Nikon Coolpix 5400 - solid 5MP camera with 4x zoom, but compare vs competition

the nikon coolpix 5400 is a solid 5MP, 4x zoom camera with a strong feature set. but it has a few shortcomings so make sure to consider its competition.

pros:
- 5MP and 4x optical zoom.
- good color response, average resolution for 5MP.
- photos have very low noise.
- allows a great deal of manual control.
- macro mode better than most.
- low redeye occurrence.
- virtually free of chromatic aberrations.
- shadow highlights maintained.
- timed exposures up to 10 minutes.
- expandable with a boatload of lenses, flashes, and other accessories from nikon.
- wider lens than most.
- supports CF card types I and II.
- flip-out LCD display - protects LCD when not in use.
- high resolution LCD with anti-reflective coating that actually works.
- very comfortable to hold with a deep hand grip made of soft rubber.
- compact body feels solid.
- reprogrammable FUNC button, and initial record menu.
- above average battery life (i still recommend getting a spare though).

cons:
- some lens distortion, especially at maximum zoom.
- images occasionally appear soft around corners.
- slow response interface, non-intuitive menus.
- no AF assist light - very puzzling why nikon doesn't provide this.
- to add insult to injury, this camera has a hard time focusing in low light so an AF assist light would really come in handy.
- average auto focus speed.
- buffering issue? the camera locks towards the end of write process.
- slow CF write speed / processing.
- you're on your own when using manual focus - it doesn't show focus distance.
- LCD smaller than competition.
- RAW mode not supported.
- flimsy cover for CF slot.
- no live histogram in record mode.
- no support for external Speedlight features such as AF assist or flash zoom.
- connectivity options all over the place rather than in a central location.
- uses proprietary battery so make sure you add some $$ to your budget to get a spare.
- the supplied 16MB CF card is inadequate - again, more $$ for more memory.

the coolpix 5400 is a solid camera from nikon with a very strong feature set. it will produce very good pics in point and shoot mode but still has full manual control if you want to be more creative with your shots. i've given this a 4-star rating because of two important factors for me: the lack of an AF assist light and the dead time at the end of write process. i would suggest that you consider the canon g5 and the sony dsc-v1 before committing to the nikon 5400.

i hope this helps with your buying decision. peace.

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check price Nikon Coolpix 5400 >>

Nikon D70 Review - Absolute beauty!

After dabbling in all kinds of Point & Shoot digital cameras boasting of zillions of megapixels, finally decided to purchase a dSLR to see what the fuss was all about. Nikon D70 has changed my concept of digital photography. I no longer worry about movie mode, live preview, EVF, shutter lag, recycle time etc. etc.
With the D70, it's all about:
- You
- The image
D70 is simply a medium that allows you to capture the image as YOU want it.

PROS:
====
1. Instant start up.
2. A battery that never seems to get over.
3. Superb handling and cool sexy looks.
4. Can use almost any F-mount lens. The included lens with it's silent wave motor is a beauty by itself.

CONS:
=====
1. For $999.99 price point, there are None.

If you are serious about your digital photography, D70 is the way to go. Forget all the marketing junk that you hear about point and shoot cameras. They come nowhere near the quality delivered by this camera.

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Very happy I bought the Nikon D70, not the Nikon EOS 300D

So a few days ago I finally made up my mind and bought a Nikon D70 digital SLR camera. This is a 6.1MP, interchangeable-lens digital SLR that allows for all kinds of manual adjustments. I bought the kit version which costs $300 more than the body-only version because the kit-bundled 18-70mm AF-S DX IF-ED lens (27-105mm in 35mm equivalent) is just awesome and retails for much more than $300.

I had been debating between the Nikon D70 and the very popular (and cheaper) Canon EOS Digital Rebel for a few months. I also considered the small Pentax *ist DS. All three digital SLRs take great pictures. But what won me over in the end was the Nikon D70's vast flexibility and solid build (vs. the Canon) and the great lens bundled in the D70 kit (vs. both the Canon and the Pentax). Indeed, the lens is MUCH better than the one bundled in the Canon EOS Digital Rebel [300D] kit or the Pentax *ist DS kit.

I've been busy shooting the last few days and have absolutely no regret about paying much more than the Canon Digital Rebel (which is a fine camera, but does not have all the manual exposure possibilities I needed). I also bought a good photo technique book "Understanding Exposure" which has a lot of helpful tips about creative exposure for better photos. I love my D70! I hope to be able to finally break out of the "advanced beginner" level I've been cursed to stay at for the last 20 years.

(If I had bought the Digital Rebel instead, I would not have been able to do most of the excellent exposure exercises Peterson gives in his book.)

Anyone wishing to get a below-pro-level digital SLR should definitely go for the D70. The Pentax *ist DS would have been my second choice; besides the lens, I also didn't like its small, stiff "feel" in my big hands.

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Nikon D70 Review - Its a great camera but it ain't easy.........,

Well, I shouldn't say that. It IS a great camera and you can pull it out of the box and start taking great pictures (as long as you leave it on the "automatic" mode). I'm merely trying to inform those like myself who think that through the virtue of a new camera, you'll be the next Ansel Adams. I make the analogy of the proverbial golfer who thinks that the next, greatest putter will put him on the PGA tour, it ain't gonna happen.....:)

To that end, I am glad I kept my Nikon Coolpix 4300 for the occasional travel trip or when you just don't want to have to think. My local camera store guy says the same thing (actually his words).

But of course this is the whole point in buying a digital SLR and Im quite enjoying myself playing with all the settings. I spent the better part of tonight sitting on the sofa, camera in hand, varying exposure compensation values till I was throroughly confused.

I guess my point is dont let the camera intimidate you. Over time, you will gladly welcome the myriad of input you can summon. I will offer a few tidbits of advice (trust me, my sofa can attest to my studies):

1) Set the white balance in all modes to around -1, at least. The camera tends to shoot a little cool and a little bump in the white balance can warm up your pictures nicely.

2) Go ahead and use the shooting menu/optimize image/custom functions. Bump up your sharpness and saturation even if you plan to run your pics thru Photoshop later.

3) Do not use ISO Auto custom menu #5. Rather be prepared to vary the ISO as you need to.

4) And last go out on the internet and find a custom curve! Easy way to change the whole tonal markup the camera produces. Try the "white wedding" curve at: http://fotogenetic.dearingfilm.com/downloads.html (I know, it sounds like a drug)..........

Happy shooting!!!

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Nikon D70 Review - I sacrificed my whole Canon System for this Camera

would guess that all the other reviewers have said what should said, has advised what it should have been advised. So in short, I would approach this subject from the standpoint of value for money.

a) The feel of the Canon 300D and Nikon D70 speaks for itself when you man-handled (or woman-handled) the cameras. Although the body itself are somewhat similar in weight, putting on the lens will make you feel that the D70 is a more stabilised platform for photo shots. As the saying goes, you are what you wear. And to perform well, the basic thing to do is to dress for the role. So the feeling of the D70 is that it just make you feel like a pro (this cannot be measured in terms of money......it's feeling y'know?)

b) Value of the lens. The Nikkor DX lens that comes with the camera kit has more elements than the Canon lens. That said, the quality of the pictures are, personally, are better because of the lens.

c) Sensors size. I always would want to work with the photo developers. And the Nikon sensor 3:2 size helps when you need print directly in a hurry and this would not allow the developers to crop the pictures up, in the end sacrifice some details that you may want in the photo. Important consideration.

d) In the end, this camera serves most of my needs without going to break the bank for a higher end camera. yes technology will improve but if a computer at Intel Celeron 1GHz can do normal typing and emailing, what's the need for AMD 64 Bit? So in the same breath, this camera can do what is needed to do and did it extremely well (the reviewers can all vouch for this fact); thus making the need to upgrade this camera a very remote possiblity.

e) Yes EOS300D is cheaper but has tons of space to improve. The D70 is dearer but has performed in a way that there's little to improve (even if Nikon has improved the camera, it is small little problems that can be solved by firmware upgrades or doing some minute custom changes). From this perspective, the money should be given to the people who put in the effort to produce a fine product.

f) I sacrificed my whole EOS system for this camera. Nuff said. (Even though it is the old EOS 500, it still produce fantastic pictures. Sad to let it go but have to finance the camera somehow!!).

