What did you use before the D70 and why?

[Dargan]

What did you use before the D70 and why?

Gary made a comment this might be a good thread, lets see.

My story. I came to the D70 by way of a Sony V1. I used to have a FE2 many years ago that gave me an early interest in photography but sold it for a trip.

Back to the V1. Some work in PNG last year had me using a Sony DSC85 which I was just getting to know, but was hardly enthused about. That all came to a stop when my transport was broken into and my travel bag stolen. Kiss goodbye to $8,500AUD in gear. However, insurance to the rescue and work profited by way of a new and better laptop, a V1 camera (much better than the stolen S85), lots of other esoteric stuff and $700 for my old Casio Em500 (Thank U, Thank U Mr Insurance) which went towards an XDA II, which is just magic, if any readers are into PDA's.

In March this year on a trip to India with a group (Delhi, Gurgaon, Agra, Jaipur, Ranthambore National Park, Chandigargh, Kalka, Shimla, Kufri) I had the opportunity to use the V1 and I had a great time and took some interesting shots. If I can work out how to post I will put some on the forum if it is allowed. Tigers, elephants, strange buildings, people, people , people and views. What did I like best about it?

It was the ability to take shots unobtrusively and get sharp focus, at least my idea of sharp at the time. It was also easy to put it in your pocket and carry. Downside of it is the relatively slow ready time as the lens prepares itself and I missed a number a of moments as a result. Despite this I think that photography is about the moment more than it is about the technology. I am influenced in my reading a lot by 'The Luminous Landscape' writer, especially his article on dissonance re the F828 which I nearly bought BTW. He carries a Konica/Minolta A2 for street work which I am also considering but I am awaiting the V3 which has just been announced at Photkina.

Another trip to the US west coast in April, SF, LA, Seattle, Spokane, and up the Snake River gave me more ops with the V1. I like India photo ops better but still I was learning more and it kept on broadening my photography interest and I think developed my 'eye', if that is what you could call it for detail. I resolved to get something of my own.

The V1 introduced me to digital, because I had a stab at post processing, although this is not so good with jpeg's and I still have a long way to go in this area. It also started me reading and trawling the web and for 6 months that is what I have been doing, collecting articles and reading a bit here and there. Initially I settled on the F828, I am still a fan of this camera type but there are too many issues at present with it to buy at this stage, will wait for the 939. Then I was floored by the Canon EOS, (eventually quality and general value for money dissuded me) back to considering a prosumer due to SLR dust, no adequate prosumer except KM A2 and still unsure and then D70, D70, D70. Nikon quality, rave reviews, chance to get creative control and revisit my early interest. Every major article collected, analysed, dissected, evaluated, until I was sick of reading and did a NIKE.

Am now a happy chappy! Nikonians, this forum and using the camera have confirmed my choice as the right one. I am not so one eyed to think this is the solution to everything, but it will do me for a while.

I could say more but this has been a long enough chattaqua. Over to anyone else who wants to unburden their mojo! Maybe we can get a statistically significant correlation on entry routes to the D70 going here.

[Onyx]

Before the D70, I had an HP 320xi. It's a little known obscure all plastic wonder. 2MP, fixed focal cheapie (36mm, 0.75m to infinity). It had a 4x digital zoom, and a crappy 320x200 15FPS video. I bought that because it was on special for $200, when $200 was really cheap for 2MP camera. I knew I was never going to be satisfied with it, as everything was auto and its image quality sucked for everything other than bright daylight.

I had originally planned on getting a more decent digicam (aka "prosumer" range). However the announcement of Nikon's new entry level DSLR in the beginning of 2004 had me rethinking. At the same time, Minolta had also announced the Dynax7 (with CCD anti-shake) which I was also considering. I had looked at the current selling Canon 300D and 10D but were dismissive of both, due to very cheap plastic build (which made it expensive for its price), and an awkward viewfinder respectively.

If the Minolta had come to market back then, instead of just now making its appearance at Photokina, I may well be a Minoltian instead of a Nikonian. But, I was in the market to buy then - and the D70 had just been introduced to market, so it was a match made in heaven.

I'm constantly surprised at the speed of the D70, it's many features and combined with the 18-70DX lens, the fast auto focus; and ultimately its image quality and useability in all conditions. It's truly ahead of its time!

