Is a D70 a good next move?

I have had my Sony DSC F828 for two months now and would like to

graduate up to something better, is a D70 a good next step? I have

located one of these cameras in the kit form and have reserved it

until Monday, giving me time to discuss the matter here. I have

been following the threads on the D70 and it has got me very

interested. I am proposing to buy the body kit with the 18-70 lens,

and then get the 70-300 lense, spare battery, SB800 DX flash and a

62mm UV filter. Could anyone suggest anything that they would do

differently e.g. get a smaller flash, different 2nd lense other than

the 70-300. One reason I ask is that I see the D100 has some great

rebate offers worth up to $250 if you buy an extra lense and flash

at the same time as the body, this would mean only a $300 difference

between the D70 and D100 with identical lenses, flash and spare

battery.

 

Thanks in advance.

well, i had my d100 stolen last month, so i had to make a similar decision. As much as i wanted the D100 designation on my camera, and like the larger size, i chose the d70 as its replacement. there are just too many upgrades without much loss of features to justify the d100's greater price right now.

 

that being said, if i don't like my d70, i will have no problem going back to the d100 and selling the d70. i am also getting the kit. i'll sell the lens if i don't like/need it and imagine i won't take much of a loss. a lot of people will want it.

 

as for the rebates - if you need a new lens and flash, then its a decent deal. However, $300 more is still too much given features that the D100 doesn't have.

 

i recommend going to a shop that has a demo and playing with both. put a big lens on, put a small lens on, shoot multiple frames with a CF card in. from the message boards i've read, many have chosen the d100 and vice versa for personal reasons. you'll be happy with either route, i'm sure.

 

oh - i can't speak to the 70-300 lens. don't own and haven't shot with one.

 

good luck

 

kevin

Given the reported strengths of the D70, even though the model number is lower than the D100, don't be surprised if the D70 "replaces" the D100.

check the reports of ccd problems with the D70 with. The camera has reportedly been pulled from many store shelves in Japan.

 

 

Check it out here: http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1021&message=8080951.

 

 

After the problems Nikon has had with users of the D100 I would remember this: Caveat Emptor....Buyer Beware.

 

-Dave

I just re-read my previous post (above) and I feel that it may have been a little harsh or troll-like. What I want to say is that what I have heard from some sources is this: There appears to be a problem with the 'electronic shutter' employed by the D70 at higher speeds, and that you may want to wait and see how this all unfolds.

 

I certainly did not mean to diminish your enthusiasm for this camera or to bash the D70 in general. You may buy the camera and love it, but if I were buying this camera (which I toyed with in Vegas) I might wait until this whole 'electronic shutter'-CCD filter issue is sorted out.

 

-dave

I've heard it said that the colour cast at high shutter speed was an internet rumour started by some slightly scary canon fans and clever use of photoshop. I know two wrongs don't make a right, but do two internet rumours cancel each other out?

Anyway, as bodies (taking the features and handling as "body" and any softwear/ccd issues as "film" to ease my F90 using mind) I've had my hands on both and would get the D70. Unless you plan to buy some big glass and need a vertical shutter release it feels and handles (for me) a lot better than the D100, and the viewfinder seems fairly similar on both. Add this to the added features and souped up meter and you have a winner.

As for a 70-300, which one do you mean? I'd get the ED version, or an old, battered but optically clean 80-200 f2.8. This may be a good way to spend the money saved from the D100. I fear, but do not know of for sure, chromatic aberation problems with the cheaper 70-300G lens or old entry level 70-300D. Not sure about this, please someone correct me if I'm wrong. Certainly I was never happy with the performance of my 70-240, which was very similar to these.

Oh, and you don't make it clear what filter you meant, but if you were talking about a skylights get two, one for each lens, leave them on! Then look at them in a years time. If your anything like me you'll be pleased they were there.

Hope this helps, I'm sure you'll be happy with either, I know I would be.

Nick

I'm not so sure about the 70-300 as I've never used it. As for the rest, why are you waiting until Monday? If you pick it up Friday

you will have all weekend to work with it.

 

Rick H.

Thank you all for your kind advice. My main concern has been the price of this camera in the UK. For the kit and accessories I mentioned which included the 70-300 f/4-5.6D ED lense at a great price through Ritz cameras of $289, the total price would be $1,986. Here in the UK that same package would cost me $2,946. I am in New York for a few days next week, so say no more :-) I am just concerned as an amature I am not leaping to high. I do not have the faintest idea about lense as my F828 is a posh point and shoot, but this opportunity has come up for me to get the D70 at a price I could only dream of over here, warranty issues aside, I don't feel I should miss the opportunity.

