D70 vs. D80

[summitar]

It is difficult and expensive to stay abreast of the rapidly evolving digital

market. I have a Nikon D70 and consider it to be a fine camera. Can anyone come

up with a compelling reason to switch to the D80? Or would a better strategy be

to wait one or two more generations? I am an amateur and do mainly scenic

photos. I know the D80 has a capability for more pixels, but to what end. A few

years ago I had a jpeg taken at the 3mpix setting on the Fuji S602 (extrapolated

to 6 mpix) printed at Costco ($2.99) at size 12 by 18 inches, and it was razor

sharp. I realize the larger number of pixels enables one to crop more severely

and still get a large sharp print, but pixel size is a tradeoff with noise. The

D80 is getting good reviews and I have no doubt that it is a great camera, but

is it that much greater than the D70?

[Karim Ghantous]

IHMO you should stay with the D70 given your circumstances (i.e. amateur). Even a pro would be happy with the D70's output.

 

OTOH if you have a lot of spare cash then sure, go for your life. While you're at it, buy me a D2Hs. ;-)

[Gary Naka]

IMHO Skip the D80 and wait another generation or two.

 

1 - List down the additional features of the D80 over the D70

 

2 - Then sit down and look at each one and decide "is it important or not?"

 

3 - Then look at all the "important" features and ask yourself, is it worth $1,000. And if you decide to sell the D70 to offset the cost of the D80, you won't get near what you paid for your D70. Example, if you sold your D70 for $350, the upgrade to the D80 will cost you $650 net. Is the additional features worth the $650.

 

I would venture that it won't be. Most amateurs can skip 2 or more generations of digital cameras and be minimally impacted. If it was a film camera, you could skip even more generations.

 

I would put the money into lens(es), flash, tripod, etc.

 

Gary

[michaelschrag]

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/nikond80/

[chris_leck]

If your camera regularly is keeping you from making images due to its limitations, or if it's causing you to lose money, consider upgrading.

 

If you're just guessing about why it might be good to upgrade, wait.

[photo5]

I would consider the D200 an upgrade from the D70(s), the D80 is merely a replacement for the D70(s), it isn't enough of an upgrade to merit spending a grand on. Better to spend $1500 for the D200, a true pro-series body. D80 is prosumer.

 

Dave

[ShunCheung]

If you cannot list a few shortcomings with your D70 that are preventing you from creating great images, why bother to upgrade? If you can come up with such a list of issues that is addressed by the D80, you probably don't need to ask this question.

 

If you are happy enough with your D70, stay with it. Otherwise, in a couple of years the D80 will be superseded by something else and you'll be upgrading every year or two just to keep up with the latest and greatest.

[chris_vincent2]

If the D70 does everything you want it to then you should keep it. Let's face it - keeping the money in your pocket and getting the most out of the investment you have already made is a smart move.

 

I use a D200 for portraits and weddings, with my older D70s as backup. The output print quality only starts to differ at the largest print sizes, A3 and above. The D200 gives greater flexibility to crop and enlarge as you point out.

 

Also remember the hidden costs of buying new SD cards, which also need to be higher capacity for the D80 than the CF cards you use for your D70.

[shineofleo]

I agree with that the D200 can be a good upgrade from D70.

 

so if D70 is good for you, keep it, then why don't you put the money into a better lense?

[roger_s]

I'm upgrading from D70 to D80 because of:

 

- D80's larger viewfinder. My passion is portraits and photojournalistic photos of people, where I aim to capture the precise moment -- particularly their facial expressions -- which captures the essence of the moment. Although the smaller viewfinder of the D70 helps with overall composition, I found it slightly difficult to see the details of the subject's facial expressions (I wear spectacles), particularly when using a very wide lens, such as my 12-24. I never felt this problem when using my older F801 which has a similar viewfinder size to the D80/D200. Maybe this is all in my mind, but I've felt the limitation, so for me it is real.