Now, 6 months later, I had experienced the first symptom of impending shutter failure. Although I'm not too worried at the moment, I think in coming months I might be facing reliability problems on this unit if I keep using it as much as I have been, so I'm re-thinking my strategy of backup photo gear. I'm thinking of maybe getting a "pro" DSLR body, just for its better expected life. But my pockets don't stretch that deep, so second hand might be the best I can do... If I can find a D1H/D1X for $2-3k I might consider it.

[MHD]

I used the Nikon Coolpix 5400...
Optically it was a great cam! 28-110 zoom, good properties (low CA, PF)..
Had some great features (Best shot selector, time lapse movie mode)
Loved the swing LCD...

Big problems though with speed and responsiveness... horrid shutter lag etc...

The CP5400 to the D70 is like a musket to M16...
Yeah sure it will shoot people but I wanted to mow down crowds!

[Greg B]

Firstly, I assume this is limited to digital........

My first digital experience was a work camera, a Nikon 990 (???) or something like that. That was fun but it wasn't mine.

Then I bought a Sony video camera which had a 1 megapixel still shot capability - it came with a massive 4Mb memory stick. I got a 64 Mb. I found that is using the still capability more than the video.

March 2003 I went for the Canon G3. Why? It had fantastic reviews, and on the comparisons, looked the goods. Which it was, however the limitations of a "prosumer" non-SLR became evident. It must be said, however, that the G3 is capable of sensational results, it has the flip and twist LCD, excellent battery life, and the image quality is very good.

Now the D70. Sigh. True happiness.

[gstark]

For us, the D70 is digital #5. Bear in mind that we've been using Nikon 35mm gear for something close to 30 years now ...

Way, way, way back in 98 (I think) I found a Kodak - DC20? perhaps - at a local OfficeJerks or such store in Addison in Dallas (we were living in Dallas at the time). This was a very low end camera - no digital viewfinder on the back, thus no review.

Not too long afterwards a Casio followed me home (can I keep it?) and while it had more features, it was still somewhat lacking as a photographic tool.

In late 1999 I purchased our CP950 - our first Nikon digital. $2000 neat, 2MP, and, for 1999, probably close to state of the art. It accompanied me on my avoid the Synney Olympics trip, and, while it did a reasonable job, I found the zoom range to be far too low for my needs.

Here's a few images from that trip ...

http://www.d70users.com/Gary/eu1/DSCN0820.JPG

Lap 1 stoush at Monza: Coulthard and Baricello both out

http://www.d70users.com/Gary/eu1/DSCN0914.JPG

Tuscany

http://www.d70users.com/Gary/eu1/DSCN1019.JPG

That's Lake Como down below, Switerland straight out, and Italy on the left.


http://www.d70users.com/Gary/eu1/DSCN0800.JPG

More Lake Como


http://www.d70users.com/Gary/eu1/DSCN0992.JPG

http://www.d70users.com/Gary/eu1/DSCN0986.JPG

Monterosso al Mare


At the beginning of 2002 I saw adverts for the CP5000. They were tempting, but I was disuaded by the lens, which, in terms of reach, offerred little more than what I had on the 950. And the 950 was clearly not what I wanted either ...

A couple of months later Nikon announced the 5700 - this looked to be far more promising, with most of the features that the 5000 offerred, plus 8x optical zoom.

Around the first day they became available at the stores in Sydney - July of 2002 - I had a play with one, and shortly thereafter, I owned it. The lens onm this camera is amazing - needle sharp, and the acuity provided by the camera was superb. $2400, for those keeping score!

Unfortunately, it still wasn't the answer to all of my needs - low contrast focussing was an issue, and the camera had no optical viewfinder. For shooting events such as car racing - and in particular, stuff like the F1GP, the 5700 simply couldn't cope.

I was tempted to consider the 300D as a secondary system, but the D70 seems to be answering all of my criticisms of my earlier purchases.

It's a real camera!

[Nnnnsic]

This is probably the most pathetic post here... but whatever any of the above posts, gstark's, "old" cameras were... I got them. He went to the Casio, I got the DC20.... mmmm... 1mb internal ram... yummy!

Then my brother got the Casio after dad upped to the 950... and then he upped to the 5700... and no one got the 950... we just started to "share" the cameras... provided we tell dad (gstark).

