Nikon
D5000
 vs
Nikon
D700

Updated (February, 2012): Compare the Nikon D5100 vs Nikon D800

Nikon D700

96
Winner

Nikon D700
"It has the same ultra solid feel as its bigger (and smaller) brother, and the same magnesium alloy body and soft rubber grips front and back."
dpreview.com | talking about the D700's build-quality
"Class-leading high ISO performance, usable up to ISO 12800"
dpreview.com | talking about the D700's iso-noise

Reasons to buy the Nikon D700

Low light performance
 Low noise at high ISO
2,303 ISO
Overall image quality
 Great image quality
80.0
Viewfinder size
 Large viewfinder
0.72x
Weather sealed
 Weather sealed
Shoot in extreme weather
Sensor size
 Large sensor
Full frame 36.0x24.0mm
Focus points
 Many focus points
51
Nikon D5000

54
Runner-up

Nikon D5000
"The hand grip is one of the best examples in this class of camera and the rear dial is easily accessible, making it very quick and easy to use."
dpreview.com | talking about the D5000's feel
"Very impressive high ISO performance"
dpreview.com | talking about the D5000's iso-noise

Reasons to buy the Nikon D5000

Screen flips out
 Flip-out screen
Great for movies
Weight
 Light-weight
590 g

differences

Advantages of the Nikon D5000
Movie format Shoots movies 720p @ 24fps vs None
Help
 Shoots HD (720p) video as well as still pictures
Screen flips out Has a flip-out screen Yes vs No
Help
 Flip-out screens can be helpful when composing tricky shots or taking movies
Lens availability More lenses available 169 lenses vs 121 lenses
Help
 Around 40% more lenses available
Dynamic range More dynamic range 12.5 EV vs 12.2 EV
Help
 0.3 f-stops more dynamic range
Weight Much lighter 590 g vs 1,074 g
Help
 Around 50% lighter
Size Smaller 127x104x80 mm vs 147x123x77 mm
Help
 More than 20% smaller
Lowest price Cheaper $996.98 vs $2,749.99
Help
 The best price we've seen is $1,753 cheaper (2.8x less)
Nikon D5000 Learn more about
the Nikon D5000

Advantages of the Nikon D700
Low light performance Much lower noise at high ISO 2,303 ISO vs 868 ISO
Help
 The D700 has excellent image quality 1.4 f-stops higher ISO than the D5000
Screen size Much larger screen 3.0" vs 2.7"
Help
 More than 10% larger screen
Screen resolution Much higher resolution screen 922k dots vs 230k dots
Help
 More than 4x higher resolution screen
Overall image quality Better image quality 80.0 vs 72.0
Help
 More than 10% better image quality
Viewfinder size Much larger viewfinder 0.72x vs 0.51x
Help
 Around 2x larger viewfinder
Sensor size Much larger sensor Full frame 36.0x24.0mm vs APS-C 23.6x15.8mm
Help
 Around 2.5x larger sensor
Focus points Many more focus points 51 vs 11
Help
 Set focus accurately within the frame
Weather sealed Weather sealed Yes vs No
Help
 Sealed to shoot in the rain
Cross type focus points Significantly more cross-type focus points 15 vs 1
Help
 Grab focus in difficult situations
Color depth Better color depth 23.5 bits vs 22.7 bits
Help
 Distinguishes 0.8 more bits of color
Shutter lag Less shutter lag 197 ms vs 276 ms
Help
 Around 30% less delay when taking photos
Lens focus motor Has a built-in focus motor Yes vs No
Help
 Autofocuses with all autofocus lenses
Viewfinder Has a pentaprism viewfinder Pentaprism vs Pentamirror
Help
 Pentaprism viewfinders are typically brighter
Battery life Longer battery life 1000 shots vs 510 shots
Help
 Around 2x more shots per battery charge
Light sensitivity Better maximum light sensitivity 6,400 ISO vs 3,200 ISO
Help
 The D700's maximum light sensitivity is 1 f-stop better
Continuous shooting Shoots faster 5 fps vs 4 fps
Help
 Around 30% faster continuous shooting
Fastest shutter speed Much faster max shutter speed 1/8000s vs 1/4000s
Help
 2x faster max shutter speed
Light sensitivity (boost) Better boost ISO 25,600 ISO vs 6,400 ISO
Help
 The D700's boost ISO is 2 f-stops better
Thickness Thinner 3" vs 3.1"
Help
 Almost the same
Nikon D700 Learn more about
the Nikon D700
vs

recommendations

Relative to the best recent DSLRs, and ignoring price

Nikon D5000 Nikon D5000
54 vs 96
Explain scores
Nikon D700 Nikon D700
Green arrow 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.

performance Which camera has better performance? Cast your vote!

