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| Date Reviewed: 09/28/2004 |
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Strengths: this camera has so many strengths its hard to list them all...instant startup, 6.1mp, shoots extremely fast (up to three pictures a second), handles very well, focuses quickly, INCREDIBLE battery life
Weaknesses: it would be nice to have 8mp
Summary: I purchased this digital SLR camera because i was getting more serious about my hobby and wanted to be able to do some professional quality work. It's definately an expensive camera ($1300) but considering what you get for the money it has been more than worth it for me.
Taking pictures with this camera is sooo quick and easy (faster and just better than canon digital rebel), it takes no time at all to fill up a memory card (72 high quality jpegs on a 256mb CF) so you will need plenty of memory depending on what you plan on shooting.
The battery life on this camera is AWESOME, that's all i can say about that. Instant startup is also a feature this camera possesses which the canon digital rebel does not.
The overall size of this camera is fairly large and you had better study your manual if you aren't good with figuring things out on your own.
I wish nikon had made this an 8mp instead of 6, however 6mp is still packing plenty of power (i don't know, maybe i'm just greedy)
All the 8x10's i have printed off are extremely high quality, and soon i hope to print off some larger photos.
With all said and done, i definately recommend this camera to anyone who is serious about their photography.
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| Date Reviewed: 08/25/2004 |
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Strengths: Ability to use my old AF Nikkor lenses. QUICK startup and focus. Long battery life. Handles like my N8008s. Excellent 18/70mm lens.
Weaknesses: My SB24 flash won't work in TTL mode. No way for the moment to take really w-i-d-e angle photos. My 20mm becomes a 30mm.
Summary: I recently traded my beloved Nikon FA, MD-15 motor and 5 AIS Nikkor lenses toward my D-70. My 60 year-old eyes just couldn't handle manual focus any longer.
I'm delighted that ALL my AF Nikkors for my N8008s work flawlessly with the D-70, even the independent brands and the 1.4x teleconverter. My 180mm F2.8 and 105mm macro are my favorites, I love fast, long lenses. Being able to use all my filters and lens attachments is a big bonus.
I used to turn up my nose to built-in-flash. No more. That little dude gives me astounding fill flash capability. Not so hot alone, though.
I've been using Nikon equipment since 1968 when I did a tour in Viet Nam. Never regretted it for a second.
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| Date Reviewed: 10/14/2004 |
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Strengths: No delay at power on, easy to use, excellent full color metering, battery life is great, i-TTL flash is excellent, menu system allows great control over functions, fits hand well
Weaknesses: some buttons a little small, Picture Project software is for amatures- Nikon Capture should be included in $, Menus not too easy to navigate in a hurry, not 8 MPixel, no PC socket
Summary: I am a pro-shooter and this is my first digital. I was waiting for an 8-10 MPix from Nikon but got tired of waiting. For $900 this blows the other D-SLRs away.
The D70 is amazing for the price. It sports many F5 features- color meter, AF sensor, etc. Plan on using a 512MB Flash card or larger for fine JPEGs and a 1GB or larger for RAW shooting.
I shoot RAW 90% because the Capture Software allows for so much control after the image is taken. I shoot sports and on the rare occasions when the meter is wrong I can correct the exposure without losing image quality. The Capture software is for a 30 day trial and costs $99 to activate. While Photoshop CS supports D70 RAW it does not have all the functions/control of Nikon Capture so plan on spending another $99 if your a power user.
The new SB800 flash is truely pro in function. Wireless sync, multi-flash setups, multi-channel syncs, 5 battery option for fast recycles, very powerful. Of course it is $$$. Go for the SB-600 unless you really need high-end function. Built-in flash is really nice for fill-flash close-ups but limited range for full subject lighting.
The camera has great battery life but when it goes dead it goes fast.
A horizontal shutter release button would be very handy but what do you expect for $900.