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Nikon D70 Review - D70 is very nice

I just bought this camera, along with the kit lens. A pleasant surprise awaited at the camera shop - Nikon has bundled a bag, guide to SLR photography, 70-300 G Nikkor lens, and a 2 year warranty extension in a box as an add-on to the d70 kit.

The add on box went for $279.

Along with the camera, I bought a SanDisk 1GB CF card. I already had a Mac Powerbook (15" G4 1Ghz), and Adobe Photoshop CS.

The camera comes with Nikon PictureProject, but with a serial number you can download additional software from Nikon, including Nikon Capture (free for 30 day trial, then $99 to register).

If you use Photoshop, do not use the Nikon NEF/RAW plugin - use Adobe's Camera Raw 2.3. Camera Raw 2.3 allows you to adjust white balance and exposure, compensate for color shift, and adjust sharpening.

Took the camera down to the National Air and Space Museum Udvar-Hazy center for a workout. I was very impressed. I shot the entire museum in raw mode - and got over 140 images on a 1Gb card. The .NEF format uses lossless compression, and the camera is very pessimistic in estimating how many shots you will get on a card. In raw mode, it initially estimates 91 shots on the card.

Some people have complained about the d70 tending to underexpose, a trend which I did not experience (except when I blew a shot in Aperature Priority mode). One thing most people do not know is that you can upload a custom tone adjustment curve into the camera, so if you do not want to shoot raw mode, you can still customize the jpegs the camera produces (requires Nikon Capture).

Overall, I am very, very satisifed with this camera. Take the plunge - you will not regret it.

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Nicon D70 Review - A class by itself- significantly better than the EOS 300

Before I purchased the D70, I bought the EOS 300 Digital "Rebel" mostly because of my positive experience with a Canon A80 digital and the less expensive price vs. the D70. I absolutely love the A80 and Canon quality and customer service is first rate and wanted to upgrade resolution, FPS, and shooting flexibility. I was disappointed that even though I experienced a slight improvement in picture resolution, I found the EOS 300 Rebel just underwhelming in terms of design, function and ease of use. It felt heavy and awkward, and didn't seem a significant improvement over the A80. I also had a problem with the lens(an upgrade from the lens kit). The auto focus servo malfunctioned, only worked in one direction, and the camera could not focus at all in low light. I returned the EOS camera and lens and bought the Nikon D70 and 18-70 lens kit, the other option for entry level digital prosumer gear. WOW, what a difference and what a beautiful camera! Amazing image/color quality, fast auto focus, with low-light beam assist. The metering is dead-on precise, I can even get an accurate exposure with 30 second shutter speeds! Changing film speed, white balance, aperture, shutter speed is one touch controlled with dials at thumb and forefinger. The menu works like windows with very easy to access and use. The lens is a wider focal range and better quality than the Rebel kit. The D70 feels great in the hand: solid, lightweight with natural ergonomics. It was intelligently designed by people who use cameras, know digital photography, and not just an adaptation from an older model film camera. Spend the extra few $'s for the D70, and especially now with the $200 rebate on the camera and lens kit.

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Nikon D70 Review - Nikon D70 Scores Big

Having read a few Nikon D70 reviews, I wanted to pass along some wisdom as well. No camera is perfect, and certainly digital camera's have come a long way since this technologly started. My comparison on this camera and my decision to purchase, is based on owning several digital camera's in the past few years.

I was recently using the Fujix S7000 SLR digital. It also received raved reviews. So this review will compare the Nikon D70 to the Fuji S7000.

I wanted a camera that had instant type startup. I had missed many a photo due to the slowness of my camera, the Fuji S7000 was no exception. The Nikon D70 is very fast in starting and processing images to the memory card. I use continuous shooting mode the most. The D70 is fast, I can't say its the fastest. The S7000 was faster capturing images, but too slow to process, causing me to miss subsequent photos while I waited for the camera to finish processing to the card. So the D70 won this contest easily. The other issue is the way the D70 reviews images taken. It does it all seamlessly. You can keep all of your locked settings in place while viewing images, in several thumbnail views. The deleting of images is a snap. The S7000 from Fuji, unlocks your locked settings when you want to view images already taken. This one feature in itself it worth the current street "price" of this camera. By the way everyone sells it for about the same price.

The image quality is what everyone writes about. It neither the very best ever, or the worst. I think film camera's will rule for about another few years, as far as quality is concern. The Nikon D70 generates very good photos. The close up protraits in good lighting come out with a "nice" glow. The detail is good to excellent depending on your subject and lighting. I use this camera primarily out doors. So forget perfect lighting and controlled subjects. Being lazy I depend on the AF and Auto settings. I have purchased two additional Nikon lenses. The 70-300mm Zoom and the Macro 105mm for close up work. It all works very well.

There are some "cons" on this camera but not enough to sway me away to the other "DSLR's". Again, the image quality is good to excellent. This camera does better in lighted situations. Use your "histogram" chart to correct images. Others have written about "moire", thats distorted color patterns, that plague most digital camera's. Well I have not seen too much of that. This can happen with you have lots of blues or reds in a photo.

Overall I think this camera is best suited for the advanced amateur photographer. The features and price make this an excellent choice. Also note that Nikon is also selling the D100, which basically has the same features, for another $200.00 body only. Careful also with dust in the open lense mount. Changing lenses in the outdoors will attract dust particles and crawls into your CCD. Excellent battery life.

WORD OF ADVICE: Nikon Europe Warns Customers of Stolen D70 digital SLR Kits
A number of Nikon D70 digital SLR camera kits destined for Spain have been stolen from Schiphol Airport, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, on July 17, 2004.

The kits comprised of a D70 body with AF-S DX Nikkor 18-70G lens, battery, charger and English and Spanish language User manuals. Importantly they also carry a Warranty Card carrying the following address of Nikon's Spanish distributor Finicon S.A.

Finicon S.A.
C/ Ciencias, 81 Nave-8
Poligono Pedrosa
08908 L'Hospitalet de LLobregat
Barcelona
Spain

A spokesman said: "Nikon would like to take the opportunity to warn the trade and customers to be wary about unrealistically low prices being offered for D70 bodies, 18-70mm lenses, batteries or chargers without retail packaging or valid warranty cards or manuals. Should anyone become aware of these products being made available, they are advised to contact their national Nikon office."

