The D700 is Nikon's first foray into a small format full frame digital SLR. The photography world was taken by surprise at Nikon's announcement, primarily due to the low price of the D700, but it faces stiff competition from the similar format model from Canon - the Canon 5D mkII - which features a 21 megapixel full frame sensor and also shoots full HD video. The high ISO performance of the 5D MkII is said to be state of the art by reviewers.

The D700 becomes the fourth camera in the Nikon range to offer 12 megapixel resolution, joining the Nikon D90, Nikon D300 and Nikon D3. Each of these cameras is aimed at a different audience and so choosing between them should be easy. In fact it's not, because there is a certain amount of overlap and with new model release schedules becoming ever more frequent there always semes to be a new model announcement just around the corner. Having only been announced in August 2008 there should be plenty of mileage in the D700 before we something else similar from Nikon.

What the Nikon D700 primarily brings is full frame digital SLR photography to the sub £2000 price range.

Comparing these Nikon cameras:

The D90 small DX format CMOS sensor, plastic body, Movie capture at up to 1280 x 720 , shoots 4.5fps, sensor cleaning, 12.3 million effective pixels, built-in flash, Active-D lighting controls

The D300 small DX format CMOS sensor, magnesium body, shoots 6 fps, self-cleaning sensor feature, 12.3 million effective pixels, built-in flash, Active-D lighting controls

The D700 full frame FX format CMOS sensor, shoots 5 fps, self-cleaning sensor feature, 12.1 million effective pixels, built-in flash, faster auto-focus

The D3 full frame FX format CMOS sensor, shoots 9 fps, has more powerful battery and pro-grip, 12.1 million effective pixels, no flash, fastest auto-focus performance

Because the D700 is effectively a D3 camera in a D300 body it is a very capable yet complicated piece of kit.

The handling of the D700 will certainly challenge someone moving up from the simpler D40/D50 type cameras, but for a pro or semi-pro the D700 represents a lighter weight alternative body, or perhaps a cheap backup camera,

• Nikon D3x - £5399
• Nikon D3 - £2570
• Nikon D700 - £1630
• Nikon D300 - £999
• Nikon D90 - £599

Pricewise the D700 represents fair value but you need to value the £600 uplift for full frame as a sensible move. However there are features of the D300 which now look shabby when compared to the newer D90 and D700. Take for example the multi-directional control button on the rear which feels precise on the newer cameras but noticably vague on the D300.

Use of Nikon's DX lenses will put the D700 into DX mode which reduces resolution to DX sensor size and 5 megapixels.

• Nikon D700 - full frame SLR digital camera
• 12.1 million pixels CMOS sensor
• sensitivity ISO 200 - 6400 (extenable to 100 and 25600)
• 5 frames per second (slower than the D300) ( 8 fps with optional MB-D10 Battery Pack)
• 3 inch 922,000 pixel LCD monitor
• Manual pop-up flash on board
• Nikon EXPEED image processor
• 51 point Multi-CAM3500FX Auto Focus sensor
• shoots JPEG and RAW - includes RAW file editing software
• battery performance - 11.1 Wh
• 95 per cent coverage in viewfinder (D300 has 100per cent)
• Weight 1075g with battery