So, in accordance with Uni and whatnot, I still use film... unless anyone here owns any of the high end Canon's or a D2x or even the medium format digital solution... film still beats digital.

I use a Nikon F60 I got for a birthday from dad ages ago, and of course I've got the lenses dad uses to use here... I'll also use dad's boxes like the FE2 and the F810, not to mention the medium format Bronica 6x4.5 and the Uni's Mamiya RB67 (6x7), Bronica SQ (6x6), and I'll use the Horseman (5" x 4") when I can muster up enough courage to use the bloody thing...

[birddog114]

So, in accordance with Uni and whatnot, I still use film... unless anyone here owns any of the high end Canon's or a D2x or even the medium format digital solution... film still beats digital.

So, you still prefer film instead of digital? is it against daddy's will?
Perhaps, there's an excuse why daddy won't buy you a dslr for your BD then, he'll go for a brand new F6 instead of

[sirhc55]

My last camera was the Nikon D1 which I used for just over 4 years. Prior to that I used a Kodak/Nikon 420 and before that all Nikon film cameras.

2 years ago I purchased a Nikon 90X but only had it for 6 months and decided that digital was my forte and had been since 1994.

Chris[/i]

[ChaPPy]

Lets see...My story is short.

As an IT consultant I did some work for a company back in South Africa developing a Database System for them. (Only recently immigrated from there to Oz). When it was time for them to pay me I opted for them to rather buy me a digital camera. I had a good look at functionallity and what I could get and at that point decided on the Sony DSC-S75. It's a 3Meg camera with x3 optical. Nothing fancy BUT had a manual mode so I got the learn all about shutter speed and apperture. I've used that camera up to 2 weeks ago. (Sold it to a friend of mine). http://photobucket.com/albums/v53/ChaPPy007/

Now, I'm in to the D70 and enjoying every photo I take.

ChaPPy

[Nnnnsic]

So, you still prefer film instead of digital? is it against daddy's will?
Perhaps, there's an excuse why daddy won't buy you a dslr for your BD then, he'll go for a brand new F6 instead of

You know, it disturbs me when you use the term "daddy" against "dad"... uughhh *uses his complimentary shuddering card and shudders violently*

And we're not given much choice with Uni... we can use digital... provided we can also blow it up to A1 or higher without fractal interpolation. 6mp digital just doesn't give you that.

[JordanP]

D70 is my first Digital camera. Prior to that I used the Nikon FE2 - very reliable and resiliant but it had two issues that drew my conversion. The FE2 uses film and is manual focus.

Needless to say I've got alot to learn about the digital world but I'm having a blast. The ability to take and review thousands of images is excellent for building your skills.

Still shoot film occasionally but not much now.

[Killakoala]

I've owned several cameras throughout the years. Started with a Yashica 35mm which took some nice sharp photos, tried a Ricoh and didn't really like it. The cheaper yashica was better. Then during a trip to Singapore i bought a Nikon F70 and a few lenses. Loved it and took heaps of photos with it over many years. Added a few more lenses along the way. Still have it and use it today, altough mostly for astronomy. Film for astronomy beats digital still. (Unless you have access to the Anglo-Aussie observatory at Coonabarrabran. They do some good digital stuff.)

THen i bought a Fujifilm 1.3MP P&S at officeworks and took an instant liking for digital. Did some research and wanted to buy a digital SLR, preferably Nikon so i could use my various lenses, however the D1x was just too expensive for me.

I bought a C5700 instead. It did well for a year and took some great photos for me. However, it was just a go-between until i could afford a DSLR. I was all geared up to purchase a Pro-SLR when the D70 came out. I first saw it on the DPreview website and read the review of it. I bought one the next day. It was exactly what i wanted.

Now all i need are some new lenses to go with it.............

[Matt. K]

http://forum.d70users.com/viewtopic.php?t=402

[sirhc55]

So, you still prefer film instead of digital? is it against daddy's will?
Perhaps, there's an excuse why daddy won't buy you a dslr for your BD then, he'll go for a brand new F6 instead of

You know, it disturbs me when you use the term "daddy" against "dad"... uughhh *uses his complimentary shuddering card and shudders violently*

And we're not given much choice with Uni... we can use digital... provided we can also blow it up to A1 or higher without fractal interpolation. 6mp digital just doesn't give you that.