The serial numbers are engraved into the camera body base. They are as follows:

4100064 4100100 4100112 4100118 4100160 4100244 4100274 4100316 4100580
4100065 4100101 4100113 4100119 4100161 4100245 4100275 4100317 4100581
4100066 4100102 4100114 4100120 4100162 4100246 4100276 4100318 4100582
4100067 4100103 4100115 4100121 4100163 4100247 4100277 4100319 4100583
4100068 4100104 4100116 4100122 4100164 4100248 4100278 4100320 4100584
4100069 4100105 4100117 4100123 4100165 4100249 4100279 4100321 4100585
4100676 4100754 4100844 4101108 4101132 4101144 4101162 4101180 4101198
4100677 4100755 4100845 4101109 4101133 4101145 4101163 4101181 4101199
4100678 4100756 4100846 4101110 4101134 4101146 4101164 4101182 4101200
4100679 4100757 4100847 4101111 4101135 4101147 4101165 4101183 4101201
4100680 4100758 4100848 4101112 4101136 4101148 4101166 4101184 4101202
4100681 4100759 4100849 4101113 4101137 4101149 4101167 4101185 4101203




Overall rating four and one half stars.****.5

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Nikon D70 Review - Currently the Best Prosumer Digital SLR

I spent a fair amount of time researching my options before purchasing my first Digital SLR. After much analysis, the options came down to the Canon EOS Rebel, and the Nikon D70.

First, a word about pricing. This item is manufacturer price fixed. IT IS THE SAME PRICE EVERYWHERE. Now, if you are finding a lower price, it was probably bought on the gray-market (i.e. in a foreign country) and may not be subject to a US warranty. I'm not here to look out for the manufacturers interests, just be wary of what may look like a great deal.

The camera is currently incomparable. The lens if far superior in quality to the Canon "kit" lenses. This is basically a lens you would purchase if you bought the body, and separately shopped for a lens.

The speed of writing to the flash memory card and buffer size are unbelievable. In multipicture mode, you can burst approx. 144 straight pictures without any lag whatsoever. Unbelievable.

The customization options are far superior to the Canon. This is a first rate camera, with the ability to either turn it on and begin taking photos, or customize each setting until your heart is content.

The two major negatives:

1. The manual appears to have been written in Japanese, translated into German, and then translated into English, all by a Chinese kindergartner. It is virtually unintelligble.

2. The included software is very basic, and not intuitive. Also, the software does not come with a RAW mode feature enabled, only a trial period of approximately 30 days, after which point you must pay $100 to fully enable the feature. In any event, better image manipulation software is widely available.

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Nikon D70 Review - Simply the best Digital SLR in the midrange area

Here's a brief recap of the game between Nikon and Canon.

Canon put out the 300D, or Digital Rebel, which was the first sub-$1000 digital SLR. Nikon followed up a year or so later with the D70, which crushes the digital rebel in every respect, and truly outclassed even the Canon 10D, the big brother of the rebel.

Then Canon comes out with the 20D to compete with the D70, since they were losing so much sales to it. Here is the real irony... the D70 still beats the 20D in 90% of the aspects.

Go pick one up and you will feel the difference in the controls. The D70 has logical, fast, "pro" controls. The 20D still feels like Canon consumer junk. And that's what it is.

I owned both for a while to compare, and the Canon stuff is truly as much junk as it was in the 80's; they just market it better to beginner photographers. The biggest scam is how they claim the 20D has inherantly less noise off of the sensor despite adding 2MP. Wrong... what it does have is an intense noise-reduction software going on at the firmware level (look up the white paper if you dont believe it), even at ISO100!!! If you really look close at a 20D ISO100 image, you'll see that not only is there considerable shadow noise, but there is a complete lack of detail too, due to both the aggressive anti-aliasing filter and the super-aggressive noise reduction going on to keep the noise down from their high-noise CMOS sensor.

Bottom line is, the D70 blows the rebel, 10D, AND 20D all out of the water, hands down. And don't even get me started on glass. Canon's 18-55 and 17-85 are absolutely terrible lenses... the 17-85 is so incredibly poor optically yet overpriced at $600. The 18-70 Nikkor, on the other hand, is optically supurb! You will see that Nikon does not make crummy lenses, they do it all right the first time, even if it takes them longer. Canon on the other hand makes a lot of junk lenses but sticks USM and IS on them to try and make up for poor optics and bad glass.

Canon is the hare, and Nikon is the tortoise... but remember, the tortoise always wins in the end.

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Nikon D70 Review - A great camera, but not for everybody

To put it bluntly, this is one of those devices where you have to go through a rather lengthy learning curve to use, compared to a general point-and-shoot digital camera. Until you learn the ins and outs of how to use it, and how to use the many settings it offers, you may be dissapointed in your photos. But, I hear this is fairly normal with most digital SLR cameras.

I'm a bit upset that Nikon makes you pay extra for imaging software that should have come free with the camera, and they don't even give you a memory card -- even a small one.

On the plus side, it's great to be able to play with all the settings and really get creative. Even better, if you already have a Nikon 35mm camera with some lenses, you can use those lenses with your new D70. Even if your lenses are quite old, most can be converted to work with your D70, but you must use the camera in fully manual mode.

I went ahead and got the entire kit, that comes with the Nikon zoom lens. That lens covers (based on a 35mm camera) around 27mm to 105mm, probably what most amateurs and pros will use the most. And, with 6 megapixels to work with, you've got plenty of room to crop your photos without losing much detail.

As others have said, the battery in this camera lasts forever and a day, until you hook it up directly to your computer or TV, then it sucks the life out of them. Get a card reader for your computer and you can probably get by with just one battery, as Nikon provides a CR-2 cartridge for emergencies. This holds three CR-2 batteries, and fits in the same compartment as the rechargeable battery.

The camera has an incredible feel to it. Just pick it up and it feels like it's worth the price, and the extra weight and great balance also helps you hold the camera steady. No, you can't whip this one out of your shirt pocket at a party, but that's not what it's for.

To sum up, this is a great camera. Just don't get discouraged when you see the size of the manual (it comes with a quick start guide, too), and just Google your way to all kinds of info on how to get great photos with your new camera.

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Nikon D70 Review - The only things wrong with this camera...

I'm not going to go in depth about how much I love this camera because all of it has been said in all the other reviews. I will detail what I have found 'annoying' and what I don't like about the camera.

First, some background. I bought the camera in mid December 2004, and have shot my wife, my son (9mos), my dog, went to the zoo and wild animal park in San Diego, the beach, cloudy conditions, sunny conditions, and snowy conditions. Most of my pictures turned out great, and the ones that didn't were mostly my fault.

The problems I have had with the camera:

Lack of ISO through the viewfinder. You have no idea what the ISO is when you are framing the shot. I have had several pix taken at ISO 800 and 1600 without knowing. Not a big problem, because of how good the image quality is at high ISOs, just kind of annoying.

Packaged software sucks. I'm not a big post processor, but Picture Project is not worth the media it is on. Good thing you can download Nikon View for free. I am too cheap to by Capture.

"Underexposure" problem. Some pictures are slightly under exposed so as not to blow highlights. Added +.3 exposure compensation seemed to help. Fotogenic's PS4 custom curve helped a lot too.

Dang LCD cover. This thing is great to keep your LCD from getting scratched, but dust keeps getting in between it and the LCD. If you remove it to clean the dust, make sure you snap it back on good or say good bye to it.

That's about it. Minor annoyances to an otherwise great camera. If these things are intolerable to you, I would suggest another camera. If not, you cannot go wrong with the D70.

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Nikon D70 Review - The ultimate digital camera for the rest of us?

Unless you are at the level of spending $4000-$6000 on a digital camera, check out the Nikon D70.

After buying this camera and learning its features in the last week, I am positive that I won't need to upgrade again for a long time, if ever. This camera's 6.1 megapixal quality gives me virtually any size print I need as an advanced amateur. And the prints are exceptional. Add to that the wonderful set of features allowing for creative control and the ease of use. I bought the lens that came with it, and it is a top quality Nikkor lens. Later I'll buy a zoom lens. If you're thinking that the 8-megapixal 8700 will deliver better results, think again. The CCD is smaller on the point and shoot models like the 8700.

