Nikon D70s
Posted by: arf005 on 07 April 2006
Sorry to go on again about camera's, yet again, for those that have followed my previous thoughts...
But it seems we are getting somewhere, yeah, I know I said that last time!!
After much deliberation and handing, I've decided to go for the D70s over the D50....
Why..?
Well, for a couple of reasons.......but mainly...
- No depth of field preview on the D50.
- Compact Flash vs SD, is it just me or is CF more reliable...?
- More flexibility with the D70s regarding its settings.
- And on that I feel the D70s will last me longer as my abilities grow, if that makes sense...
I guess it's like our stereo, we're looking to go for the CDX2 - seeing as we'd probably want to upgrade from the CD5X eventually.....
So why post another thread......
Well, to run something past the seasoned photographers on here....
Shops in Aberdeen are crap!! Jessop's is about as good as it gets unfortunately, although the guy I spoke to was very nice, not salesman'y at all, and seemed to know what he was talking about when I asked lots of daft questions....
Question is - would you recommend high street or internet....
Personally I'd always want the ability to walk in and ask about any problems I had, obviously made a lot easier by the fact I bought the thing there!! So am I answering my own question....well yes, but....The prices on the web are tempting, but not really tempting enough for the above reason, I think....especially for the body, bit different for a memory card I guess...
Jessop's have a kit consisting of - D70s, 18-70 DX lens which gets good reviews (for a kit lens) and also a 70-300 which I saw in the shop the last time I was in......impressive indeed, I checked the prices online and it retails for just over a ton, it isn't the quickest hence the price, but the combined kit comes in at just under a grand.
Am I being fooled by an impressive big long lens in the kit......
I've always believed size doesn't matter!
Your thoughts would be appreciated.....
Cheers,
Ali
Posted on: 07 April 2006 by Blake67
ali.
if it's not too late, i'd advise you to stay away from both--they are simply awful. at the entry level, you should be looking at a pentax *istDS2. if money is no object, then a leica DMR setup.
blake.
Posted on: 07 April 2006 by Cosmoliu
Hi Ali,
My wife has been a Nikon user for over 30 years, the most recent purchase being a D2X. She is the artist, I am the spec head. I agree with your reasons for favoring the D70 over the D50. We have consistently bought by mail order/internet, but always from well established dealers with brick and mortar addresses, and never had a problem. Nikons are so dependable that we have never had to have service beyond standard equipment cleaning, so I think that having a local dealer is not as important as in the case of audio kit.
Buy the best glass you can. The 80-200 f/2.8 zoom is a very sweet lens, as is the 17-55 f/2.8 DX lens. You also might consider the 70-200 f/2.8 VR lens. The high end lenses are orders of magnitude more expensive than the consumer models, and also are heavier/larger. However, if you aspire to taking more than snap shots, you will appreciate the greater detail and dimensionality. Perhaps more than in any other arena, you definitely get what you pay for with SLR lenses.
Norman
Posted on: 08 April 2006 by garyi
Just one point unless I am confused by what you mean, but the D50 use secure digital.
Posted on: 08 April 2006 by Jo Sharp
If you plan to be shooting at ISOs higher than about 800, then forget the Nikons and go for a Canon 30D. Nikons are too noisy at higher ISO settings.
Posted on: 08 April 2006 by garyi
I would agree with that, some stuff at 800-1600 looks bloody terrible I thought something had gone wrong as in essence it looked like a heavily and repeatedly compressed JPEG.
OTOH It can be nice to work around this issue.
Posted on: 08 April 2006 by Phil Cork
I recently took some action shots (Basketball game) at 1600 with my Nikon D200 and a 200mm (effective 300mm) lens and am very impressed with the results. Very little noise given the ISO setting.
Phil
Posted on: 09 April 2006 by arf005
Is the D70s really that bad......
From the research I've done so far it's at the top of my list at this price range, and that's been stepped up since first looking at the Canon EOS 350D or Nikon D50.....
I can't justify the cost of the D200 or EOS 20/30D, mainly because don't think I would ever make full use of their features or settings!
I'd rather go for the D70s and save my money for some decent glass.....which brings me back to the point I was trying to make at the start of this thread - am better off going for the kit 18-70mm DX lens and save for a higher spec telephoto....??
Cheers,
Ali
Posted on: 09 April 2006 by count.d
Ali,
Don't listen to the usual internet bollocks. The D70 is a great camera and will service all your needs.
There is no particular noise issue with this body. People who say there is, have no idea how to shoot digitally. Nikon's firmware is the best on the market.
I'll email you tomorrow with some advice.
Posted on: 09 April 2006 by long-time-dead
Ali
I have a D70 with the latest firmware and I got the 18-70 DX kit lens which is a decent lens.
I also have a 70-300 G series lens that I picked up for a song. It's OK but nothing special.
Eventually, my outfit will be supplemented by fixed focal lenses - starting with a 50mm.
I'm totally happy with my D70.
Posted on: 09 April 2006 by arf005
Thanks guys - count.d and long-time-dead.
I found the reviews on here very useful -
www.dpreview.com and exceedingly thorough!!
I just thought I'd ask on here about the lenses....
Cheers,
Ali
Posted on: 10 April 2006 by Steve G
quote:
Originally posted by Blake67:
ali.
if it's not too late, i'd advise you to stay away from both--they are simply awful. at the entry level, you should be looking at a pentax *istDS2. if money is no object, then a leica DMR setup.
blake.