 

So advice on an additional lense for general all round shooting would be appreciated, I just thought the 70-300 would a natural one to get, but I am definately willing to listen to experience here. Regarding the flash, the SB800 DX, is that OK? I hear there is an SB600 coming out very soon, but not by the time I am in the USA. There is also an SB50 DX cheaper at $174 compared to the SB800 at $369, could I get away with the cheaper one, or is its built in speedlight just as good?

 

Thanks again for giving me the interest in this great hobby, and the great support you offer to beginners.

Further to the above, could some of the more experienced among you confirm that I will get better quality pictures than my present F828, although my wife supports my hobby, I would like the comfort of her seeing that I am 'moving up' in the quality of pictures.

 

I only have a very short time to decide on this, but have not ruled out a Canon, if anyone can offer an alternative. However, the excitement and spec of the D70 seems to be blowing Canon away at the moment.

 

I will not be in New York until later next week, but must pay for the D70 in full and get it shipped there Monday, so time is short.

 

Thanks again for your help, very, very kind of all of you. If anyone is in NY and wants to give me a short lesson in using the camera next weekend, then I will buy the beer :-)

 

Cheers,

The D70 does have a very strong <a href="http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1034&message=8146714">moire tendency</a>. It's something you'll have to deal with. Here are resolution chart comparisons, and you can see the D70's colorful moire compared to the D60, 10D, and 300D: <a href="http://www.pbase.com/merriwolf/dslr_res_chart_compare">comparison</a>. You might want to wait until things settle down to see how it all shakes out with the D70. Personally, I prefer the image quality from Canon's CMOS. Less noise, less post-processing work. 300D + 18-55 lens ($1000), 550EX flash ($300), Sigma 70-300/4-5.6 APO Macro Super II ($210) would be my recommendation. Either that or the 10D.

I disagree with Peter. To my eyes the D70 is a far better choice in nearly every way. The

300D, from what i have read, is very limiting in what it allows you to do, and lacks many

very functional photographic features eg spot metering. If you are keen to move to an SLR

and learn how to shoot properly, and under complete control, then the D70 wins out. My

impression of the 300D is of a halfway house between a point and shoot and an SLR.

Canon's equivalent is the 10D NOT the 300D

 

As for image quality, i always take these kind of tests with a BIG pinch of salt. At the end

of the day the difference you will see in everyday shooting results will be negligible and

the instances where you will see moire will be less than you think.

 

I use a D1x and the D70. To my eyes the D70 files are as good if not better....

 

Anyway, i'll leave you to it

I cannot answer your question regarding the D70, I am trying to decide for myself. However I can comment on the 70-300ED. I have been shooting that lens for a couple of years now and really like it. On an F5 the focus is very fast and the ergonomics are very good. Of the longer zooms it rated ok at photodo; http://www.photodo.com/prod/lens/detail/NiAF70-300_4-56DED-446.shtml; and personnaly I have made some nice pictures with it. The biggest drawback for me is the roatting barrel during focus, makes use of filters a little harder. If I had the money and didn't object to the weight I would love a 80-200 f/2.8, but for my needs this one works well. ( Plus with the D70 the long end in effect becomes a 450mm f5.6!

 

-harry

I just bought a D70 with kit lens. I've had it for two days. It's fantastic. My main camera is a 6cm x 9cm Horseman view camera, so my standards are high. I have had Canon 35 mm SLRs for about 10 years, and more recently a Canon G2.

 

Here are my views having shot about 100 images with the D70 in Raw mode (converting with a beta version of Photoshop's CS raw converter that works with the D70):

 

1. Build quality of camera and lens is fantastic. Much better quality control than Canon SLRS (A2E and Elan 7). Better quality control of lens -- at least as good as Canon quality control for "L" lenses.

 

2. Lens and CCD yield excellent, very sharp images though I haven't done any scientific testing yet. I rezzed up (using Photoshop's CS bicubic smoother interpolation) a quick, handheld image to 13" x 19" on my Epson printer -- it looked better than 35 mm scanned on my Imacon Flextight scannr would have looked.

 

3. Camera controls are easy to learn, and work exactly as advertised. A full range of custom features.

 

4. Moire -- I haven't seen any yet. I have seen a few chromatic abberations as I'd expect to see with any digital camera and occasionally also see with 6cm x 9cm chromes scanned on my Imacon.

 

When I do see moire, I'll either just go shoot the image again, fix it with software, or if I can't get the image again, just chalk it up to a technical shortcoming that may occur in 1% (or even 2%) of my images, or less.

 

I'm falling in love with photography all over again.

 

BTW I chose the D70 over the Canon 10D after much consternation. I preferred to stay with the Canon system. I love the Canon lens line up. However, I like to use my SLR to take portraits and love to use the built in flash for this. Canon's Rebel digital doesn't allow use to have flash exposure compensation. The 10D built in flash gets blocked causing vignetting by any of the good Canon short zooms (i.e. 17-40 mm f4 L). I don't like using accessory speedlights -- the convenient SLR now becomes an inconvenient tank IMHO.

