That shutter sound isn't so great when you're shooting a ceremony in a quiet church, sounds like a gunshot!! I never did notice any difference in silent mode either, it was still really loud. Brilliant camera though. I've never had one of those CF cards fail and 12mp is more than capable of printing 30x40. I bought mine new and I've still got it. It's one of those cameras that I'll never trade in.

Thank you for a pesonal tour of the cathedral in Liverpool.

A beautiful video Alan, thats a nice lens, we can always trust you to show us something that's a little different, it must have been a boon to use for the B/W film photographer, a lens with a built-in filter set. You missed out though, what about the cafe down the stairs, I hope its still there? They used to serve great value tea and snacks. Cheers Alan, I really enjoyed that excursion.

As a Roman Catholic, I really enjoyed this video Alan. As a Roman Catholic photographer, I enjoyed it, as a Roman Catholic acoustic guitar musician, I think I enjoyed it even more. And the acoustic guitarist at 4:06 in sounded lovely. 💜💜💜

Paddy's wigwam - only in Liverpool! some utterly fantastic architectural shots Alan - you really do have a style and a way with them 🙂 interesting lens too. I didn't realise Sigma went back to the early 70s!

Very interesting thoughts on this unique lens. I've enjoyed this video a lot especially the walk through of the crypt was cool. -DK

Very interesting and well done (history channel) video. As always, great compositions, especially your detail shots, not to mention that I’m a sucker for reflections, really good “stuff” Alan. Only you can make good use of a vintage Sigma lens, I remember (many moons ago) when Sigma couldn't even give their lenses away, they were worse than Tamron, in those days I only trusted Nikon, Canon and Olympus. Be well and stay safe.

Great video of an Interesting lens, seen this one for sale a while ago, but ended up buying something else, Love the architectural photography, and as always enjoy your presentation.

Stunning content. There was an enlargement lens, Janpol 80mm f5.6, with built-in colour filters.

I love this Camera, I have D700, and I have the D850. I am using both because the D700 has some kind of organic feeling in the images, a feeling I can't achieve with the more modern sensor in the 850. On the other hand the 850 wins in some circumstances specially when higher number of pixels influence the quality of the image, BUT in most cases there isn't much difference. Will I get rit of the D700? Definately no, I w will continue to use both. And when my 700 dies, then I will get another one.

Great video! I've had a D700 for some time now, and I've come close to selling it at a few points. Every time that's happened, I've shot a couple of photos and all desire to sell it has magically disappeared! I carry it around mainly with the 50mm f1.8D; a truly delightful combination, especially for people photos.

Aloha from Hawai'i Island! I'm glad you enjoyed your time with the D700. It is indeed a beast, but I love mine. Thanks for sharing your lovely shots. I hope you'll tell us what Nick thought of your E-M1 II.

Im in love with my Sony A900 coupled to the Minolta 80-200 // never placed it on the scales, but suspect that combo isn't far off 4KG .. the D700 combined with that lens is a very fine combo.. and your beautiful OM1 combined with a stubby lens makes a great " Street " combo. ps: go back to FLAT setting ..

When they first came out, the Canon 5D and Nikon D700 were miraculous game changers. Still good cameras, but over-romanticised. I still love DSLR cameras, but I like the newer cameras in the same lines. For most purposes, 12 MP is plenty. For wildlife, you may need to crop and then may wish for more. For social media, one will never need more than 12 MP so there is that. Both the Canon 5D and the D700 are collector's items and a little pricey for that reason. I can get a 5D Mark II for the price of a 5D or a D610 for the price of a D700 and I personally would prefer those newer cameras. Another benefit of lower megapixel cameras is ease of editing a large batch of images all at once. I have a 5Ds and I cannot load more than ten images at a time. I will say that the D700 is significantly better than the 5D in low light.

Great work with your lens did you use?

Do try the D700 with that trusty 50mm 1.8 Al--it brings out the same wonderful tones as my (retired) FE, and will run and run all day.

Proud owner since not so long of a Nikon D300S which I totally love working with. Not even full frame but works for me. Thanks for this contribution Alan.

I got one of these and yes, it is heavy, especially when I put my favorite lens on it, which is the non-VR AF Nikkor 80-200mm 1:2.8 D and with the battery grip attached. But it is worth every kilojoule that you burn lifting it up to your eye. Being not young anymore, I have collected quite a few Nikon film, DSLR and mirrorless cameras through the years. But selling the D700 never crossed my mind. The picture and build quality is supreme and the color rendition is nothing short of marvelous. I suggest that every Nikon user gets one but I'm sorry to say - you can't have mine ;)

First off, great intro! I've had my D700 for several months now and I think it's a great camera. I use it alongside my D3S which I acquired about two years ago. Both are great cameras, though I tend to use the D3S more b/c of the low-light ISO capabilities and higher FPS [for birding and indoor sports]. YNWA!!!

