Reporting from Tokyo
Posted: Fri Nov 12, 2004 3:52 pmHi! My name is Andy, I'm a new d70user representing Artarmon 
. I bought my D70 just a couple of days ago in Akihabara, Japan. The going price for the lens kit here is Y123,000 ($1,515) wholesale or Y157,000 ($1,935) including dealer warranty. I bought mine wholesale, which was a bit of a risk I know, but the body and lens both came with a 1 year international warranty which along with the price was enough to satisfy my purchasing decision. The last time I used an SLR was about 8 years ago, a Canon TLb. Since then I've been using a Fuji Finepix 6800Z and Canon Ixy 400 digital compact, the results of which can be seen on my TrekEarth and TrekLens pages. I've been researching DSLRs for the last 3 months, specifically the D70 and 20D (the same old story), but after comparing results from the two I was more impressed with the D70's output and grew tired of the "don't buy the D70, the 20D is newer and has more features" marketing hype.
For the last 3 days I've been taking photos of autumn leaves (momiji) in Kyoto and Nara. The weather has been disappointing and the white sky makes it very difficult to get an even exposure. Tripods aren't allowed in various locations and many sites are flooded with school kids. I've made all sorts of beginner mistakes: stacking filters thus creating shadow at wide angles, keeping the lens cap in my pocket and getting sweat prints on the lens, accidentally rotating the lens hood 5 degrees resulting in black corners, forgetting to take the lens hood off when using the built-in flash... and so on.
I bought a cheap Hakuba cleaning kit and lens pen. The pen has been great for removing fingerprints etc, but the lens cleaning fluid and tissues are woeful. The liquid leaves streaks and the tissues leave behind fibers. Fortunately I've only used it on my lens protection filter, I'm scared to use it for anything else. What do other users recommend?
I'll be at my in-laws house in Nasu this weekend, I hope to return to Lake Chuzenjiko and make a second attempt at my failed Trekearth photo. I'll upload some new photos soon..
- AndyC.
. I bought my D70 just a couple of days ago in Akihabara, Japan. The going price for the lens kit here is Y123,000 ($1,515) wholesale or Y157,000 ($1,935) including dealer warranty. I bought mine wholesale, which was a bit of a risk I know, but the body and lens both came with a 1 year international warranty which along with the price was enough to satisfy my purchasing decision. The last time I used an SLR was about 8 years ago, a Canon TLb. Since then I've been using a Fuji Finepix 6800Z and Canon Ixy 400 digital compact, the results of which can be seen on my TrekEarth and TrekLens pages. I've been researching DSLRs for the last 3 months, specifically the D70 and 20D (the same old story), but after comparing results from the two I was more impressed with the D70's output and grew tired of the "don't buy the D70, the 20D is newer and has more features" marketing hype.
For the last 3 days I've been taking photos of autumn leaves (momiji) in Kyoto and Nara. The weather has been disappointing and the white sky makes it very difficult to get an even exposure. Tripods aren't allowed in various locations and many sites are flooded with school kids. I've made all sorts of beginner mistakes: stacking filters thus creating shadow at wide angles, keeping the lens cap in my pocket and getting sweat prints on the lens, accidentally rotating the lens hood 5 degrees resulting in black corners, forgetting to take the lens hood off when using the built-in flash... and so on
.
I bought a cheap Hakuba cleaning kit and lens pen. The pen has been great for removing fingerprints etc, but the lens cleaning fluid and tissues are woeful. The liquid leaves streaks and the tissues leave behind fibers. Fortunately I've only used it on my lens protection filter, I'm scared to use it for anything else. What do other users recommend?
I'll be at my in-laws house in Nasu this weekend, I hope to return to Lake Chuzenjiko and make a second attempt at my failed Trekearth photo. I'll upload some new photos soon..
- AndyC.
Thus far, from memory we have members from Canada, United Kingdon, New Zealand, Queensland and Western Australia. New South Welshmen, Victorians, Canberrians and South Australians make up the rest.