Steve Tatum
New member
The image quality, especially color, and the ease of using manual controls are the most important features for me and I was pleasantly surprised by both on the D70. I chose it mainly because I wanted a digital body for my Nikon lenses, so was happy to learn it was just the camera I needed for more important reasons.
This is more than an instant picture camera. It yields an excellent basic image with a long tonal range and accurate color, which the photographer is free to adjust on the computer in his or her own way. The image has a tactile quality and physical presence that is unusual in digital photos, at least in my experience. It does not look digital. On the computer monitor it looks like a fine print.
The manual controls are very easy. Set the aperture on the front dial using the forefinger and the shutter speed on the rear dial using the thumb. It is very direct--no extra buttons to push. The D70 works very well using the Sunny 16 rule for exposure. On a sunny day in Iowa, it makes reliable exposures set at ISO 200, using 1/200 sec at f/16, without blowing out clouds or white subjects. You can set the monitor to display the histogram immediately after the exposure, which provides instant and invaluable feedback. If the histogram indicates blown-out whites, you can press the navigator button once with your thumb and see exactly which parts of the image are over exposed.
With the histogram, you don't even need a light meter. You can get a feel for exposures in a given situation very quickly. The camera's light meter doesn't work with non-autofocus Nikon lenses, but you don't need it.
If anyone is looking for a camera that controls the photographer, the D70 could probably do that, but more importantly, it allows the photographer to take control of the image. You don't have to push a million extra buttons to do it.
In the face of demands for ever more perfect and instant automation, I hope Nikon continue to remember those of us who prefer to work directly with images and to make our own choices in processing them. After all, I have no complaints about the autofocus or autoexposures on my Nikon F3, Lieca M4, or my view cameras. This D70 is a welcome complement to them.
This is more than an instant picture camera. It yields an excellent basic image with a long tonal range and accurate color, which the photographer is free to adjust on the computer in his or her own way. The image has a tactile quality and physical presence that is unusual in digital photos, at least in my experience. It does not look digital. On the computer monitor it looks like a fine print.
The manual controls are very easy. Set the aperture on the front dial using the forefinger and the shutter speed on the rear dial using the thumb. It is very direct--no extra buttons to push. The D70 works very well using the Sunny 16 rule for exposure. On a sunny day in Iowa, it makes reliable exposures set at ISO 200, using 1/200 sec at f/16, without blowing out clouds or white subjects. You can set the monitor to display the histogram immediately after the exposure, which provides instant and invaluable feedback. If the histogram indicates blown-out whites, you can press the navigator button once with your thumb and see exactly which parts of the image are over exposed.
With the histogram, you don't even need a light meter. You can get a feel for exposures in a given situation very quickly. The camera's light meter doesn't work with non-autofocus Nikon lenses, but you don't need it.
If anyone is looking for a camera that controls the photographer, the D70 could probably do that, but more importantly, it allows the photographer to take control of the image. You don't have to push a million extra buttons to do it.
In the face of demands for ever more perfect and instant automation, I hope Nikon continue to remember those of us who prefer to work directly with images and to make our own choices in processing them. After all, I have no complaints about the autofocus or autoexposures on my Nikon F3, Lieca M4, or my view cameras. This D70 is a welcome complement to them.