Whats the skinny on new D70s ???

Hey just read a report of nikon releasing a D50 (they posted the

manual oops!) and a new version of the D70. If anyone can tell me

anymore about the new D70 I would really appretiate it! I was going to

buy another D70 as a backup camera but if a new one is on its way

(hopefully with 8mp!) I will wait.

The D70s adds a wired remote shutter release, a new battery, and 2" LCD screen (vs. a 1.8"

screen).

 

Still 6MP, still no mirror-lockup.

 

Meh.

>>>>The D70s adds a wired remote shutter release, a new

battery, and 2" LCD screen (vs. a 1.8" screen). <<<<

 

Are you sure about that? That's all?

I hope its better than that!!! Thanks for the info....

A real shutter release one can use behind the camera, brillant.....Apparently

minor differences between bodies.

A new battery as in ????

It's got alomost all the extras (over D70 "classic") that you don't need to improve your photography.

The D70s is what the N90s was, a minor tweak to an already great basic design.

D70 has mirror lock up!!!

"A new battery as in ????"

 

1500mAh EN-EL3a, and a new MH-18a charger to go with it. The battery life examples in the manual suggest 25% more shots per charge. The D70s is still compatible with the original EN-EL3, but it's not yet clear if the D70 can use the new battery, or if the old quick charger can charge the new battery (the original MH-18 is now an 'optional' extra, but I'm not sure if this just refers to use with the old battery).

 

"D70 has mirror lock up!!!"

 

Only for sensor cleaning, not for reducing vibration when shooting at slow speeds. This is unchanged in the D70s.

 

They're also quoting flash coverage out to 18mm, though all the coverage examples for the lenses in the manual still only go out to 20mm, except for the 18-70 kit lens (which oddly wasn't included in the equivalent table in the D70 manual). So I'm not sure if this is a real change.

Why doesn't Nikon just release a brand new product instead of making little tweaks to their products? It just seems like they are making excuses for their slow digital SLR output of newer products. Just like the D2Hs. What was the point in that? One of the most annoying things about the D2H was the 4MP sensor. Even if they stuck a 6MP would have been a much better improvement. Ideally, as many were hoping, an 8MP sensor would have made the D2Hs much more desirable.

 

Now with the d70s and it's little tweaks. Come on Nikon! What gives?

If you need more than 4 MP, why not just get a D2X. After all, it's cheaper than a Hasselblad with a range of lenses and a medium format film scanner.

 

Before someone says that the D2X is too expensive, why not complain NASA for not coming up with a space shuttle that you can afford to fly with? After all, I'm sure you'd like to do that too, and at $20 per flight.

A more reasonable time frame for some pro-sumer, 8 to 10 MP D100 replacement would probably be the latter part of 2005, after all initial demand for the D2X is fulfilled. At this point any 8MP pro-sumer DSLR will take sales away from the D2X.

The D2Hs is designed for newspaper photographers. For them, 4MP is already overkill.

Anything more just slows down the camera and reduces storage capacity. If you want 6MP

at 8fps, get a D2X and use it in 2x crop mode.

 

But the D70s is fairly underwhelming (not that I as a D70 owner care, really). Here's

hoping we'll see a D200/D80 soon.

I agree. At present all D2Xs are flying off the shelves and Nikon should (to make the most money) wait until those who can afford the D2X have got theirs so that they're not tempted by the low-profit margin but higher-volume D200.

 

Although I also think that it would be better for me if a D200 were available. Because then it would be easier to find a D2X. Now I have to wait.

> The D2Hs is designed for newspaper photographers. For them, 4MP is already overkill.

 

Except if they want to sell the pictures to anyone, which newspapers tend to do once in a while. Sell a 4mp picture? I'll give you 10$ for it...

 

> Anything more just slows down the camera and reduces storage capacity. If you want 6MP at 8fps, get a D2X and use it in 2x crop mode.

 

Ok. I'll get a D2X and use the 17-55/2.8 as a 34-110/2.8. Sounds like a great idea. Newspaper folk tend to use 16-35/2.8s but I'm sure 35mm is almost like 16...

"Sell a 4mp picture? I'll give you 10$ for it..."

 

The content of the photo doesn't matter any more when megapixel envy rears its ugly head...

"Except if they want to sell the pictures to anyone, which newspapers tend to do once in a while. Sell a 4mp picture? I'll give you 10$ for it... "

 

What rubbish. I've got a 4 megapixel Nikon Coolpix 4500 that produced images that have won photo contests and sold prints upto 11x14. I'm pretty sure the 4 megapixel, larger sensor D2H would do a fine job producing sellable prints.

 

"Ok. I'll get a D2X and use the 17-55/2.8 as a 34-110/2.8. Sounds like a great idea. Newspaper folk tend to use 16-35/2.8s but I'm sure 35mm is almost like 16..."

 

Good grief. And I'm sure most newspaper folk have heard of the 12-24mm/f4 DX lens.

> Good grief. And I'm sure most newspaper folk have heard of the 12-24mm/f4 DX lens.

 

Which they/we duly discard from the runnings because it's a stop slower than the 16-35. When you're getting 1/30 @ iso1600 f2.8, using an f4 is not an option.

that Pulitzer Prize winning shot of Elian Gonzales and the US commandos was taken with a D1 (2.6 MP), pretty sure that shot made Alan Diaz more than $10

Back to discussing the new D70s - one missing feature/tool that I had really hoped for was a vertical grip (like the F100's I have). I shoot a lot of vertical/magazine covers and this would have clinched the deal. Now I tool have to wait for a D200 (if such a beast is even in the works) with that elusive vertical grip. Looking at the DPREVIEW.com spec check of the d70 v. d70s, there are very few differences. Also, Nikon says that it will provide firmware upgrades to d70 users (gee, thanks for that Nikon) so that users can have some of the same features that the d70s enjoys (no you won't get a larger screen on the back of the camera). So, I join those who gripe about Nikon's slow response to our needs. Tempted to eBay my Nikon lenses and move over to the dark side. At least there, I know what to expect.

FEI8HT * (am I pronouncing that correctly?), the D2H has all the ergonomic goodies you're missing in the D100, D70 and D70s, and has plenty enough resolution for quality magazine covers and full page photos. And it's got to be the best bargain in a pro quality dSLR right now, even compared with used D1-series dSLRs.

 

Getting the best quality from a 4 mp dSLR does require some skillful post-processing, no question. Since getting my D2H a few weeks ago I've learned a new trick almost every day and with each practice session my 8x10 prints (approximately - the proportions are a bit different) are getting closer to the kind of quality I want. Pretty soon I'll be willing to tackle upsampling for larger prints.

 

Meanwhile, I can hardly think of a single significant complaint regarding the handling and performance. Little nitpicks, sure: I'd like the multi-function "joypad" paddle thingie to have a center button, for one. Little things like that. But it's still a pleasure to use every time.

 

The next best dSLR I can think of for the money would be the Fuji S3, preferably a lightly used one sold by someone who really wanted a D2X and had unreasonable expectations of the S3. Lower price, good performance and image quality, and a shutter release button located on the vertical grip. But unlike the D2H it doesn't have command and sub-command dials on the vertical grip.