind of bothered me too. I calculated and the shutter assembly is $200 and I can do the work myself. The body is $260 - which is a steal for this camera. – Alexus Oct 24 '17 at 21:39
  • D3200 or D3300? You seem to use both interchangeably in the question. – Michael C Oct 24 '17 at 23:09
  • D3300, sorry. :) – Alexus Oct 24 '17 at 23:26
  • "I am quite limited with the size of the frame". When you say frame, do you mean sensor? What exactly about your photography is it limiting? – osullic Oct 24 '17 at 23:33
  • I mean the angle of the lens. For example, there are often scenarios when I want to capture a person up close, but in full height, or when I am inside a room, and DX frame is about 60% smaller than an FX one. So I end up using an iPhone camera to capture because my camera just captures a small portion of everything. – Alexus Oct 24 '17 at 23:47
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    You need a lens with a shorter focal length, not a new camera. Shorter focal length = wider angle. – StephenG - Help Ukraine Oct 25 '17 at 00:01
  • @StephenG That's correct except that there is the limit after which lens starts to distort and that limit is much further on FX body :) I have a wide angle lens already, but it's not enough for interior photos. – Alexus Oct 26 '17 at 00:47
  • Distortion is a function of (mostly) the lens design, and the difference between equivalent FOV lenses on FX and crop frame will mostly be down to lens design. That's my experience. Perhaps you're thinking of specific lenses. Also with the addition of modern optical correction in software or firmware, the issue of distortion can be irrelevant in many cases. – StephenG - Help Ukraine Oct 26 '17 at 01:07
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    "That's correct except that there is the limit after which lens starts to distort and that limit is much further on FX body". This isn't true. You are not being limited by your sensor. The iPhone, with which you are happy, has a much smaller sensor than your Nikon camera. @StephenG had it correct - you need probably a different lens, not a new camera. – osullic Oct 26 '17 at 12:25
  • Are you saying that I can achieve the same size of the frame with DX camera as with FX camera? What is cropped format then? – Alexus Oct 27 '17 at 23:55

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In the end I decided to pass on the D700, and stick to my D3300. The reason for such decision was the lack of video capabilities on D700 that I so often use on D3300 as well as not having FX lenses - it would be much more expensive to buy new lenses as well.

I was also able to find direct comparison of the two(surprisingly, since these are apples and oranges...): http://cameradecision.com/compare/Nikon-D3300-vs-Nikon-D700/

Also, this interesting forum argument: https://www.dpreview.com/forums/thread/4116388

Alexus
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  • The dpreview link is very specifically oriented to astrophotography. Is that the only kind of photography you care about? The overall score at camera decision is skewed as well: it assumes a price of $2700, not $260, for the D700 compared to the D3300's price of $447. They also consider the D700's larger size a significant disadvantage. Not everyone would agree. The imaging score for the D700 is actually higher than for the D3300. – Michael C Nov 07 '17 at 06:55