Upgrade D70's to D7000? What are your thoughts?

<p>I have a nikon D70's which i've had for over 6 years now. I want to upgrade to a new camera. I have read a lot about the Nikon D7000. I got to hold and check the camera out last weekend. It felt good in my hands. What are your thoughts one this camera? I know others will compare this to the D300s. Which camera is better? I know there are pros & cons for each camera. If you own this camera, what is your review of the D7000? Right now i am having problems with my D70's right now with Err always comes on when i put a memory card in the camera. Could my cards be corructed? I take pictures of family, friends, landscape, & i help a friend with wedding photography too. Thanks for all your thoughts & ideas.</p>

<p>Cory</p>

<p>From the D70/D70s, the D7000 is....well, pretty durn nice:) I went from a D80 to my D7000, and I've never been happier with a camera purchase, ever. It ties with the joy of my first bought for me with my own money EOS A2 :) Seriously, every single thing about the camera is better, except the flash sync. But the LCD panel, controls, menus, battery life, flash options, handling, construction - all worth the money. And then you get the sensor. It's a liberating moment when you realize how much more you can do. Your cards may indeed be bad, or the little plastic guides that keep the contacts separate may have gotten damaged, and are blocking one or more.</p>

<p>The D7000 just might be Nikon's best camera for the money right now. I'll think you will see a big difference all the way around. You are jumping three generations.</p>

<p>Kent in SD</p>

<p>Cory<br>

Have you tried FORMATTING the CF cards in the camera? That will sometimes "fix" card problems.<br>

Also have you tried buying a new card, might be the old cards have gotten "flakey" and need to be replaced.<br>

BTW, is the camera OFF when you insert the new card?</p>

<p>Cory;<br>

The d70 was my first venture away from film and I fell in loveIt is a tank and it still makes great images. For the last three years I have been using a d300 and I love it as well. It is also a tank. I bought a d7000 while waiting for a d400 to come down the road and I am in love again. It lacks the high fps of the 300 but it has been fantastic otherwise. Most of my work is available light and studio work and the high ISO capabilities of the camera are wonderful and with the battery pack on the bottom it almost reaches the stability of the d300. The resolution is wonderful and you quickly get used to the feel of the camera in your hands. The build is not the same as the 300 but I don't treat a camera roughly. In short, it is worth more that what I paid for it and I would buy it again in a minute.<br>

-Owen</p>

<p>Cory: You will be VERY HAPPY with a D7000.</p>

<p>I recently went through the same process of upgrading from a D70s and was torn between the D7000, D300 and D300s. It really depends on what you most need the camera to do. If you want video capability, the choice seems clearly the D7000. While the D7000 has an excellent AF section, the D300 and D300s seem to be a little better. This is especially true in low light and if you are using the screw drive lenses. However, if you are often shooting in low light, the D7000 seems to have the advantage. </p>

<p>Since I really needed a top AF system and don't care about video (and the price was right), I picked up a lightly used D300. Money may be another factor. The D300 can be had lightly used for about $850 vs $1200 for a new D7000 or $1400 for a new D300s. Anyway, I am extremely pleased going from the D70s to the D300.<br>

Stan</p>

<p>I also just moved up from two five year old D70s bodies to two D300s. I thought about the D7000, but very quickly decided no because I didn't like the preset dial on the top left that I so often nudged to the wrong setting on the D70s, and I wanted the fast frame rate and better auto focus of the D300s. I bought factory refurbs at Adorama for $1250 US.</p>

<p>Upgrading a D70, you've got 2 decisions:</p>

<ul>

<li>FX or DX -- big step up in cost, may require upgrading lenses depending on what you have</li>

<li>which DX body -- D7000 or D300 or even D90</li>

</ul>

<p>D7000 has the best sensor. D300 has better AF and better buffer depth. D90 is cheapest. D300 and D90 sensor is better than D70 in low light.<br>

