D70 Nikon purchase advice

[jaxphotocat]

This really is a 2 or 3 part question:

 

I am about 99.9 percent certain that I will be purchasing a D70 Nikon very soon, so here is

what I would like some feedback on;

 

1. Should I get just the Nikon body or is that kit with the short zoom worth it? (18-70mm

lens). If not recommend some lenses (short zooms, preferbly with wide angle and bright

viewing). There is a Tamron 28-70 2.8 that looks nice....

 

2. Any vendor suggestions? I have seen a tempting web vendor deal at:

http://www.finetronics.net/

but you know the old saying about if it is too good to be true.

 

3. If there is proof of a bigger megapixel D200 coming from Nikon REAL soon then I will

wait.... but I will proof! : )

 

 

Thanks,

 

Mark Sablow

[masque]

<ol>

<li>The kit lens is worth every penny, or so seems to be the general consensus. Even if

you decide against it, it's selling for more than you'll pay for it as part of the kit. Selling it

makes the body that much less expensive.</li>

<li>I highly recommend checking out photo.net's <A HREF="http://www.photo.net/

neighbor/one-subcategory?id=2" target="_new" title="Neighbor to neighbor">camera

shop recommendations</a> section. I don't see finetronics.net mentioned there,

though.</li>

<li>Proof comes in the form of announcements; there have been none of those. It's hard

to imagine that the D100 will remain unaltered forever, but whether it will be replaced by a

model called the 'D200' and have a higher pixel count remains to be seen.</li>

</ol>

[kelvinphoto - arlington, t]

3. I thought d70 is the replacement of d100????? There is no d200, i think.

[jaxphotocat]

Thanks Paul, I am now doing my homework on what lenses. I am a Nikon user and I know

I will be getting a macro lens, most likey the Nikon 60mm Macro (if has a rebate that

increases if you are also buying a camera). The big decision is what general use lens to

get for the D70.

 

Kelvin, I am mostly joking about the D200. Certainly there is something that is going to

come out and replace it, but when, how much money, and what features are all big

questions. I can not wait until there is a Nikon Digital camera with the 1 to 1 lens ratio for

under $2000..... then the lens situation will be better for me.

 

Thanks again.

 

Mark Sablow

[jonathan_ratzlaff]

Buy the camera with the lens. It is an excellent lens. The contrast and sharpness are very good with very little flare. A bit of colour fringing that is only noticable at high magnifications which has no effect on prints. The price with the camera can't be beat and there is no way you will get the same functionality at the wide end with the 28-70.

[mesasone]

I've done my homework on the D70, so I'll save you the time.

 

The D70 is a great camera and the kit lense has been very reputable. I would almost certainly get the lense, and even use it. It will go wider than the Tamron, and is acclaimed as a great all around lens. Be aware of the crop factor as well, your tamron will give you an 35mm equivilant of 42mm - that 10mm of actual focal length will make a huge difference in range. Deffinately food for thought.

 

As for vendors, I personally order from Calumetphoto.com. They are reputable, price competively and best of all the standard shipping arrives over night for me, because they ship out of chicago, which is pretty close to here. I've grown weary of other sites, I'd stick with the big names if not a local store - BH photo video, Adorama, or Calument, among a few. The advertised price may be a bit more, but you're also buying a peice of mind in that you're not being yanked around.

 

If you decide to go with someone else, check out resellerratings.com and research the retailer.

 

Finally, I'd image the replacement for the D100 will be a metal bodied D70, possibly with interface for a vertical grip. I wouldnt expect jumps and leaps, just upgrades. I havent heard of one, but I would deffinately wait for the replacement were it to be out soon. However there is no word of it, and as such I'm ordering my D70 next week.

