Nikon
D5100
vs
Nikon
D700

Updated (October, 2012): Compare the Nikon D5200 vs Nikon D800

Nikon D700

74

Nikon D5100

57

Winner

Nikon D700

Reasons to buy the Nikon D700

	Low noise at high ISO
	2,303 ISO

	Large viewfinder
	0.72x

	Weather sealed
	Shoot in extreme weather

	Large sensor
	Full frame 36.0x24.0mm

	Barely any delay taking photos
	197 ms shutter lag

	Great battery life
	1000 shots

Runner-up

Nikon D5100

Reasons to buy the Nikon D5100

	Wide dynamic range
	13 EV

	Flip-out screen
	Great for movies

	In-camera HDR
	Combines multiple exposures

	Movie continuous focus
	Makes it easy to get in-focus movies

	External mic jack
	Record higher quality audio with a microphone

differences

Advantages of the Nikon D5100

Shoots movies

1080p @ 30fps

vs

None

Shoots Full HD (1080p) video as well as still pictures

Has in-camera HDR

Yes

vs

No

Combines multiple exposures to capture high dynamic range

Has a flip-out screen

Yes

vs

No

Flip-out screens can be helpful when composing tricky shots or taking movies

Video autofocus

Contrast detection

vs

None

Automatically focuses shooting video

Significantly more lenses available

169 lenses

vs

121 lenses

Around 40% more lenses available

More dynamic range

13 EV

vs

12.2 EV

0.8 f-stops more dynamic range

Higher true resolution

16.1 MP

vs

12.1 MP

Capture more than 30% more detail in your photos

Smaller

127x96x78 mm

vs

147x123x77 mm

More than 30% smaller

Significantly lighter

560 g

vs

1,074 g

Around 50% lighter

Cheaper

$496.95

vs

$3,499.99

The best price we've seen is $3,003 cheaper (7x less)

Learn more about
the Nikon D5100

Advantages of the Nikon D700

Significantly lower noise at high ISO

2,303 ISO

vs

1,183 ISO

The D700 has a slight edge (1 f-stop) in low noise, high ISO performance

Much larger viewfinder

0.72x

vs

0.51x

Around 2x larger viewfinder

Much larger sensor

Full frame 36.0x24.0mm

vs

APS-C 23.6x15.6mm

Around 2.5x larger sensor

Weather sealed

Yes

vs

No

Sealed to shoot in the rain

Significantly more focus points

51

vs

11

Set focus accurately within the frame

More cross-type focus points

15

vs

1

Grab focus in difficult situations

Less shutter lag

197 ms

vs

273 ms

Around 30% less delay when taking photos

Has a built-in focus motor

Yes

vs

No

Autofocuses with all autofocus lenses

Longer battery life

1000 shots

vs

660 shots

More than 50% more shots per battery charge

Has a pentaprism viewfinder

Pentaprism

vs

Pentamirror

Pentaprism viewfinders are typically brighter

Shoots faster

5 fps

vs

4 fps

Around 30% faster continuous shooting

Significantly faster max shutter speed

1/8000s

vs

1/4000s

2x faster max shutter speed

Slightly less startup delay

400 ms

vs

500 ms

20% less delay when turning on

Thinner

3"

vs

3.1"

Almost the same

Learn more about
the Nikon D700

recommendations

Relative to the best recent DSLRs, and ignoring price

Nikon D5100

57	vs	74
Explain scores

Nikon D700

Snapsort recommends the Nikon D700. This recommendation, however, should be taken with a grain of salt since it doesn't always make sense to compare a entry-level DSLR with a pro DSLR.

similarities

Compared to recent DSLRs

Common Strengths

Common Weaknesses

	Each has a built-in flash
	External flash not needed

	Below average viewfinder coverage
	95%

	Fewer storage slots
	1

Capture low resolution images

D5100:	16.1 MP
D700:	12.1 MP

	Poor maximum light sensitivity
	6,400 ISO

	Neither camera stitches together panoramas
	You could stitch photos in post

Slow continuous shooting

D5100:	4 fps
D700:	5 fps

	No image stabilization
	Risk of blur

Lacks video autofocus

D5100:	Contrast detection
D700:	None

	Neither camera can take 3D photos
	No 3d support

dxomark

Image quality data for the Nikon D5100 provided by DxOMark
Image quality data for the Nikon D700 provided by DxOMark