Given you are shooting friends, family, landscape, wedding, and not sports, I would chose the D7000. If budget is an issue, used D90s should be getting cheap.<br>

If you were shooting sports, you could agonize about D7000 vs. D300, but given D300 is long in the tooth, I might just wait for D400.<br>

D7000 sounds like an excellent choice!</p>

<p>Cory said:</p>

<blockquote>

<p>Right now i am having problems with my D70's right now with Err always comes on when i put a memory card in the camera.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>The Nikon D70/D70s have a memory interface board problem that Nikon knows about (my personal D70 has the same problem with memory cards). It's been reported that Nikon will replace this board at no charge, even if your camera is out of warranty (which obviously, <em>every</em> D70/D70s is!). I keep meaning to take my D70 to Nikon as well.</p>

<p>Oh, yeah. And, buy the D7000!</p>

<p>I went from a D50 to a D7000 two months ago and can not believe what I have for a camera. I do a lot of shooting indoors at our church and just finished another college track season. For both of these I have my ISO set to select the ISO setting automaticly to get the shutter speed I need and can not beilieve the lack of noise all the way to ISO 6400.</p>

<blockquote>

<p>The Nikon D70/D70s have a memory interface board problem that Nikon knows about (my personal D70 has the same problem with memory cards). It's been reported that Nikon will replace this board at no charge, even if your camera is out of warranty (which obviously, <em>every</em> D70/D70s is!).</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Ralph, if you are referring to the infamous "Blinking Green Light of Death" (BGLOD) problem on the D70, that is a problem on the original D70 only, and the free repair is also restricted to the D70. The D70S is not covered. (The blinking green light is an indication of memory write or some electronic problem inside; it can happen to many DSLRs, including the D70s, but the wide-spread problem is only on the original D70.)</p>

<p>In fact, my guess is that Nikon quickly replaced the D70 with the D70S (with very minor changes, e.g. a slightly larger back LCD) to distinguish the ones potentially with the BGLOD issue against the ones without. The D70 was in production for just over a year.</p>

<p>I have been a happy D70 user for six years also. This year I upgraded to the D7000 from the D70, and find it a "no-brainer" upgrade. As previously mentioned, the capabilities of the D7000 are worth the change, and I am very pleased with the increased capabilities. I had intended to use the D70 for a backup. But it simply stays unused in the cabinet.</p>

<p>In regards to the D70 CF card not being recognized: I have had the problem, and discovered that <em>carefully </em>cleaning the contact pins in the D70 solved the problem. There have been such cleaning kits on the market. But I don't know if they are still available. Also, the contact pin assembly has been available on the market. But that involves getting inside the camera, which I have not wanted to do. Other than that, replacing the D70 with the D7000 is the ultimate solution to the problem. <br>

Good luck with your decision.</p>

 

<p>Cory, go for it! my first DSLR was a D70s (still have it, too). i upgraded to the D200, then skipped the D300/300s, feeling that the juice wasn't worth the squeeze (i.e. the cost). Next, I got a D700, and picked up a D7000 this past January.</p>

<p>it's a world away from the D70s, and does most things better than a D300s. The only thing I consider a drawback is the auto-exposure bracketing, which hasn't improved since the D70s. The frame rate isn't as high as the D300s, but 6fps is fast enough for me (and IIRC double the rate of a D70s). You'll LOVE the overall difference in features and particularly the improvement to image quality, especially in low light or at high ISOs. Good luck, and have fun!</p>

<p>I joined the crowd and moved from a D70s to a D7000. My son, a naval officer, did the same thing on the same day without consulting his father! We are both in love with the choice. The D70 was never a problem and I loved it -- coming from a D-1. I don't have anything to add. I agree that the D7000 may be the best thing Nikon has in the marketplace today in the DX format. It is certainly a great value for the price.</p>

<p>If it fits your needs or wants and you have the budget go for it. I went from a D70 to D200 to D700. I have handled the D7000 a little, nice viewfinder over the D70, not my preferred controls set but much smaller than the D700 and 7 ounces lighter.</p>

