(Night photography) - Old question I know... Nikon D700 or Canon 5D Mk 2?

If anyone could give me some advice on this it would be great!

Ok, I know this is a common question but I'm thinking of buying a second hand Nikon D700 or a Canon 5D Mk2.

I also only really need 2 prime lenses a 50mm and a telephoto about 200 or 300mm. (If anyone could recommend lenses too.)

This is what I plan to use the camera for and what I require:

• Mostly night photography on a tripod.
• Long exposures
• Low noise
• Big dynamic range would be nice
• Being able to focus well in low light would be good
• Print sizes (mostly 400x300mm but occasionally 1000x600mm)

The most important thing is sharpness and image quality. All I want are super crisp shots. Gadgets and fancy tricks are nice but really not that important. The 5D has video which is a nice bonus, but I don't think I would use it.

On a side thought, I've heard lots of good things about the 7D, of course I would need a wider lens and the camera is cheaper. I don't know how it compares the above cameras. Or if anyone has an idea on any other camera.

Many thanks

You haven't indicated anything in your post that would make me recommend a 5D2 or D700 to you.

Why those bodies instead of a crop frame ?

Your print sizes are well within the scope of any current DX body assuming you have the skill to match them.

--
StephenG

For the record, I went for Canon in 2004, and now use a 5D2.

Either the D700 or 5D2 will do the job nicely. the 5D2's resolution advantage might come into play, depending on how close you view the prints from.

a GOOD tripod such as the Manfrotto 055 series legs and a sturdy head such as the 488RC2 ballhead must be a priority. cable release, hotshoe bubble level, spare batteries..

the Canon 50/1.4 is plenty good.

the Canon 200/2.8L is a great lens as well, sharp wide open and does the job nicely.

my normal bag of lenses is the 24/2.8, 50/1.4, 135/2.8SF, allowing me to use 58mm filters (ND and polarizer).

both bodies will give you what you need, and do you long into the future.

cheers,
S.
--
beam me up captain, there's no intelligent life down here!

I have used both those cameras and conducted many tests on noise etc.

The noise of the D700 is among the best currently available, only being bettered by the D3s.

However, in side by side tests, the 5D2 held up very well, although Canon deal with noise in different ways and it is less attractive.

Resolution may come into play for your larger prints. The D700 feeling somewhat dated with its 12Mp.

Obviously, for night work you are better off with bigger apertures 2.8 and below. A 70-200/2.8 is a great night lens.

I do tend to shoot wider, and do a lot of images with the Nikon 14-24/2.8 which is a superb night lens.

Hope some of that helps - you may be interested in my recent Free eBook -

An Introduction to Landscape Photography at Night.

http://availablelightimages.com/blog/night-photography/

--
http://www.availablelightimages.com

Well I thought a full frame sensor would be better as I would be using it at night and I would get less noise.

I did mention that I had heard good things about the 7D, that's a cropped frame. I don't really want to spend lots of money but I know I want really sharp clear shots.

How do you mean skills?

Cheers.

Hi Scott

Something I omitted from my question was that I have a 10D that I've for years with a 17-35mm L 2.8 (although it's sort of broken now but still works) and a 200mm L 2.8, so yes, I do agree with you there, the 200mm is a great lens. I didn't say this in the beginning as I thought everyone would say stick the make that I have the lenses for.

The reason for the upgrade is there are a series of shots I want to take and (apart from the subject matter of course) I think they are going to rely on the smoothness between the tones. I find that when I work with the raw files from my 10D, I have to be careful to not get posterisation.

Thanks for the tripod recommendation, I'm going to see how my old one goes for a while but I may need a new on at some point.

I guess, it does make sense to stick with Canon and then all I have to do is buy one lens, the 50mm 1.4. And the 5D MK 2 is about £300 cheaper.

Cheers!

For the record, I went for Canon in 2004, and now use a 5D2.

Either the D700 or 5D2 will do the job nicely. the 5D2's resolution advantage might come into play, depending on how close you view the prints from.

a GOOD tripod such as the Manfrotto 055 series legs and a sturdy head such as the 488RC2 ballhead must be a priority. cable release, hotshoe bubble level, spare batteries..
the Canon 50/1.4 is plenty good.

the Canon 200/2.8L is a great lens as well, sharp wide open and does the job nicely.

my normal bag of lenses is the 24/2.8, 50/1.4, 135/2.8SF, allowing me to use 58mm filters (ND and polarizer).
both bodies will give you what you need, and do you long into the future.
cheers,
S.

Hi Asturias

Shooting at around 200/400 ISO is the D700 still better or does it really only show it's better at a high ISO?

When you say that the 5D Mk2 deals with noise in different ways, how do you mean?

Although I didn't mention it earlier, I have a 10D and at a push I can get 50MB files that will print about 400 x 260mm. But I just want some sharper shots. So I guess the D700 would allow me to go twice the size. But then the 5D Mk2 is 21 MP, so that's a big jump in file size, which would be great but not so good if the images are not so sharp and noisy.