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| Date Reviewed: 03/30/2004 |
- everalm
from NY
- Member Since:
Mar 2004
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Strengths: Good solid build feel, exceptional autofocus, good for amateur or semi-pro, backward compatible lenses
Weaknesses: Capture software extra cost, hand grip feels tight to the lens, default seems underexposed
Summary: Got my D70 the 24th March from B+H in New York on first day of release. D70 with the Nikon 18-70 lens and 1Gb Sandisk Extreme CF card. Total (ex tax)$1599 also paid an extra $50 for the Mack 5 year extended warranty. The camera is already sold out and on 4 week back order 1 day later!
1 hours charge had the battery to maximum and started shooting.
Keeping to the large and fine quality JPEG's right now, waiting to get comfortable with the camera before moving into RAW format and spending another great wedge of cash for Photoshop or it's like......H'mmm wonder if GIMP can handle this.
The Picture Project software that comes with the camera is lightweight but OK and I really would expect Nikon to include the Capture 4 software package with the camera not as an additional $100 charge.
Camera build quality is all I expect from Nikon and I have already started to play with using some of my older Nikon 35mm film lens with no glaring problems as yet.
I recommend that you invest in either the Sandisk Ultra II or Extreme compact flash cards if you want to get the best out of the improvements in image process and store. I ran off multiple shots with the Extreme card and with a generic CF card and the difference is very noticeable. With the Extreme card I can get a consistent and uninterrupted burst of 10 or more shots at a consistent and uninterrupted 3 fps. With the generic, quick burst of 2-3 then grinds verrrrrry slowly. Functional but disappointing.
Real instant power on !!! A friend of mine with the Canon Digital Rebel is extremely jealous. This function is probably linked to the fact that the number of shots available LCD is always on
The auto focus is exceptional ! As a cheap and cheerful test (which had some of my colleagues looking at me like I was a madman) I set my office chair in the middle of a corridor with work cubes, walls, long corridors etc all around. I sat and spun myself round and shot off a 3 second burst (10 pictures). At moderate speed (ie not vomit inducing) 8 out of the 10 where focussed, the remaining 2 were where the centre was in direct transition from one depth of field to a markedly different one.
Minor gripes.
1. Capture 4 software for manipulation of RAW is an added cost. Should be included
2. My hands are not particularily large but the right hand grip feels tight and close to the lens and can lead to cramp in the fingers if you hold whilst waiting for that perfect shot.
3. The default settings seem to underexpose by about 2/3 of a stop. I have ramped it up to compensate going to have to play more to get a good feel for this.
More may follow as I get to grips with the wide range of features
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| Date Reviewed: 07/05/2004 |
- ghostrider25
from CA
- Member Since:
Jul 2004
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Strengths: FAST, FAST, FAST! See more in 'comments.'
Weaknesses: Auto White Balance leaves much to be desired. Preset color profiles are too extreme (dull or vivid). View finder a tad dark.
Summary: This camera is FAST!!! It's a great relief to finally be able to take a digital photo with almost no shutter lag and/or wait time to take another photo. The startup time can probably be scientifically proven to be a value greater than 0 but is 0 for real world purposes. After flipping the ‘on’ switch the camera is ready to shoot before I can press the shutter release no matter how hard I try! Now that’s progress!!
The auto focus is quick and accurate. I have not experienced ‘Back Focus’ problems as some have described. In low light, it does have difficulty focusing on objects with little or no contrast such as the bedroom wall, but this is of no consequence.
In case you haven’t heard already from the other reviews, the battery life is absolutely legendary. I had my camera 2 weeks before it needed to be recharged. In those 2 weeks, I shot approximately 1000 photos. Many of which were with the flash or continuous focus. Continuous focus seems to be the biggest battery drainer.
My biggest concern about purchasing the D70 was the moiré problem that is in many of the sample photos I’ve seen and apparently in many of the photos of other reviewers. I can certainly say that I have not been able to produce moiré in any photo no matter how hard I try. I’ve taken photos of many complex patterns, near and far, under many lighting conditions and camera settings and still no moiré. Hooray for me, I guess.
The construction feels solid even though it is plastic. We shouldn’t be haphazardly throwing our cameras around anyway.