Hi Nnnnsic

In my game I often have to blow up digital photos to A1 and A2 (i.e posters for Woolies wines and beers) and I use a program called PixelScale from Extensis in conjunction with Photoshop.

I had trepidation at first knowing that the studio that Woolies use are very particular about quality but I have never had a complaint and have taken digital shots from both the D1 (2.1Mp) and the D70 up to 130Mb+

Chris

[gstark]

I've used that camera up to 2 weeks ago. (Sold it to a friend of mine)

Have they seen what you're now using? And if so, are they still your friends?

[Raydar]

I started out in the SLR world with a Pentax “Can’t remember the model” For my 18th Bday.
Then I bought a Pentax Z1, Great cam, I lost interest in the hobby for a while “Girls!!!! ” until I seen my first digital cam a Sony cybershot P5 & was hooked.
About 18 months later I bought a Nikon 5700 & the rest is history.
I always mist the controls of an SLR, so when the D70 came to be I snapped it up & haven’t looked back

Cheers
Ray

[christiand]

Hi all digitals,

my first digital camera was a Ricoh RDC5300 (expensive little thing).
Before that I was using a Minolta SRT 101, then a Minolta XGM.

Cheers
Christian

[ChaPPy]

gstark, Yep , we still good friends..they only wanted P&S with decend quality so they are happy...but it's a big difference and normally I give them the photos I take if they are on it.

[phillipb]

Film cameras I've used too many to go into here, but digital I've only had three.
I wet my appetite with a Relisys Dimera which I bought from ebay for $200 in June 2000 250k resolution 2mb memory and no lcd. 3years later a bought the Casio EX-Z3 because it was so small I could take it with me everywhere (still do), this year I bought the D70 because I was frustrated by the lack of manual controls and D.O.F. in the casio. This should do me for a while ...... famous last words

[Dargan]

Regarding first, initial and absolute intro to digital, can anyone remember the Creative PC-Cam 200? and variants?

This really was entry level digital at 6408480 but good value at the time.

[stubbsy]

Having read the other posts I guess I'm a conundrum.

Never owned a camera in my life until 2001 when I was 46. So the first camera I bought was a Kodak DC4800. Great camera for a beginner.

Just sold it to a friend to buy my second ever camera and first SLR.

Stubbsy

[BBJ]

Hi All, My story begins with the digi camera, when i borrowed a friends sony cybershot DSC-P72 point and shoot that i still have and is a great lil camera. I dont use it much now, but lisa takes it now and then when the kids have a show on at school. I started going to the track again after being out of motobikes for sometime, anyhow was taking it to take pics and did manage to get quiet a few good pics with this camera considering it is P&S, no manual controlsanyhow here is a sample of what i was doing with this camera:http://www.darwinonline.org/albums/userpics/10259/Travis.jpg
Soon found this was not the camera for this type of thing so i looked at many camera's and spotted the D70 but at the time a bit out of my reach and there sitting was a Fuji S7000 and after some reading on the net was soon to be my new camera:http://www.darwinonline.org/albums/userpics/10259/normal_Mclaren.jpg
As you can see i am bike mad and spend a lot of time at the track, so after having the S7000 for 4 months or so i now have the D70 and well cant wait to try it out at the track on new years day. I still use the sony as i find it is a handy camera to put in your pocket and take pics from in the pits and general things like that. But i guess i had a bit of an ineterest many years ago in this as ui used to do the photo finishes for the local trotting track here, and do have an Yashica slr with a heap of lenses.
Now which Motorbike do i sell so i can get me a nice peice of Glass????
Honda or BMW. LOL

[johndec]

The D70 is the first digital I've owned (if you don't count my nokia phone ). Prior to the D70 I had a Ricoh XR-M, not a bad budget 35mm manual focus with a 35-70 and 70-210 zooms. It satisfied my casual dalliance in photography for over 15 years.

[MCWB]

My foray into photography started when Mum and Dad gave me a Nikon F50 with 35-80 lens for my 18th birthday. Unfortunately due to the cost of film and processing, I never used it to its full potential. For my 21st I got people to give me money that I put towards a Tamron 28-300 that I then used more often, especially for the Sydney 2000 Olympics. Things turned more than a bit sour when our local processing shop lost about half the rolls I'd taken!

