Nikon D70

If you own a D70 or a D70s, consider yourself to be lucky and blessed. As far as Nikon cameras are concerned, this camera model is the reference point of all Nikon digital cameras made since the start of the digital era. It is THE camera where ALL Nikon digital cameras are compared in terms of less or more goodies. If you will have only one digital camera, this is the one to have. (I will write about the Canon equivalent camera at a later date). The Nikon D70 / D70s stands in the middle of All Nikon Models. They call this CONSUMER SEGMENTATION. Consumers have different levels of affordability to buy a camera, so Nikon removed some features to make it cheap, so D40, D60 etc. came along. They also souped up more goodies, like being able to recognise really OLD jurrasic lenses, so the D200, D300 etc. came along... Early this decade, Nikon made the mistake of putting all nice goodies on only one camera, the D70. They realized there was only the D1, D2 as the next step, so they cannibalized the features to spread the new models. Nikon users who are wise will still buy cheap used D70s because they know this camera has the goods and will deliver the goods.

1. 1/500 Flash synchronization. Man! That is FAST! Try to find this feature even on higher end models like the D2, D3 or the Canon 5D or 5D Mark 2 ! Sorry, you won't find them there. This is one of the best kept secrets of the D70! Nikon don't want you to know this! Using FLASH on bright highnoon sunlight at full bore aperture of F1.4 is awesome!
2. 6 Megapixels is all you need for up to A4 sized prints. Even the biggest Computer monitor is only 72 dpi!
3. So cheap, you could have two sets plus three spares...
4. Same batteries as the big guys! D200, D300, D700 etc.
5. AutoFocus screw lets you use OLD AF lenses and even Film lenses!

1. You have to download and install from the internet to your computer to the camera the latest upgrade Version 2.0 software to make the D70 souped up. The D70s has this preinstalled.

I bought my D70 from my nephew used for $800 and have been learning it for about 3 years. I put a Tamron 28-300 AF VC lens on it. That is when the learning began for me. I have gotten some fantastic shots (for me anyway) and many bad ones. I now have about 9500 shots in my PC and continue to learn.

I would say the camera is confusing to start with and takes some time and patience to learn. You need to have some understanding of how a SLR works. You get good quality shots and it gets you into the SLR world for a small amount of money.

The Nikon quality
Lot of capabilities
Manual or use the 6 preset shots
Very good battery life

Heavy
Small LCD

Nikon F 100
Nikon N-50

I have had no problems with the camera.

The nikon D70 is a great no excellent dslr camera that has a very good ergonomics lots and lots of features (now own it for more than a year and hardly know 1/3 of what is possible wtih this camera) . there are s lot of manual features (may be too many) though it is not as complicated as you might expect it to be.

it is a heavy weight camera and that weight and the size of it to keep it steady. it is a camera you have to get used to ( like a wetsuit you have to fit) but once you are using it more and more you will notice that in fact nikon helps you to get the best out of it.

most of the time i shoot in P mode and i use the widow and the child mode(RAW+JPEG BASIC) to always have a backup (RAW) to edit something that cannot be edited in the jpeg basic. The nef file is large and by using a image program for nikon allmost everything can be changed afterwards.

example :

you are taking pictures in the sun, see a church , forget to change the white balance , enter the curch and shoot and also forget the ev compasation .
well in nef those two things can be changed to the correct settings, the meanis is that you decide what needs to be changed and not the camera


the resolution might seem low but it still is 6 mega pixel on a large dx sensor and it is real pixels (not interpollated or so) the speed is fantastic , when compared to digital compacts but also the compatition dslr's .

the display is small but it is possible to zoom in on detail of the taken picture to see if ti is razor sharp, after a few days intensive playing you will have understood the basic of what this camera can , don't forget to buy a decent lens , because the lens and it's qualty is a great deal of the picture.

great control
very good ergonomics
sharp and very good images
design and the brand
and many many more

small lcd display (back) (oly the size is the reason for puting it here)

canon eos 300D

never have to use it

This was my first DSLR, but not my first Nikon. I've always had good luck with all my Nikon products. That's why I chose to buy a Nikon DSLR. I've had my D70 for a few years now and couldn't be happier with it. I purchased the kit lens (AF-S Nikkor 18-70mm 3.5-4.5 G ED) which has given me excellent results. I shoot just about everything: portraits, landscapes, travel, architecture. When new, this was a perfect entry-level DSLR, but a little pricey. You can now pick up a used D70 for only a few hundred dollars and at that price, it makes an excellent digital camera for the first-time DSLR user. Or, it could be used as a very reliable back-up camera for advanced users.

Solid build, reliable, meticulous finish, (relatively) lightweight, easy menus, logical controls, good user manual. Battery life between charges is incredibly long -- I can go weeks without recharging (of course, it depends on how many shots I take).

Compared to some newer DSLRs, I find the noise a little too noticeable. especially when shooting in dark settings (indoors or night shots) or at high ISO. User manual could have a better index... at times, I've found it difficult to find a page containing just the info/answer I needed. I find the built-in flash rather useless: it doesn't have much power and always gives a bluish/grey cast. I use it only for fill-in flash outdoors and have since purchased the SB-800 external flash.

None.

Never had to contact Customer Service.

Be careful about this camera. I have had it for two years, and I took very good care of it seeing as it cost quite a bit, a bit too much considering the camera. After it hit the second anniversary of purchase, things started to go down hill . If you buy this camera, please get an extended warranty. Do it for me! First, the flash stopped working at random. That I could live with. Then, to my woe, I turned it on one day, took a picture, and everything was pink and green. So i took it into my neighbrhood camera repair shop and it is going to cost a lovely $400 to fix. NOT WORTH IT! Please, please, please. Either a. switch to film and maybe help the price of color film stop rising or b. get an extended warranty.(!) These things are pieces of you know whats, they are computers. Ever have a hard drive crash? That's basically what happened. They can't be trusted to the elements or time and wear. Go buy yourself a nice metal, all manual tank of a film camera. Don't waste your money. Your results will be better with film anyway, and more satisfactory. The medium is being destroyed by these stupid consumerist plastic computer chips. AND you can't even use the digital nikon lenses on their film bodies if the d**n thing breaks. i probably should have checked before i bought it.

Great deal? no not really.