MKII vs Nikon D700

[private]

Alrighty - I am seriously thinking about jumping ship over to the world of Nikon. Does anyone LOVE LOVE their MKII. The reasons I am thinking of jumping ship - better skin tones and better focusing. I want to stay cuz I have spent a small fortune in L lenses...LOL

[private]

This should prolly be moved to digital cameras - sorry...

[lputman]

Both are exceptional cameras. I loved my MKII when I had it and I plan on purchasing it again. I've seen great results from both.

[OsmosisStudios]

Skin tone is likely more an issue with editing, tbh. While colour rendition is different, it comes down to how its edited.

[Jim Bryant]

I'd only trade my MKII's for a Nikon D3 and the same lenses as I currently own. But trade a MKII for a D700 is nuts.

[inkista]

I love my 5D2, but I'm still in that honeymoon phase of "new gear" acquisition.

Personally, if I was looking for more-better-newer, I'd probably hold off until next year. Both the D700 and 5D2 are likely to get replaced at some point, given that they're 2.5 years old now, and the "typical" timeframe (if there is such a thing) for these cameras its around 3 years. (Although, actually, come to think of it, the 5D tends to shadow the 1Ds by a year, so maybe it'll be a 2012 release).

The D700 may have a better autofocus system than the 5D2 but it's got much lower resolution (12MP vs. 21MP), and it doesn't do HD video. There are some folks on the Nikon side who clamor for a Nikon analog of the 5D2 that does those two things.

I've also shot with a friend's D700, and it's a very nice camera, but even after 30 minutes with it, I was still struggling to figure out the think behind the menu and control layouts. Whether that's from long-time Canon programming or just innate inability to learn things quickly, I don't know. But I have an EE/CS degree, and regularly swap between Windows, OSX, and Ubuntu, so UI differences usually don't phase me much. I will say that much as I liked it, it didn't seem like it was any kind of quantum leap improvement over my 5D2.

[private]

The skin tone thing I am talking about is SOOC - it tends to have a bit more magenta - with all settings being equal, The other issue is the auto focus, but I called Canon today, signed up for Canons gold membership and they will get the two cameras up to factory standards and also will give me a discount on any repairs that are needed. But of course I cannot do that till December...

And I do not have the mkII now, I just have the 5d, but will have something new b4 dec 31st... fingers crossed. But either way, I will be spending 2500. There MUST be a reason they are so close in price...

[lputman]

Honestly, I've not had any issues SOOC with skin tones with any of the Canon cameras that I have/had. As far as auto-focus, the D700 is better at auto-focusing than the 5DII, there's 9 points in the 5DII and 51 in the D700.

What kind of auto-focus issue are you having? The 50D has better AF than the 5D and your copy might just need a tune-up.

[nicks65]

Wedding photographer for about 20 years, digital since 2004. Mainly Nikon user, I used Canon Eos1 MarkII N for 3 years between 2004-2007. Later I went to Nikon digital (both FX & DX). I prefer shooting with D700 for my PJ sessions and D7000 for location under control.
Recently one friend gave me a 5D MarkII with the classic 24-70 and 70-200 L non IS.
I am quite dissapointed with the AF faults under fast shooting conditions (and not only). The same but not so often with exposure. Not even a slight movement and the exposure changes even 1.5 stop to the same scene. Colour metering? No I suppose cause Canon still reads B&W I think..

I was thinking about buying a MKII just to use this fake characteristic of texture decreasing and edges sharpening with a hallo around them. This is (with the combination of magenta color cast) what gives MkII jpegs a magic painting atmoshere.
But in no way I will sacrifice the lost moments I could never have again cause of the autofocus inaccurancy or the overburned highlights of exposure I rarely have with my D700 and 24-70 , 70-200 VR.

When I will choose to bring a company for my Nikon, this will be an Eos 1 again.

sorry for my English, I tried enough
Nick

[here2rock]

Nick I am having trouble following your post. Can you clarify as to which one is your preferred brand and camera. I was thinking of throwing my money on Canon but I might have to rethink and explore a bit more of Nikon.