<p>speaking as a D300s owner,if i were you,i'd probably jump on the D7000. the d300s is a great camera if you like the big-body feel and less-cramped button placement. also, if you shoot sports or action frequently, shoot paid events, and/or are a working photojournalist and need the superior AF of the d300s. for everyone else, the D7000 makes more sense. its smaller, almost as sturdy, newer, has better video, newer, has a better metering system, newer, gives a 1 to 1 1/2-stop boost in high-ISO performance, and less expensive. more resolution too. also it's newer. did i mention its newer?</p>

<p>if i could have the d7000's high-ISO performances in a D300s body--12mp resolution is fine for me--i would have the perfect DX camera, IMO. one thing you have to be careful of is the 16mp DX sensor's ability to make some lenses look bad, which certainly wouldn't be the case on a 6mp D70s. so i'd be a bit wary of any kit lens, especially the 18-200. photozone is starting to test lenses on the d7000 body, which helps in knowing which ones are outresolved by the sensor and which are up to the task.</p>

<p>If you have D lenses, I say go for it. It's definitely better than the D90, which I suspect you've eyed once or twice. You might be able to find a great deal on a D90. I suspect that camera would be the upgrade you would like, unless you want to play around with shooting HD video. If you have G lenses or any of the newer Sigma, Tamron, or Tokina lenses, you probably don't need the D90 or the D7000, and you can consider the amazing new, and inexpensive D5100, with its fold-out screen (an excellent feature for shooting in live-view and video modes). The image quality from the D5100 is about the same as the D7000, and you will save enough to buy a new 18-105 VR lens (an excellent G lens). The only other lens you would need for shooting weddings would be the 135 f2 DC, which would be limited to manual focus on the D5100 (possibly a reason to spring for the more expensive D7000). If you can stick with your D70 for now though, maybe you can wait until the new pro body comes out to replace the D300s in a few months (D400?).</p>

<p>Just chiming in to say that I went from a D70s to a D7000 back in November, and I couldn't be happier with the upgrade. I had no plans on upgrading until the girl at my local camera store talked me into playing with their display model. It's a huge upgrade from the D70s. </p>

<p>The D5100 might be a good option to consider. I have a friend who just bought one from Adorama and loves it. It is not as sturdy as the D7000, but a lot of capability for the price.</p>

<p>Try formatting a CF in your computer.</p>

<p>All of the above suggestions are fine on a new camera body. Consider your lenses and what you want for future lenses, as FX will be much more expensive than DX. I went from D70s to D300 and have never looked back.</p>

<p>D70s is a great camera! If you don't intent print your pictures bigger than A3 such an upgrade is pointless.<br>

Real improvement comes up when you change sensor format to FX. Sure, you can get more bells and whistles but that's it. Try to invest in better lenses or strobes.</p>

<p>For a regular basis I do my proffesional work on 8Mpix sensor and I've never coplain about it.</p>

<blockquote>

<p>Sure, you can get more bells and whistles but that's it.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>JMO, but going from a D70(s) to a D7000 is more than a bell and whistle upgrade.</p>

<p>Martin's advice is an informed one, when he says links the MP count to image quality and sizes of your final prints, as well as the decision on sensor format.<br>

However, I wouldn't be so radical as technology improved in other areas other than just pixel count and if you buy a new body you shall go for the last generation to take profit of hight ISO, dynamic range and noise control, just to point out 3 aspects.<br>

But you must check if your lenses are up to the new MP count or it will show their optical limitations, if that's the case.<br>

As Martin says buying good glass will be very important as it will be to move to FX, if you're not limited by a DX lenses set.</p>

<p>The pixels are nice and allow you more freedom in cropping, but the BIG difference is in low light performance and EV range. Both are dramatic changes over the D70. The quality at high ISO just amazed me when I started using the D7000.</p>