If you’re one of the many out there trying to decide between the Canon 300D and the Nikon D70, the choice is very simple. Ounce for ounce, dollar for dollar, the D70 offers more features than the 300D. Also, the kit lens for the 300D is a joke when compared to the 18-70 kit lens of the D70. All of that being said, if you have a bag full of Canon lenses, buy the 300D. If you have a bag full of Nikon lenses or no lenses at all, buy the D70. It’s worth the price difference.
No camera is perfect and as such, this camera does have areas that could stand some improvement.
- The Auto White Balance is virtually worthless. ‘Worthless’ might be a bit harsh but it’s rather inaccurate. Manually setting the White Balance takes care of that problem.
- The default and preset color profiles seem either too flat or too extreme. I recommend going into the custom settings and boosting the saturation +1 and sharpness +1.
-The view finder is a tad on the dark side.
These shortcomings are minor and should not really affect your buying decision.
As far as additional features for future models, should Nikon be reading, I would suggest a short cut to switch from single to continuous shooting mode and custom digi-vari programs to be able to switch from one group of custom settings to another in an instant.
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| Date Reviewed: 01/06/2005 |
- dhofmann
- Member Since:
Dec 2004
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Strengths: quick responds and fast, battery life is 1000+ photo, very good light meter, very good price/feature ratio, lens is extremely good quality, handling and controls are very well done, flash exposure!
Weaknesses: backward compatibility with old Nikon gear is limited, change AF mode only in menu, only manual exposure with old lenses
Summary: After having owned 3 professional Nikon cameras and at least 5 other digital cameras I was surprised how well the D70 performs and almost every aspect. There is never a lag or wait for the camera and 3 frames per second is fast enough for 98% of my photos. Haveing a 1/500 flash sync time is incredible and a big advantage to use fill flash in daylight.
The image quality is better than I expected. I made really large prints and never had any issues with resolution or quality. I compared it to 8 mp cameras and the difference is really minimal. People who I showed prints from 8 and 6 mp coulnd't tell the difference. The preferences were mostly based on color/contrast and other factors.
Exposure both ambient and flash are always very good resulting in beautiful skin tones. The camera has different "curve settings" for various situations and on top of that you can create your own profile curve and uploadit into the camera for a very personal look & feel of the photos.
The jpg compression is done so well that even in normal mode it is hard to find any signs of artifacts if at all. This means you can get a lot of images on your card.
The AF has three basic setups that all work extremely well. I take photos of my kids playing and running around and the AF does an excelent job keeping them in focus.
I thought the kit lens would be a cheap add on to sell the camera. I did testshots to compare it to my other lenses and it turned out that the 18-70 is surpassing almost all my other lenses (all Nikon) in quality. I never expected that and made me rethink my other lenses.
I bought two extra batteries just to be save and after almost one year I realized that it was a waste of money. The camera takes 1000 photos with one battery. Even with flash it won#t drop down too much.
The menue system is simple and the most imprtant controlls I need to change often are all acessibel directly through buttons or the dail. Only changing the AF mode is hidden in the menu which bothers me sometimes. The viewfinder is a little small but I can see the whole screen even with my glasses on.
There is very little negative I can say abouth thsi camera. I sometimes miss a protrait orientation shutter release or would like to have at least any kind of metering with my old Nikkor lenses. At 1600 ASA at very low light there is some visible noise. The LCD does not work an a monitor to be used instead the viewfinder. All dSLR have that limitation, though. Looking at photos is quick but the amount you can zoom in is limited. Those are all minor things but frankly I'm really very happy with the camera the way it is and it fits exactly my needs.
Some samples can bee seen here:
www.usefilm.com/photog...
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| Date Reviewed: 11/19/2004 |
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Strengths: 1. Speed (Powering on, focusing)
2. Battery life (Amazing)
3. Ease of use (Surprisingly friendly for amateurs)
4. Picture quality, of course!
Weaknesses: Maybe better out-of-the-box performance. It required a little tweaking with the settings before I got pictures I liked. Go to the forums at dpreview.com to learn about various settings.