competitors

Nikon D3200

Entry-level DSLR

$547 with 18-55mm lens

Takes significantly higher resolution photos

Has a slower max shutter speed

Has slightly more shutter lag

Compare the D3200 vs the D5100

Compare the D3200 vs the D700

Canon Rebel T3i

Entry-level DSLR

$549 body only

$599 - $649 with 18-55mm lens

Has a slightly higher resolution screen

Has a slower max shutter speed

Is thicker

Compare the Rebel T3i vs the D5100

Compare the Rebel T3i vs the D700

Nikon D5200

Entry-level DSLR

$697 body only

$797 with 18-55mm lens

Takes significantly higher resolution photos

Has a slower max shutter speed

Compare the D5200 vs the D5100

Compare the D5200 vs the D700

Nikon D7000

Entry-level DSLR

$897 body only

$997 with 18-105mm lens

Much better viewfinder coverage

Has more storage slots

Is slightly heavier

Has slightly more shutter lag

Compare the D7000 vs the D5100

Compare the D7000 vs the D700

Nikon D3100

Entry-level DSLR

$447 - $740 with 18-55mm lens

Is thinner

Has a slower max shutter speed

Lacks and external mic jack

Compare the D3100 vs the D5100

Compare the D3100 vs the D700

Nikon D90

Entry-level DSLR

$675 - $899 body only

$799 - $1,099 with 18-105mm lens

Has a slower max shutter speed

Is slightly heavier

Compare the D90 vs the D5100

Compare the D90 vs the D700

Canon EOS 60D

Pro DSLR

$699 - $899 body only

$999 - $1,279 with 18-135mm lens

Has a slightly higher resolution screen

Is slightly heavier

Is slightly larger

Compare the EOS 60D vs the D5100

Compare the EOS 60D vs the D700

Canon Rebel T4i

Entry-level DSLR

$699 - $800 body only

$699 - $749 with 18-55mm lens

Has a touch screen

Faster video autofocus

Significantly worse image quality

Less dynamic range

Compare the Rebel T4i vs the D5100

Nikon D800

Pro DSLR

$2,797 body only

$3,187 with 70-300mm lens

Much higher true resolution

Significantly better image quality

Shoots slower

Slightly shorter battery life

Compare the D800 vs the D700

Canon EOS 5D Mark II

Pro DSLR

$2,479 body only

$2,699 - $3,000 with 24-105mm lens

Shoots movies

Significantly higher true resolution

More noise at high ISO

Many fewer focus points

Compare the EOS 5D Mark II vs the D700

Nikon D300S

Pro DSLR

$1,270 - $1,697 body only

$2,227 with 85mm lens

Shoots movies

Significantly more lenses available

Significantly more noise at high ISO

Worse image quality

Compare the D300S vs the D700

appearance

discussion

Showing 4 comments

Grifter116

(6:23 PM, January 12, 2012)

I was shooting an evening soccer game earlier in the year with a borrowed D700, along with a guy using a D7000. The D7000 was unable to get focus in the diminishing light. The owner thought his camera was malfunctioning, when in fact the camera had reached the limit of is auto-focus/metering system. At least 50% of is shots were out of focus and those that were in focus, the shot had been missed. I know my old Canon 40D would have been limited even sooner!. The D700 IS THAT GOOD!, I was able to nail shots a good 20 minutes after the D7000.

Drjaimega

(2:58 AM, December 22, 2011)

I agree with Blahblah, better the D5100 than D700, Who said that?

Krystalhh_

(8:35 PM, December 19, 2011)

I think it's more of a bang for your buck type thing. The d5100 is pretty good for the price, compared to a d700

Blahblah

(1:00 AM, December 13, 2011)

now i know these comparisons are terrible.. a d5100 better than a d700? get the hell out of here

“This combination of Renaissance Faire and photo stats sets our nerdy hearts aflutter. Now, have at you, Sir Nikon!” - Photojojo	“Absolutely love this site for camera comparison, makes well known consumer rating sites look rudimentary” - @chris2pherlynn
“Killer web-app for camera nerds.” - Besser Wisser	“I'm still in love with Snapsort” - @JustinMoodie
“This is the Google of the camera review websites” - Karel Donk, Photographer	“The site works hard to simplify a complex topic” - Janice Chen, ZDNet

Copyright © 2013 by Snapsort, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Rebellion Media Technology