Maybe Buying Nikon D70s

[Eye_surrendered]

Hey There Everyone,

I am totally new to this forum and I already like what I see, I also am really hoping that you may help me out. I am currently looking to by a Nikon D70s and I was wondering if any of you would be able to give me the low down on this camera and if I should be maybe considering buying something else. I am a total amature when it comes to photography and dont know that much about camera's.

Is the D70's still considered a good camera in todays industry of photograpy? and just how big of a picture can 6.2 mp do? I am looking to maybe try to getting wedding photography and am wondering if this camera would be able to give people pictures that are worth their money. Could someone please help me and point me into the right direction. Here is the package that I am looking at used...

Perfect condition Nikon D70s and Zoom lense DX Nikkor AF-S 18-70 mm, charger, two batteries, UV filter, cable release, cable, manuals, original packaging and transferable extended warranty valid for another 11 months with Henry's on the body.

This person is asking to get 500.00 bucks but I too would have to drive three hours to get it. should I just keep looking or is this a really good deal? Anything and everything for feed back would really be appreciated as soon as possible, I am supposed to give an answer tommorow if I want to buy it or not. Thank you already for just taking the time to read through this.

In Need Of Help About Cameras
Eye.

[Frog]

The D70 is a fine camera with many still using it.
Perfect condition is subjective so no way to know until you've used it a few hours.
500 isn't a great deal but pretty honest I guess for a camera of that age.

[Axle]

The D70s is a fine camera, up until a couple months ago I used one such camera also with that exact lens.

[Franglais]

Q: Is the D70's still considered a good camera in todays industry of photograpy? and just how big of a picture can 6.2 mp do? I am looking to maybe try to getting wedding photography and am wondering if this camera would be able to give people pictures that are worth their money. Could someone please help me and point me into the right direction.

A: The D70s was pointed at the amateur market, but there is no reason you can't use it professionally (I did - but I quickly moved on to the D200 which is pitched at the low-end pro).

No features have been left out on the D70/D70s - full iTTL flash control, separate wheels to control aperture and shutter speed, 5 selectable focussing points, same 1024 element exposure system as the D1 and D2. This was a really good deal. What it doesn't have is weatherproofing, all-metal body, ability to do a lot of frames/second.

I actually have the D70 which has one problem - the JPG's were underexposed by about 1/2 stop to avoid burning out the highlights but this was solved in the D70s.

6Mpix is enough to do the largest print I can do (A3+ = about 16x20 inches). At that size I can't tell the difference with a 10 or 12MPix camera




Q: Here is the package that I am looking at used..Perfect condition Nikon D70s and Zoom lense DX Nikkor AF-S 18-70 mm, charger, two batteries, UV filter, cable release, cable, manuals, original packaging and transferable extended warranty valid for another 11 months with Henry's on the body.[/I] This person is asking to get 500.00 bucks but I too would have to drive three hours to get it. should I just keep looking or is this a really good deal?

A: I don't know if I would drive 3 hours for it. He's not giving it away.. BTW, the 18-70 AFS is excellent.

[Eye_surrendered]

Right on, thank you everyone for the input I totally appreciate it big time! Keep it comming and give me some advice is possible. I just want to make sure that I am making a good choice for buying a camera. Everything and anything anyone has to say is greatly appreciated!

[Old Timer]

Charles has some very goo points. I bought the D70 with the 18-70 lens when it first came out and was never sorry for the purchase. It was a wonderful combination at the time for me. I sold mine two years ago to another PR member for $600. I don't think that $500 is a bargain. You could spend a little more money and get one of Nikon's newer offerings and Have more camera, however if 500 is you limit to spend I think this is a great way to break into DSLR photography. I do think you will see what it can do and want to upgrade to a newer body before very long however.

[kieragirl]

D70s is a great camera, you would have to buy a D80 kit today to get the equiv camera
at $ 1000. The metering in the D70s is better than the D80 though. It has the same metering as the D200,300,700 series. The D80 has the D40,60 metering, which is mediocre at best. The D40 and 60 are great beginner cameras but are crippled and you can't grow into them,plus they don't accept any older non S nikon lenses. I use a D200 and 300 but love my D70's too death,and as one poster said even at 16x20 I can't see a difference between 6 and 12 megs, and i do a lot of 16x20's.
hope this helps

[photophorous]

Nikon makes great cameras, but I think at your $500 price point, you'd be better off buying a NEW Canon 400D kit. I wouldn't pay much over $400 for the D70s kit. The Canon will have less noise at high ISO and better over all image quality. I recently sold my D70s kit (almost mint condition, extra battery, 2 Gb card, in the box, with all accessories) for $450, and then I bought a Canon 450D. I like the Canon much better, and don't let anyone tell you the extra pixels don't matter. You can make nice 11x14s with the D70s, but only a photo made under ideal conditions, and of certain subject matter, can be printed at 16x20 with out a visible loss of quality. At that size more pixels will definitely help, but of course, you need to know what your doing before any of this matters. If you're really completely new to photography, you shouldn't be thinking about shooting weddings. You should be thinking about learning photography, and just about any DSLR, or even a $50 film SLR, will work fine for that.

Paul

[ChowChi-Ching]

I shoot strictly with the D70s, I love it..... I actually own two. I would like to move up to a D200 or even better the D300 but that is just because...... Remember, it is not necessarily the camera you use, it is how you use it!

If you look at my site you can see some of the shots taken with the D70s (I think there are a couple taken with the Konica Minolta but the majority is the D70s)...... Oh, and they are all resized, compressed and at 72dpi..... so the quality is ALOT less then what comes straight out of the camera........

[maheanuu]

I have a D70 and a D200 and use both, either one is always in the car, and I am planning on passing the D70 down to my grandson for his "new" camera. I gave him my Dimage7i when I bought the D70 and he has pretty well outgrown it. Before I give it to him, I want to replace the viewscreen for a Katz Eye. I find that I get a much better focus on my D200 in manual with the brighter screen and the split image viewfinder.

There are so many decent cameras out there these days that it makes choosing a little difficult. What ever brand you buy, you will have to consider the various lenses you will need for that particular body, and as such, will be pretty well stuck with a lot of equipment unless you decide to go with only one lens. I went Nikon as I have always thought of them as Top Drawer, and almost every old Nikon lens will be adaptable (with a little modification on some of the older primes).

Canon is an excellent product also, and again it is all in what you have now, and what you are looking for. At the time I bought my Nikon it was the "best bang for the buck". And as I am still satisfied with my original purchase and now have more lenses than I can carry, I will stick with Nikon

[Exposed]

My first DSLR was a D70's. I still have it and use it. I now shoot a D300. I will tell you I have done 16x20's and some 20x24's and they look very good. I picked up a used D70's with just the body, battery, and a 512 card for $400, so I would say this looks like a good deal.
I would ask how many frames have been taken. The one I purchased used had about 3000 taken.

You will love it.

Randy