The reponsiveness is incredible. I am shooting much quicker than I was on my previous point and shoot. Now I don't miss a shot. If you are thinking of upgrading to an SLR camera from a point and shoot, take the D 70. You will be amazed at how quick the camera takes shots. The menu is easy to read, noise is not detectable in photos, large range of shutter speeds and ISO settings (to 1600!).

Nikon have priced the camera so well that anyone looking at the 8700 would be better off spending just a couple hundred more for the D 70 that will last much longer.

Excellent pics. Professional feel when holding the body. Superior lenses available. Easy to learn. Responsive. Several filters screw right into front of lens-no cheap slide ons. Great buy! Most of us are guilty of constantly checking for the latest and greatest upgrade to our "toys." If you purchase this camera, you can sit content for a long time, get to learn it and enjoy great photos for years to come.

And after talking at length with the representative from the camera shop I frequent, I was convinced that this Nikon D 70 is a better investment than the Digital Rebel from Canon, which is what I went to the store to buy in the first place.

For once I feel like I bought the perfect camera. I don't have thousands to spend, but the price of $1300 was well worth it. I'm so done with reading digital camera reviews!!!!

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Nikon D70 Review - The best dSLR for under $3k without question

Simply an amazing piece of work. I'm an advanced amateur who felt somewhat dejected that Nikon had let Canon outdo them with the 10D vs. D100 comparison. Thankfully, that was a short reign for Canon as this camera blows the doors off of both the 10D and D100. It has everything, and everything done well that all be the professional photojournalist would want in a dSLR.

If you are considering a 300D, please, please reconsider. This is a far superior camera. It is better than the 300D's big brother the 10D and is untouched by any of the other <$2k range cameras out there. If you have no interest learning how to use the flexibility the D70 will provide you, consider asking yourself why you are spending over a thousand dollars on a camera. I'd strongly recommend getting a 512M CF card of the faster type (min speed maybe 12x). Why? because one of the neater things about he D70 is the ability to shoot very, very fast. With a normal speed card, like the standard Sandisk 512, you slow down and wait for the card. In most digitals, it is the camera that is slower, not the card. The kit lens is quite nice. It isn't a drop dead top of the line Nikon, but it is better than most, and is a great standard every day lens. Given the crop factor of the CCD, it is equivalent to a 27-105mm lens on a 35mm camera. You may want to get a 70-200mm Nikkor to go with it, or to save money one from Sigma or Tamron. I also use a Tamron 28-200mm, which works well for this camera since its one major flaw, vignetting at large apertures, goes away completely for the same reason, the crop factor. Note that a 70-200 acts like a 105-300, and the 28-200 behaves like a 42-300. A final note, shoot in raw format, not jpeg. One of the nicest things is that you can really, really see a significant improvement in picture quality by doing some quick touch up of the 12 bit image before saving to jpeg for printing or emailing. Also, for reference, the 512 Meg card holds 95 raw images even though the camera indicates half that when powered up. That is the one bug in the firmware I've found, but it is a very minor issue. source>>

Nikon D70 Review - Awesome digital SLR. Very pleased

Had mine since March 23. The wait was worth it!

After initial battery charge shot over 2,000 pix and recharged the battery once due to transferring pix to PC directly from the camera. Take Nikon's advice ... use the optional power adapter during transfer directly from camera or use a card reader. Transferring pix from camera drains battery FAST!

The D70 is ready to take pictures before your finger leaves the ON button, seriously. No delay between shots. Nice focusing system ... can choose focus area in viewfinder or let camera choose for you ... one of its the many nice features.

Good price (~$1299 for D70 outfit with 18-70 lens) for an excellent prosumer DSLR. If you get this camera, spend the extra to get the "D70 Outfit" with the new 18-70 Nikon lens. Its worth it and saves you $100+ over buying the lens later. The lens is worth over $400 by itself.

What I did not like: wish the LCD monitor could fold and hide or that the plastic protector could be made to stay on more securely. It just seems like the protector was an after thought in development. It falls off easily. Rubber viewfinder eyepiece cup falls off easily too. Already lost mine.

I'm a very satisfied customer ... Go Nikon!!

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Nikon D70 Review - Fantastic---You won't be disappointed

I've had this camera for three months and have shot several thousand pictures. I tried the Olympus 8MP 8080 but it was noisy except for ISO 50 like all prosumer ZSLR's. I exchanged it this beauty and after the first day never looked back.

Everything you've read is true, GREAT pictures, NO more shutter lag, battery lasts about 4x longer than compact cameras since you set up the shot from the viewfinder not the LCD which uses power. Plus the battery is powerful, 1400mAh. I now rarely use Photoshop. It's easy to use and has many, many functions including the ability to fine tune the white balance--very useful and many development options.

The lens is top notch, not like the kit lens with the Canon Rebel. To compliment this lens I picked up a Nikon 28-200. Great lens for about $300.00 that also works very well for macro shooting since it focuses up to about 15 inches. Add an extension tube and you can photograph the pollen in a flower with razor sharp results. No need to pick up a macro lens this one does it all plus it's a great lens for walking around. Don't get the Tamron 28-300 since images are soft between 200-300mm and it will depreciate faster than any Nikon lens because of the name. I also picked up a used razor sharp 70-210 f4.0-5.6 lens for only $150.00 which is much, much better than the new 80-200 or 80-300 more expensive Nikon lenses.

Pros:
Simply great shots
Ease of Use
Instant On
Super Fast
Lots of Features

Cons:
Wish the LCD was bigger but it is standard size
Light on top panel should be on-off instead of staying on for just 10 secs
Light on top could be brighter or indigo blue for easier read
Auto White balance runs a little cool.

White Balance Tips:
For most shots simply set the Auto White Balance at -2 or -3 setting and leave it there. This will warm the shots very nicely.
For outdoor shots on nice days use the Cloudy or Shade setting. The Sunny setting is little cool-blue. With Cloudy the added warmth or red looks great. But you won't go wrong with Auto -3 outdoors.
Use Shade setting with a -2 or -3 setting for spectacular red sunsets.
Flash portraits use Flash setting with a -1 or -2 for warmer skin tones
Don't waste your money on a warming filter. The Auto White balance will compensate for for the added red. If you want warm use shade just follow the above advice and/or adjust the setting to -2 or -3 to add some red.

You will not be disappointed with this great camera.

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Nikon D70 Review - WOW NIKON! You outdid yourself with the D70!

I have had Nikon cameras for most of my adult life, and that is more years than I care to count. The Nikon D70 is the best I have ever used. It is fast, comfortable, and elegant. Its pictures are sharp, properly exposed, and always in focus with Nikon's fast AF system.

The batteries last for months with regular use, provided you don't upload your pics direct to your PC from the camera. I suggest you purchase an inexpensive card reader for the upload process.

I suggest buying the package, which includes the body, a battery, and a great 18-70mm AF lens. I do not recommend that you buy from Amazon. They are several hundred dollars more than most of their online competitors.

In closing, take the plunge with this great camera. It is easy to use, versatile, and an absolute best buy that will give you many years of pleasure. Great for the professional, the amateur, and those happily in between.

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Nikon D70 Review - A DSLR for the Masses!

I've had my D70 for a week and have already taken about 100 pictures. My results? Spectacular! I purchased it with while on a business trip, so had the opportunity to play with it before I got home. Since I had my evenings more-or-less free, I read the manual (not too helpful) but then downloaded everything I could from the net to help me with using the camera. I'm still having fun learning what it can do.

First, if someone is familiar with SLRs in general, then the learning curve for the D70 won't be as steep. If you've owned a DSLR in the past, it should be quite easy to use - in fact, you'll probably be astounded!