 

- I believe that a 10 MP might be closer to being a "keeper" for me, whereas I don't feel a 6 MP is something I'd keep for an extremely long time. People might argue that within 2-3 years, even a 10MP camera would be obsolete, but is that a reasonable assumption if you only consider print quality? Even if sensor quality improves, as it will, from here on are there going to be quantum improvements in the print quality of your photos? For these reasons, I think a 10MP would be more a "keeper" than a 6MP.

 

If it is true that the D80 has similar print-quality to the D200, and the D200 produces similar photo quality to the D2X, then I'm willing for the D80 to be a keeper for quite a while.

 

My definition of "quite a while" is 8-10 years, which is probably the longest I've ever used any camera in-between upgrades.

 

I'm collecting my D80 tomorrow, and am quite excited.

[ramon_v__california_]

for the D70, i wouldn't consider the D80 an upgrade unless like the others have said, you found limitations in the former that were answered by the latter.

 

at one point i considered "stepping up a little" to the D80 since it is very close to my labeling it a stripped-down D200.

 

have you run your fingers around the D80? best buy close to me had one and i cradled and tested it. i'm a cosmetics guy second to performance. the plastic in that thing is not even close to the quality of the plastic in the D70.

 

it had the 18-135mm which i am eyeing also. boy, it's just like the 18-55 in built. those big white numbers?

 

that's why the D200 came with the 18-70 as a kit. it will ruin its reputation if mated with the 18-55mm. and there will never be a D200 with the 18-135mm as a kit.....i would consider the D200 as an upgrade from the D70. i'm still saving for it. or maybe the S5?

 

master your D70 and enjoy it more. it has a lot of hidden talents and potentials.

[aaron l]

I upgraded to the D200 for my heavy stuff but still have my D70 when I need to go fast and light. There's nothing wrong with this camera. Don't forget that the D80's file sizes are going to be about double the size & will eat up your storage quick. Instead of blowing another $1000 on a body, why don't you get the Nikon 12-24 or other lens to expand your repretoir. Get a couple SB-800's and learn to make awesome multi-lit shots.

 

At an 18-24 month cycle, there will be a D50 replacement that'll make you just want to buy that.

 

The attached shot was taken with a D70 & 18-70. Not too bad.<div></div>

[leonard_evens]

Stick with your D70 for a while unless you find its limitations constantly giving you a problem. For me, the major limitation is that the viewfinder image is a bit too small, but I can manage, so I will wait a while before I upgrade.

 

One upgrade which could cause difficulties would be a full frame sensor array. In that case, the DX lenses would no longer work and one would have to get a whole new series of lenses.

[leicaglow]

I think my strategy will be to wait until the MP count doubles in a comparable camera before I replace it. So for a D200, I might wait until a 20 Mp is available... a few years away?

[ShunCheung]

As people say, the (mega) pixel race is largely over. 10MP is probably more than sufficient for by far the majority of the people. So rather than waiting for the pixel count to double, I would look for improved high-ISO noise, wider dynamic range and perhaps may other improvements that I can't even imagine at this point.

 

The D80 has a few fairly important improvements over the D70, such as 11 AF points and generally improved AF, a much better viewfinder, a pretty good jump in pixel count, etc. The D70/D70s has a few advantages such as faster flash sync. If one is in the market to buy a new DSLR, I would say the D80 is considerably better. However, if you already have a D70, it becomes somewhat questionable whether it is worthwhile to upgrade.

[erik_loza]

"My definition of "quite a while" is 8-10 years, which is probably the longest I've ever used

any camera in-between upgrades."

 

If you feel that 10MP is more your speed than 6MP, then you won't have the D80 for more

than another year or two. Film cameras, we keep for 8-10 years, not DSLR's. But, the D80-

sounds like a nice camera and you should not have to justify its purchase to anyone but

yourself.

 

Oh, BTW: I shoot two-page magazine ads with a D70 and just had one image silkscreened

onto a 6' X 8' banner for our booth at our industry's biggest trade show of the year. If I

had NAS, like you, I'd funnel that money toward glass and more lights, because 6MP is

PLENTY for what you will be doing. Best of luck.