The other thing I have noticed when I have looked at images from a Nikon compared to a Canon is that they look slightly less saturated more like Provia compared to Velvia. I don't know what your view is on this...?

Thanks for the link to your book. Looks really good. I'll have to download that.

Cheers.

wh01 said:

Well I thought a full frame sensor would be better as I would be using it at night and I would get less noise.

Click to expand...

Ironically, the top performers in DR are not FF cameras. The Nikon D5100, D7000, and Pentax K5 are the best base-ISO performers, in terms of DR; they have the least shadow noise, and the least amount of pattern noise. When Pentax and Nikon start using Sony's new 24MP APS-C sensor, they may have even more DR than these cameras. The 5D2 is an excellent camera if you want to shoot mid- and high-key shots, but it has one of the poorest practical DRs of any DSLR currently made, with a gross burlap pattern emerging if you dig a bit into the shadows and pull them up (it can show in "normal" conversions, too, if the light quality is poor and you use WB).

wh01 said:

I did mention that I had heard good things about the 7D, that's a cropped frame. I don't really want to spend lots of money but I know I want really sharp clear shots.

Click to expand...

The 7D is a pretty decent high-ISO performer, although it has more pattern noise than the cameras I mentioned above. The only thing going for Canon right now with APS-C, is its lens line. Canon has a reputation of having some very good lenses that are better and cheaper than the competition.

--
John

Hi John

That's some interesting information... I need to think a bit harder now! Haha

Interesting to hear what you say about Nikon and Pentax using a Sony Sensor.

I just quickly looked at the K5, it seems to handle noise really well. - Would you recommend the smc DA 35mm f/2.4 AL to go with that? Or is there another prime lens that would be better suited?

Talking of Sony... I've never really considered them before. Is there a particular model you would think does a good job for what i want to do? They do have Zeiss lenses of course.

Thanks!

wh01 said:

Hi John

That's some interesting information... I need to think a bit harder now! Haha

Interesting to hear what you say about Nikon and Pentax using a Sony Sensor.

I just quickly looked at the K5, it seems to handle noise really well. - Would you recommend the smc DA 35mm f/2.4 AL to go with that? Or is there another prime lens that would be better suited?

Talking of Sony... I've never really considered them before. Is there a particular model you would think does a good job for what i want to do? They do have Zeiss lenses of course.

Click to expand...

I just keep track of RAW image quality from all these cameras; you're going to have to ask the users of the systems about the lenses, AF, etc.

--
John

Ok, Cool.

Cheers.

I shoot some outdoor night sports and using ISO 6400 is norm. I have had to boost to ISO 12,800. I shoot with D700 cameras for that work. The low level of high ISO signal noise on the D700 is remarkable. I can't compare it to Canon as I do not use their gear, but if you can find a new or good used Nikon D700 you will be a happy photographer.
--
Richard Weisgrau
http://www.weisgrau.com
Author of
The Real Business of Photography
The Photographer's Guide to Negotiating
Selling Your Photography
Licensing Photography

John Sheehy said:

Ironically, the top performers in DR are not FF cameras. The Nikon D5100, D7000, and Pentax K5 are the best base-ISO performers, in terms of DR; they have the least shadow noise, and the least amount of pattern noise. When Pentax and Nikon start using Sony's new 24MP APS-C sensor, they may have even more DR than these cameras. The 5D2 is an excellent camera if you want to shoot mid- and high-key shots, but it has one of the poorest practical DRs of any DSLR currently made, with a gross burlap pattern emerging if you dig a bit into the shadows and pull them up (it can show in "normal" conversions, too, if the light quality is poor and you use WB).

Click to expand...

Speaking about DR, maybe you'll find this interesting :

http://people.csail.mit.edu/hasinoff/hdrnoise/

Cool, thanks for that. All these reply are most helpful!

Hi again

Sorry for the slow reply, I've been busy -

At 200/400 ISO you would notice no difference between the Cannon or Nikon in terms of noise.

The D700 kicks in at around 1600 and up, which is great for certain types of night photography - shutter speeds less than 30s for example to get sharp stars on dark nights.

Canon noise has more color to it, Nikon get;s rid of the color noise and the noise is less noticeable.

I shot Canon for years until 2009 when I switched to Nikon - my first Nikon was the D700.

My wife still shot the Canon 5D2 - which is also an excellent camera.

I strongly believe either of them would deliver substantial improvement on your 10D.

The bigger issue will depend on your budget for lenses - if you have anything Canon already - is it worth a full switch to Nikon. Nikon lenses are a little more expensive, but equally, I love the look of Nikon files - although my current workflow makes that point moot, as I now manually blend bracketed images for all my work.

Hope that helps...

Alister

http://www.whytake.net - The Global Community of Nature Photographers
INSPIRE | CONNECT | EXPLORE

Hi Alister

Thank you for all the extra information! Really helpful. Although now, people are recommending cropped frame sensors to me... This would mean that I would have more money for a lens. Oh the decisions!

Thanks!