jdorio's Full Review: Nikon D70 Body Only Digital Camera
I purchased my D70 from Sam’s Camera Exchange in Westchester County, NY in the first week of May 2004. I was on a waiting list for about 3 weeks. I only purchased the body and it was, as advertised, $999. I started out this search for a digital SLR camera on eBay looking for a Nikon Dxxx Series camera bodies that were backwards compatible with my investment in AF-Nikon lenses. I thought by now, the price for the professional level Nikon DSLRs would have come down, but they are still high, even used. Then I read about the D70 and it’s under $1000 price tag and I was hooked. I didn’t look at the Canon DSLRs, because of my Nikon lens investment.
I’m an amateur photographer. I mainly use my cameras to take pictures of the family and family events. My main camera, (until recently!!) was a Nikon N80. This is the camera I’ll use for the comparisons below. I’ve owned the D70 camera now for over a month and a half and have taken about 500 pictures.
What I like?
Digital – The ability to shoot a picture, and either look at it or check the exposure is the single greatest achievement in cameras today. This is especially significant for amateur photographers, like me. If the picture is bad or the exposure is wrong, delete it and take it again. No more rolls of pictures where people are not looking at the camera or the exposure is too dark or too washed out. There’s been some discussion on bulletin boards whether this has made people better photographers or worse photographers. I think it has made me a better photographer because I can take multiple shots or keep shooting until I get it right. The camera teaches you how to take a great picture for future reference.
Power On Speed – Very Fast. You don’t have to wait anymore for the camera to “boot up” like other digital cameras. It’s as fast as or possibly faster than my N80 film camera when it starts up. My wife’s Nikon CoolPix 4500 Point & Click takes about 10 seconds to start. In less than 2 seconds, you are ready to begin shooting. No more missing opportunities while waiting for the camera to turn on. This is huge and you’ll really appreciate this more than you think.
Shutterlag – There is none. It’s awesome. It feels exactly like the shutter on my N80. The only limitation is your flash card’s ability to keep up with the camera or the flash recycles. It’s worth the price of the camera just for this improvement. How many times have you lost a great moment waiting for your digital camera’s shutter?
ISO – Previously, I used to have multiple film cameras filled with different ISOs of film. One camera was for outdoors and one was for indoors, etc. At a simple family gathering, I looked like a photojournalist or papparazzi! Now, all you need is one camera because you can change the ISO on the fly based on the lighting conditions. This is another really significant feature because you can be outside and set the ISO at 200, then walk indoors and set it at 400.
Quality Of Pictures – People have commented that this is an issue but I’ve found the picture quality to be excellent. 6MP is excellent. I have shot all the pictures in JPG format and not RAW. The pictures are very clear and the colors are vivid and accurate especially with skin tones. The shots I’ve taken are as good as or better than my N80. I have not noticed any noise or moiré. I usually shoot between 200 and 800 ISO. I’ve printed out the pictures on my ink jet printer using glossy photo paper and have taken them to a photo processor and the results are fantastic. You will very satisfied.
Lens – Works with all my Nikon lenses. This was key requirement in purchasing to the D70 and have had no problems. The focusing is fast and it rarely has issues with “hunting.”
Nikon System – Coming from an N80, the D70 operates exactly the same way. There are more features and areas that are specific to the Digital camera, but if you are familiar with newer Nikon cameras, you will have no problems getting up to speed and taking pictures. Viewing the pictures in the LCD monitor is 1 button click. Deleting the picture is also one button click and another to confirm. The process of managing the pictures via the LCD is very simple and well thought out. It seems that Nikon actually listened to some of the digital camera issues that users have had and thought up better solutions. This camera is very well designed.
What I Don’t Like?
Flash – The onboard flash produces very poor flash pictures in any mode especially in Program mode. The quality of these pictures is close to a point and click which you don’t want when you paid $1000 for a camera. The flash washes out the pictures and creates ghosts. The colors and skin tones are horrible. It’s OK for a fill flash or a flash outdoors, but you cannot rely on this as your sole flash for indoor photography. This leads me to….
Compatibility With Older Flashes – If you own a SB-80 or SB-28, you can’t use the flash in TTL mode. It only works in manual mode which when you’re at a big event and have to get the picture, you don’t have time to fumble with the flash settings and hope it works. I do a lot of bounce flashing, so I need an external flash unit with a swivel head. This incompatibility was a big issue with me because I specifically upgraded to an SB-80DX. I was told it would work on both Nikon film and digital cameras which at the time, was true. So, now I have a $400, year old flash that I can’t use on the D70 because I rely on TTL flash metering. Nikon should have built in this backwards compatibility. I’ve since purchased an SB-800 flash due to the unusable on-board flash and the flash pictures are fantastic. The new flash system really produces great flash shots and in bounce mode, the pictures look as if they were shot with natural light. It’s worth the upgrade to get the new flash though is very expensive.
AE Lock Button – For me, the AE-Lock button is in an awkward position. It’s caused me to recompose several times because I can’t reach it. It’s possible that I’m more familiar with it’s position on the N80.
Quality – The camera is slightly lighter than my N80 but it feels very fragile. I’m not sure you will be able to use this camera professionally or in harsh environments. I find myself taking extra care when I use or transport it. I’m not sure if it’s just new and I’m babying it. I’ve banged my N80 very hard several times with no issues but I don’t think the D70 would withstand the same abuse.
Media Door – The door and the locking mechanism that covers the flash card media is very flimsy. It’s all plastic and very cheap. I can see the clasp breaking in 6 months. For such a high end camera and an important function, the design could have been much better.
ISO – Lowest ISO currently is 200. I always like to shoot outdoors at 100 or less. Maybe a firmware upgrade will lower this. The pictures are still good though.
PicturePerfect – is weak and shows it’s 1.0 version heritage. It’s a work in progress. One of my main gripes is that it can’t delete a picture from the hard drive. Once the pictures are downloaded and catalogued in PicturePerfect, there is no way to delete a picture you don’t want. You have to delete it outside the program using Explorer. I ended up buying Adobe PhotoShop Album to download, catalogue and manage my pictures. The only reason why I use it at all is its ability to print a date on a picture. Other than that, it’s useless.
As you can see, there are few issues I’ve encountered with this camera. It has brought back my enthusiasm for photography again! Nikon has done a great job raising the bar and designing a system that eliminates some of the issues with digital cameras. It approaches the professional level in features but has a relatively affordable price tag. It’s really a shame for cameras like the N80 which are excellent but will go unused. The guy at the camera shop was complaining that cameras like the D70 are going to put him out of business. I think the camera is fantastic and would recommend it to anyone. I’ve talked the camera up at work and two of my co-workers have recently purchased their D70s also. There is plenty of research on the web, especially from professional reviewers, that all give it positive reviews. They even compare it to similar digital cameras from Nikon and Canon and choose the D70. Buy It….You will not be disappointed.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 999 This Camera is a Good Choice if You Want Something... Flexible Enough for Enthusiasts
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