I'm a Pentax DS user and I wouldn't have said that either the D50 or D70 were awful, in fact the results are very similar considering that they all use the same sensor.
The D50 is missing some features which I personally find essential (DOF preview being the most obvious) and neither Nikon has a particularily good viewfinder, however the D50 is great value at the D70s is also a decent camera.
Posted on: 10 April 2006 by Steve G
quote:
Originally posted by arf005:
am better off going for the kit 18-70mm DX lens and save for a higher spec telephoto....??
The 18-70 is supposed to be decent enough (for a kit lens). To supplement that I'd suggest starting to save for a 70/80-200 F2.8 as those are very versatile. If you go for a 3rd party one (e.g. Sigma or Tokina) then they're not too expensive. Add a good 1.4x or 2x convertor and it'll still outperform a consumer specification lens.
Posted on: 10 April 2006 by i am simon 2
Ali
I was wooed by the D version of the 70-300 whilst in Singapore as I could get it for similar money to the G version over hers. (Only differnce is ther special low dispersion glass, but I understand it does not make that much difference).
I must say that I do not use the 7-300 all that much. It is pretty slow and at those focal lengths you need to be on a tripod unless it is a summers day.
That said the step up to a fasterlong lens is a lot of money. I might be tempted to look at some of the fixed focal lengths long lenses. I recall that ther are varios 180mm lenses at around f2 or f2.8 for not too much money.
However iif it is a good deal, you could do worse than living with these tow lenses, (18-70 and 70-300) for a year or so, and then once you know which focul lenghths you are using the most, suppliment your collection with a couple of prime lenses.
One advantage of the 70-300 is that it is compact and light which is good for holidays, travel etc.
On a final note, I still belive that the £90 Nikon 50mm f1.8 is the singlemost important lens for your collection, it is awsome, and mine hardly comes off my D70 these days.
Simon
Nikon D70, 18-70 kit lens, 70 300mmD, 50mm f1.8D, 24mm f2.8D
Posted on: 10 April 2006 by arf005
Thanks guys, nice to see more helpful comments, which are much appreciated!
Cheers,
Ali
Posted on: 12 April 2006 by Rockingdoc
The D70 is a perfectly good DSLR for amateurs, Which I am, and unless you make a living from selling your photos, it will do all you need.
I have certainly invested in the nonsense of "if I buy better bodies/lenses I can take better photos" rational in the past. Recently I have been hanging around with some real professional creative photographers and seen them do great things with little point-and-shoots (which they always carry) that I would never have thought of. It's the ideas that count, not the number of pixels.
These days I make an effort to just carry a P&S everywhere to experiment, and only take the SLR/MF bag-full when the shot has been pre-planned.
The D70 will be fine for you, but do you have a decent P&S in your pocket?
Posted on: 12 April 2006 by arf005
quote:
Originally posted by Rockingdoc:
The D70 will be fine for you, but do you have a decent P&S in your pocket?
Thanks Rockingdoc,
my point and shoot at the mo is a Sony DSC P-10, which I find really handy if a bit SLOW.....
Judge for yourself if you think it's decent enough with the results shown here -
http://forums.naim-audio.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/58019385/m/6842935207My mind is pretty much made up on the D70s, just need to decide what glass to for with it.....I'm now thinking kit 18-70 lens and save for a faster longer zoom.
Cheers,
Ali
Posted on: 12 April 2006 by thejejk
Nice pics Ali!
Seems like you're handy with the stitching tools as well.
I bought the Canon 350D a year ago and one of the biggest pro's of that (compared to a P&S) is the ability to work with a shorter depth of field, as well as better capabilities in the dark. My favourite lense is the 85/1.8, and it's also pretty clear that the pictures from that lense is the one that brings more "wows" from other people (if that's what you want...). So I would recommend a fast (as in low aperture) lense for you. It's also quite good to learn how to focus on the composition rather than zooming back and forth to make everything fit into the picture. My other lenses are a 35/2, a 10-22 and a 70-210/3.4-4.5 (canon)
I know the Nikon 85/1.8 has gotten good reviews as well. So get either that one or the 50/1.8 (imo)
Ooh - and since you seem to like panoramic pictures maybe you should consider Canon to be able to buy the 10-22 which is good fun to use. An alternative for Nikon users is the Sigma 10-20, if the Nikon 12-24 is too expensive.
Regards,
Jacob
Posted on: 13 April 2006 by Rockingdoc
I use the Nikon 17-55mm 2.8 as my "standard" lens on the D70. Does most things well (great for weddings and parties)
Posted on: 13 April 2006 by count.d
17-55 2.8, wise choice sir.
Posted on: 13 April 2006 by Steve G
quote:
Originally posted by thejejk:
An alternative for Nikon users is the Sigma 10-20, if the Nikon 12-24 is too expensive.
I've got one of the Sigma 10-20mm lenses (mine is Pentax fit) and I've been quite impressed with it both optically and in terms of build quality.
So far with my own DSLR the pictures which have impressed others most are those taken with an 85mm F1.4 which performs just as well on a DSLR as it did with 35mm film.
Using the Pentax system means that I've also got other fast lenses (some of which were pretty cheap) including a 50mm F1.2 and F2.8 zooms. Once you're used to fast glass the dingy viewfinder image from consumer zooms becomes quite unpalatable.
