the answer to the question, i think, is that despite being outmoded, the d700 is still worth upwards of $2000 new. regardless of how good the d7000 is, or how good a potential replacement might be, it still holds its own. but $1500 is kind of a 'too good to be true' price, and in any event, i would only buy something that expensive from an Nikon has gone so far to show us an image with the Df and two F-Mount lenses, the 55mm f/1.2 (a good lens) and the classic Nikon 43-86mm f/3.5 (1963-1976), which is actually Nikon's poorest-performing lens of all time; a lens so optically awful that it single-handedly gave all zoom lenses a bad reputation for the next two or three decades Hi Not an Old Man, If you can see anything the mirror is down, as it should be. You can see the mirror inside the camera to check this. It won't trigger the shutter if it can't focus, which it can't do if the image is dark. *Nikon Store determines its trade-in amount in its sole discretion and Nikon Store’s trade-in amount may vary according to the condition and age of the trade-in.To be eligible for a trade-in amount, the consumer purchaser must trade in one operating camera or lens to the Nikon Store for each new Nikon Z series Camera or Nikkor Z series Lens purchased. As I have shown in some of my tests before, the difference between the Nikon D700 sensor and the Nikon D3s sensor is roughly 1-1.5 stops. Still, the D700 produces amazing results at high ISOs that even the most current Nikon DX sensors like D7000 cannot match. NIKON D700 @ 24mm, ISO 200, 1/160, f/8.0 VQhZhsT.