Interesting video. I have a D700. My first DSLR. I love the images from it. Then I bought a D3s which I sold. Similar camera, but even heavier. (I have the battery pack for the D700 which also makes it heavier.) I have used Nikons since the Ftn model. They are all heavy, except for one or two. Then I purchased a D4 which i beat to hell. Very lovely images from that camera as well. Next in line were D800 Two D850 bocies And a Z9 I love them all. People say the image of the D700 and D4 are the best Nikon has produced, but I beg to differ. I think they are all incredible. I can do so much more with my Z9 than with any of the other Nikon bodies. And as a professional, I am need the D850.and Z9. Now comes the caveat. i had a number of my cameras in the shop and had to head to a desert region for work. I usually carry three bodies with me, and I don't change the lenses, particularly in Kenya's Turkana dusty region. The two D850s and the Z9 are my go to cameras for work. But on a recent shoot, the D800, one D850 and the D4 were in the shop. So I had to drag the D700 with me along with the Z9 and a D850. The photos from the D700 were spectacular, and several were published in magazines. So the D700, in my very humble opinion, is still a pro-grade camera. (Yes, it's shutter is noisy and yes, it is only 12mp, and yes, it does not record video. So what?)

I thought that mine overexposed a bit, especially with greens. I even took it to Grays to compare with one that they had in stock, but that was exactly the same. I fine tuned the exposure down half a stop and I think it's better. The other problem is that the one thing which isn't robust are the pins that go into the CF card. My daughter bent one of the pins the second or third time that she used the camera and I had to change the daughter board which took hours. I bought a USB cable and told her to use that and leave the CF card in permanently.

I've put the nikor 50mm f1.8 pancake on mine, and its a lovely combo to carry around. Outstanding camera, pleasure to use. Enjoyed your video.

I got a hammered one for super cheap and just glued on a new rubber grip. $300 aud with a 50 1.8 and a pile of cf cards.

Re: live view (I have the D300). While it is rather rudimentary, it does have some usefulness. It lacks an articulating screen, but I was able to use it to compose an overhead shot and it worked out okay. It at least gave some means to see (or at least see enough) of the scene to make it work.

I liked this camera so much, I bought 2 in excellent conditon with low shutter activations (under 3000). I normally use the 24-85 zoom lens. I like the vintage Nikons and also have a D200 CCD camera. Very nice video!

Not a beast, not a burden, tis a beauty and a joy to hold. The ergonomics and controls are superb, there's a button or lever for just about everything, and the configuration options are very flexible. it's very rare to have to go menu diving. Nick's During The Meanwhilst channel is where I first learned of the D700 and the 105Goat. So grateful to Nick, he inspired me to buy this camera and it provides huge enjoyment. I can't thank him enough. Now the weight... It can't be ignored. My strategy is a long and wide camera strap slung across the body, carrying it this way the weight isn't a problem. I generally only take the camera and the lens when I go walkabout. Love the D700 so much I bought a second one as a spare. This camera represents superb value, get one while you still can.

Just acquired one with less than 1000 shutter count in mint condition for £315

The wheight with the manual AI lenses is kind of okay. I still use it for inside jobs with the 28-300. I also used it with the sigma 50 mm 1.4, but then again the wheight gets in the way. Since I want to keep using DSLR's I have upgraded to a D7500 with the 16-80 lens. I think the results are better and it is not wearing me down that much anymore. Also less obtrusive for street shots and so on. I know not full frame, but who cares?

I couldn’t agree with you more Alan, gear doesn’t matter (to a certain extent) but sometimes it does give the photographer more options when capturing an image, but ultimately, it’s people like you and Nick that can produce great work with whatever camera you happen to have at any given time. Be well, stay safe and out of the cold.

4:23 in, I approve of the lookup table you used. Quite nice. “Results are sublime.” Hmmm, me thinks otherwise Alan. Are they good images? Absolutely. Sublime? That’s a stretch. Subjective reasoning is a bane to a photographer’s existence. Very enjoyable watch and your ‘review’ of the D700 was very informed. 👍🏼👍🏼💜👍🏼👍🏼

Enjoyable video! You, sir, have n excellent "eye" and the camera lens combination is indeed excellent. New subscriber here, looking forward to more of your videos (the channel title caught my eye!). Cheers!

I really feel what you are saying here! I got a Nikon D200 a few years ago and as much as I love the rendering, the layout and the shutter, and so on, it's just too heavy for me... It's possibly one of the heaviest cameras I own, even more so than my film medium format ones. So I've slowly sold all my lenses, and kept a couple of light primes for it. I'm sure it's all down to personal preference, but micro 4/3rds really spoilt me for size and weight.

Great episode Alan , love the DSLR cameras, I think that 12 mega pixel on a full frame sensor is a sweet spot, I still have the original canon 5d , the images have a certain something that is hard to quantity, loving the channel.

