Not so good

As good as the D700 is, there are some things that I don’t like about it. These are really minor but if Nikon want to make a D701, this is what I’d like to see improved.

• The worse problem is the thumb pad switch – it is more raised and requires more effort to drive than the more sensitise D300 thumb pad. Using it is actually getting to be a real paid.
• The compact memory card door is not locked by any mechanism or latch like on the D300. I sometime anciently open the hatch by dragging my hand backwards after placing the camrea down or into the bag. And on the opposite side of the camera, the rubber hatch for USB and all is very lose fitting and opens with the slightest of touches -this really is the second worst problem. On a D8 or D300 the fit is tight and secure, and probably also better weather sealed.
• The third worse problem is lack of information that the top LCD displays compared to the D300. The D300 top display showed the focus point and the focus area. Now I have to use the info display to see and set those.
• And finally, a viewfinder with only 95% coverage… eh? This means that I’m going to have check all my photos on the computer to determine if the composition is really what I wanted, and then probably crop the photo. I’m losing some of the precious pixels because of this. Please, give me a 100% viewfinder like on the D300.

These remaining observations are really searching for any small problem.

• Once the viewfinder shield is closed, the eye piece is very easily unscrewed without any resistance at all. I’ve already lost mine and it could be within a 300km radius :(

  I have placed another on order and see that there is an anti-fog version which immediately appealed to me for when climbing back into a warm car after standing outside freezing to death photographing deer. Sadly, the store didn’t have any in stock (I wonder if it is popular) so I’ve ordered a standard eyepiece.

  I have no idea of when or where it came off but since the D700 is larger than any camera I’ve had, I find that placing or extracting the camera from my bag, sometimes some of the switches are moved including the viewfinder shield and the focus mode.

• And this leads me straight to another thing that I find bothersome about it, it is so large. A 30mm film camera is tiny in comparison and maybe it is as best as can be manufactured now but lets hope that the next version is smaller.
• The shutter sound is loud. Much louder than a D80 or D300. This is again a minor quibble but when taking shots of people, I really don’t want a rifle firing sound as well.
• And finally, the strap, it’s just plain ugly with huge branded yellow letter and not even all that comfortable. I think I’ll replace it with a cut down guitar strap.
• Last of all, the price – I couldn’t leave that out. I would like it to be a lot cheaper. It would mean more sales for Nikon for one thing which would allow them to put the prices down but mostly, I would like to use the money for other important things… like lenses :)

And that’s it. So far, everything else has been utterly outstanding. Everything else includes quite a lot and the most import things, like picture quality, features and ease of use.

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