Second, get used to almost instantaneous power up and auto-focus. My previous DSLR was slow to start up and was generally slow to focus and recycle. I have had all kinds of fun with the speed of my new camera. For this alone, I'd recommend the D70!

Third, the pictures are very good to spectacular. The color and clarity of my "windy pictures" (taken from the 10th floor of my hotel looking at swaying palm trees) was breathtaking! And taking a picture of the sun shining behind a dark cloud with the suns' rays coming down to the ground: my old DSLR couldn't do that! It can take the hard-to-take pictures (light/dark areas scattered, strong light and strong dark in the same general area) because of it's sophisticated metering.

Fourth, the buffer holding the pictures, even in their RAW (NEF) format, transfers so quickly to the CF card, I didn't even notice a lag. Even my old film Nikon N70 would have a hard time keeping up with this camera as it would need to autowind the film. With the D70, no such problem. Just keep snapping away!

Fifth, I can use my all my Nikon lens from my N70 on my D70, which will reduce my overall COO (cost of ownership).

Sixth, the software that comes included with the D70 - PicturePerfect - is not what I would recommed. Instead, I opted to go with Nikon Capture (which is included in the camera, but it's only a 30 day trial subscription). I find Capture 4.1 to handle most of my needs. I recommend that users of a fine camera like the D70 use Capture (you'll have to upgrade to 4.1 to handle the RAW images) instead of PicturePerfect. PicturePerfect is designed for people who only want to work a very little bit on their pictures; Capture 4.1 gives the serious hobbyist far more control.

All-in-all, I'd say I have a perfect camera.

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Nikon D70 Review - Brilliant camera - well done Nikon!

After finding out from the Nikon suppliers in Australia that the D70 was shipped on Monday (today is Wednesday), I madly phoned my local camera shops to see who had one available. To my horror, most stores advised all supplies that came in were pre-sold and the next shipment would not be for a few more weeks! Not one for giving up, I finally found one available at a shop a little out of my way. They held it for me, and now I have it!

You can read many reviews on the Internet about the D70 so I won't go into it on here, except to say that the camera is worthy of nothing less but the best review! There are bound to be 'bad' or negative points about the camera, but these are usually down to people's own perception and don't always reflect the average user. If there are any bad points, I can assure you they will be far outweighed by the great points! Having used both the Coolpix 5700 and D1X, I can safely say the D70 is going to become the benchmark for all the other manufacturers to aspire to - even in regards to pro-DSLR's. Having only had a few hours to play around with it, I'm amazed at the features the camera has and how easily accessible they are. With a little more playing around I'm sure to find many more features the D70 can do I wasn't aware of.

One piece of advice: if you're like most people and toss the manual into a dark corner somewhere, think again! Read the manual as you will find there are many features on this camera that are normally only found on cameras 3 times more expensive.

Overall it's worth every star of the 5 stars I've given it. Well done Nikon. No wonder the first round of units were all pre-sold before they hit our shores! Most people know when they're onto a good thing!

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Nikon D70 Review - Goodbye film!

Pros:

1.Turns on instantly, no waiting for it to boot up.
2. Batteries last a very long time. I've had this camera for about 2 weeks and have taken several hundred shots and the battery shows no signs of getting week
3. No shutter delay.
4. Good solid construction
5. Excellent picture quality, of course.
6. Menus are easy to navigate.
7. Uses Nikkor (Nikon) lenses. I suggest getting the outfit with the lense included. The digital format is smaller than 35 mm, so multiply the focal length of your lenses by 1.5. Your existing lenses will not have the same focal length range as they do for 35 mm.

Cons:

1. High price, although competitively priced compared to similar digital SLR camera
2. CF flash card is not included. You will need to purchase one if you don't already have one. I suggest at least a 256 MB, preferably a 512 MB or larger.
3. Lense is an odd size 67 mm, may be hard to find filters. I was able to find them, but I had to go to several stores.
4. Accessories can be a little difficult to find. Nikon is notorious for sending out press releases and product literature months before the items are available.
5. Lately accessories for the D-70 are in short supply,e.g. lenses, filters and the SB-600 speedlight(...)I am extremely happy with this camera. I have been waiting for Nikon to come out with a more affordable digital SLR since I already own several Nikkor lenses. The qualities of pictures I have taken have been excellent. I guess I will be selling my old N70, since I am done with film.

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Nikon D70 Review - Great Entry Level Digital SLR

There are basically three types of photographers in the world, those who use and love Nikon, those who use and love Canon, and those who rather not get into an argument that has no end.

Well I am fan of Nikon, I own a Nikon F5 film camera and have never really been impressed with digital.(not enought pixel depth) But for convience and my scrapbooking wife, I finally made the jump to a Digital SLR (DSLR). The great thing about any SLR is that you can change the lens, so when my wife got the D70 she had a lot of lenses to chose from from my collection. Nikon developed the F-Mount in the 1960s and pretty much everything since then works on this camera. The D70 is based on the Nikon N80 body which is a strong plastic body covered with a rubber grip. This is nice because if you have ever picked up a Pro level Nikon/Canon made with a magnesium shell, the first thing that comes to mind is it weights like a TANK!!!

I have played with the Canon 300D Digital Rebel, had the D70 near by to compare and one of the things that I kept noticing is that the Rebel felt cheaper in quality and design. The D70 would quickly focus on an object, the Rebel seemed to flounder on white on white. It also seemed that the Nikon had more metering options (Three), the Rebel only had a default AUTO option. Also one area that I like to use is EV compensation values, the Canon is from -2 EV to +2EV. However the Nikon is -5 EV to +5 EV, a better range than my F5! Battery life is something that has almost shocked me on the D70, I think I have recharged the battery two or three times and one or two of those times it was because I did not believe it was still nearly fully charged. My wife has taken around 2000 shots in the four months since purchasing it. I do know that if you use the camera to transfer images to a computer, it will drain it quickly.

I would HIGHLY recommend the D70 Outfit, the only difference between the Body Only and Outfit is the superior lens that comes in the kit. It is a 18-70mm F/4-5.6 Nikkor lens designed to work with Digital SLRs, it is made with Nikon's very best ED glass. Most of the ED lenses Nikon produces are the best lens you can buy for ANY camera. Lenses made with ED glass are usually the most expensive lenses you can buy, Nikon is really almost giving away this lens. It lists at over $550 MSRP and is a great lens to have.

So in the four months we have owned this camera, we have been to two weddings and a trip to London and Kuala Lumpur. It has held up to the Nikon name of quality and durability, my F5 is also getting a little lonely but I am sure I will go back to it soon. The only thing that I might wish would be diffent is I wished it had a ISO 100 mode, but the broad range of the other features make up for any missed features.

If you already own Canon SLR lenses, it probably would be best to stick with Canon and the Digital Rebel; but then again there is always eBay. But anyone who is buying their first SLR/DSLR this is by far the best reviewed camera in its class. Of course if you already own Nikon SLR Lenses, I recommend the Nikon D2X AND a D70 for when you are out of the studio. ;)

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Nikon Coolpix 5400 Review - Beginner to Advanced

What can I say? I love the 5400! It is my second from the Coolpix series. My first was a CP 880 that took a fall so the 5400 was a replacement. It's well worth the money. I looked around a lot and couldn't find anything I liked from other manufacturers that packed the features and flexibility of the 5400.

If you are a new digital user, the auto mode and scene modes are great. I usually shoot in P or M modes and can turn the dial to Automatic mode and hand it to my wife who likes the ability to point and shoot without thinking about adjusting anything. You can grow into this camera if you don't know yet how to shoot manually.

