Why We Chose the D70

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People have asked Heather and I why we chose the Nikon D70 over the Canon Digital Rebel 300D. My thinking initially was that we’d buy the Digital Rebel body and just spend some extra money on a better lens. A coworker has both a 10D and a 300D and said that with a good lens, the 300D is every bit as good for candid shots and outdoor work, both of which are the main types of shots that Heather and I shoot.

A couple of months ago a friend posted some shots he took in Argentina. I asked him what he was shooting with (I loved the shallow depth of field) and he mentioned the D70. So I figured we’d look at the D70, but probably couldn’t afford it or the camera I really wanted, which was the Canon 10D. Once you factor in lens costs for the 10D, you’re looking at $1500 — $2000 US, which was above our budget.

Really, it came down to two things. First, the Nikon ships with a better lens. It has a few more features than the Canon DigiReb and is actually much closer to the 10D in features, but without the expense. After standing in the shop and shooting a ton of pictures, Heather looked at me. Leta looked at me. Boom. Done. It didn’t hurt that I purchased a Nikon CoolPix 990 in 2000 and we had shot somewhere in the range of 12,000 to 15,000 shots with it.

You’ve undoubtedly seen some of the first shots that Heather has posted. I’ve been a slacker, but here’s one of my favorites (no retouching):

One of the benefits of shooting with an SLR is that you can let the camera do a lot of the work. The other is speed. When the light is just right, you have to be able to get the shot, and I’m very pleased with the results.

So far, we’ve done limited RAW shooting, opting instead for the highest JPEG setting. Any artifacts you see are the result of me compressing the files so we don’t have bandwidth cost issues.

Hopefully, I’ll be posting more photos than I have in the past.

http://www.charleskamm.com chris

yeah but what about lugging that thing around compared to your coolpix? i had a canon G1 and hated how big it was, now i’m looking for a new camera and can’t decide between a small compact camera or something the the 300D, or the leica digilux 2.
http://www.dianabiz.net Peach

I just bought a Canon A80 at a sale at Samy’s Camera(L.A.) I’ts my first digital. I also have a CanonEOS which is more than ten years old that my husband gave to me. It’s a great camera.(you can see the shots at my Photo Gallery)

My husband has been looking at the SlR Digital Cameras, specifically at the Rebel. Right now after the Digital pruchase and our buying a Canon 9100 Printer we won’t get anything else for a while.

But I really love your pictures from the NikonD70. I was a purist about Digital vs. SlR’s. But now that there are Digital SLR’s, the technology is getting closer and closer to ‘real’ cameras.

I am looking forward to eventually purchase such a camera.…In the meantime I’ll come over here and drool at the pics.….….Have fun!
http://www.blurbomat.com dj blurb

Sure, it’s a bit more to carry, but I don’t have to carry nearly as many AA batteries, or the wide angle lens, so it’s not a big change. When we’d take the 990, the bag we used was actually bigger than the bag we’re using for the D70.

Plus, for me, I’ve been dying to shoot digital with an SLR body. It changes how you approach your shots and yields better results faster. I think that’s worth any size trade offs.
http://www.dianabiz.net Peach

I agree. At first I was also worried about size. But now that I have a Digital, I can carry that one in my purse. And in the future, get the SLR one as well to carry in a bag.

But as far as ‘approaching shots’, there definitely will be a difference. Namely, that SLR shooting is easier. You are not looking at a screen, whose image disappears when you are standing in direct sunlight. And looking through the Digital Viewfinder is not disclosing the ‘real’ image.
And for the many outdoor shots I plan to take, the Digital SLR will be a better choice for me.
http://www.dianabiz.net Peach

p.s I also got a ‘wide angle’ (28m) for my Canon A80. But I think, even though that’s basically all I was using, last year on my trip to Italy with my SLR, I don’t think I’ll be using it with the Digital.
It won’t fit that great into my purse and I’ll have to lug it along as an extra.
It was probably a mistake to buy it.

You already have the Coolpix and now the D70…probably the best of both worlds.
http://www.charleskamm.com chris

i can’t believe how bad nikon is for not including a rechargeable battery in those coolpix cameras. are they still doing that?
http://www.dooce.com dj blurb (via dooce who has better access to the laptop)

(turns to dj blurb and asks, “what am I supposed to say?”)

the D70 comes with a rechargeable battery and it lasts 1500 pictures, some with flash, some without. a really long time. we don’t know about the new coolpix and whether or not they come with rechargeables.
http://mihow.com mihow

I have used an Elph, a PowerShot Pro1, a Pentax K1000, a Polaroid, and a Digital Rebel and NOTHING has been more absurd and intricate (and fun) than figuring out the inner workings of my god damn Holga. Printed in the instructions are these words:

“The Holga is somewhat notorius for loose connections between the film roll and take-up spool, allowing the film to move up and down. To take care of this, take a small, thin piece of cardboard (a flap from your film box will work) and jam it below the film spool after you have loaded it.”

It’s the Volvo of cameras.

(ps. My husband said you could have written only this following the title of your post “Becuase it’s badass.”)
http://www.thehighsign.net lizpenn

post more pix, blurb!
http://fogcity.blogs.com jen

Ever since Heather mentioned the bane of my existence … the fact that the 990 pauses so long to take the shot … I have been obsessing about the D70. In fact, took my old Minolta film SLR out today instead of the 990, and that made the need ever more present. I complete agree with you about the feel of the SLR body — nothing beats it.
http://www.twosittingducks.com Hannah

I’ve been wanting the D70 for a while now. It is just very tempting.

