Nikon D70s - wow!

alexeyga · 09-16-2010, 08:26 PM

While waiting for Nikon to start shipping D7k to stores, i've picked up a mint condition D70s as I really need a camera for both work and leisure... Just wanted to share my experience... Previously i've only handled D70 waaaaaay back when it was "La creme" of digital... Back then i knew sh@t about photography and digital cameras and needless to say, i found it very complicated and full of useless buttons...

So here we go:

-it's sluggish... once again I'm reminded what the term "responsive" means when applied to a camera... There's certain delay between any button being pushed and a respective action taking place... Sort of like going from Montreal or Toronto to New Brunswick... you've got to slow-down your brain by half at least, otherwise locals think that you're a speed demon... Can't help noticing it after getting used to modern camera's responsiveness.

-Mais LCD is soooo small... Seems almost useless... I wonder how come I got my first dslr Samsung GX-1L with much bigger screen for 300$ when these were selling for 1200$....

-Interface... non existent... or non applicable... damn... my first nokia phone had a better interface... Though it took me only few minutes to tweak the camera for my liking...

-AF... Sadly, this 6-years-old piece of camera, puts even the fastest-focusing Pentax camera - K7 to shame when it comes to AF speed and "snappiness"... even in very low light it's finding something to snap to without any hassle... and it does it FAST...

-IQ... so far I'm just surprised how good raw files look on my laptop's screen.... because they look just as bad on that stupid, tiny LCD....

Going on a hiking trip this weekend, so I'll get a change to put it through some paces... Geeee.... this is unthinkable... going on a hiking trip with an non WR camera!!! I'll surely burn in WR-god's hell for that...

Cheers!

**rparmar** · 09-17-2010, 04:37 AM

Originally posted by alexeyga

Sort of like going from Montreal or Toronto to New Brunswick... you've got to slow-down your brain by half at least, otherwise locals think that you're a speed demon...

I don't know much about this camera, but that comment made me smile! Been there, done that.

deadwolfbones · 09-17-2010, 07:20 AM

Haha, I was considering a D200 or D2X recently as a backup to my D700, and realized just how much improvement has gone on in the last generation of dSLRs... not sure I'd even take a D300 over a D300s at this point, or either over a D7000. :|

Aegon · 09-17-2010, 09:02 AM

I recently used a K100D as a backup body for a while.

And it took some fantastic photos! But the buttons were a little slow by today's standards.

As long as you plan to use the backup body in good light with good lenses you might be surprised at how well the past generations have worked.

alexeyga · 09-19-2010, 08:01 PM

For what it's worth.... Just got back home... camera is still alive despite being soaked with my sweat... uploading pics... So far the only thing I can comment on... is how much we don't appreciate the amount of RAW headroom in files produced by more recent cameras... because in D70s's files, there isn't that much... when compared to D300's or even D90's files...

Originally posted by deadwolfbones

Haha, I was considering a D200 or D2X recently as a backup to my D700, and realized just how much improvement has gone on in the last generation of dSLRs... not sure I'd even take a D300 over a D300s at this point, or either over a D7000. :|

Having had a chance to work with both at the same time... If i wasn't so spoiled by LV, i'd take the D300 on any day if the price is right... but that direct LV access alone is worth the price difference for me... for macro and product shooting LV is golden... But otherwise, they are the same...

cupic · 09-19-2010, 08:38 PM

I have just got the Nikon D300 superb shots compared to K10d K20d but still will keep the Pentax just to much glass LOL,still AF is supremely fast

cheers

alexeyga · 09-24-2010, 07:07 AM

While the K5 hysteria continues... I've managed to pull 2172 shots out of a 4 years-old, fully charged battery with this little bugger... With the D300s my record was 1200... not bad... Pain is the as$ to process though.. I'm getting lazy...

Blue · 09-24-2010, 12:29 PM

This is more or less the camera I moved up to my K200d and k20d from. We let the graduate students use it.

Spongefingers · 09-27-2010, 08:37 AM

My backup is an EOS D30 - about 10 years old. (Can anyone beat that?) :3
Only 3.25 megapixels, but it can produce really clear images. The lack of noise at ISO 400 is surprising compared to my K10D.
But it doesn't have a chance compared to the Pentax in any other area - dynamic range, detail, size, weight, screen, menus, speed, ergonomics, etc...
Cameras have certainly come a long way over the last decade. Some in more ways than others.

johnmflores · 09-27-2010, 08:54 PM

Yes, we have come quite a long way, but we also got some good photos out of those primitive beasts! I learned a lot about photography with my D70....

alexeyga · 09-28-2010, 09:12 AM

The most surprising thing is that deep down, nothing really changed... and under normal lighting it will be hard to tell the difference between D70 shots and D700's...

Another nice feature that both Canon and Nikon have, is that all the color modes (Landscape, Vivid, Portrait, etc....) are available during the RAW conversion (in ACR, LR and Aperture, don't know about other packages)... Something that I couldn't do with Pentax files... Nothing that can't be fixed with curves, but working over 60h a week, i don't quite have that much time to play with curves for every single file....

