Replacing my d70

[jonah_husak]

<p>The time has come to replace my old d70, had it repaired once last year as it nearly died on me but this time its gone for good(lens snapped in half during move camera wont even turn on). I'm a nature/landscape (hikey person) photographer as well as some social photography and well.. basically i dabble in everything with a focus on nature. I'm hoping to get some suggestions on what cameras would fit my bill the auto-focus doesn't really matter as I've always manually focused my cameras. As much as id love to blow 6k on a d4 or the likes id prefer to keep the cost below 1000$ usd. 4/3 cameras interest me but i think a nice dslr will fit the bill, any suggestions would really help, ill post some samples of photography when i can get them reduced to smaller sizes.<br>

-Thanks<br>

Jonah(the newbie)</p>

[richsimmons]

<p>If you have other lenses, I'd consider a D7100, which you can find for about $1100 or under if you go refurb. Brand new, you can get a d5300 around $745. A nice used/refurb'd D7000 would be good too. What lenses are you using?</p>

[jonah_husak]

<p>Basically whatever i can mooch off my aunt and uncle(avid photographers that keep getting new stuff), most of my lenses are stuck in california somewhere, so ill probably need to buy a few new ones. sorry i cant be of more help but right now im just worried about a decent body camera, i always follow the body with lens puchases. i have been looking at the 5300, how different is it from the 5200?</p>

[Two23]

<p>I use a D5100 as my back up camera, but woud not want to manual focus with it. Look for either a D7100 or even a D7000. Either will do what you want and are 3+ generations newer than the D70.</p>

<p>Kent in SD</p>

[robert_bouknight1]

<p>I enjoyed my D70 when I had it, but the current cameras are a pretty big step forward. One good thing that the D70 had was the "2 wheel" control system. I would recommend sticking with that setup, so I would not recommend the D3000 and D5000 series of cameras for you. Also, it is more difficult to manually focus the D3000/5000 series.</p>

<p>You should be able to find a refirb D7100 at your budget. Other good choices would be the D7000 or D300 (used). These cameras all have the 2 wheel setup, AF fine tune, and operation with older manual focus lenses (I think), important features for me. I prefer the D300(s) over the D7000, but others might prefer the D7000 for some of it's features.</p>

[richsimmons]

<blockquote>

<p>i have been looking at the 5300, how different is it from the 5200</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Not much. 1 stop better, a little lighter. But as was said already, I had a D5100 and manual focusing is not good. I have a D7100 now and loving it. Paired with a wireless remote and live view, taking landscapes is really good. What I didn't like about the D5100 was the dependency on the menu system for so many functions. Images are great though.</p>

[Peter_in_PA]

<p>hiking? focus on nature?</p>

<p>I think you should look at the Olympus EM-10 myself... (I myself am seriously considering "upgrading" to that system for carry-ability)</p>

<p>...but if you MUST have a DSLR, under a grand you can get a D5300 and decent lens I would think. That's what I would do. That camera has twice the linear resolution as you are used to, I think you'd LOVE it. 2-wheel control layout? You can get past that pretty quickly imho.</p>

[Wouter Willemse]

<p>Agreed that manual focussing on a D5x00 isn't great, but the viewfinder of the D70 wasn't exactly a bright, clear view on the world either.... so in that sense, it's a bit of a wash.<br>

I'd give a long, good look at some of the system cameras; Fuji, Sony or m4/3rds. Coming from a D70, you may find the D3x00 and D5x00 a bit too dumbed down (single control wheel, menu structure much more aimed at novices/learning). The D7x00 are a pretty big step up, but also quite a bit more complex in parts, though mainly the AF (which is not your biggest concern). But they're at the max of your budget, and relatively big and heavy. For hiking, getting a smaller, lighter system camera could be sensible.<br>

If you prefer to stick with a Nikon DSLR, I'd go for the D7000 in this case, rather than the D7100 - it's quite a bit cheaper, and main attraction of a D7100 over a D7000 is the improved AF. So you'd be putting money into something you're saying you won't use. Better to keep that money and spend it on something that does offer more of an improvement for your style of photography (tripod, good lens, something like that).</p>

[jonah_husak]

<p>thanks guy :) im gonna look into some 4/3's and the 7xxx</p>

[bebu_lamar]

<p>Check out manual focusing on the mirrorless. If it works for you then great if it doesn't then you may need to go for the 7100. Too bad they don't make camera that is good for manual focus any more. </p>

[Peter_in_PA]

<p>BeBu, that's a good point.</p>

<p>btw, I find the manual focusing on the Olympus µ43 to be amazing.</p>

<p>I do like the MF on my D90 a little more, I admit.</p>

[rick_m.]