For the sake of convenience I decided to try digital. My first digicam was some 2nd-hand Acer 1MP POS, $100-odd, really awful picture quality even in good lighting. I sold it within a couple of weeks, for just over what I'd paid, which was a relief. My next digicam was a Sony DSCP1, which I ended up having for about a year and a half. Great little camera, very simple P&S, a few quirks, but I took some great pics with it. I bought a Canon A80 this February in Hong Kong, principally because I was running into the limits of the DSCP1 (in terms of low light performance/flash power, battery life, and manual controls, which I loved on my SLR). Still love the A80, especially the tilting LCD. I ran up against its limits at the F1GP in Melbourne this year though, where my F50 performed better in the same conditions. It was then that I knew the DSLR path was inevitable... hence my D70 purchase. I still use the A80 today, depending on the occasion.

[Werewolf]

Hohohoho..................Happy Saturnalia folks!

I started with crappy Haminex/Kodak instamatics in the early 80s, mainly to capture my youth as a Mod on film, and to document my early travels. I then was given an old Fujica with a 50mm prime and I took this to Europe/Egypt in 1990 and I gotta say the images this decrepid machine produced were amazing! I took it back to Europe in 1991 but dropped the damn thing on the cobblestones of Prague and cracked the casing

My next camera was the Pentax MZ50 kit which served me well for a few years, coupled with a Samsung APS which I absolutely loved.....until that failed about this time last year in Japan I still LOVE the APS format and have replaced the Samsung with, erm, a cheap Canon Elph bought on eBay!

My first digicam was an Olympus (can't recall the model.....but 5 years ago it cost $1000.00!). My MIL has that camera and it's still going strong, takes great pics with vivid colour.

Then I upgraded to a Fuji S304 as I needed the longer reach for my soccer pics. Whilst a good little camera, the Fuji frustrated in poor light conditions and the image quality was, well very average. I yearned for a digi SLR and was considering the Pentax ist as I had the MZ50 with several (poor) Sigma lenses.

The D70 caught my eye, the reviews were terrific and I just had to have this camera! It came to me in the most fantastic circumstances! My wife and I had our first child in August and I decided to leave my job of 18 years to become a stay-at-home-dad. My last day of work arrives and I find a lovingly wrapped present on my desk. I open it and whaddya know - a brand spanking new D70 kit!!!!! My employers had secretly been in contact with my wife to find a suitable present and.....well you know the rest!

I love my D70 and although the learning curve is steep, I think I'll be enjoying it for many years to come.

[the foto fanatic]

My photography exploits commenced way back when The Beatles were still singing "I Wanna Hold Your Hand", so I'll take pity on you all and condense a bit.

When I was active in camera clubs in the 80s, I became a Nikon film user. I travelled a bit, and managed to get to Hong Kong frequently enough to have purchased several Nikon bodies & lens combinations over the years. Hence buying from Mr Poon presented no real fears for me.

My photography tailed off a bit around 2000, but I became interested again when I found out what you could do with digital resources. I bought a Sony DSC70 Cybershot in about 2001. It cost $2200, and had an eye-popping 3.2 megapixel resolution. Only shot JPEGs, and the shutter lag was horrendous. I still have it; my wife likes to use it.

I still had a bit of Nikon gear, and whilst I was researching the Sony F828, I started to read about the D70. It made so much sense to me to go to DSLR and reuse my Nikon glass.

I'm glad I did too, although of course I'm finding now that the current generation Nikon glass is calling me loudly.

[dooda]

I've always loved photography and was always intrigued by the art. Used a fixed point and shoot in college, liked to mess around with it, get funny weird shots from differentn angles etc. Got a point and shoot zoom for my missionl Hated it, never in focus, always blurry etc. So I saved my pennies and got a Nikon F80 as I was wanted to learn how the entire system worked (2002) lucked out and they sent me a 70-300ED plus kit lens and body for $500 US. Loved shooting around the oil rig etc. Raised an eyebrow when the Canon 300d came out. Knew that Nikon would soon rise to the challenge. Lucky enough to get it at a 200$ discount as my father does business with Lens and Shutter here in town so seeing the price drop doesn't hurt quite as much. This is my first DSLR.

