[also posted in the D70 forum]
Yes, it’s another non scientific comparison between 2 DSLRs. I just
thought that this might help someone so here it is.
I own the E-1 and a friend of mine kindly let me have his D70 to
play with for the weekend (for the second time this month!). I used
the Nikon 18-70mm kit lens and a 50mm f/1.8 AF-D. With my Olympus,
I used the Zuiko 14-54mm f/2.8-3.5. All the pictures I took were
RAW, converted with PS CS.
Construction
D70 is really nice (hey, I owned a DRebel, I know what I’m talking
about), but it can’t compare to the E-1 which is built like a tank.
E-1 is a clear winner here.
Handling
The D70 feels smaller, lighter and definitely more responsive than
the E-1 but I prefer the layout of the controls on the E-1. For me,
it’s a tie.
Viewfinder
The E-1 viewfinder is brighter, bigger and more accurate. And yes,
you can effectively manual focus with the E-1. It’s another clear
win for the E-1.
Auto focus
D70 is way faster and more accurate than E-1. Also, even without
the AF assist lamp, the D70 can focus in really dim situations. E-1
auto focus hunts quite often on low contrast targets, dim scenes or
when a geometric pattern is present. D70 wins big times.
Metering
The D70 matrix metering does a really nice job and is really
effective in preventing blown highlights, but images are kind of
underexposed when shooting low contrast or low light scenes. In the
other hand, the E-1 is close to the perfection. Both offer spot
metering, which is great. D70 does great, but can’t beat the E-1.
Image review and Information
Frankly, the E-1 sucks in that domain. With its instant image
review and direct histogram the D70 is the logical winner.
Automatic white balance
Another exceptional feature of the E-1, even in very challenging
mixed lighting situations. The D70 does an average job. E-1 wins
hands down.
Image quality and noise
Color accuracy, color rendering and dynamic range are second to
none with the E-1 (of all the DSLRs I have ever tried or owned).
The D70 does a good (very good if you fine tune PS Raw converter
parameters) job, but the result is not as pleasant as what you
consistently get with the E-1.
Resolution wise, the D70 is way ahead, no matter what. I tried
different sharpening techniques on the E-1 images, but there are
definitively less details than what you can squeeze out of the D70
images. And I have been careful to compare what is comparable: I
framed my pictures so the magnification ratio was the same between
the D70 (6 mega-pixels and 3x2 aspect ratio) and the E-1 (5
mega-pixels and 4x3 aspect ratio). In other words, I cropped (not
downsized, cropped) the D70 images to the size of an E-1 image.
Noise wise, the E-1 does slightly better than the D70 up to ISO
400. Above that, the D70 is much nicer. Actually, I should say that
the D70 is spectacular and compares very well against the Canon
10D/DRebel. But I also noticed that the D70’s high ISO (800 and up)
sensitivity is apparently overrated. Using the two cameras at ISO
800, same shutter speed and same f/stop, the D70 pictures are
obviously and constantly underexposed by at less one f/stop.
Bottom line in the image quality department: E-1 wins for color and
dynamic range, D70 is the winner in regards of resolution and noise
levels with high ISO.
Lenses (Olympus Zuiko 14-54 f/2.8-3.5 vs. Nikon 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5)
The Olympus lens is faster, better built, aberration free and sharp
from center to corners. The Nikon is incredibly sharp (center) but
corners are soft wide open. Also, barrel distortion is severe at
18mm and vignetting is serious, although both are easily corrected
with PS Raw converter and PT-Lens. The Olympus 14-54mm wins.
Miscellaneous features
The E-1’s anti dust system is very effective. Also, the E-1 has an
in camera automatic hot pixel mapping function that I like very
much.
Conclusion
Both cameras are awesome. The D70 handles very well, is super
responsive and fast and has a very effective AF and metering
systems. High ISO noise is very low compared to the E-1 (but might
be overrated). Resolution is insane.
The E-1 is built like a tank and handles very well also. The 100%
viewfinder is bright, large and very sharp. White balance and
metering are second to none (of all the DSLRs I’ve ever tried or
owned). Overall image quality is spectacular but I could do with
more resolution. High ISO noise is very present, but you can easily
deal with it with Neat Image or equivalent at ISO 800. The AF could
definitely be improved.
For low light / high ISO shooting conditions, I would definitely
recommend the D70 over the E-1.
--
Mskad.
