back to square one ;-(

Hi everyone.

I think I must call myself a lucky one, 'cause I'm still alive.

 

The boat I was sailing on sank with ALL my belongings. but what

bothers me the most is having lost some rare (for me) shots of

dolphins dancing around our boat and cruising along.

 

Anyway, that's life.

 

Problem is ALL my equipment sank with the boat and I must start all

over again...

 

taken into account that I was quite happy with my one year old D70

(despite the infamous viewfinder) and I don't feel like going back

to my F801, My question is:

Should I get myself a used, firmware upgraded d70 or a new d70s? is

it worth the money? compatibility is not an issue, cause I lost

everything (speedlight, telelens, accessories....)

thanks for your support of a very sad photographer ;-)

First piece of gear I would buy , If I were you, is a Pelican (floating) case.

thanx Steve. Very funny :-/

First, good that nothing more serious happen.

Things you can always buy.

About the camera the D70 has a firmware update that becomes a D70s besides the LCD (i read this somewhere).

It is not worth the money.

Buy a D70 or KM7D for that matter if you have to start from scratch.

 

Good luck

 

Rgds

I would without question by a D70 and not a D70S. It's not worth it.

On second thought, you could always wait for the next Nikon DSLR to come out. Of course you'll probably be retired by then...

The good news is you now know what not to buy.

Not to focus (yuk yuk) on the negative, but what the hell happened? How'd that accident unfold?

 

Glad you're ok!

 

-Chris

Buy a Canon 5D. If I wouldn't have Nikon lenses, I would probably move to Canon, it seems that Nikon is a few years behind Canon and unfortunately I don't see that changing any time soon (given Nikon's track for the past 5 years).

Please, Marco, don't pay attention to people telling you to buy 5D. I love it when some smart guy, who I've never even met, is telling me to spend $3000+! Thanks, dude, I sure will buy that 5D! Should I buy 2 of them just in case one of them starts locking up? I know, you're only trying to be helpful, but...

 

the answer to original question is "buy D70". I don't know why Nikon is selling D70 and D70s at the same time. It doesn't make sense because D70s only has a few very minor improvements.

Perhaps the answer is go back to the F801. I mean pick up a few lenses and wait to see what is presented at the photo show in feburary. That is the time when there are a lot of new anouncments.

I think if I were to start all over, I'd look at Canon. Really, now's the time to consider it and anything else - but I wouldn't say Canon or anyone else as a whole is better. Most don't have spot meters from what I've seen, and I use that fairly often. But they do have good points. Check out the Minolta 7D too - the body has "VR" built in, so you've even got it with fast primes.

 

My guess is that the D70 will only be around until stock runs out - discounts and rebates will probably get bigger as time goes on.

I've never understood why people think the viewfinder is so bad on the D70. Marco, I would expect D70s prices to drop after all the existing stock of the D70 is sold. The D70s has an improvement to the integrated flash, the ability to use a wired shutter release, and a larger LCD screen. The price difference is only $200.00 and I would expect that to change for Christmas. The other cameras you might consider is the Konica/Minolta 7D or the Pentax *ist D.

Pick up an 801s plus lenses plus a Pelican case for all.

 

This will cost less than a new D70s.

I would go for the minolta 7d as well if I had nothing. I have nikon d70 and I like it but I have used a lot minolta 5d and I love it! The 5d does not have very good build quality (according to my personal opinion) so I would go for the 7d which is the same but metal. The only thing I would check on the 7d is if it is fast enough (startup time, shutter delay).

Chris: it was a saling boat. We were sailing at night with 30knots winds along the Cyprus coast and we suddenly hit a rock unusually far from the shore. we prepared for the "abandon the ship" scenario and when I came back in the boat to get my stuff, my equipment was already underwater. I didn't even bother to look for it, since salt water destroys every single electronic, mechanic, optic element in a camera.

Now, to get back to the core question, I've taken into account to move to Canon or other brand but:

 

1) to master the software and hardware of a Dsrl Camera is not easy nowadays, and I don't want to waste all the time I spent learning my Nikon D70.

 

2) I have also come to master quite enough Nikon's software (Capture 4.3) and it's workflow (it is far from perfection, but I use it for my bulk "standard quality" shots. I use CS for the few shots which deserve it).

 

3) don't ask me why, but I have a sort of affection to Nikon products.

 

So, I might wait a bit for new announcements, but I also wouldn't want to be amongst the first customers to buy a new model. They are pricey and in these days of fierce competition, QC is poor and they usually come out with some sort of defects which are corrected in second waves, thanks to the complaints of early customers. That means that I would wait forever.

That's why I would by D70 or D70s.

Gee, you're in a good position what with the experience of having used the D70. If I were you, I'd go to a digital camera review site, use their camera "comparometer" having checked off the D50 and the D70, and then decide if you actually used the upgrades found on the D70. The D50 is supposed to be very nice, it's a real value-proposition here in the U.S., and then when a better (D200?) Nikon comes out you won't feel as much regret when upgrading to the latest higher resolution model. My $0.02

Marco - do not forget the most important part: if you stay with Nikon you will continue to get all those helpful comments on PN from fellow Nikon owners :-P

 

To be serious again: D70 (or D70S only if you fancy the new features) with 50mmAFD F1.8 , perhaps + Kenko 1.4 Teleconverter.

I also think you should at least handle a Minolta 7D before deciding. I'm a Nikon faithful sort of guy (N80, FM3a, D70, lots of lenses), but the Minolta offering seems to provide a very nice large, bright VF and good build quality in a very affordable body. Refreshing, huh?

 

Of course, take a look at their lens lineup and flash system and see if it meets your needs. But it's something to think about.

 

Personally, I'm putting my Nikon DSLR hopes on the mythical D200. I want an affordable body with a VF and screen suitable for critical manual focus. Hopefully the D200 will deliver. We'll see. If not, I might well pare down my Nikon kit to my FM3a and AIS lenses and look elsewhere for an AF DSLR.

 

Scott