n80 to d70s hunting AF...

[matt_webber]

hi all.

 

i have spent many hours trawling through previous posts and various reviews of the d70s,

but am yet to find anything which gives a direct comparison between the d70s and n80. i

presume this is because the digital equivalent of the n80 would be the d100...

 

however, the option with which i am faced is not to upgrade from the n80 to the d100, but

to upgrade (?) to the d70. now i appreciate that the d70s has been criticised for slow

autofocus. however, the n80 isn't quickest out of the trap either! any idea how they

compare?

similarly, without wishing to start a digital vs film debate (as a perpetual lurker on these

boards i appreciate how tiresome that particular debate can become!), will i notice any

significant drop in clarity and sharpness in moving from the n80 to the d70? since i'll be

using my old g lenses if i make the move, i would ideally test the 2 bodies side by side,

but this just isn't possible unfortunately...

 

are there any other features i will lose out on in terms of sensors, metering, build quality

etc....

 

if in my red-eyed bleariness i have overlooked a thread along the same lines as this n80 vs

d70s, then i offer my sincerest apologies! just point me in the right direction...

 

cheers one and all,

 

matt

[erickpro]

Could you wait 1 month or so untill we get reviews of the D200, that you may like more than the D100.

[ShunCheung]

The N80, D100, D70 and D70s all use the same Multi-CAM 900 AF module, which is currently Nikon's consumer-grade AF module. Thus you should see largely the same AF performance in all of them. The main difference is that the digital sensor is a crop from the 35mm film frame, but the AF points on the Multi-CAM 900 are not moved proportionally. Therefore, on a DSLR, the AF points will appear further away from the center of the frame. Moreover, each AF point will occupy a larger area on the digital sensor area in terms of percentage. Some people feel that is the source of the common "back focus" problmes on the D70.

[iambaxter]

I own both a F80 and a D70, and find the focus speed on both cameras to be about the same. I have tried a D100 and found it was also about the same. The new D200 might be better. If you need real fast focus the you should look at moving up to a D2Hs or D2X or some other pro body. Some older models (D2H, D1X....) can be picked up use for a good price.

[Richard Williams]

Shun and Len have already covered the AF. Best performance is with AFS lenses, so if you don't have one of these (and probably even if you do), the 18-70 kit lens is a good investment. The D70 build quality is similar to the F80 and the D70 metering is better (though with the limited exposure latitude of digital, it arguably needs to be). The D70 also gives you a higher flash sync speed. If there's one 'downgrade' in the D70 design it's the viewfinder, which gives you a small image and is harder to use with manual focus. Shun and others have reported that the new D200 viewfinder is much nicer.