[frank_skomial]

I have D70 and AF Zoom-Nikkor ED 28-200mm f/3.5-5.6 G IF. There were 2 older bigger models of the same lens specs that people complained about the quality. This new lens is much better. It has 62 mm filter lens and is even a bit smaller than the 18-70 DX lens (when set at 28mm). Has 3 ED lenses and 3 of some other special glass. Cost is about the same as 18-70 lens. Takes sharp pictures. It is 42-300mm equivalent of 35 mm camera. 42mm is wider that standard 50 mm, and 300 is great. I wish someone could test compare it with 18-70 DX.

[robert_nancarrow]

I have the kit and glad I do, the kit lens is great. There's a Japanese site that has MTF charts on the kit lens and, though I'm not an expert, the specs look excellent. In practice, the lens takes sharp and saturated photos and has good close focusing capabilities. Compared to some other lenses, the 18mm maximum wide angle is very useful, especially for indoor shots with use of the excellent built-in flash of the camera. The lens has a very substantial and professional feel to it for the price and the balance with the camera is good. You also have good control over focus with the instantly available manual focus overide. One drawback is the lens is a DX type, a new design dedicated to the camera's CCD size and therefore unable to produce an image circle large enough to be used with Nikon 35mm cameras or any future digitals with larger CCDs. Perhaps Nikon will stay with this size CCD? As far as where to purchase, I have seen some scary posts about the company you mention, like it's not there. Best to stay with the companies that support this site, especially since the price of this new model is virtually the same at all reputable sites. Bob.

[jaxphotocat]

I really appreciate the advice from everyone.

 

Robert, that company has a great deal listed, the D70 kit and a 512MB Lexar compact flash card for $1050, but they will not take a credit card!

 

The last time I deals this good was a site called macwhizshop.com that turned out to be rip-off artists that jut took people's money!

 

I think I will NOT use them and use one of the other many fine options.

 

Also a quick side note to anyone buying a D70 or any other Nikon SLR/DSLR, Nikon has rebates on some lenses those rebates increase at the time of purchase! Do your homework!

 

Take care.

 

Mark Sablow

[kumpf]

I plan to order the D70 this month. I also saw that finetronics advertisement. I would not for a moment consider ordering from them. This is the epitome of "if it's too good to be true, it isn't". I have a friend who purchased a camera from a foreign country (through eBay) that required a Western Union transfer and he never saw the merchandise. He was out several hundred bucks and ended up re-purchasing it from a reputable seller.

 

I will likely purchase from RitzCamera for $999 (body only) - free shipping, no tax, etc. I already purchased a 1Gb card for $150.

 

Good luck! I'm excited at the prospect of getting one.

[ken_rockwell3]

RUN AWAY from Finetronics. The fact that they won't accept phone calls or credit cards

and the too-good-to-be-true price should show you that. Also they claim to ship to any

country, another tip since fraud rates in places like Romania are so high most legitimate

dealers

won't ship there.

 

I have to laugh at their notice "Due to the high risk of credit card fraud we accept

payments only via MoneyGram money transfer service" since they are the fraud! Like

Amazon doesn't accept credit cards? Baloney!

 

I had an email from law enforcement about them who in turn reported them to the FBI.

Finetronics claim to be in Finland and their information at the place we webmasters go to

look up the goods on other websittes was obscurred.

 

Snap from the Caymans last week.

 

Caveat Emptor,

Ken

www.kenrockwell.com<div></div>

[jaxphotocat]

Just as a follow up. I did NOT order from them.

 

I became concerned when I could find NO reviews of them as vendors and now I would

fear them even more than ever because they now list that same D70 kit (w/lens) and the

512MB CF card for even less money! Now it is listed at $950!

 

The D70 is even more popular and in higher demand, so they drop their price.....

 

sure and I have a blue bridge here in Jacksonville, FL that I would like to sell!

 

: )

 

 

Mark Sablow

[drfuzz3899]

I am from the future! The D200 came out 3 years ago, it's awesome. Now there's even a Full

Frame Camera, so don't bother switching to Canon for the 5D! The future is bright!