Nikon D70 Follow Up : A Second Look

Last month we introduced to you a hot new item, the Nikon D70 camera kit. We asked Dave Huxford of Nikon what people in the market place were saying about this camera, he sent pictureline the following reviews to share. Thanks Dave.

Nikon D70
By Daniel Grotta
http://www.pcmag.com/author_bio/0,1772,a=207,00.asp Sally Wiener Grotta

May 24, 2004

Last year, Canon created a stir with the Digital Rebel, the first digital SLR (D-SLR) for under $1,000 (including lens). Nikon's return of serve has tremendous heat on it. Instead of creating an amateur-oriented camera like the Rebel and competing directly on price, Nikon has produced a slightly more expensive D-SLR with the features, functions, versatility, and image quality to appeal to budget-minded professionals as well. In fact, not only is the 6.1-megapixel Nikon D70 more camera than the Rebel, it even bests our previous Editors' Choice in the category, the Olympus E-1.

The D70 body is solid, well designed, and (like the Rebel) made of high-impact plastic. The D70, however, is heavier and feels more substantial than the Rebel. Like the E-1, it has a nonslip hand grip but is smaller and more comfortable to hold. Also, the D70's fixed 1.8-inch LCD is brighter than the Rebel's.

The D70's menus are logical, intuitively organized and bright. While less option-heavy, they're friendlier than the E-1's, whose parameters and settings can be cryptic. Both have oversize control panels, jog switches, and mode dials, though the D70 has two independently operated (sometimes confusing) mode subdials, compared with the E-1's single dial. Scattered on both cameras are analog controls for a variety of functions.

Like the Rebel, the D70 sports both a built-in pop-up flash and an intelligent hot shoe; the Nikon, however, lacks a standard PC connector for studio strobe lights. (The E-1 doesn't have a built-in flash but has both a PC connector and a hot shoe.) The D70 offers flash compensation, and it's the fastest-syncing focal-plane shutter SLR available, with a top sync speed of {1/500} second (for crisp action shots and more flexibility when using fill flash). By contrast, the E-1 and Rebel sync at just {1/180} and {1/200} second, respectively, and the Rebel lacks flash compensation. All three save to Type I/II CompactFlash cards. Like the E-1, the D70 supports the USB 2.0 spec (though the E-1 supports FireWire, whereas the D70 doesn't). All three are powered by included long-life rechargeable lithium ion batteries.

The D70 incorporates a 6.24-megapixel Sony CCD, yielding a maximum resolution of 3,008 by 2,000 pixels. The E-1 was the first D-SLR to use Kodak's 5.5-megapixel 4/3 chip and has a top resolution of 2,560 by 1,920 pixels. The Rebel uses a 6.29MP CMOS, for a top resolution of 3,072 by 2,000 pixels. None has a movie mode. All three save images as RAW or JPEG files, though the E-1 can also save TIFFs.

The D70 offers almost all the features a professional might look for, including aperture and shutter priority, manual exposure, adjustable exposure bracketing, three metering and focusing modes, shutter speeds as high as {1/8,000} second, sRGB and Adobe RGB color modes, and sharpening and color saturation controls. There's also a fast, responsive play-back mode with extensive metadata and histogram. The E-1 virtually matches the D70 feature for feature but adds more precise white-balance selection, electronic cleaning of the image sensor, and pixel mapping.

Nikon and Olympus each created a new series of digital lenses for these cameras. Autofocus with the D70's standard 18- to 70-mm, f/3.5 to f/4.5 zoom lens (35-mm equivalent: 27 to 105 mm) is very fast, and the lens is sharp and distortion-free. The E-1's 14- to 54-mm, f/2.8 to f/3.5 lens (35-mm equivalent: 28 to 108 mm) has approximately the same zoom ratio and area coverage, and is slightly faster. On the down side, it incorporates motorized focus-by-wire rather than the more precise mechanical manual focus.