 

For $1300 the D70 is a steal, IMHO. An equivalent Canon would be the 10D, 17-40mm lens, and a speedlight (I already own one), and would run you at a minimum $2,200. It also wouldn't be nearly as versatile as the D70 with excellent (L quality, IMHO) kit lens.

 

I'm falling in love all over again.

 

If you want to check out my credentials as a photographer go to my website -- www.enaturephoto.com. Sorry I haven't updated it in about 2 years (I'm a very busy intellectual property litigator), so it may not load perfectly, . . . haven't had time to tweak it lately.

 

Good luck. Just my initial, escstatic impressions. Howard

I have to ask - why do you want to graduate to something "better"? What is it about your F828 that is insufficient and/or limiting? What aspect of your pictures are you looking to improve? I don't think anyone can answer whether or not the D70 (or any other camera, for that matter) is a good move for you without knowing what it is that you want and/or need from your camera. What types of photography do you do, and what features are important to you?

Peter,

 

I am the current happy owner of a F828, and I have been asking myself the same question for a while, since I have a great collection of Nikon lenses for my film camera. I guess I addressed it by wondering what the D70 could do that my F828 could not do.

 

There should definitely be an improvement in terms of noise, and general image quality (more film like), but would it really show in the pictures at the enlargement I generally do (max 8x10, exceptionally 11x14)? Would the trouble of carrying around an equipment that would be much more bulky worth it?

 

I decided against going the DSLR at this stage, mostly because I do not believe that the difference would be significant in terms of quality - the only thing that grabbed my attention was the depth of field issues associated with the Sony's smaller sensor, but I can now satisfactorily solve that in PS CS.

 

Look at the prints you make with the Sony - if you see any issues with them, just ask yourself whether the D70 will fix them. As for me, I think not, and I will be waiting until the next release to re-assess.

Just to let you know, according to Nikon, the SB-600 will be out around June. The SB-800 is the only flash that Nikon currently makes that will fully utilize all the functionality of the D70.

Thanks for all the replies guys. I have been away at the family wedding I mentioned earlier, I took 740 shots at the wedding! What a fantastic way to try out the camera, indoor, outdoor, set photo�s, people dancing, kids running around, disco dancing, the lot, and I must say I am absolutely delighted with the FANTASTIC results from my amateur shots. There was a pro photographer at the wedding doing the official shots, I had time to chat to him and he was amazed by the quality of the F828 shots, I even used my new C300 Canon printer there. He told me that I would see very little difference with a D70, as he has a D100, although he was shooting film yesterday. So what do I do? My new Sony flash performed brilliantly, with crystal clear images 25� across a darkened room!

 

I have to make up my mind by tomorrow, so will I actually gain more from the D70, I was hoping to learn more about the use of different lenses, but the F828 has almost everything you could ever want as an amateur in one! This weekend really was an eye opener for the F828, as I said FANTASTIC.

 

So shall I or should I not, what would it give me, Absolutely FANTASTIC? I take on board all the reasoned replies, but would like confirmation that I will get better quality results than I do with the F828. I will be using the camera for family stuff, holidays and action sports shots (kids), I just have to justify to my wife that we will get $2,000 worth of better photos' after the stunning pics of this weekend :-)

John, any ideas if the SB600 will be as good a match for the D70 as the SB800 when it is launched? I am concerned that with the SB800 I may be getting something too complex for me! As I stated in another post I used the Sony F828 with the HVL-F32X flash, absolutely brilliant! I also have the HVL1000 which I used with my F707, but this new F32X is outstanding, in my opinion anyway.

I would stick with the D70. There are a lot of amateurs posting a lot of junk on dpreview.com. Moire is present on all high rez digital cameras - including the new Kodak SLR/n and the famed canon 1Ds. There night, however, be a problem at 1/8000 of a second that is probably exposure related. A lot of SLR cameras struggle with 1/8000 making it closer to 1/6000 with exposure being thrown off. The kit lens is surprisingly good for the price. Not great, but very good.

OK, What's all this about? The fact that nearly all DSLR shots need manipulation in photo shop to make them any good! I have just read this on another thread and this has horrified me, will my D70 churn out duff images until I tweek them? My F828 pictures have needed NO tweeking, they are superb, I don't want to be spending a load more bucks to be sat at a computer for days on end. This would mean I could not print direct from the camera to my new printer!!

 

Very worried now, please advise ASAP!

 

Thanks

Thanks for the e-mails. I now have to choose the correct memory, and as I am moving away from Sony, the stack of memory sticks are of no use at all for the new camera. Just read an interesting thread on the CF cards, it certainly shows that you should do ALL your calculations first, as this seems to be a major investment looking at the price of the CF cards. I have also learnt that there is a vast difference in the different types, as well as price!