Summary: PCWorld has just revealed their incompetence in reviewing digital cameras. Many photography organizations and magazines have rated the D70 as the #1 DSLR of 2004. Anyone who simply uses the auto mode to compare cameras doesnt know what they're doing. (And this is coming from an amateur!)
This camera is amazing. I've taken pictures I never thought I could. I find that my skill as a photographer is increasing dramatically as the D70 challenges me to learn more about its potential.
I really am an amateur (my previous camera was a Canon S400 and I still don't quite get the hang of apertures!). Even so, a few of my photos are going to published in a magazine in January!
If you want a real review of the D70, go to dpreview.com. Certainly don't rely on PCWorld. Their ranking of "serious cameras" is absurd.
Just be careful ... you'll find yourself buying lenses, flashes, and all kinds of expensive toys to keep up with your camera!
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| Date Reviewed: 02/09/2005 |
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Strengths: Overall functionality, speed, ease of use, image quality
Weaknesses: Smallish viewfinder, No ISO reading in viewfinder, lossy RAW file format
Summary: This camera is suitable in image quality for professional work. Do not use the automatic settings and don't shoot JPEGs, but learn how to get the most from RAW images. The Nikon will set exposure down a little bit to avoid blowing highlights, but this is with the assumption that you "develop" your images routinely with a "digital darkroom" and use capable capture software.
The PC World reviewer really is wrong to downgrade the image quality rating. It produces stunning images, even at 1600 ISO. There is no way this camera rates behind all of those point and shoot models. This magazine obviously does not understand photography very well.
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| Date Reviewed: 12/10/2004 |
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Strengths: Great Performance / Great PhotoQuality / Good Construction
Weaknesses: I wish it had hinged usb hatch... That's about it...
Summary: I am just BLOWN out of the water...Never expected this kind of performance or Quality....I had a Olympus 8080z and it took too long to focus... I am so Glad to have something of this quality. I tried the Canon EOS 10 and 20 but liked the earth-tones from this baby...
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| Date Reviewed: 06/01/2004 |
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Strengths: FAST everything. Startup(no lag instant on), autofocusing, auto exposing, image capturing, file writing, and continous shooting.
Weaknesses: hardly any...but to nit-pick...i would say that the auto-modes could have been tweaked a bit more. but you can do this yourself with the camera.
Also no movie mode.
Summary: Nikon has paid careful attention to the caveats of digital cameras and have overcome these in the D70. FAST everything. Startup(no lag instant on), autofocusing, auto exposing, image capturing, file writing, and continous shooting. The amazing image buffer allows the camera to shoot continuously like a 35mm film motor drive. its amazing...i sh*t my pants when i discovered this about the camera when i was first investigating it. I ALMOST bought the Canon Digital Rebel(inferior) until i discovered the Nikon.
Nikkor lenses are simply amazing....ive bought two already.
Shot some of the most amazing photos in Kauai, Hawaii.
And look forward to more amazing photographs to shoot with the camera.
One thing i wish they would have built into the dSLRs is the movie mode option.....if i could have shot a quicktime or MPEG with camera...that would have been amazing....
but then again i bought this camera for pictures and not movies...
FYI: I would use Photoshop CS to process out the RAW files that it can shoot. The controls and UI is better than Nikons Capture 4 software.
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| Date Reviewed: 05/18/2004 |
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Strengths: Camera is ready to use instantly when turned on.
Focus is fast and aided by assist beam.
Pictures can be taken very fast and with a high speed card, storage is fast. Comparable with my NIKON N90S
Weaknesses: In some situations tends to under expose in auto mode but that can be adjusted by exposure compensation dial.
