D70 or D100?

[john_e.]

I have the opportunity to buy a D100 in mint condition for the same price as a new

D70. I've checked out dcreviews.com and still am not quite sure where to go. I'm a

photography student making the transition from film (F100) to digital and want to

make sure I'm not going too low by going for the D70. The whole "prosumer" is just a

little too strange for me.

[robert_ades1]

A Nikon rep told me that the D100 has been discontinued in favor of the D70. If you look at the specs, they're very similar, and neither camera body is built like an F100. The D70 benefits from some of the newer computer technology, such as FAT 32, etc.

 

My suggestion: buy the D70 now, and trade up when Nikon introduces an update to the D100.

[spencer_hahn]

D70. There is almost no reason not to at this point. Thom Hogan has a nice comparison at his site somewhere: www.bythom.com

[greglyon]

Some people are really-really enamoured of the 'vertical grip' accessory, which the D70 doesn't have, but the D100 does. Other than that the D70 beats out D100 for flash, RAW file handling, price. I can't think of a place where the D100 beats the D70 right now. Due to the better flash and Raw file handling I'm thinking of selling my D100 for a D70...

 

By the way, if the D100 has firmware 2.0 it supports Fat 32, so that isn't one place where the D70 wins.

 

Neither of these cameras are in the same class as an F100 or F5 film camera.

[jbs]

top of this page, click search, type in d70 and read. Do the same with d100....;)...J

[ShunCheung]

IMO a *new* D100 should cost less than a new D70. At the same price, the choice between a new D70 and a used D100 is a no brainer as far as I am concerned, and I am a D100 owner. There may be some exceptions such as the D100's vertical grip option, mentioned above. If you must have a vertical grip, the D70 is out.

[john_e.]

I was 98% there when I posted and now I'm 100% for the D70. I've been reading

threads for days on the D70 and this was a great gut check. Downloading the manual

(pdf file) will help in the few days between buying and recieving. Thank you.

[msitaraman]

As a D100 owner, I'll get you to 102%. You should get the D70. Its flash capabilities are superior with the SB-800 unit, especially, and its compressed lossless NEF gets flushed from buffer much, much faster. You can basically get twice as many RAW files per CF card, roughly speaking.

 

Other advantages? Its AutoISO is much better designed (you set a maximum shutter speed, below which (in Aperture Priority) the ISO gets increased automatically. Perfect for handheld, available light photography.

 

Those are the big advantages, to my mind. Apparently, the CCD is marginally sharper, thanks to a thinner, anti-alias filter.

[raymond_luk]

As a D100 owner some things come to mind about the D70.

 

- Smaller viewfinder / eyepoint - I'm used to an F5, so the D100 is a big step down. The D70 has an even smaller magnification and a shorter(?) eyepoint distance, if it's important to you. It may even be slightly dimmer??

 

- The D100 has a mirror pre-release - don't know if mirror vibration affects the D70 at slower speeds.

 

Those are the only things as far as specs go that matters to me as a outdoors photographer (mainly nature stuff) shooting 95% from a tripod.

 

And I have no plans to replace the D100 with the D70

[frederic_lepage]

Hi,

 

Unless the targeted application is very specific, I think it is reasonable to say that nobody would purchase a D100 over a D70 today at an equal price.

 

The D70 brings the following improvements (non-exhaustive):

- very sophisticated metering

- lower noise at high sensitivities (but some moire in very particular conditions, it would seem)

- more compact, very good feel in the hands

- highly responsive camera, near-immediate startup

- large buffer for Jpeg and Raw shooting

- better ergonomics (handling) as well as new buttons for ISO, WB and selection of resolution

- very elaborate, performant flash system (with new built-in flash as well as SB-800/600)

- more powerful CPU and definitely better in-camera jpeg processing software

- coupled with a 18-70 DX kit lens, a definitive beater

 

As far as the viewfinder is concerned, there is no improvement (I'm not discussing one's personal view on slightly better or slightly worse than the D100's, I'm expecting a significant step from Nikon in this department).

 

A friend of mine who carried his D100 all over the place decided for a swap immediately (http://www.jacobel.net/)

Equally I decided to trade my Fuji S2 against a D70 as soon as I got the opportunity to shoot some shots with it early March, although my intention was just too get a feel for it (http://www.oo-fred.net/photos/)

 

Fred

[david_richardson1]

The one advantage a D100 has is the mirror pre-flip option. No way to do this on a D70. May be important for macro or other vibration sensitive shooting.

[ilkka_nissila]

Also the D70 gives more vibrant colours and better sharpness without postprocessing. Even without MLU, in most cases the D70 would still win the image quality contest.

[roger_ellis1]

I am fortunate in that, at this moment, I own both a D100 and a D70.

The D100 feels more solid than the D70 particularly when the shutter is released when the

D70 sounds relatively tinny. Noone else has commented on this and perhaps it doesnt

matter.

I had to return my first D70 since it would occasionally alter the ISO for no reason whilst

leaving the exposure leading to dramatic over exposure. The camera was replaced

immediately and I have had no problems with the new one.

My impression of the images is that the D70 is almost always superior to the D100 from

the camera with better colour, contrast and sharpness. I suspect it will need less work on

the computer than the D100 where tweaking was normal to get any impact.

The D70 looks better on the LCD, again seeming to have more detail and brightness. I

gather this is a function of the LCD aliasing (whatever that is!)

The D70 is smaller which probably makes it more portable.

I have not bought a vertical grip for the D100 and wasn't intending to. The mirror lock up

is no doubt important if you use it.

I shall certainly be using the D70 over the D100 but still feel some residual allegiance to

the D100 for its slightly more solid feel. I have had a good second hand offer for the D100

and am told its value can only fall which makes sense given the performance of the D70. I

suspect the price is a function of the still slow availability of the D70 so I am going to sell

before the market drops.

My advice is go for the D70 unless marginal perceived solidity, vertical grip and mirror

lock up are more important than general quality of image from the camera

Good luck.

 

Roger.