Nikon D70 opinions

Columbo · 29 Jan 2008 at 12:58

Any users in here?

Does it have a built in AF motor?

Cheers.

alexisonfire · 29 Jan 2008 at 13:06

Yes the D70 has an inbuilt AF motor (currently only the D40, D40X and D60 do not). The D70s is worth having a look at, for its slightly larger LCD screen.

divine` · 29 Jan 2008 at 13:10

I use one.

It's a bit old hat now to be honest. The controls and handling are still a world above that of a D40 but the IQ can suffer a bit. The high ISO noise performance is poor for example.

I think i'd still rather take a D70 second hand over a D40 new though, assuming they're about the same money, especially if you can get the D70 with the 18-70 rather than the 18-55 the D40 has.

Messiah Khan · 29 Jan 2008 at 13:25

The D70 also has the bonus of having a weak low pass filter,making it very suitable for IR photography if that sort of thing floats your boat.

Helium_Junkie · 29 Jan 2008 at 13:33

Indeed, my gf's d70 excels at IR where my d80 falls down

It's a very capable camera, and I enjoy using it

barnettgs · 29 Jan 2008 at 13:37

divine` said:
I use one.

It's a bit old hat now to be honest. The controls and handling are still a world above that of a D40 but the IQ can suffer a bit. The high ISO noise performance is poor for example.

I am not sure if you realise that you are lucky to own one.

I sold D70s last year for a smaller D40x and realised it was a downgrade. While it has a better noise performance but I won't say it's a world away from D70s and the colour from D70s is better, much more accurate.

D70s metering (though bit underexposed) and focus are superior as well from what I had found out. The only good thing I can say about D40x is its JPG output and smaller body.

D70s JPG is pretty poor so I used RAW all the time but it takes longer to post-processing which I didn't had much time for.

divine` · 29 Jan 2008 at 13:47

Smaller body a good thing?

Small = rubbish, bigger the better for SLR!!

It is a good camera, which is where my problem lies. To upgrade from it with any meaningful jump will require a D200/300 which I just can't afford/justify really.

barnettgs · 29 Jan 2008 at 13:55

I like to throw it in the gloves box in my car so I might shoot something I see...is that too much to ask?

Anyway, D70 will last you a long time.

Messiah Khan · 29 Jan 2008 at 13:58

divine` said:
Smaller body a good thing?

Small = rubbish, bigger the better for SLR!!

Not always. It depends on the user. For me, bigger is better and im very happy with the size and weight (Which is significant) of the D300+Grip. but for my dad who does a lot of walking and mountaineering, he went with an Oly because it was small and light and easy to carry up mountains. There are lots of uses for a SLR, and depending on what it will be used for, some specifications are better than others.

divine` said:
D200/300 which I just can't afford/justify really.

Yes you can.

Sol · 29 Jan 2008 at 17:59

I had a D70s for about a year, pretty good camera overall. Probably would go for a D80 if you can though because it would be a better overall purchase. Only thing that would really like to improve on the D70 is it's ISO performance, get quite a lot of noise from 400 upwards relative to newer models (including the D50).

Mine was savaged by a waterfall in Thailand unfortunately, metal lens mount ripped off camera due to heavy-ish lens + slight fall via neck strap. Due to the plastic mount issue's I bought myself a D200 due to all metal construction. I've heard of people dropping the D70 from great heights and surviving no problem though.