Photography was never so joyful as when I got the D70, though Onyx's shutter malfunction has me wondering, maybe I won't take barrels of pictures at a time. Wondering, what happens when the shutter malfunctions? What does the camera do?

[Onyx]

dooda - I've only ever experienced a jammed shutter once, and I was expecting it to be a more frequent occurence but it never did happen again. It could be something to do with the depth of field preview button that I brushed up against. I am slightly suss about it and will look into the D100 replacement next year if I continue this hobby and to take as many images as I had this year.

When the shutter malfunctions, every button becomes inactive and turning the camera off/on doesn't do anything. Just hit the shutter release again, and it'll right itself (as least it did in my case). Then continue taking pictures. If there more malfunctions, and occur more frequently, then ultimately it's time to replace the shutter. The pro's talk on Rob Galbraith's forums as if its just another service item to carry out every few years - so I'm sure to Nikon it's a routine job, but the user ends up paying... in the case of the D70, could be more than 50% of its purchase price. That's the scary part, not the failure.

[louiek]

My first digital camera, a Canon A20 (it was a toss up between the A20 and the coolpix 775), was purchased in 2001 because I was sick of returning back from holidays with photo's that were not coming out right from my pentax film p&s. I was getting lots of out of focus photo's. The A20 allowed me to review the photo's and only keep the good ones.

This is when I started to get interested in photography. I quickly ran into the limitations of the A20 p&s, and then decided that i needed a camera that had more manual features. My brother-in-law had purchased a sony f707 and I was jealous that it had all the manuall controls, and it was 5MP. When the coolpix 5700 was released, I knew that it was the camera that i was looking for (longer reach, manual controls etc).

I Purchased the 5700 in September 2002, and really enjoyed the camera. It would be the perfect all round camera if it could focus in low contrast situations. I still take it with me on trips due to it's small size and the long reach. I bought most of the accesories for it, but unlike the camera, the accessories are gathering dust. I thought cameras could not get any better than this. I thought the 5700 would last me for years before I needed another camera.

My next digital camera was a Minolta X20 ultra compact. I needed something that I could take with me on trips, but also keep in my bag to carry everywhere.

I was given the responsibility of taking photo's of my nephew's christening in feb this year. I knew that the 5700 would not be able to take no flash shots inside the church. I knew i would need a low light lens like the 50mm 1.8.

One small problem, I didnt have a SLR to use with this lens, which i had not purchased yet. I knew that i wanted to get a nikon SLR so that i could use my nikon compatible flash. I also really appreaciated the nikon build quality.

In late 2003, I heard about the new nikon DSLR, the D70. I knew that this was the SLR that I wanted after seeing the specs. I was so excited at the thought of my first SLR. With this in mind, i was counting down the months before the official release, hopping that i would be able to buy it in time for the christening.

As 2004 came around, I started preparing myself for the fact that i would probably not have the D70 in time. So i purchased the nikon 50mm 1.8 lens, and I was looking at renting a Fuji S2. I was tossing up between the rental of a S2 and purchasing a Nikon F75. In the end, the F75 won out due to the cost to rent the Fuji for the weekend was almost the same as the F75 body, and I would also get to keep the F75.

So my first SLR purchase happened. I was so excited. F75 SLR + 50mm 1.8 lense. The start of the my lens lust had begun. I still remember being WOW'ed while looking at all these nikon lenses at the store.

The month of April arrived, the D70 arrived, happiness continues.

Louie

[robw25]

i started out with a sony505v what a beauty that was, then the sony 717 which i still have ( told the gf it's hers.... but not really ) and now i'm the proud owner of a D70 ...... heaven

cheers rob

[Capturedview]

My first camera, and the camera I used before buying a D70, was a Canon A70. A little 3.2mp p&s which started my love affair with photography.

About 3 months after I bought it I knew I would be upgrading to a dslr. The A70 hasn't skipped a beat and has helped me capture alot of great photos. I still use it when I need something smaller then the D70.

[christiand]

Merry Christmas,

I know people who still use the "other" camera(s) if they have.
A good reason is convenience (less weight, less obstrusive).
I also met a photographer who at times uses his digital camera
for "site survey" reasons. He takes back the digital shots and starts to prepare for film shots.
I still use my Ricoh RDC5300 from time to time.

Regards
Christian