09-16-2010, 08:26 PM	#1
alexeyga Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Montreal, Canada Posts: 838	Nikon D70s - wow! While waiting for Nikon to start shipping D7k to stores, i've picked up a mint condition D70s as I really need a camera for both work and leisure... Just wanted to share my experience... Previously i've only handled D70 waaaaaay back when it was "La creme" of digital... Back then i knew sh@t about photography and digital cameras and needless to say, i found it very complicated and full of useless buttons... So here we go: -it's sluggish... once again I'm reminded what the term "responsive" means when applied to a camera... There's certain delay between any button being pushed and a respective action taking place... Sort of like going from Montreal or Toronto to New Brunswick... you've got to slow-down your brain by half at least, otherwise locals think that you're a speed demon... Can't help noticing it after getting used to modern camera's responsiveness. -Mais LCD is soooo small... Seems almost useless... I wonder how come I got my first dslr Samsung GX-1L with much bigger screen for 300$ when these were selling for 1200$.... -Interface... non existent... or non applicable... damn... my first nokia phone had a better interface... Though it took me only few minutes to tweak the camera for my liking... -AF... Sadly, this 6-years-old piece of camera, puts even the fastest-focusing Pentax camera - K7 to shame when it comes to AF speed and "snappiness"... even in very low light it's finding something to snap to without any hassle... and it does it FAST... -IQ... so far I'm just surprised how good raw files look on my laptop's screen.... because they look just as bad on that stupid, tiny LCD.... Going on a hiking trip this weekend, so I'll get a change to put it through some paces... Geeee.... this is unthinkable... going on a hiking trip with an non WR camera!!! I'll surely burn in WR-god's hell for that... Cheers!

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09-17-2010, 04:37 AM	#2
rparmar Site Supporter Join Date: Jan 2008 Photos: Gallery Posts: 8,819	Originally posted by alexeyga Sort of like going from Montreal or Toronto to New Brunswick... you've got to slow-down your brain by half at least, otherwise locals think that you're a speed demon... I don't know much about this camera, but that comment made me smile! Been there, done that.

09-17-2010, 07:20 AM	#3
deadwolfbones Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: La Crescenta, CA Posts: 7,450	Haha, I was considering a D200 or D2X recently as a backup to my D700, and realized just how much improvement has gone on in the last generation of dSLRs... not sure I'd even take a D300 over a D300s at this point, or either over a D7000. :\|

09-17-2010, 09:02 AM	#4
Aegon Site Supporter Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Portland, OR Posts: 1,416	I recently used a K100D as a backup body for a while. And it took some fantastic photos! But the buttons were a little slow by today's standards. As long as you plan to use the backup body in good light with good lenses you might be surprised at how well the past generations have worked.

09-19-2010, 08:01 PM	#5
alexeyga Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Montreal, Canada Posts: 838 Original Poster	For what it's worth.... Just got back home... camera is still alive despite being soaked with my sweat... uploading pics... So far the only thing I can comment on... is how much we don't appreciate the amount of RAW headroom in files produced by more recent cameras... because in D70s's files, there isn't that much... when compared to D300's or even D90's files... Originally posted by deadwolfbones Haha, I was considering a D200 or D2X recently as a backup to my D700, and realized just how much improvement has gone on in the last generation of dSLRs... not sure I'd even take a D300 over a D300s at this point, or either over a D7000. :\| Having had a chance to work with both at the same time... If i wasn't so spoiled by LV, i'd take the D300 on any day if the price is right... but that direct LV access alone is worth the price difference for me... for macro and product shooting LV is golden... But otherwise, they are the same...

09-19-2010, 08:38 PM	#6
cupic Veteran Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Australia-NSW Photos: Gallery Posts: 4,824	I have just got the Nikon D300 superb shots compared to K10d K20d but still will keep the Pentax just to much glass LOL,still AF is supremely fast cheers

09-24-2010, 07:07 AM	#7
alexeyga Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Montreal, Canada Posts: 838 Original Poster	While the K5 hysteria continues... I've managed to pull 2172 shots out of a 4 years-old, fully charged battery with this little bugger... With the D300s my record was 1200... not bad... Pain is the as$ to process though.. I'm getting lazy...

09-24-2010, 12:29 PM	#8
Blue Moderator Site Supporter Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Florida Hill Country Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 17,377	This is more or less the camera I moved up to my K200d and k20d from. We let the graduate students use it.

09-27-2010, 08:37 AM	#9
Spongefingers Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: UK Photos: Gallery Posts: 237	My backup is an EOS D30 - about 10 years old. (Can anyone beat that?) :3 Only 3.25 megapixels, but it can produce really clear images. The lack of noise at ISO 400 is surprising compared to my K10D. But it doesn't have a chance compared to the Pentax in any other area - dynamic range, detail, size, weight, screen, menus, speed, ergonomics, etc... Cameras have certainly come a long way over the last decade. Some in more ways than others.

09-27-2010, 08:54 PM	#10
johnmflores Veteran Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Somerville, NJ Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 5,361	Yes, we have come quite a long way, but we also got some good photos out of those primitive beasts! I learned a lot about photography with my D70....

09-28-2010, 09:12 AM	#11
alexeyga Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Montreal, Canada Posts: 838 Original Poster	The most surprising thing is that deep down, nothing really changed... and under normal lighting it will be hard to tell the difference between D70 shots and D700's... Another nice feature that both Canon and Nikon have, is that all the color modes (Landscape, Vivid, Portrait, etc....) are available during the RAW conversion (in ACR, LR and Aperture, don't know about other packages)... Something that I couldn't do with Pentax files... Nothing that can't be fixed with curves, but working over 60h a week, i don't quite have that much time to play with curves for every single file....