Digital Camera Reviews

In its Review of Nikon D70, bythom writes and gives its conclusion below :

Drawbacks

* Those few missing features. No mirror pre-release. No mechanical remote release (fixed in the D70s).
* No extended grip. While I don’t miss having the vertical release, the MB-D100 provided a 10-pin connection, which I do miss. And with two batteries in the grip, you could probably shoot forever with your D70. Alas, we’ll never have the chance to find out.
* Manual lenses. AI and AI-S lenses and accessories can only be used in Manual exposure mode, and the meter is inoperative.
* D-TTL is MIA. Buy a new Nikon flash or be relegated to Automatic and Manual flash mode. It’s silly that D-TTL isn’t supported by the camera.
* Some performance issues to be aware of. Moire, bright light blooming, and bright light grid noise can rear their ugly pixels if you’re not paying attention. If you go above 1/250 shutter speeds, be aware of what triggers the latter two.

Positives

The drawbacks are all minor compared to the pluses. The D70 takes beautiful photos when used well, and can give almost any digital SLR on the market a run for the money in image quality. We may quibble about slight differences in color, or noise, or aliasing between different models, but these discussions are no different than the Provia versus Ektachrome type of debate. In short, expect to produce darn good results out of this camera.

* D1x image quality at a Best Buy price. Just like with my D100, I’m getting results out of the D70 that equal or exceed those from my D1x (though sometimes that takes a bit of post processing I don’t have to do with the D1x). The more I use the camera, the more I discover how to eek out a bit more quality.
* Feature-itis. If the original Digital Rebel was a crippled 10D, the D70 was an enhanced D100! Love the meter, love the flash, like the improved controls and menus, not missing much of anything (realistically, only the missing mirror pre-release is a functional thing that I miss).
* Light, small, mostly comfortable. The D70 is small and light enough to carry all day in casual situations. The D70 kit (with 18-70mm lens) and a 70-300mm ED lens may be the perfect vacation DSLR combo: long battery life, compact size, capable of great images.
* The plastic takes a beating. Say what you will, but I’ve already seen plenty of evidence that the D70 can shrug off bumps, drops, and scrapes.
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