NikonD5000
 Nikon D5000 vs Nikon D700
NikonD700
Uses Travel score Travel
On holiday or vacation
6
2
Vote Vote
Sports score Sports
Fast action, sometimes indoors
2
4
Vote Vote
Features Color accuracy Color accuracy
White balance in varied lighting
3
4
Vote Vote
Autofocus peformance Still image focusing
Speed and accuracy
2
4
Vote Vote
Manual controls Manual settings
How quickly and easily you can change settings
2
4
Vote Vote
Build quality Build quality
Is it sturdy, well made, plastic or metal
2
4
Vote Vote
Green arrow Join in the discussion below!

similarities

Compared to recent DSLRs

Common Strengths Common Weaknesses
Dynamic range Good dynamic range Help
D5000:12.5 EV
D700:12.2 EV
Startup delay Minimal startup delay Help
400 ms startup delay
Storage slots Fewer storage slots Help
1
Viewfinder coverage Below average viewfinder coverage Help
95%
HDR Neither has in-camera HDR Help
You could do HDR manually
True resolution Capture low resolution images Help
D5000:12.2 MP
D700:12.1 MP
Image stabilization No image stabilization Help
Risk of blur
Panorama Neither camera stitches together panoramas Help
You could stitch photos in post
3D Neither camera can take 3D photos Help
No 3d support

dxomark

DXOMark

competitors

Shared Competitors

Advantages

Disadvantages
Nikon D7000

Nikon D7000

Entry-level DSLR

$1,097 body only

$1,227 with 55-200mm lens
Movie format Records higher quality movies
Dynamic range Has slightly wider dynamic range
Weight Is slightly heavier
Shutter lag Has slightly more shutter lag
Compare the D7000 vs the D5000
Compare the D7000 vs the D700
Nikon D5100

Nikon D5100

Entry-level DSLR

$650 - $749 body only

$600 - $750 with 18-55mm lens
Movie format Records higher quality movies
True resolution Takes slightly higher resolution photos
Fastest shutter speed Has a slower max shutter speed
Shutter lag Has slightly more shutter lag
Compare the D5100 vs the D5000
Compare the D5100 vs the D700
Nikon D3100

Nikon D3100

Entry-level DSLR

$500 - $984 with 18-55mm lens
Movie format Records higher quality movies
Movie continuous focus Can focus continuously while recording movies
Fastest shutter speed Has a slower max shutter speed
Shutter lag Has slightly more shutter lag
Compare the D3100 vs the D5000
Compare the D3100 vs the D700
Nikon D90

Nikon D90

Entry-level DSLR

$869 - $897 body only

$1,099 - $1,200 with 18-105mm lens
Fastest shutter speed Has a slower max shutter speed
Compare the D90 vs the D5000
Compare the D90 vs the D700
Canon EOS Rebel T2i

Canon Rebel T2i

Entry-level DSLR

$499 - $949 body only

$579 - $867 with 18-55mm lens
Movie format Records higher quality movies
True resolution Takes slightly higher resolution photos
Fastest shutter speed Has a slower max shutter speed
Shutter lag Has slightly more shutter lag
Compare the Rebel T2i vs the D5000
Compare the Rebel T2i vs the D700
Nikon D300S

Nikon D300S

Pro DSLR

$1,700 body only

$2,547 - $4,295 with 18-200mm lens
Continuous shooting Shoots faster continuously
External mic jack Has an external mic jack
Weight Is significantly heavier
Compare the D300S vs the D5000
Compare the D300S vs the D700
Canon Rebel T3i

Canon Rebel T3i

Entry-level DSLR

$609 - $800 body only

$709 - $1,180 with 18-55mm lens
Movie format Records higher quality movies
True resolution Takes slightly higher resolution photos
Fastest shutter speed Has a slower max shutter speed
Shutter lag Has slightly more shutter lag
Compare the Rebel T3i vs the D5000
Compare the Rebel T3i vs the D700

Nikon D5000 Competitors

Advantages

Disadvantages
Canon Rebel T3

Canon Rebel T3

Entry-level DSLR

$379 body only

$460 - $550 with 18-55mm lens
Lens focus motor Has a built-in focus motor
Light sensitivity Better maximum light sensitivity
Dynamic range Less dynamic range
Overall image quality Significantly worse image quality
Compare the Rebel T3 vs the D5000

Nikon D700 Competitors

Advantages

Disadvantages
Canon EOS 5D Mark II

Canon EOS 5D Mark II

Pro DSLR

$2,400 body only

$2,799 - $2,839 with 24-105mm lens
Movie format Shoots movies
True resolution Significantly higher true resolution
Low light performance More noise at high ISO
Focus points Many fewer focus points
Compare the EOS 5D Mark II vs the D700
Nikon D800

Nikon D800

Pro DSLR
Movie format Shoots movies
True resolution Much higher true resolution
Continuous shooting Shoots slower
Thickness Thicker
Compare the D800 vs the D700
Canon EOS 7D

Canon EOS 7D

Pro DSLR

$1,329 - $1,821 body only

$1,498 - $1,800 with 28-135mm lens
Movie format Shoots movies
True resolution Higher true resolution
Low light performance Much more noise at high ISO
Overall image quality Significantly worse image quality
Compare the EOS 7D vs the D700
Nikon D3S

Nikon D3S

Pro DSLR

$5,197 body only
Low light performance Significantly lower noise at high ISO
Battery life Much longer battery life
Size Much larger
Viewfinder size Slightly smaller viewfinder
Compare the D3S vs the D700

appearance

Nikon D5000 Nikon D700
Nikon D5000 Nikon D700
Nikon D5000 Nikon D700

Find similar cameras

Here are some links to help you find other cameras with similar features to both of these:

discussion Which do you think is better?

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