[richard_laepple]

I think I will upgrade to the D80 within the next months. Hope for a price drop or cash back perhaps at christmas. 2 days ago I hold the D80 in my hands, to me it feels better than my D70 in every respect. The MP is not the point, I also don't care about the CF cards. Storage cards are rather cheap today. There are some things I always missed or hated on the D70 such as the missing ISO info in the finder, the finder size of course, the CF card door... The fast flash sync is great on the D70/D50 for daylight fill flash, OTOH the D80 goes down to ISO 100. In my personal view the D80 has some improvements I always wanted. That's reason enough for me to upgrade.

[tech-pan]

I say keep the D70. The only reason I could see upgrading would be to get the larger viewfinder. The 6 vs 10mp thing is way to close to call. The focus points are moot, since I haven't had a time where I thought the D70 was lacking. I looked at my images taken with a D200 that I had on loan, compared to my D70 and at 100% crop it's miniscule. I even showed my wife....and she couldn't tell the difference.

 

I think most people that are upgrading from a D70 to a D80 need the latest and greatest toys. I feel they focus way too much on hardware and not taking photos. I have seen so many great photos taken with D30's and D1's that I find it impossible to believe that they would somehow be even better if taken with a 5D or a D2X.

[richard_laepple]

"I think most people that are upgrading from a D70 to a D80 need the latest and greatest toys. I feel they focus way too much on hardware and not taking photos."

<p>

David, "the latest and greatest toys" can be found in another price range.

[tech-pan]

Richard...true.

 

But even the slightest notion that something is better is enough for some people to empty their bank. For some the D80 is closer to a D2Xs then a D70s is, and for some that is enough.

[StuartMoxham]

Better view finder and better AF would be the two main reasons I would go from a D70 to a D80. I have thought about it myself but I will probably wait until well into next year. I am happy with the D70 most of the time but it does not have a view finder like my n90s or FM2.

[richard_laepple]

David, maybe, I got my D70 when it came out. I think I know this camera after almost 3 years in use. I consider an upgrade not to come closer to a D2Xs but to get a camera with some features I want today. Another reason to upgrade now is to SAVE money. A D70 in good condition sells more today than in 2 or 3 years. I don't think that the model which follows the D80 will be less expensive.

[tech-pan]

Richard. I see your point. Even though I don't see a clear cut reason to get a D80 as an upgrade to a D70, I do see getting one if one had a D70 for awhile. If for any reason just to have a change.

 

I shot with a F2 for years, then got a F3. Did I see a difference, no. But when I got the F3 I shure as heck started taking more pictures..mainly because it was so cool.

[marty_elan]

I think you are better off keeping the D70 unless its limitations prevent you from capturing the images you seek. Having the lastest equipment should not be your main concern. Your focus should be to master the craft of photography. Learn how to read the light, composition, exposure and the other elements in making a photograph.

[summitar]

Thank you for all your advice. There were many excellent comments on both sides of the question. In autos, I tend to hang on to them until they are completely dead, which used to be 5-8 years for the Detroit iron of my youth and now seems to be 12-? years for Toyota's and Nissan's. With film cameras, one could ride the wave of image quality by just upgrading the lenses, unless one absolutely needed somes kind of fancy flash or motor drive or auto-focussing. Now, to upgrade seems to revolve around the specs of the sensor. As an amateur, I try to baby my cameras and the D70 is certainly rugged enough for me. On the other hand, I am 70 years old and my window for new toys is shrinking. So I reckon I will stick with the D70 for at least another cycle. I also collect and use 35 cameras of the 40s through tthe 80s, and I know it is stupid but I enjoy a camera more if it is in really nice cosmetic condition (and of course works well). It is the instant gratification that comes with digital photography that is the main selling point to me, followed by image editing, followed by storage and transmission. I will continue to follow the market, but for now, it is the D70 for me. Thanks again for many insightful comments.