Well there I was, what should I do this morning? its bad underfoot where I am, then I remembered its Alan day, has he returned as promised? Well you hooked my straight away with that great musical intro, and I'm not particularly into football, and when ever I was it was Man United, anyhow well done Liverpool they are doing well and I hope struggling Everton manage to escape the drop and enjoy the new stadium. The Lut you employed, thats a tricky one, at first I thought nah its not worth the bother, then I watched further my brain must have adjusted because when you switched back I thought oh that grass does look too green without the lut, but after another minute the brain adjusted and it appears more normal, lut or no lut, its not a great difference, we are following the story, your clothing and the camera lost slightly some detail when the lut was applied. Yes the camera did a great job, the images were really good, of course helped by your photography skills. Would I buy one, probably not, its a bit late in the day now, they often ask daft prices, and like you say they might be well worn and have issues, but If I saw one in the charity shop at a giveaway price, we could take a chance. Cheers Alan and welcome back.

Lots of garbage on this corner of Stanley park. 🤐

Happy New Year Alan. I’ve also felt a hankering to get a DSLR again but after 2 failed Pentax K50’s both with a common aperture solenoid issue I’ve changed my mind (probably) 😂. Lovely images - I prefer the standard video to the Cine LUT. Not sure about the location though being a southern MU fan!

OK - long comment incoming. Get yourself a cuppa!! You pretty well nailed that Alan - and your opinion on the camera / lens matches mine. You need to be able to carry and hold the thing steady (or be a lot younger than - dare I say it - we are!!). I'm fortunate in having a couple of sherpas at my disposal, or if alone I use the carry bag on my walker to transport it around. Other than that I use it in my garden so it's not a huge problem. If I was 20 years younger I wouldn't hesitate using one as my main body, but these days hand holding is an issue. I shoot it on a tripod 90% of the time I'd guess. The positives: ergonomically it's a treat. If you can hand hold it, then everything just seems to fit into place nicely as you would expect. Also, although 16 or so years old, my example at least still feels new in terms of the buttons and dials. As you said, build quality is sublime. And that shutter... 🙂 I am in the 2 cards > one camp, having had a card corrupt on me I the past. But that was when I was shooting semi-professionally so couldn't really afford to lose images. Now, it doesn't really bother me at all, as all my shooting is for fun. Image quality, you are 100% correct in saying 12 megapixels is the sweet spot. Well, it certainly is where this camera and lens combo are concerned. I've never once thought I need more. But having just said that I have as you know bought a D800E just to see what the lens is like on a higher resolution body. Although only f2.8, I'd struggle to think of another lens that could render out of focus areas as creamily as the 105 does. It simply has to be a combination of the lens and that sensor. Again, a comparison with the D800E will be interesting. I'll also do some high ISO tests of both. I suspect the D700 will be fine having larger photo-sites, despite the older processor. On the lens front, I have the 17-35 f2.8, a 28-70 cheapo zoom and an old 75-150 "e" lens. I do have another, recently acquired f2.8 standard zoom, but I won't reveal that just yet as there is a video planned very shortly! When I had the camera first time around I did have a 50mm f1.4, but rarely used it sadly. My main lens back then was a 1970s 24mm f2.8 which I shot landscapes and seascapes with. Now that was another beauty! One last thing (you'll be glad to hear) - the video production was next level. The way you introduced the camera was genius 🙂 As for the colour grading, the video did look nice. I shoot my videos using one of Fuji's film sims so have no real need to grade. I did try F-log once but completely ballsed the grading up! I'm so glad we did this camera swap. I'm now sold on getting a M43, even though I couldn't persuade you to get a D700!!

Good Morning Scouser Al 😊 Fancy taking a Swansea jacks fave combo to a football area to speak about his beloved...lol .Seriousy though, I have often thought about picking up a 2nd hand dslr (I miss my old 5D3) and taking it out for paarticular shoots when I wouldnt have to carry it far. I often wonder if those things I take for granted on mirrorless would put me off dslr's - I wou;dn't want to taint that memory. I thought that was a Billingham bag, nice one although I'll be honest I am not a lover of shoulder (single strap) bags. Quality images. atb Al

Thanks for this good review and indeed, it’s a great lens with internal zoom and macro facilities. Plus it’s well built 👍.

thanks , very informative , don't see a lot of point of that black mist filter , thanks for showing me so I don't waste my money on one , & ND32 I think would work better for what I need

It's still a great camera, especially for b+w.

Can this lens be good for photographing the moon up close?

Hi Alan, thank you for another year of entertaining informative videos. I have the neck strap with the knock off pdf bits, I avoided the sandisk hard drive but did get the TTArtisan led light shaped like a 35mm film canister, only good if you are within three inches of subject. Over the past year I have actually been making an effort to declutter, I’ve sold several cameras from my collection and given away bits and pieces but the main junk I am having trouble moving on are cameras bags of all descriptions……I must try harder. I wish you a great Christmas and a Happy New Year, keep up your superb videos.