Been playing around a bit more with the D700 and am amazed at how much detail I can get from highlights and shadows out of just one exposure. With the D200 I normally bracketed high dynamic range shots and then used Photomatix to create HDR's, but with the D700 it doesn't look like I'll need to nearly as much. I'll probably still bracket some shots for a while out of habit, of course, but so far the 'middle' shot of the bracket on the D700 has been good. Here's a couple of images from the same series of shots: one a 5 shot HDR and the other the middle exposure with a little shadow and highlight adjustment.

Took the D700 on a little 4 day trip to the Smokies. I hadn't really spent much time in the park and learned a lot, not only about the geography but the visitors. There are the folks who drive by the views with their cell phone cameras out the window, the ones who drive through the park just to waddle around the shops on either side, the ones in hillbilly tour busses (pickup trucks with lawn chairs in the back), the ones driving around the loops with their van doors open dangling small babies out the side, the ones who send their children running at bears to get a closer look, ... the list goes on.

It is a beautiful place, though, and next to most of the other tourists I look skinny. ;-) We visited pretty much every region in the park and on my next trip back I'll be able to find my way around better.

I did get some nice photos even with all the milling around, and the Folkstone Inn where we stayed is a wonderful B&B, so the trip was very enjoyable. I will be camping in the park in October for the fall colors and expect the crowds will be even worse then.

Well, I got a D700. I plan on hanging on to the D200 as a backup, but I'm anxious to put the D700 through its paces. I'm going back up to the Smokies next week for a few days which will be its 1st real test and I also just made plans for the last 2 weeks in September in southern Utah. Hopefully I'll know how to use it by then. ;-)