I have a question though. I was reading a review the other day and it talked about an “annoying” red light that flashed on people’s faces before taking the shot, alerting them to you taking their photo and making candid shots almost impossible. I presumed this is the red-eye reduction and can be switched off, can it??
http://www.charleskamm.com chris

i think that red light is the camera trying to focus. normally red eye reduction is done by the flash flashing a flash before the picture is taken to let the subjects eyes adjust.

did i just use flash three times in four words?
http://chloeishere.diaryland.com/ Chloe

Je ne parle pas le geek. So, I have but one thing to say: Oooooh. Pretty pictures.
http://www.anjaskoglund.com Anja

I have a new coolpix. It came with a rechargeable battery, so now you know! I also have a Leica Digilux 1 which I bought on sale (!). I love it. I think it looks gorgeous and it takes pictures almost like ‘real’ camera, including adjustable depth of field, which was the main annoying thing about the coolpix, along with the delayed shutter time. Nice photos — the light in the bottom one is tricky. Well done, both by camera and photographer!
http://www.twosittingducks.com Hannah

Thanks Chris (and by the way, I like your site).

I think you’re right, and in that case, do you know if you can turn the red auto-focus light off?
http://www.anjaskoglund.com Anja

I don’t know what happened to the rest of my comment. I just wanted to say how much I love the Leica and that your pictures are good!
http://everydaythingsscene.com/ Beerzie Yoink

I have not used the Nikon D70, but here is my two cents:

I have been using a Nikon Coolpx 5000 for about two years. The pictures I have gotten from it are quite excellent, but I was ready to move up to a digital SLR.

I asked my brother, who is a photojournalist, which camera I should get. He uses a Nikon D1 and D2 (provided by his employer), but he recommended I get a Canon. His reasoning was that Canon had superior lens focusing and exposure technology, which for a novice like me, makes a big difference. Still, I wasn’t sure.

I tried out his D1 and was pretty pleased with the results versus the Coolpix’s (go figure — it’s a $2500 rig). However, he has been shooting with Canons for years and said he preferred them hand’s down. In fact, he hates the Nikons.

And because he had a couple of old lenses I could use and that would work on it, I got the Rebel. I have to say, as far as the design and usability goes — hands down, the Rebel beats the Coolpix (again, I cannot say if the Nikon D70 is any better than the Coolpix; I suspect it is). The pictures are awesome, too. I’m happy with my purchase, and it sounds like you are too.

PS — Nice Pix
http://www.artificialbutter.com paco

hey, next time you link to me, warm me so I’m ready for the spike in traffic. ; )
http://verymom.com Jae

Jon,

Does it REALLY take pics without having to think about it for ten seconds? I bought a Fuji Fine Pix (crap, but nice starter camera I guess) two years ago and I miss all of the best shots of my babies because it has to think for a half a decade before it takes the picture.

I don’t live too far from Picture Line in SLC, so maybe I’ll go down there, the Best Buy staff was most unhelpful as you can probably imagine.
http://www.yours-truly.org Nikki 6

Hey all, the photo comments were quite interesting. Thanks.

You all seem to be a bunch who know your digital cameras. Does anyone have a recommendation for a good digital camera in the 300–400 dollar range (poor college student that has been saving her pennies)

I’m going to Mozambique in a week and I want to have a good reliable camera to take pictures with for my site. This will be my first digital camera buying experience.

Any suggestions???
http://mihow.com mihow

Nikki: Everyone has their preference, so don’t put too much weight in what I’m about to write, necessarily, however, I am totally behind the Canon Digital Elph as far as getting the most bang for your buck. Key word here is bang. I have dropped mine on several occasions and it kept on keepin on. Affordable, sturdy, and reputable. Also, they look cool.

:]

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/specs/Canon/canon_sd110.asp
http://www.yours-truly.org Nikki 6

Wow, cool site. My dad has a film Elph and a digital elph and it’s pretty cute to use. The only thing I don’t like is the stupid 8 second movie clips you can take with it.
http://www.charleskamm.com chris

thanks hannah–
that would be a question for jon, but i would assume that when you’re using manual focus it doesn’t need to use the auto focus assist beam. (if that’s what it’s called)
http://www.blurbomat.com dj blurb

The D70 really is that fast. You turn it on and you are ready to take pictures. There is no startup delay.

As far as the red beam thing… Neither Heather nor I have noticed it, but I used to have a Canon ELAN II that was pretty annoying in that regard.

The red-eye reduction, which is completely controllable, uses a solid white light (similar to Canon’s SLR offerings) right before the flash, so there is some delay, but this is common with any camera using a built-in flash and red eye reduction.

I would challenge you naysayers to pick up one of these, compared to a Coolpix. You won’t be sorry and you’ll enter into a very dangerous state of gadget lust. The Digital Rebel is also a great camera, but having used the Nikon for four years (I had the Canon SLR for 4 years as well), and seeing the shutter speeds and how fast it was to shoot, it fit our needs perfectly.

Thanks for all the comments!
http://www.suburbanbliss.net Melissa

All the sudden I absolutely hate my stupid camera. That’s it, I’m selling my plasma for the next 4 years so I might buy the correct camera.

Sniffle.

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Why We Chose the D70