Best upgrade from a D70

[james_flavin]

I am interested in upgrading my D70. I'm an amateur and commonly use the

automatic setting. I would appreciate an opinion on whether (for me) the D60

would be considered a step up from the D70. Can't bring myself to buy the D80,

seems like it's just a year away from being phased out.

[acbeddoe]

Depends on your lenses. Are they all AF-S? I not, go for the D80.

[dave_petley2]

go for the D300

[Rene11664880918]

"Can't bring myself to buy the D80, seems like it's just a year away from being phased

out."

 

If a new model comes out within a year, would that mean a D80 won't be good enough

anymore? I don't understand the concept. The way I see it, most probably there will be a

D60x or something like that before the D80 is replaced. The D40 came after the D80 and

soon enough there was a D40x and now D60. The lower the grade of the camera, the

shorter the cycle.

 

The best you can do is get your priorities in order. Do you need what a D60 or D80 can

offer or do you need a brand new model?

 

Rene'

[johninjapan2000]

If you are using the automatic setting alot, probably the D60 would be good for you. If you need auto-focus (and you probably do, if you are using automatic exposure settings), the AF-S 24-85 f3.5-4.5 is an excellent lens for its class and only costs about $250 used. With a Sigma 10-20mm you will have all but extreme telephoto covered.

 

Don't worry about a D60x coming soon. The reason the D40x came out soon after the D40 was (probably) because the D40 only had 6MP and that just wasn't good enough for the market. At 10MP, the D60 is safe. Time will tell, though.

 

In any case, the D60 has superior image quality to a D80: better noise control, better processor (shares the D300's processor, so the best in the amateur world) and it has active dust control. Also, the rear LCD functions very well as both top and back LCDs because the angle of view is so excellent you can see it even when the camera is still upright.

 

The D70 is REALLY old at this point, so the D60 would be better. Think carefully though about your autofocus needs, however, and be aware of the size issue: big hands won't be happy with the D60 I suspect. My hands are average and it feels very good to me.

 

Avoid the D80. It has well-known metering and noise problems. It was fine 18 months ago, but these are little computers now and 18 months is forever.

 

Final verdict: get the D60 (assuming AF is not an issue) or wait for a D90.

 

Best of luck.

[phule]

How about a photography class instead?

 

There's no compelling reason to upgrade your D70. Your images will not improve by buying a new body.

[stank]

It is really a matter of needs and desires vs budget. In what ways does the D70 fail to meet your needs (ie. hinders your ability to capture the images that you want)? Which camera body will meet those needs?

[joe_a2]

James....Based on what YOU said, I have to agree with Rob. The D70 is a fine camera, and on Auto you will probably see little difference between your D70 and a newer body. Don't chase pixels. Put your money into lenses or a photography class.

[vic_.]

Most people think that simply changing from a film camera to a DSLR is just a matter of switching camera bodies and pressing the same buttonw. Not true, as there are a few things to learn. The manuals are dead repositories of data, so a DVD video is a good compromise.

 

Go to Ebay and type "Introduction to Nikon D70" in the search box, and you will come up with a DVD that will help you get more out of your D70. I did this with my DSLR, and believe me, there are a few concepts that I didn't know about, and they really helped.

 

Don't waste money on courses until you can understand all that is in the DVD. It will save you a lot of money.

 

Best wishes!

[scott_warn]

For me the best upgrade from the D70 was the D300. The difference is that the AF system in the D300 is astoundingly accurate. However, it terms of image quality there really isn't that much of an improvement, probably on the order of a 20% increase in fine detail.

 

As others have pointed out, the D70 is a very fine camera. Which is why I kept mine. At this point I would recomend that you wait until the replacement for the D80 is released. Simply because I expect that it will retain an AF motor for the older screw drive Nikkors and will probably feature the AF system now used in the D300. Which will give you all the automation that your current camera has with a much better AF system and it won't be crippled with the older AF Nikkors.

[madhu_menon]

D60 is a Nikon Upgrade to D40 & D40X.

 

D80 is a Nikon Upgrade to D70

 

D300 is a Nikon Upgrade to D200

 

I would say from D70 to D60 is definitely not an upgrade. D80 is logically Yes. D300 is an absolutely Yes. As Charles mentioned if you have AF-S lenses D80 or D300 is the best bet. Otherwise if you buy a D60 you would go back to manual focusing with it. Also it has only 3 point focusing compared to 11 and 51 respectively of D80 and D300.

 

But then it is your Choice. Personally I feel D70 is also a very good camera results wise. Ofcourse it is a little bulky and has a small LCD.

[rob_piontek]

I just bought a D40, coming from a D50. I like it better than the D50. The big screen, better menu system, FN button, color histogram. If you can live without the autofocus motor and other features of the D70, I bet you'd like either the D40 or D40X or D60 better than your D70.

