How much dynamic range does the Nikon D700 offer?

According to measurements carried out by DXO Mark, the sensor in the Nikon D700 provides a maximum of 12.2 EV of dynamic range (DR). DR is defined as the ratio between the highest and lowest brightness a camera can capture. A value of 12 EV or above is considered excellent.

High dynamic range of a camera sensor is particularly desirable for scenes with a mix of very bright and very dark parts, such as in some landscape photography settings. It helps to avoid that highlights get washed out or that detail in shadows is lost.

Sensor specs and performance

The table below compares the sensor specs of the Nikon D700 to those of several similar cameras. The reported DXO values are indicators of the sensor's imaging quality (higher is better). In addition to dynamic range (DXO Landscape), the listing also covers color depth (DXO Portrait) and high-ISO noise (DXO Sports). Larger sensor cameras tend to outperform cameras of the same generation that are equipped with a smaller imager. On the other hand, larger sensors are more expensive and require bigger and heavier lenses than smaller light receptors.

Sensor Characteristics

#		Camera Model	Sensor Class	Resolution (MP)	Horiz. Pixels	Vert. Pixels	Video Format	DXO Portrait	DXO Landscape	DXO Sports	DXO Overall
1.		Nikon D700	Full Frame	12.1	4256	2832	none	23.5	12.2	2303	80
2.		Nikon D850	Full Frame	45.4	8256	5504	4K/30p	26.4	14.8	2660	100
3.		Nikon D810	Full Frame	36.2	7360	4912	1080/60p	25.7	14.8	2853	97
4.		Nikon Df	Full Frame	16.2	4928	3280	none	24.6	13.1	3279	89
5.		Nikon D800	Full Frame	36.2	7360	4912	1080/30p	25.3	14.4	2853	95
6.		Nikon D800E	Full Frame	36.2	7360	4912	1080/30p	25.6	14.3	2979	96
7.		Nikon D3S	Full Frame	12.1	4256	2832	720/24p	23.5	12.0	3253	82
8.		Nikon D300S	APS-C	12.2	4288	2848	720/24p	22.5	12.2	787	70
9.		Nikon D3X	Full Frame	24.4	6048	4032	none	24.7	13.7	1992	88
10.		Nikon D3	Full Frame	12.1	4256	2832	none	23.5	12.2	2290	81
11.		Nikon D300	APS-C	12.2	4288	2848	none	22.1	12.0	679	67

In the United States, the D700 was initially launched in July 2008 at a price of $2,999.

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Camera to camera comparisons

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