Nikon D700 DSLR shows itself in German magazine

Nikon's D700 hasn't exactly been doing the best job staying under cover as of late, and it looks like Germany's ProfiFoto magazine has now pulled back whatever veil of mystery remained around the camera, with its current issue prominently featuring the high-end DSLR in a two-page spread. Among details discernable via the translation is confirmation of a 12-megapixel sensor, along with a sensor cleaning system, an end of July release date, and a €2,600 price tag -- or just over $4,000, although we're guessing that'll even out a bit with the North American release. Needless to say, we'd recommend staying tuned for more details on this one.

Update: User heavymeister at the dpreview forums has some way higher-res scans of the same issue -- anyone care to translate?

[Thanks, Albert]

[broli @ Jun 30th 2008 4:24PM]

Will this kill Britney?

[CraigJ @ Jun 30th 2008 4:24PM]

Is that same 12MP full-frame sensor in the D3?

[CraigJ @ Jun 30th 2008 4:26PM]

That's my assumption but the translation leavs a little to be desired:

D700 does not follow now completely unexpectedly. The same 12-Megapixel-Sensor,

[Alexander @ Jun 30th 2008 4:55PM]

It is. (I am German/Ich bin Deutscher)

[optV @ Jun 30th 2008 5:11PM]

SB-900! I'm more excited about that. I wonder how legit this is.

[jollyllama @ Jun 30th 2008 5:19PM]

I'm also stoked about an sb-900, cause I want to pick up a sb-800 for cheap.

[HAI 2 U @ Jun 30th 2008 5:23PM]

$4,000??? mid-range my ass ...

D60 or D80 for me as well.

[slackercow @ Jun 30th 2008 5:25PM]

no use? comparing a camera that might cost 4k to a camera that costs less than 1k... your comment if of no use.

[JD @ Jun 30th 2008 5:40PM]

Do all magazine articles have the hot shoe off the bottom of the page?

[Tyler Willis @ Jun 30th 2008 5:42PM]

There was also mention of a new flash, the SB 900. I just bought the SB 800 this weekend. Guess I'll be returning that LOL.

[Rowdy @ Jun 30th 2008 5:45PM]

Engadget: the presumed specs from your link to kenrockwell.com is just that, presumed specs, not real at all, I think that you should be more accurate on this particular post about Nikon not doing a good job staying under cover because there wasn't any D700 public specs at that time.

[Johan S @ Jun 30th 2008 6:25PM]

Since nobody is translating it .. I figure I'll have a go.

I think, according the the first paragraph at http://img167.imageshack.us/img167/1367/d700abq0.jpg that this thing is going to be priced at the rock bottom price of 2 Euros.

That's what .. $4 ?

I could be wrong though, about the exchange rate.

[Coard @ Jun 30th 2008 8:25PM]

2.599 Isn't 2 Euros. It would be 2,599 euros in American terms. Their (.) is our (,) in relation to money.

[CraigJ @ Jun 30th 2008 6:32PM]

Babelfish needs work:

"Note: At present we try it - the enormous crowd of visitors because of - with a static side for this message, because the server does not create the attack otherwise."

[psilver @ Jun 30th 2008 7:00PM]

Wow, D700 AND SB900! I'm excited for both! I guess they will be both in my wishlist! This will be for next year though.. I'm still paying for the D300 and Asus laptop.. and I want a Mac Book Pro too! Us boys and our toys!

[psilver @ Jun 30th 2008 7:01PM]

I nearly bought an SB-800 too. I'm glad I didn't yet.

[verb @ Jun 30th 2008 7:12PM]

What I can make of the article, the D700 will supposedly be a compact D3, but exist in parallel as a professional level camera. It is obvious that the bottom handgrip in the photo is removeable. Nikon has had more than one "top of the line" camera before aimed at different types of professional photographers. Journalists, sports and art photographers are all looking for different things so sometimes one-size does not fit all.

[Razor @ Jun 30th 2008 7:38PM]

That extra range the SB-900 has would make a nice match to my 70-200mm VR AF-S, if I didn't use bounce flash so often =P I wonder what the chances of the SB-900 being weather-sealed are =|

As for the D700, looks like Nikon finally has an answer to Canon's 5D. Granted, that is also well overdue for an update.

[Cunthor @ Jun 30th 2008 8:13PM]

Better late then never :) At least one of the big two is serious about competing in FX/FF format. Also can't wait to see what 5D will bring to the table.

[bebop @ Jun 30th 2008 8:19PM]

One good thing related to the D700 release: used D300's get cheaper!

Worth mentionning also that while DX lenses won't work on the D700, all the old full-frame lenses can be used at the "real" focal length again. That and 12 MP FX are the two reasons I really want this...

$3k is unfortunately out of my reach. Maybe in two years when the price is $1,400 used...

[optV @ Jun 30th 2008 8:46PM]

Actually, the camera WILL support DX lenses, it just masks the viewfinder and uses a 5mp center crop of the sensor. The D3 does the same thing and the max framerate increases to 11fps while in DX crop mode.

[Itchy Pajamas @ Jun 30th 2008 8:37PM]

This is pretty much what I've been waiting for. Looking forward to dpreview's comments after the embargo date. Tomorrow???

[Don Giovanni @ Jun 30th 2008 8:58PM]

There is a video on the link provided below

PS: Its in french i think....

http://www.focus-numerique.com/news_id-851.html

[Simon Wright @ Jun 30th 2008 9:21PM]

C'mon, this is a fake magazine screenshot. It's like everyone here *wants* to be scammed. Again and again.

Why is this spread slightly taller than the entire publication (see top left, but not the top right)? Why is the flash hot shoe extending beyond the paper? I could have faked something far more convincingly than this if I had a printer and an hour to spend in InDesign.

[Temple @ Jun 30th 2008 9:59PM]

>>$4,000??? mid-range my ass ...

Since the camera is €2,600 (includes 19% VAT in Germany) it should actually be around $2,600 or there abouts. The D3 originally sold for around €5,000 in Euroland ($5,000 in the US).

Its actually a stellar deal. Professional 51-point Autofocus from the D3, anti-dust (D3 lacks), 25,600 ISO, and 8fps with MB-D10 vertical grip (9fps in D3).

So pretty much a mini-D3 for almost half the price.

[Boudu @ Jun 30th 2008 10:00PM]

>>$4,000??? mid-range my ass ...

Since the camera is €2,600 (includes 19% VAT in Germany) it should actually be around $2,600 or there abouts. The D3 originally sold for around €5,000 in Euroland ($5,000 in the US).

Its actually a stellar deal. Professional 51-point Autofocus from the D3, anti-dust (D3 lacks), 25,600 ISO, and 8fps with MB-D10 vertical grip (9fps in D3).

So pretty much a mini-D3 for almost half the price.

[Bob @ Jun 30th 2008 11:10PM]

What a bummer. OK, so a D3 for a bit less. Heck, the depreciation of technology alone would have done this in a couple of months.
I need MP. Good MP. 12 doesn't cut it for me (landscape). I don't need low light, big pixels. I need info.
I'll still be shooting 6x6 and my D200 till Nikon gets up to speed with Canon. All my pro friends are running to the MKIII and ditching their Nikon gear. I'm hoping 20+ will come before long at a competitive (read D3 plus a tich) price. I'll keep hoping but this is disappointing...

[DaMaDo @ Jul 1st 2008 11:57AM]

I have the D3 (extreme happiness BTW) so I'm just excited about the SB-900. I want to try CLS out and hopefully I can get one SB-900 and a couple more soon-to-be-cheaper, SB-800s.