[bmm]

John - bugger! My D80 must be faulty then. The damn thing has taken to getting good pictures...

[tri-x1]

If you have ai MF lenses you would like to be able to use (with the meter), and your budget can stand it, go to the D300. There really is a lot of difference between it and the D200. Moving to the D80 really wouldn't achieve that much for you.

[carl_becker2]

I don't believe the your "upgrade" will do much for you quality wise. I have a friend that uses both the D50 and my old D70. His results are very good to excellent. He probably shoots 10k images a year. I upgraded from the D70 to the D200 because I liked the control layout and more importantly I wanted to use manual focus lenses with metering. I really like the better view finder of the D200 much better but its the same as the D80. Be careful in your decision as it will impact what lenses will be available if you require AF and metering. I like the used lense availability and have no problem using MF primes. Classes, books and other learning material plus using your current camera can be much better for raising the level of quality of your photos. A good tripod or glass upgrade might be better money spent.

[squiggs77]

As Bernard points out, My D80 took great photos and it still does. I would say that it is the upgrade to your D70 (I have one of those and still use it when I need two bodies). However, if you don't need a new camera now, I would wait till the D90.

 

On another note: If you don't use AF lenses, and you like the camera's full auto mode, then the D60 might be a better choice. Nikon seems to optimize it's consumer DSLRs for JPG shooting with no post processing.

[hash]

>> Your images will not improve by buying a new body.<p>

 

True, unless:<p>

 

1. Your D70 is worn out and starts misbehaving at crucial moments.<br>

2. You shoot in "available darkness" and need higher ISO.<br>

3. You need more AF points, are getting blurry shots because of this.<br>

4. You need faster frame rate.<br>

5. Etc, etc. <p>

 

It all depends on you, where you are with respect to your skills and needs. Personally I do find the D70's AF system a big limitation. Too slow, focus tracking exists only in the manual. Anybody actually use know how to AF-C and Dynamic focus tracking on this thing?

[jc5066]

As an armature, why do you feel the need to upgrade from the D70? What is it that this camera does not offer you?

 

Is it broke? Buy a lens, not a body.

[._._z]

You can get a used D80 for $600, or a new one for around $720. One of the best Nikon bargains around.

 

That said, the fact that you use your D70 on auto suggests you'd more wisely spend your money on a photography class than on new hardware. The D70 is perfectly fine for most amateur needs or desires. You just need to learn to use it without the training wheels.

[jeff_power]

Unless you're looking to expand your horizons and go beyond automatic mode I see no reason to upgrade

I have a D40 and use it 75% of the time, I got a D200 used for

$850.

In the future I may jump to the d300 but it will only allow me to take better pictures in extreme conditions.

[lookupinwonder]

Last year I upgraded from a D70 to a D200. The D200 does everything better! BUT:

 

Does it show in my shots? Hardly. Can I print bigger? Probably, but 75x50 with the D70 is perfectly possible. Would any of the pictures I made with the D200 be impossible with the D70? NO!!!

 

In other words, I regret buying a D200. The D70 is already waaaaay better than most of use really need.

 

Get a photography class and buy an FM with a 50mm 1.8 E.

[eric_arnold]

1. decide your budget

2. decide what you don't like about your current camera

3. decide what features you need most in a new body

4. cross-reference (1) and (3).

 

just about any newer nikon dslr would be an upgrade from the venerable d70 at this point. still, there are many pros still using d70s (even d100s), so you might want to think about getting better glass instead. i have a friend who was basically using his d70 as a point and shoot who just got a d300 (mainly because i got one). IMO he would have been better off learning more about technique.

 

in any event, this is a tough choice; i don't know if the Expeed processor of the d60 is better than two command dials and ability to use non-AF-S lenses of the d80; likewise, both the d200 and d300 have mag-alloy bodies, but if you don't really need faster FPS or higher ISOs, the d300 might not be the best for you, unless you have $1800 laying around, in which case it's a no brainer, provided you know how to actually use it.

[bmm]

I agree with Ronald.

 

Once I had my basic kit, the things that most improved my photography - ranked in order of importance - were:

 

1. a good tripod

2. good books on exposure and composition (classes would do same)

3. a couple of well thought lens selections

 

In your case, based on your original post, I think your #1 should be read the instruction manual and put the camera on A,S, or M for a while. You will have SO much more control over your shots, and because you'll be shooting with a clear visual goal that is in accordance with our own sense of aesthetic (exposure, depth of field, white balance, saturation, etc) rather than just happy-snapping, you'll be getting better results by default.

 

What I'm basically saying is that your 'upgrade' should be learning to use more than the simplest 10% of the capability your current D70 has to offer.

[summitar]

This thread is one of the best I have read on this forum. Great advice.

[suzyq]

300. I just got one last month. I cannot say enough good about it. My 200 is good, but this is so much better. I have been shooting everything at 8oo ISO and can not believe the quality.