The 15 different scene modes to choose from are excellent. The panoramic assist mode is particularly cool. You can shoot a panoramic horizontally, vertically or in a 360 degree circle. You take photos and then put them together after download with the ArcSoft software that comes with the camera. It even allows you to fine-tune the pictures in case they do not align they way you want them too.

Pros:
Turn a fully automatic camera into a fully manual camera with the turn of a dial. I haven't found anything this camera cannot do that my recently auctioned SLR could do. Picture quality is equal to me.

The camera feels great to hold. All of the buttons are in convenient locations. Menus can be customized to show what you adjust frequently and you can store two different user settings using the function button.

5-shot buffer is great. It will take photos as long as you hold down the shutter release. It only stores the last five frames even if you have held the shutter release down long enough to make 20 exposures. Also does time lapse.

Shutter speed from Bulb to 1/4000.

Crisp Macro shooting.

The Vari-Angle display is much better than a fixed position display.

Three metering options- Matrix, Center-weighted and Spot are very effective.

Takes Type I and II compact flash. I wouldn't go with anything less than 256mb. Make sure it is USB compatible memory if you plan to use a Compact Flash reader in a USB port.

Hot shoe for accessories is a great addition. When a speedlight is attached, you can set the camera to fire the internal flash and speedlight or you can turn off the internal flash and use only the speedlight. This is great if you want to bounce your speedlight and use the internal for a fill-flash. It also works with a SC-17 remote cable if you want to get the flash off the camera for close up/macro shots. (If you are thinking about getting a Nikon speedlight, go with the SB-80DX or find an old SB-28 or SB-28DX versus going with the SB-50DX. It's worth the extra money if you are going to do any manual shooting/adjusting of speedlight. There is no manual mode on the SB-50DX so you can't really fine tune lighting if you are shooting with the camera in manual mode.)

Battery life is good (about 1.5 - 2 hrs.) It comes with a charger and 1 battery. A second (or 2CR5) as a back-up in my case has come in handy.

Cons:
The autofocus is not very good in low light situations. I have a Nikon SB-28 speedlight with autofocus assist but the 5400 doesn't activate it. I knocked off half a star for that.

You have to go through a 1/4 view screen before going to full-screen view when using the Quick Review. I think it would be better if it went straight to the full-screen view and did away with the 1/4 screen view. (-1/4 star.)

The only option for adding filters is the HN-CP10 hood with 77mm filters. It's great to have a hood large enough to stay out of wide angle compositions but the 77mm filters are very expensive. (last 1/4 star)

Card cover is flimsy. I have a card reader and each time I open the door to remove the card, I think about how flimsy it is. The 880 had a much more sturdy door.

Area through the viewfinder is significantly different than what you see in the monitor. I read somewhere it is about 35% less through the viewfinder than the monitor.

Overall, it's a great camera for the beginner or advanced user. As a result of purchasing this camera, I shoot only digital and don't miss my SLR one bit. The owner's manual is 160 pages and thoroughly explains all the camera's features. I've had it for 3 months now and am still learning what this camera can do.

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Nikon D70 Review - Best dSLR for Advanced Amature

First of all I am not a professional photographer. So take my opinion with a grain of salt as you should for all online reviews :-)

It's been a couple of days since I bought this camera and so far my impression has been overwhlemingly positive. There are a few things that I would like to see rectified in terms of design issue in future model or via firmware upgrades. I will try to focus on my compilements and complaints mostly on what other reviewers may not have already said.

Pros

1) Very fast every where ! The camera is instantly on and ready to take pictures the moment you set the switch to on. Lag time between pressing shutter and actually taking the picture is almost non existent. So you can be assured that the picture will be taken at the moment you press the shutter and not a second later. This is very important when you are running around children (or something else) trying to capture the best moment. I also own a Minolta Maxxum 5 SLR which boasts one of the fastest autofocus. This camera is as good if not better in focusing objects. Even in low light.

2) Well layout and ergonomics. I have heard several times from other D70 users that people owning a Nikon SLR feel right at home from the beginning. Unfortunately I did not own a Nikon before. And still it did not take me more than a couple of hours to get fully adjusted to its control. Very well thought out layout and position of knobs, wheel makes it one of the better ergonomically designed camera out there.

3) Body size is a bit large comparing to Canon digital rebel or other models. However, the added weight makes it more balanced and fits well in my hands. I feel really comfortable holding and handling it. The body finish is *matte* type (not sure what Nikon calls it). Basically what I mean is that the boyd is not plain and smooth like most cameras. I love the finish, it gives a better feel in my hand while holding it.

4) LCD is large and bright. I have it turned off and find it easier to take pictures with the viewfinder though.

5) Picture quality is great. I have taken several pictures in auto mode to see how the camera reacts to different situations. All of the pictures came out really sharp and clear. There are several professional reviews out there that you can also read to see for your self how it does.

6) Bundled kit lense is excellent quality comparing to Digital rebel's bundled lense and provides great value. (...)

Cons

1) With flash at night sometimes portrait pictures came out a bit whiter than usual (in Auto). This maybe because I have not manually adjusted the camera for white balance. But in general I should not have to.

2) ISO setting is not displayed when in Auto ISO mode. I think this is one of the most common complaint and hopefully can be resolved via firmware upgrade.

3) Size and weight can be a problem if you want to run around a lot with it. Definitly can not fit in your jeans pocket !

Overall, I have so little to complaint but so much more to say. I suggest you go to a local retailer and handle the camera yourself first before buying it. If you have had an SLR before you will be able to pick it up and get started almost immediately.

Nikon D70 Review - The best transition camera available

The D70 is a great camera, period, but it can be especially useful for the serious photography hobbiest who desires to move from film to digital.

The D70 functions very much like the higher-end Nikon film SLR's. The controls are laid out in a logical manner, and without the bright LCD screen on the back you would be hard-pressed to tell that this is a digital camera. Anyone who has had to wade through levels upon levels of menus on some of the point-and-shoot digital cameras will find the buttons for all commonly-accessed functions a welcome feature. I can't remember the last time I had to go into the menus.

The build quality is excellent, and even though this camera doesn't have quite the sturdy feel of the Nikon pro cameras, it doesn't have the same price tag either. It feels well-balanced in my hands, and is easy to hold on longer shooting outings.

The D70 supports the Nikon Creative Lighting System. With the Nikon Sb-800 I can take wireless flash photos with the camera and flash exchanging exposure data for more accurate exposures. Nikon is worlds ahead of everyone else with their flashes, and it shows here. The built-in flash is adequate for close flash shots.

Battery life is outstanding - I can go days or even weeks between charges. The en-el3 battery is tried and true.

The lens that comes in the kit is a nice medium-range zoom, and a good deal at about $100 difference between the kit and body only prices. It is reasonably sharp at the middle of the range, with distortion only noticable at the extremes.

Unlike some other low-end digital SLR's, the D70 doesn't have any software-disabled features to give more value to the pro cameras. Everything can be set manually, if desired.

This camera was my big jump from Film SLR to Digital SLR, and it didn't disappoint me. I recommend it highly, as you won't find a better camera near the price of the D70.

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Nikon D70 Review - The digital camera I was waiting for

I have owned several digital cameras over the last 5 years. The last before the D70 was the Nikon Coolpix 995. I loved the versatility of the 995, but despised the delay between pictures. You learn to live with this little fault, but it does cause you to miss certain shots.

With the D70, I can use all my Nikkor lenses, I get superb images (that I cannot tell from film 99% of the time) and I finally get the speed that I was used to with my Nikon 8008s. A comment that I read in another review was a good one - keep the manual handy for the first few weeks. It will prove invaluable.

