Opinion of a good buy or not

[Tsim]

Hi all

Not sure if this is the right place to ask.

I found the site from soing some investiagtion on a DSLR camera I am interested, and would like your opinion on wheter it is a good buy or not.

I am updating from a Sony DSC-P92
The camera is the D70s kit (I assume this comes with the standard kit lens) and thrown in is a 28-100 lens (Not sure of the brand, but the guys said it was a $500 lens) Brand new in sealed box

Total price $1799

Thanks in advance

[kipper]

Tsim, it sounds reasonably priced. First off you'll have to find out the brand of the additional lens. Also ensure that the lens that comes with the kit is the 18-70MM DX lens and not some other cheap alternative they decided to put in.

I'm sure once you have this additional information, Birddog will be able to tell you if this is good or not.

[redline]

is that a dicksmith deal?
anyway i wouldn't recommend it, most ppl would be happy with the 18-70 (the real kit lenses) that came out with the d70. why not wait for the d70s to come out soon.

[kipper]

Redline, it'd be hard pushed to decide between a D70 and a D70s, especially if the D70 is coming down in price to clear stocks. You can get a bit of an upgrade via firmware for the D70, getting a lot of the software based features of the D70s. Yes you won't get a larger LCD or some of the other physical aspects but are those extras worth the extra couple of hundred $$?

Not sure what price is going to be of the D70s yet, so I could be off on this one.

[Glen]

Really need to know the lens brand, but on face value the kit lens is usually a better bet. The kit lens is AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5G IF-ED and made by Nikon. The AFS means there is a motor in the lens rather than using the cameras motor. This makes focussing faster and quieter. The kit lens is quite good optically. I don't think this is good value, I would ring around for prices and compare packages with the 18-70 standard kit lens. I have seen that combo for $1850 and that would be far better value for $50 extra even if the lens you were offered was a Nikon one, unbelivably better if they were giving you a cheaper lens within the $1799 package.



Or the short answer. NO.

[redline]

yeah i did remember someone mentioning that the d70 probaby won't be in clearance mode, boy i like to be proven wrong on sale day.
it might end up like the d100.

shop around i say.

[kipper]

Glen, I think he's saying it comes with the kit lens + this 28-100mm that the sales guy is saying is $500 worth (I think it's probably more like $300 worth but I could be wrong).

[Glen]

Sorry, I misread it first, I assumed it was without the kit lens at that price as both lenses cover very similar focal ranges. It would be a reasonable buy if it came with the original kit lens and you could sell the other because it is of not much use and buy a 70-300 or 70 -200. Not a big difference between D70 or D70s. Check that when they are saying kit they mean with body and lens, I have seen body only referred to as kit, which is a bit deceptive.

[Tsim]

Wow thanks for all the prompt replies, I will go to the store on Monday and get more info, eg exact lens details etc.

[johndec]

Does anyone even make a 28-100 lens? Tsim, are you sure it's not a 28-80 and if so, that lens is of much lower quality.

You "think" the camera comes with the 18-70 lens. Make sure before you commit to the purchase as a lot of retailers give you the 28-80 instead of the 18-70 in order to reduce costs.

[Onyx]

Nikon does make a 28-100 - it's an older design with cheap build. It's not much better than the 28-80 which was the afterthought package of a lens thrown in with lower end 35mm SLR cams.

I would imagine this would be a D70s body only, plus the 28-100 f/3.5-5.6 lens. In which case the $1799 price is quite unattractive.

[gstark]

Tsim,

You need to be very clear about what you expect to be getting for your hard-earned here.

Is it a D70, or a D70s ?

The former is the older model, that pretty well most of us have, and it's an entriely acceptable camera. The newer model has a couple of enhancements, such as a larger screen and provision for a wired remote, as well as the more dubious "upgrade" of encrypted wb in the firmware.

Is it body only, or a kit, and if a kit, which "kit" lens is being supplied? The only correct kit lens is the 18-70 DX. Anything else, being called a kit lens, is deceptive, misleading, and plain and utter bullshit.

If they're also offering a 20-80 or 28-100, my immediate question would by "why?"; that lens offers little over and above the proper kit lens, and so I'd be wanting to know more.

Bottom line is that if this is either body with the correct (as noted above) kit lens, and brand new Maxwell stock, the price is fine; any extras will only add to the value of the package, but you must be clear about what those extras are, and how they may be useful to you.

If the deal does not comprise, at the minimum, either body plus the correct kit lens, run, don't walk, away from it.

One other thing: please put your location into your profile; we don't know whether you're in Sydney, or in Melbourne (Vic) or in Melbourne (FL), or in Brisbane (CA) or perhaps even in Perth, Scotland.

Not telling us where you are makes it a lot more difficult for us to give you the best advice, because while $1700 might ben ok price in Vic, you can buy close to a D2X for those $$$ in FL.