What convinced you to get D70 instead of other cameras?

[Miliux]

I'm proposing to get a D70. Right now I have Canon S50 which have a manual function. However I felt left out that I cannot change lens and when using ISO's like 400 and 200, the noise becomes apparent. Battery is the issue as well coz I had to take my charger with me - ended up taking 150 photos.

For months I've been scaving around searching for a good D SLR for me. I'm only 18 and it's not that common for a guy at my age to get these kind of high end cameras. D70 felt right compared with Canon because it has the features that I wanted. Diverse ISO, high end AF, 2nd curtain Flash Sync and above all it felt like as if I'm holding a good camera.

What's ya story?

[gstark]

For me it was a no-brainer. Just as well, as I have no brains left.

I've been a Nikon user for a long, long time; we have several Nikon bodies here, ranging from a late 60's vintage Nikkormat FTn, an FE2, and an instance of the very first Nikon AF cameras, an F801.

The design of that camera was so good - we're talking 1989 or 1990 - that the AF lenses from that all work on the 2004 D70. i can remember the first weekend I had it - picked it up on a Friday night, and heading off for a weekend in Dubbo early the next morning. My then 5 or 6 yo son Leigh (nnnnsic) was using it that weekend and making good images too.

Getting back to your question, I considered the 300D until I saw the specs for the D70. I'm quite happy to have Canons here, as a second system (and may still buy one) but the D70's feature set, coupled with the fact that I already had an investment in Nikkor glass, sealed the deal.

Before the D70 I was using a CP5700, and constantly frustrated by its failure to achieve focus in poor light/contrast situations, plus it's absence of response when I need to make images quickly, like in Melbourne for the F1 races. Don't get me wrong, the 5700 is a damn good camera, but it simply, after some time with it, didn't suit what I was doing.

[Nnnnsic]

Huh. I used it when I was 5 or 6... cool.
Precursor to me being in Photography at Fine Arts?

What convinced me to get a D70 instead of other cameras?
I'm still trying to convince my dad that a D70 is a worthwhile investment for a 21st birthday present.

I think his next post will be something along the lines of:
"hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha"

So until then, I'll stick to use an F60, a Bronica 6x4.5, and the school's Mamiya RB67.

[Raydar]

I started out in the Digital camera world getting to know a Sony cyber shot P5 my father in law owned.
Good cam for showing the new format but that’s about all.
I convinced myself, I would own a dig cam some day so I started to save some penny’s.
I settled on a 5700 & never looked back until “as Gary said” found the limits of the thing.
The low light capabilities of the cam was shocking “
The 300D came along so I went for a look & in my hands it felt nothing like the cam I had, so I gave up on that one.
The day I picked up the D70, I new this was the cam for me; owning it now for just on 2 months it still amazes me every time I use it.

Cheers
Ray

[gstark]

Huh. I used it when I was 5 or 6... cool.
Precursor to me being in Photography at Fine Arts?


So until then, I'll stick to use an F60, a Bronica 6x4.5, and the school's Mamiya RB67.

Hmmm .... i wonder from whence the bronny came ...

[Onyx]

1/500th flash sync, 1/8000th max shutter. Spot metering available in all shooting modes, AF-C mode available in all shooting modes, 1005 segment matrix metering. Plus, it's a Nikon.

Compared to the copier company's 10D and the Fuji S2 - the (newly introduced at the time) D70 was the optimum choice.

Collection of old lenses (MF age) leftover from my FM1 and FM2 days were sadly not functionally useful. Their use is strictly for novelty purposes only, as it loses all exposure metering capabilities on a D70. Sadly, my finest lens, the Nikkor AI-S 135/2.8 prime is wasted....

[gstark]

1/500th flash sync,

Hey, I've had that for years on the old Bronny.

hmmmm And on the old 5x4 2, 4 that matter

Compared to the copier company's 10D and the Fuji S2 - the (newly introduced at the time) D70 was the optimum choice.

Actually, I think Canon have a good and long history of making photographic equipment that predates their photocopier days. And the 10D, in all honesty, is not a bad unit.

My personal experience with Canons dates back to when I had a couple of A1s. That was one hell of a camera, but I found that, in terms of build quality, neither the body, nor the lenses, were as solid as the Nikons. In those days I was photographing weddings, and they cameras didn't have too easy a life. Dropped Canons needed a trip to the repair shop, whereas dropped Nikons rarely needed anything. The worst I've had was a need to reseat the reflex the mirror on one occasion, but we won't ask Leigh about what he did to the FTn with the 55mm Micro, will we ...

Collection of old lenses (MF age) leftover from my FM1 and FM2 days were sadly not functionally useful. Their use is strictly for novelty purposes only, as it loses all exposure metering capabilities on a D70. Sadly, my finest lens, the Nikkor AI-S 135/2.8 prime is wasted....

Actually, I'd be very surprised if you can't use them. Yes, TTL metering capability is lost, but who cares? Set the D70 to manual, do your initial metering by eye and conditions (or, heaven forfen, use a handheld meter) and then use the LCD and histogram to fine tune your exposure.

[Onyx]

[quote="gstark]Actually, I'd be very surprised if you can't use them. Yes, TTL metering capability is lost, but who cares? Set the D70 to manual, do your initial metering by eye and conditions (or, heaven forfen, use a handheld meter) and then use the LCD and histogram to fine tune your exposure.[/quote]

Well, these are OLD lenses - some have various stages of fungal growth on the inside elements. This reduces sharpness somewhat. But the most annoying thing is, I believe the non-coated rear elements on these "meant for film" lenses are highly prone to internal flaring on an dSLR, resulting in much reduced contrast. Hence, they're virtually unusable - compounded with what you mentioned: the need to meter independently and focus manually... I've gotten lazy I know.

[Killakoala]

I have owned an F70 for about 7-8 years now since i got serious about photography.

However, last year i decided to go digital and bought a CP5700 as i couldn't afford a D1. I though the 5700 would do fine until Nikon brought out an affordable DSLR that i could use with all my F70 AF lenses.

I took some great shots with the 5700 but i outgrew it in terms of capability, so when i heard of the D70 i went out and bought one. (I did read the DPreview, review first :)

I've been very happy with it so far and can see plenty of room for improvement still. A fine investment indeed.

[Miliux]

Just a quick question. Does D70 have an image stablisier? Meaning photos won't go blurr if ya take long exposure shots?

[Raydar]

The D70 has no image stabilizing built into the body but you can purchase lenses the have a stabilizer built into them.
Nikon make the VR “Vibration reduction”

Get your bank manager on side for these!!!!!!

Cheers
Ray