Some reviewers on the web have mentioned the "soft" quality of the pictures taken with the D70. This can be controlled by setting the sharpness setting via the menus on the camera. If you have software that allows you to manipulate RAW images, you can also control the sharpness via the software controls without much reduction in quality.

The camera has a very good ergonomics, with the minor exception of the aperture dial, which is on the front of the handgrip, the multi-directional pad, and the exposure lock button which is easy to hold, but also easy to slip off of before you take your shot.

Battery life is exceptional, even when using flash 40-50% of the time. I keep an extra battery charged at all times, but rarely need it in the field. With a 1 gb compact flash card I get over 90 shots while shooting both a RAW image and a basic JPEG one at the same time. I do this so that I can have a shot to send away quickly via email if needed. Nice feature.

Overall, I love the camera. Friends who see the printed images are blown away when they find out they are from a digital camera. If you have Nikon system lenses from the last ten years and were waiting for the right digital SLR to use them with, look no further.

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Nicon D70 Review - Nikon D70 vs Point and Shoot

Nikon is a wonderful out of box experance. They have quick guides that will get you up and taking photos in no time at all. But you will need to charge your battery and my Nikon did not come with a memory card.

The D70 is a very fast camera. You can use the 40x memory cards that write at a rate of 10 mb per second. That means you can take 144 photos without any delays. The D70 is a basicly a instant on camera and it is very fast to focus, and it is instantly ready to take the next photo.

The Nikon is a point and shoot camera, in that you can set it on automatic and just push the button and take photos. The factory setting are a little bit generic though. I like a photo that is a little sharper and a little more vivid. I can do that in Adobe or I can change those setting in the camera. Soft setting are nice to make people look younger so I would not discard the factory setting all together.

You can get good photos out of a point and shoot camera. But you may end up spending a lot of money on accessories. For example, some of them require expensive memory cards. Also you will needing two cameras: a wide angle and a telephoto. With a SLR you will need one camera body and two lens.

The one thing I do not consider a issue is price. Point and Shoots have a way to get you to buy extras that cost you money. If you want a good camera, get the D70. It is a good investment for your money and I am sure it will maintain it's resale value much better than the point and shoots do.

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Nikon D70 Review - So far so good!

It was with high hopes and expectations that I finally made the jump from digital to film and then back to digital photography. I searched for a long time prior to making a purchase, studying every review I could lay my hands on. After many, many bleary-eyed months of research, I had narrowed the field to 3 prosumer cameras: Pentax ist*d, the Canon D10, and the Nikon D70. All three were good cameras and each had features the others didn't. My choice finally came down to the two things that I needed as someone who shoots wildlife photography---speed and image quality. All 3 of the above choices shoot at 6+ megapixels. Where they differ is in the speed. The Nikon D70 shoots at 3 fps, and depending on which image quality mode you are using, can buffer shots for up to 9 seconds.

So far, my usage has been limited to shooting pictures of my cats, who have decided to sleep every time I come at them with a camera. I hope to get out today and utilize the capacity of this camera. So far it has been very easy to use. The manual could be a bit better though. I'm pretty much an experienced amateur, and right out of the box the camera was able to put forth some nice still pictures with amazing clarity! Now I just need to teach myself what the heck white balance and all those other technical terms mean and how to put them to use!

If you are looking at this camera, one tidbit of advice--get a fast card! 40x minimum. I know there are 80x cards out there (that's what I got) and it should take care of all your needs. And a spare battery (although 3 people I know who have this camera say the battery seems to last forever). I'd also choose this camera over the slower Nikon D100.

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Nikon D70 Review - THIS CAMERA IS UNBELIEVABLE!!!!!!!!!!

I bought this camera at my local camera store and I have just liked it better and better during the 5 months i have had it for. The resolution is incredible as is the overall picture quality. The sharpness with the kit 18-70mm lens is great, even enough for 13x19 prints on my canon i9900. I will not go into great detail on the many excellent aspects of this camera but in short here is what I find best about the D70 and the 18-70mm DX lens:

1. Image Quality: The pictures are simply beautiful.
2. Speed: This camera is on faster than you can move your finger from the power switch to the shutter button and there is NO shutter lag.
3. Construction: This is the kind of camera that if you drop it onto a wood table from 3 or 4 feet it dents the table. The battery life is great, I can use it for 3 weeks every day before it needs to be charged.
4. Features: This is a full featured camera just like the D1H or the canon 20D, unlike the stripped down Digital Rebel/300D
5. Versatility: The camera can handle ALL of nikons GREAT lenses except the IX series which is just a few.
CONCLUSION: If you are an advanced amatuer or semi-professional photographer I highly recommend this camera. I would choose it over the Digital Rebel/300D because of its better speed, construction and in my opinion image quality. -Good Luck

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Nikon D70 Review - The BEST DSLR on the market!!

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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Nikon D70 Review - First-time reviewer compelled to write about the D70

I am normally a "reader", rather than a "writer" of reviews. In fact, this is the first review I have written for Amazon. I had to do so, however, to add my voice to the chorus of accolades that this camera is receiving. I had gone without a decent camera since a nice Minolta SLR kit I'd bought in the Navy was stolen after 5 months of ownership. Now, seven years later, I decided to take the plunge and get a good DSLR.

In deciding which camera to buy. I reacquainted myself with photography and the new (for me) terminology of digital photograhy in 2-3 weeks of intense online research. Honestly, if you're looking to drop several hundred dollars or more on a digital camera, it behooves you to do this. You'll learn a tremendous amount, and in that time, the sometimes cryptic language of photography will start to become lucid. I finally brought my options down to the Canon Digital Rebel and the Nikon D70. Unfortunately, the Nikon D70 was, at the time, out of my price range, as it was ~$550 more than the Canon for the body+lens kit. As such, I ordered the Canon.

(...)

Let me say this: even at a $550 price differential, the D70 is worth the extra investment. I have been continually astounded at the quality of the photos I have been producing, and eagerly anticipate continuing to improve as I discover the more esoteric functions of this phenomenally flexible camera. I have shot landscapes, "snapshot" party pictures, close-ups of ice in natural lighting, and close-ups of food under low light conditions, and with a little fiddling, the D70 has come through with flying colors each time. The food shot was notable because it highlighted a major difference between the D70 and the Digital Rebel: the addition of Flash Exposure Compensation on the D70. With it, I was able to fill-in the shadows of a backlit entree without overexposing the foreground. VERY useful, and added to the utility of FEC in indoor shots and fill-flash, one of the most compelling arguments for foregoing the Digital Rebel in favor of the D70. I can unreservedly say that I am more eager than I would have believed to pursue photography as a serious hobby, and the Nikon D70 has been a large part of that impulse.

One word of warning, however. If you are not a "fiddler", someone that enjoys the minutiae of shutter speed, aperture, exposure compensation, white balance, etc... this may not be the camera for you. While it is fully capable as a point & shoot, it is the extra features and extensive manual/custom controls that justify the price. If you don't see yourself happily delving into those details, I'd recommend the Canon Powershot A95 (which was my camera of choice for P&S).

Good luck with your decision, and thanks for your time!

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Nikon D70 Review - Excellent Quality, Features, Usability

As a beginner-to-intermediate level photographer, I've waited for some time now for the DSLRs to come down in price, and Nikon finally prompted me to jump in. I have been extremely happy with this camera since purchasing it in March of 2004. The speed and ability to view images instantly are great, as I am always shooting photos of small children (who don't necessarily stay in one place).