Summary: Been using this camera for more than a month now and I find it fantastic. Ready to shoot the instant you turn it on. Using the San Disk Ultra II 512 meg card gives me great capacity even shooting in (nef)/jpg mode. Ability to use my Nikon SLR lenses that I had with my N90S make this a great camera without the finishing expenses and waiting time. The lens PCWORLD rates is not the lens that came with my camera. My Nikon came with an 18-70mm Nikkor AF-S lens and it is super quiet and fast. Sky photo's seem to show much better than my old CP5K digital. Onboard flash is very good. Haven't have red eye problems even though flash is right on top of camera. Menus are much easier to use than my old Coolpix 5000 and they even incorporate built in help menus. Settings are so easy with this camera. Nikon did it's homework and listened to recommendations of users of previous models. This is a great camera for the money especially if you have newer Nikon computer lenses in your bag. A GREAT buy in my opinion.
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| Date Reviewed: 06/18/2004 |
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Strengths: Great Pictures, Ease of Use, light, great grip, backward compatible with lenses, so many lenses to choose from, battery is excellent, love this camera.
Weaknesses: Tripod connection does not have second hole to hold on tripod firmly.
Summary: I love the Nikon D70. I am just learning how to use it, but so far I have not been disappointed even a little. I had read so many reviews and was debating between the Fuji F2 Pro. The determining factor to get the Nikon was the battery. I have not been disappointed with the battery. I took about 2000 pictures within the first week and I charged the battery after that; even though I did not have to, I still have life in the battery. As I learn more about the camera I will be able to give a better indepth review. But right now All I can say is I love it. I love the pictures, and the ease of use. You can be all auto or any combination of manual. I found that I have used some the auto's in other situations than recommended with great results. Like nature picture taken with the sport auto option. I recommend, try all the features for different types of photos, then come up with what works best for you.
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| Date Reviewed: 04/06/2004 |
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Strengths: So far I am very pleased with the D70s over all working aspects. I like the the new Digital Vari-programs, very nicely done. The camera feels very comfortable to hold and manipulate all the functions.
Weaknesses: I would have liked to been able to use my SB50DX Speedlight in i-TTL mode with the camera, you can ONLY use this flash in manual mode with the D70.
Summary: I made the upgrade from the Coolpix 995 to the D70 for the main reason of getting back to the SLR Camera. I went and bought the Sandisk Ultra II Compact Flash Card 256MB, and have been very impressed with the speed of this card. I also went and bought the 28 - 200 mm f/3.5-5.6G ED-IF AF Zoom Lens. I feel I will use this lens much more that the 18-70mm that came with the outfit. I also, bought the SB-800 Speedlight to complete my outfit. Overall, I give this camera a BIG TWO THUMBS UP!!!!!!!!!!
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| Date Reviewed: 08/23/2004 |
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Strengths: Great responsive camera. Resolution excellent plus on "fine". Quick focus.
Weaknesses: White balance auto got me into trouble.
Summary: Don't fool with the "white balance preset" if you don't know what you are doing. Believe me, I didn't. Photoshop batch process helped me with over 1,000 shots which were not exactly stunning. My problem, not the D70. Another comment is about the 18-70 Lense in the package deal. Don't assume you have a nifty lense which you can use on the Nikon film SLR's. You only get a partial frame on the film. Had I been smart enough, I would have bought a film lense in a wider angle than my 24-120 for landscapes. The Nikon 70-300 produces excellent results using a tripod since it is 105-450 on the D70. Only other problem, watch your focus point.
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| Date Reviewed: 08/20/2004 |
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Strengths: Intuitive, Beginner easy, yet so many advanced options. Focus options, stablity, color rendition, Picasa program all are excellent. Battery life-350+ pic at med JPG. Unbelievable!
Weaknesses: None, I have found yet, even with the relatively slow lenses that came with the camera.
Summary: For a beginner a great camera. I am a digital novice and have taken photos that everyone raves about.
I took pictures on the road in a bouncing pickup the first day I got the camera of a cell tower 1/2 mile away that was in perfect focus.
Close ups of flowers and insects great with 70x300mm lens. Exceptional color and detail!!!
3 levels of JPG and RAW super. Detail in RAW enlargements super and what can be done then in Nikon Capture 4 just amazing.
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