Our tests show that the D70, with the bundle's 18- to 70-mm lens, has a horizontal resolution of 1,650 lines, a vertical resolution (higher numbers are better) of 1,750 lines, and horizontal and vertical pixel transitions of 2.4 percent and 1.8 percent, respectively (lower is better). The Rebel, with its 18- to 55-mm lens, scored 1,600 lines horizontal and vertical, with pixel transitions of 2.6 percent and 1.9 percent respectively. The E-1, with the matched 50-mm f/2.0 lens we used for testing, scored just 1,300 lines in both horizontal and vertical resolution, with horizontal and vertical pixel transitions of 2.7 percent and 2.0 percent, respectively.

Using the D70's default settings on our tests, image quality was very good. Our simulated daylight shot exhibited excellent details, especially in the shadows, but was somewhat underexposed, with a slight blue color shift. Our test flash shot was very sharp and evenly illuminated, with excellent color, if slightly underexposed. By contrast, the E-1's simulated daylight test shot was perfect. Keep in mind, however, that professional and prosumer cameras work best not on default settings but by using white balance and exposure controls and/or when shooting in RAW mode. The D70's image quality jumped to excellent when we took these routes.

The D70 handles and shoots as fast as any film SLR. It can click off JPEG images at a sustained 3 fps until you run out of memory. Better yet, it boots up in 0.4 seconds and has no shutter lag. The E-1 is no slouch either, capable of booting up in 1.7 seconds and shooting at 3 fps for 12 frames. But for sustained shooting and throughput, the D70 is far and away the fastest D-SLR under $3,000. Even after a recent price reduction, the $2,000 E-1 is far pricier than the D70. Given its stellar price/performance ratio, the Nikon D70 is our clear pick.

Editor Rating:♣♣♣♣♣

D70 review - "Nikon Camera Makes Shots Sparkle"

(This AP story appears in yahoonews.com and 1010wins.com (a local news radio station in NYC).

What it says:

"Our overnight backpacking trip was supposed to be bare bones — just enough food for 48 hours, no extra socks, no bulky books. We considered ditching the tent to shed pounds. But I couldn't resist one weighty indulgence. I had become addicted to the Nikon D70, a 6.1-megapixel digital camera that costs about $1,300 with an 18-70 mm lens."

Read the rest of the review at:
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/tech_test_nikon_d70_camera

The D70 C/NET – names D 70 as Editor's Choice!

The Nikon D70 is a great enthusiast dSLR.

The good: Excellent dynamic range, color accuracy, and noise profiles; terrific continuous-shooting performance; feature set accommodates a variety of users.

The bad: Nikon's RAW-file editing software costs extra; camera saves only one set of custom parameters.

SYNOPSIS:
Beware: The minute you pick up the Nikon D70, you'll start believing you're a great photographer. With a solid and well-designed body, intelligently implemented features, speedy performance, and impressive photo quality, this 6-megapixel dSLR delivers an as yet unmatched digital-photography experience for the enthusiast. Sure, the camera has its share of bewildering omissions and annoying quirks, but they don't seriously detract from its appeal. A sub-$1,000 (body only) list price places this Nikon in direct competition with the Canon EOS Digital Rebel, but as a kit, the D70 is really going up against models such as the Nikon D100 and the Canon EOS 10D. The D70 outshoots them all.

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The SHORT REVIEW can be found on line at:
http://reviews.cnet.com/Nikon_D70/4505-6501_7-30732134.html
Check out the FULL REVIEW at:
http://reviews.cnet.com/Nikon_D70/4505-6501_7-30732134-2.html?tag=review

Nikon D70 Wins Coveted Camera Grand Prix 2004 Award

What we said:

"The Nikon D70 delivers a superior balance of performance, price, and size. Despite being positioned as a new popular-priced digital SLR model, the camera is loaded with features that challenge even higher priced products. It overcomes the traditional weaknesses of digital cameras by realizing fast power-up and fast continuous shooting, and earns special notice for realizing response that is on par with 35mm film SLR cameras while improving practicality and comfort of use. Clearly labeled menu options make operation easier for novices and combine with the camera's other features to make it accessible to a wider range of users, thereby achieving a level where the D70 establishes an entirely new trend in digital SLR cameras."

Read the whole press release at:
http://www.nikon.co.jp/main/eng/news/2004/c_gp_e_04.htm

CLICK HERE TO ORDER YOUR NIKON D70 TODAY