<p>Get a D7100 and don't look back. It is a wonderful camera.</p>

<p>Stop manual focusing. It is quirky and you don't want to be known as one of "those guys". ;)</p>

[RaymondC]

<p>For a D70 user .. maybe a used/new D7000 on fleabay I think I saw some overseas (new) for like $500US. I still have my D70 but I see the biggest difference as in the exposure and the overall color it gives. My D70 tended to give dull colors unless I was outside in good light. Ie - indoors and outside in a overcast day with/without flash.</p>

[eric_brody]

<p>Consider the Fuji system. The manual focus on the X T-1 is superb, you look at the entire image and see a magnified portion on the side. With adapters, you can use your Nikon lenses, even G ones. I do not know for sure if the same system is on the less expensive X E-2 but I suspect it is, great images. The X E-2 body is $849 @ B&H and if you include the quite excellent "kit" 18-55 it's still just $1199.</p>

[Andrew Garrard]

<p>The D7x00 series are action cameras, designed to do what you need when you're in a hurry. It doesn't sound like you need that for landscape - though if "nature" means you're birding, maybe you do. As for manual focus on a D5x00, certainly a pentamirror makes things painful, but a fold-out LCD - treating the camera as mirrorless when you want to - works very well, as far as I know.<br />

<br />

The D5300's viewfinder view is slightly larger than the D5200's, which you might care about for manual focus. The sensor is sharper (no filter), it's a little lighter... not huge differences.<br />

<br />

The D7100 is indubitably a better camera (if you want resolution for landscapes, a D7000 may not be), but I'd look at the D5x00 if you're on a budget and you don't need speed. But I'd try one in a store before shopping - coming from a D70, the one-dial interface may drive you nuts very quickly. Good luck.</p>

[bebu_lamar]

<p>I suggested the OP to check out the mirrorless speifically to check out how well the OP can manual focus with live view or an EVF. Myself I simply can't do it. </p>

[jonah_husak]

<p>thanks for the info guys, now to go find a store to test them at :p</p>

 

[owen_omeara]

<p>I agree with Rick M. The d7100 or a used d7000 would serve you very well, they are both great machines. The auto focus on the d7100 will make you forget manual focus.</p>

<p>I share your pain. The d70 was my first good digital camera and it served me more than well. It is now in the possession of my daughter and her husband and all of the reports are that it still is working fine.</p>

<p>-O</p>

[eric_arnold]

<p>a used d90 would probably do everything the OP wants and is less expensive than a d7xxx body.</p>

[richard_miller5]

I went from a d90 to a d7100. Big difference. But I would seriously look at the d5300. Excellent dslr.

One pro for the d7100. Is the much improved weather sealing. Something to consider while you are trapping through the

outdoors

[glen_h]

<p>I bought a used D200 as my D70s was getting old. (Bought from a dealer, and not over used.)<br>

Some features that the D200 has that many other Nikon DSLRs don't is the AI lens coupling so I can use old manual lenses, including both M and A mode. The D300 is also nice. <br>

The D70, any of the newer ones, won't work well with AI lenses. (M only, and no metering.)<br>

I don't know which ones have the right focus screen for good manual focusing. </p>

[ajoy_roy]

<p>My son had bought D70 and then a D300, so I was using D70. This march I got a D3300. If you want a light bare bones body, this is it. It has no motor, no bracketing and outputs RAW in 12 bits.<br /> Apart from that it is fantastic body with one of the best and sharpest sensors. I find no difficulty in manual focus. If your eyesight is fine, then the view finder gives crisp images when in focus, else if you are like I am, with bad eye sight, then use the "range finder", which is dead accurate. After D70 you will find the low weight a boon.</p>

<p>The only problem with this 24MP sensor without AA filter, is that it will show the short comings on most older lenses. Some are soft, some have a lot of CA, but a few AIS lenses are excellent. The included kit lense is fantastic, as is the 35mm F1.8 DX.</p>

[sjmurray]

<p>I went from a D70, to a D80, to a D7000 for a month and then just said: "oh hell, why not just get something state of the art," and upgraded to the D7100. That was earlier this year. I am not disappointed. 24mp is wonderful to work with. A standard 300 ppi print is 13.3 x 20 inches!. Lot of room for cropping and most of my prints are re-sized smaller, thus decreasing noise if there is any. High iso is remarkable. I shoot indoors routinely at 3200 iso. The D7100 has a focusing motor, so older AF lenses can be used, and it meters with the older AiS lenses, just like a film camera. Very versatile. I use the 18-70 and 18-105 kit lenses most of the time for general use and both perform very well. I can easily use manual focus lenses with this camera, but I find the AF lenses can do it faster/better when I am photographing people in a documentary situation. I always shoot/process in raw, and I find the colors and general shadow and highlight detail available is the best I've ever worked with. Check out my folders here.</p>

[sebastianmoran]

<p>You'll enjoy the upgrade. I went from D70 to D200 to D300 and really noticed the difference at each step. </p>

<p>I did not try manually focusing with any of these cameras. I'm surprised you were able to get good results with MF on your D70.</p>

[ajoy_roy]

<p>With the "range finder" focusing is quite simple. Bring the focus to closest distance, then while watching the range finder rotate the focus ring till it is centered. I was brought up on manual focus Zenit film cameras, so that helps.</p>