Nikon D70

paymontana

Anyone remember me?..Been a way for a while but I have returned. Just had shoulder surgery. So bear with the one handed typing. Anyway I am looking forward to hearing from some of the regs. again.:D


Due to the misfortune of my defective nikon coolpix and the generosity of Bust Buy's extended warranty service, which comes highly unrecommended. I was able to swing a sweet deal on a Nikon D70 slr. This camera is unbelievable IMO. It is faster than most film slr camera's. With an 80x write speed memo card it can put out breath taking 6 meg pics as fast as you can pull the trigger.

In comparison to my Nikon N65 slr I found the auto focus too be noticeably quicker and accurate. The 18-70mm dx lens is light weight and optimal for for clarity. I found this model to be more user friendly than any of my previous digi cams. In auto mode it is simple as point and shoot for snap shots. Or it as advanced in composure mode to shoot in any lighting situation. Another neat feature is the wireless remote control. Perfect for composing self portraits or for no touch low light situations. The ohter noticeable improvement is the rechargeable battery life. I was able to shoot over 250 shots on one charge!

There is on small drawback. The lcd screen is for picture review only. It does not work as a viewfinder. I personaly like useing the old fashion viewfinder. This feature does have its advantages though. The manual viewfinder increases battery life and does not prevent cold weather use.

The pricing is a little steep at 1,000$ for the lens and camera but it is just like most high end audio. You get what you get what you pay for. There is curently a 200$ rebate. I anticipate a price drop before the summer.


I don't have any personal experience with the other digital slr's yet. I would be interested in hearing feedback from anyone who owns a Minolta or Canon digital slr. I highly recommend this camera!




CJ:D

phuz

LCD can't be used as a viewfinder? Bummer.

I love my Coolpix 8700. Still trying to figure the damn thing out.

lomic

No Digital SLR will allow you to use the LCD as a viewfinder, because there's a mirror in the way which is reflecting the image up to the traditional viewfinder. Well, in theory they could do it, but it would be annoyingly complicated and the demand for such a feature would be fairly low.

D70 is still my favorite in the price range, though Canon's new Rebel XT could be an interesting competition. I work at a Wolf Camera actually, and for others who like extended warrenties, you might want to give Wolf/Ritz a shot, we'll actually repair or replace your camera even if it's your fault, like you drop it or such - I in no way recommend doing this, but you could in theory smash the camera in 3 years and they'd buy you a new model year camera. It is pretty expensive though, D70 is about $170/year for coverage, but it also includes free pro cleaning once a year which is pretty nice on DSLR's.

Sorry they have me brainwashed

brettw22

I was flipping through a magazine the other day and I saw the D70 priced for $799.....I don't recall though if they had anything listed with regard to rebates.......

warhorst

hi, The D70 is a great camera and with a new firmware available now, its pretty much a better camera.

The d70 combo set with the 18-70mm lens is a good starting DSLR. There is also a rebate from Nikon.

I am using a Fuji S2 pro and compared it with the D70 and i think it is "better" for my use.

Canon and Nikon cant be compared on paper based on tech details, best is to try them in the store.

My advice is to buy a Compact Flash card and bring it to the store and try them with the camera you want to buy....and play with the flash and lenses.

Upload the pics to your computer and compare the pic and decide which you like.

brettw22

OH.....make sure that you buy high speed Compact Flash cards. CF is one of the slowest media's out there (compared to SD, XD, SM). The camera can only go as fast as the memory will let it, remember that.

warhorst

Good point there about the write speed.

Another thing is CF cards are flash based and that is good if you are travelling alot.

Microdrives are similar to CF except they are a "mini" harddisk with moving parts....so not as durable.

however with new tech and design, that is not much of a factor as write speed is....as most photographers are concerned abt.

in my opinoin, it is always better to have 2 memory cards then 1 huge memory cards.

EG. having 2 2Ggig CF cards is better than having a single 4 GIG CF card....with a lesser risk of corrupting the cards.

paymontana

The D70 banks up to nine frames @ 6megs at a time. Even with a cf 4x write speed card the camera was able to out run my 660 Nikon speed light!