I would recommend the DX lens that comes with the kit over a 3rd-party lens (e.g. Quantaray). It is bigger and heavier, but much faster. I also purchased two of the SB-800 flashes. They (again) are pricey, but have a higher rating (more light) and have features dripping everywhere. The Creative Lighting System with remote flash control is easy to use (the instructions make it look hard, but try it out once), I'm probably going to get a 3rd flash to go with it. Also look for the wireless shutter release, available anywhere from $18 - $30. Pretty cool.

The sharpness and color really deliver, my neighbors are asking a lot of questions (looking to buy). While it can be used as a point-and-shoot, there are more than enough controls / settings to satisfy all but high-end pros.

Some advice: Get to know the metering, auto-focus, and white-balance controls. If you spend a little time figuring these features out, you can go from taking good pictures great pictures in "Program" mode, with very little camera adjustment. My last SLR did not have auto-focus, and the ability to get selective with the focus while still in auto (my eyes are getting older) is a big help. It will also keep you from focusing on the wrong object.

My only criticisms of this camera / package are:
1. Included (free) software has limited capability. Trial version of higher-end software included, I think it's another $100.00 or so.
2. I would like the camera to have multiple setup configurations for different situations.

**** Update 1/31/05 ****
When I originally wrote this, I recommended the DX lens that comes in the kit. I still think this is a great lens, but I recently purchased the Nikkor 24-120mm vibration-reduction lens. Awesome. The VR function helps significantly when hand-holding at slower shutter-speeds. It is a great general purpose lens. I found that while shooting with the kit lens, I kept zooming out to the 70mm mark and wishing I had another 10-20mm to fill the frame better, and this lens gives it without having to switch to my 70-300mm. If I were to do it over again, I think I would have purchased the D70 body only with the 24-120mm VR. I thnk the extra couple of hundred dollars is worth it in the long run. The 18-70mm is a good lens, though, and allows a little wider angle (which comes in handy for landscapes).

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Nikon D70 Review

I owned a total of six digital cameras before purchasing my D70, ranging from an execrable little Agfa that drained a pair of AAs to produce a dozen terrible VGA shots thorugh a Canon G2 that was a pleasure to use. The Canon was pretty good, with manual controls and decent image quality. But what I really wanted, all that time, was a camera with enough pixels to produce sharp, photo-quality 8x10s, a camera that actually fired when I pressed the shutter release, and a way to use all my Nikkor lenses. More than that, I wanted something that felt like a pro camera, like my F2s and F3s.

Well, the D70 doesn't quite have the heft and solidity of an F2- it's more like the modern plastic Nikons that it descended from. And while I can mount any post-AI lens on it, I lose a lot of the metering using non-computerized lenses. And my favorite wide angle Nikkors, like the 28/2.8, become boring normal lenses on the D70.

But those are minor complaints. This is an excellent camera, with superb ergonomics, full control over all the exposure parameters, and the famous Nikon F mount. I can still use my old 300mm, (albeit with reduced metering ability), my Vivitar 283 flashes (with an adapter to cut the trigger voltage), and a lot of other accessories. It's a true system camera, and compared to the film Nikons I bought 20 years ago, it's a bargain. Of course unlike the film cameras it doesn't have a useful life of even 10 years, let alone 20 or 30 or more. But then, what modern electronic device does? And the lenses will, in the Nikkor tradition, still be useful on whatever cameras I buy to succeed this one.

Picture quality is, of course, superb, and the automation makes the camera a pleasure to use. A novice could set the mode switch to "Auto" and happily click away all day, while the pro can do anything possible on a film camera, and more.

I bought a 1Gbyte flash card for my D70, as the 256MB cards I already own fill up pretty fast when you're shooting 5Mbyte RAW mode images. I plan to buy a few more accessories as well- another battery, a real wide angle lens (when funds allow) and perhaps the soft case, to better protect it.

And I think this just may be the year I sell of the rest of my film SLRs- if anyone still wants them!

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Nikon D70 Review - Notes from a professional shoot

Notes from a professional shoot

The Nikon D70 performed exceptionally well during a professional product shoot. This was a simple job shooting pastry under portable studio strobe lighting where the client only needed digital images.

My overall impression of the D70 is that it is an excellent piece of photographic equipment. I was most impressed with its responsiveness. The camera was always ready to shoot. I never felt as though I was waiting for the camera for any reason.

The shoot was almost 3 hours and the battery, which was fully charged at the start of the shoot, held up the entire time. It wasn't until later when I was viewing the images at home on the TV from the video out that it started to show signs of a low battery. During the shoot I was not using the onboard flash but the LCD was referenced frequently for composition and approval by the client.

I did not get to test out all the features but it was not hard to get into a shooting and operational rhythm. I did find that I used the LCD more then the viewfinder for composition. It is easy to pop off a shot and then study it, make adjustment, and then pop off another shoot. This allowed for switching between two shots to make A/B comparisons. Since most of the shots were tripod based this method was possible. I did not expect to work this way but I will say that it was very natural and much more productive then using a Polaroid back.

I used the 18-70mm AF-S DX lens. It performed well with clear, sharp and rectilinear linear pictures. However, I did have trouble keeping the focus and zoom ring clear with my fingers. They are about the same size and a bit close together. You will need to know which one is which. In general I prefer Tokina and Sigma lenses to Nikor anyway. I did some research and found that Sigma makes some impressive by specification lenses designed for DSLR cameras that have a small CCD compared to a 35mm negative. I would recommend checking them out before buying this package. You may find a lens you prefer. It is nice to have options.

Now for some tips I picked up from experience:

The SB-25 I own does work with the camera just not in TTL mode. I latter read that the new SB-800 is required for TTL. If I buy the D70 I will have to also buy the SB-800.

To review pervious pictures you need to use the up and down buttons of the cursor not the left and right. I was using the 4 tile mode to switch between images then toggle back through 9 tile back to single image. User Error.

The left and right buttons switch between the information screen, histogram, highlight mode and standard view. I made the mistake of being in standard view because I did not know there was a separate mode when reviewing pictures for highlights. This caused me to erroneously assume the highlights we under control on a few occasions.

I love the pan & zoom function when reviewing pictures. It is easier then a loop and a Polaroid by far.

There is an option to let you change f-stop and shutter speed in half or third increments when manually overriding or adjusting exposures. I like 1/3 stop increments and knew the camera could do it so it wasn't hard to find the option to set this. Just don't be fooled because you didn't read the manual like me.

The 1.4x magnification of the lens didn't bother me.

The viewfinder image is smaller then what I'm use to on the N90 but not bad.

The view finder seems to cover less of the final image then I anticipated. I also seemed to have a drift to the left. Many of the compositions I did by hand, free style, seem to have the image shifted off center to the right. I suspect this is me but it was odd.

The LCD is bright and easy to read. The nicest on any digital I have seen.

The camera felt good in my hands. Controls were where I wanted them to be. The body felt rugged and sturdy

There is no way to determine what shooting mode you are in without looking at the mode dial on the top left. It is also not backlit so it is hard to read in the dark.

The backlight on the top LCD is dim. I'm use to the N90 which has the blue glow which is fabulous.

The LED in finder information is nice but I do still prefer the N90 viewfinder information and LCD style.

The focus assist light was nice.

There is an option to toggle a set of grid lines in the viewfinder. Nice feature! How did they do that? I have to change focusing screens on the N90.

Image quality was excellent. I saw no evidence of pattern problems others have reported. 6 MP is real nice. Shoot first crop later if you have to. You will any way if you shoot cropped in the viewfinder.

Highlight and histogram are very helpful features. They did make it easy to detect when something was wrong that my eye didn't catch.

The Nikon D70 is worth the money and has many features to make it heavy on the Pro side of Pro-sumer. For the professional, consider this instead of using a Polaroid back for verifying shots.

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