Nikon D1X over Nikon D70?

[anis]

The same old tradeoff question again.

 

D1X Vs D70.

 

I have a Nikon D70 and needless to say that is a very nice camera. But I find

it lacking in its ability

on subject I like to attempt the following

 

1. Birds in flight - I tried shooting birds in flight using my 300 F4 AFS lens

(with and without TC 1.4E) and all I

see is the lens struggling to acquire focus making it pretty much impossible.

 

2. Macro requiring manual focus - Very hard to focus using the viewfinder.

 

3. grain or pixelation even at ISO 200 - For some reason, I find grain or

pixelation (especially on dark objects at infinity on wide angle shots). I

recently went on a photo trip around the parks in UTAH/ARIZONA/CALIFORNIA

region and

was quite dissappointed with wideangle shots having lot of grain on mountains-

at-infinity. I understand it is either my lens (18-70mm) or the camera, but

the pixelation in darker areas seem to suggest it is the camera as the lens

performs quite well on well lit subjects.

 

I am toying with the idea of getting a used D1X (about 1100$ with buffer

upgrade) and the posts (some of them pretty old so might not hold true today )

indicate the following:

1. Very good AF with good low light capability

2. Good view finder

3. images from D1X are smoother and have better resolution (10 MP when using

Nikon capture) and richer color.

4. Drinks lot of battery power and heavy

 

 

So, atleast on paper, it looks like D1x is the way to go for my requirement. I

would like to hear opinions from

those who have used both the camera.

 

As always I highly value your opinions.

 

Thanks

Anis

[frank_skomial]

This is wrong: "3. images from D1X are smoother and have better resolution (10 MP when using Nikon capture) and richer color."

 

Nikon Capture will not make low pixel count camera a large pixels count camera. You can dismiss item number 3 from consideration.

[bwcombs]

The D70 does have its limitations. But I have to say having looked at your wonderful

portfolio, you've pretty much taken your D70 to its max. Very nice.

 

You might also look at a D200. I moved up from a D70 and love the D200. It might not be as

fast as you need for in-flight shots, but I'm not sure.

 

Whatever you choose, I look forward to your images to come.

[Karim Ghantous]

Anis, I'm surprised at the noise level you're describing. I have shot ISO 800 on a D50 (okay, not the same camera) and found that setting pretty damned good. What's more, Neat Image did a fantastic job of removing noise while preserving detail - and that's just on the JPEGs.

 

But I urge you to check out the D1X as tested on www.dpreview.com. One thing I remember from their tests is that the D1X is not as good as the later cameras (e.g. D70, D2H) at long exposures. Check for yourself. Also explained is how you can get 10Mpx from a 5.7Mpx chip - it's to do with how the camera's sensor is laid out.

 

Otherwise I think the D1X would be a great camera. I had a D1 and loved the mass and sturdiness of it. And of course it will meter with AI lenses (albeit without matrix mode).

[klix]

I'd save up an extra $600 and buy a D200.

 

However, I'm still not convinced that the D200's AF module is as fast as the D1X's AF module (same as the F5's AF module). And since birds in flight is a primary need, AF speed would be a decision point.

 

Bottom line, the difference in AF speed is probably not all that great to justify overlooking all the other advantages of the D200.

 

KL

[aaron l]

Consider the D200. It doesn't have the focus speed of the D1/2 series but it's better than the D70. You'll be saddling yourself with a much older camera.

 

If you're reaching the resolution limit on the D70, you'll be that much worse off with the D1x. Also, the 18-70 is a great all around performer but it doesn't have near enough resolving power for landscapes compared to a prime 20mm or a 17-55.

[ramon_v__california_]

wonderful portfolio.

 

i have used a friend's D1x and i preferred my D70 over it. but i'm just a hobbyist. you can try anticipating the flight line of the birds and positioning yourself at the smallest possible angle from this flight line. of course, with a faster lens than the 18-70mm kit.

[paddler_b]

I moved from D100 to D1x, and don't regret the move. D1x doesn't have the pixel count of D70/D100, but its images are more detailed than those cameras. I did the test side by side for myself before selling my D100. I tried different kind of post processing but D1x always came on top. Through trial and error I managed to get resolution close to what Fuji Velvia 100 can produce, that's good enough for me! As far as noise goes, I don't think there is a huge differnece between these cameras. The only negative factor with D1x is the battery, especially in the winter. I hear solution to that is to buy third party battery. In my experience your other assumptions are correct including focusing...D1x was built like F series and everything that goes with it...including the weight:-)

 

koorus

[tom_luongo1]

One caveat about the D200 is that only the only AF cross sensor is the center sensor. But the D200 does have that new AF grouping feature. For birds in flight, I wonder if that might help the performance.

 

I have a D1 and a D70. The D1 has 3 cross sensors and is way more responsive than the D70. Plus I can actually see what I'm doing. So under certain circumstances, I get better results with the D1. And I love the bullet-proof body.

 

Tough call at that price point though. I'd lean towards the D200.<div></div>

[dannyv]

I used to have a D100,after that a D70s and now have a D1X.I really like the old D1X although it does have some negative points (older Dttl flashsystem instead of Ittl,battery life (but it's not that bad as many say when you use the 2400 mAh batteries) and white balance which is not always correct when taking pictures inside (no problem for me as I always shoot in RAW and I use the "cloudy" setting most of the time for all my pictures).

 

But when I take the positive points into consideration (pro build,big viewfinder,CAM1300 AF is much faster than D70s and yes...also faster than the D200 with CAM1000,1/500 shutter speed with flash instead of 1/250,the sturdiness and weight allow me to take sharp pictures at lower shutter speeds than possible with m former D100/70s...) for me it it's much more camera than a D70.When using one of my heavier lenses like the Nikkor 200/4 macro or the 300/4 AFs on the D1X the balance and feel are really great.

 

Of course a D200 has newer technology and more pixels.A friend of mine used his D1X for nearly 3 years,sold it a few months ago to buy a D200 and his conclusion last week after comparing lots of pictures of the two cameras is that the difference can't be seen in most of his pictures(you can for pictures taken with flash where the D200 has an advantage!)and the D1X pictures are still great.

[anis]

Thank you very much for the responses. I have just ordered a D1x from KEH to check it out myself. I will post my observation based on my photo requirements.

Thanks

Anis

[harry_samuel1]

<p>Well four years later I am faced with the same question. D1x vs D70, used they sell for about the same. I want to try the 1/500 sync with flash for some outdoor work I do. I know both these cameras will actually go all the way to 1/8000 with non-nikon flashes. Sorry to try and revive this thread but the d200 all the way to the d3s are lacking a flash sync above 1/250 with full flash power. I really want to get farther away from CLS and its limits as to distance. I am waiting for the D4, hopefully it will have a flash sync of over 1/250, maybe like the D70 all the way to 1/8000 at full flash power, not some FP mode that only is partial flash power and only works with CLS flashes, limiting distance to 33 feet.<br>

I can not believe I am actually looking at cameras that in digital years are dinosaurs. Anyone want to mention current DSLR cameras that have high speed flash sync. I know simple point and shoots do but I really want to have a hot shoe, and f/2.8 lenses. Thanks in advance.</p>