Great beginner camera, easy to use.
Controls are simple and well laid out
Easy to navigate menus
Nikon CLS

Noise at ISO levels higher than 800, especally during long exposures
Lack of sealing

Making the jump from Film to Digital is never an easy one. Don't get me wrong, I love film, and still do, but by the end of 2006 I was feeling the crunch, especially in the wallet, even though I had a nice digital camera (Panasonic Lumix FZ7) I was still shooting mostly with my Nikon F80...a lot.

So I did some research, and settled for the older Nikon D70s and the 18-70mm lens, so that I could keep the wide angle I had with my 24mm lens (which became a 35mm lens) and a SB-800 flash. It was an amazing beginner setup. Coming from an F80 to a D70s was simple, as the controls were laid out in a similar pattern.

Over the course of my using this camera, it's been camping, twice, gone through many abandoned buildings, beat up, portrait sessions, conventions, weddings, and it still works perfect. Never had a problem with dust on the sensors, although it did need to be dried out after a snow storm...lack of weather sealing.

It now serves as a backup camera to my D300.

Customer Service

None Required over the 1.5 years I used the camera.

Similar Products Used:

Nikon F80
Canon Digital Rebel
Canon Digital Rebel XT

Easy to use,good metering, fast shutter of 1/8000, good quality photos, the best infrared camera,because it doesn't have the IR blocking filter. Very low noise, very tolerable all the way up to iso 1000. Well built, nice and sturdy, only being slightly bigger than the D80.

Lowest iso is 200, uses compact flash (i prefer sd), no built in black and white mode, doesn't have multiple exposure setting.

I have owned my D70s for only a couple of months, and i have to say that i am extremely pleased!!! For the longest time i was debating with my self on which camera i should get. It was either going to be a D80 or a D70s. 3 of my friends own the D80 and hands down i love my camera more! the D80 only has a flash sync of 1/250, and with my bounce flash (vivitar 2000) it still only syncs at 1/250,and the max shuter is 1/4000. The D70s built in sync is 1/500 and with my bounce flash it can sync all the way to 1/8000?? other than a couple features here and there, its pretty much the same camera.

Customer Service

never had to call.

Similar Products Used:

Nikon D80, D70, D100, Fm10, F70, F65, D40
Several canon DLSRs, canon s3is
Kodak easyshare Z470, V603, P880

I have had this camera for a year and a half now and it has performed perfectly the whole time. I have clicked off over 12,000 images in that time. The camera is fast and easy to use, though you do have to read some of the manual to familiarize yourself with the finer features. it has proved to be everything I hoped it would be, in terms of being most like a film SLR. It was a wonderful experience to be able to use a digital camera the same way I did my film SLR, and have the benefit of digital. The picture quality is excellent, I might have preferred some of the menus arranged differently, but once you get used to the camera it's no problem. I find myself in a position to upgrade to a better DSLR, yet I must admit I'm a little reluctant to let this one go.

Customer Service

Hasn't needed any.

Similar Products Used:

Numerous digital cameras to many to list.

Had to pay for a viewing screen with grid-lines on an old FM2. Like the on-demand grid-lines feature good for landscapes and architecture. Don't think Canon has it.

Top shutter speed of 1/8000s looks good on paper. Most people rarely shoot at this speed.

More refined than some cameras with ISO settings from 200-1600 with in between settings.

Battery: performed well with single frame shots in room temperature (as expected). In colder weather and multi-frame shooting in cold weather a bit sluggish as expected.

Nikon lenses rather pricey: Looked at the new D40 & D40X but couldn't use my older lenses and the D70 was it. The 2 standard zoom lenses that was part of the deal (if I remembered correctly) an 18-55 f3.5-5.6 or 18-70 f3.5-4. The longer one have better specs but always found Nikon lenses a bit pricey. Would have gone for a Sigma equivalent. Manufacturer always say use D-type lenses for digital bodies. Don't have a verdict for it. My old 28-70 worked fine except I do miss a few mm on the wide-angle.

On-demand grid-lines don't work as well in low-light. When you depress the shutter half way for AF, a red beam light up the grid-lines for half a second. A bit too brief for the grid-lines to be noticed in low-light or outdoor night shots. Had to press the shutter several times to notice the lines.

Have to pay a lot more to get a lens with stabilizer. The stabilizer of a Nikon & Canon lens may be helpful in some situations but the benefits may be a bit blown out of proportion. (tested a Canon 17-85 lens with IS). A better IS choice may be the Sony Alpha with stabilizer built-into the body instead of the lens to stop shake. This means you can get IS with all older Minolta Maxuum & newer Sony & Zeiss lenses for the camera.

Got a 70 in Mar '07 (new out of the box) at a discount since D80 already out. Besides the ISO 100, higher mpix and memory card (SD instead of Compact Flash), have to really enlarge the pics to poster size bigger than 11x14 to see the difference. For family pics a few times a year the higher mpix not a big deal unless you're cropping regularly. Saw a poster size pic at a store. Confirmed that it was shot by a D70. The clerk said that even at 5.1 mpix you can do a good enlargement.

Someone bought a small Leica digital a few years ago. Besides paying more for the sharp lens the electronics is a piece of junk. The ISO only goes up to 200 and the multi-frame doesn't work. When you hold your finger on the button you're still getting 1 shot at a time. The man says he's getting sharp pictures. For that price I'd invest in several good lenses instead of a brand-name pice of junk.

Customer Service

Don't have to deal with customer service yet.

Similar Products Used:

Tested an EOS xTi previously with an 18-70 f4-5.6 lens. Took very sharp photos (tested 8x12). However features are not as refined. Shutter speed range: 100, 200, 400, 800, 1000, 1600. Nikon give you in between settings as well. Don't think Canon gives you on-demand grid-lines (good for composition of landscapes and architecture). Also Canon uses the old battery that needed to be recharged more often.

Solid build
Interchangeable Nikon lenses (!) from the F days, but must "bracket" with test aperture settings
Strong menu with many options
Good battery life

200 ISO
Strongly software dependent for optimal images, but no big deal
No AC adaptor with camera
No Nikon Capture NX with camera (trial version very good though)

"Discovering" in the past few months the use of the Nikon Capture (trial) software that came with the camera (along with the impressive Nikon Picture Project software) has changed my perceptions of the strength of the camera, which I'm increasingly going to the RAW + JPEG mode. For a 6.1 megapixel, the RAW images can be zoomed 3 or 4 times (!) and retain rich detail. Autofocus is extremely capable and have (grudgingly, as a "old timer" Nikkormat/F3/FM2 descendent) gone almost exclusively to autofocus (it's that good). The "kit" 17-70 mm lens is very versatile, and high quality. The Nikon 50 mm 1.8 is also an excellent lens to complement the body, and more compact. After 9 months of use, simply slung over the shoulder on hikes and less frequently in the city, without case, it doesn't appear to have dust on the sensor (knock on wood). Extremely good light meter. The flash is one of its strongest suits. At 70mm and "macro" setting (in RAW), it is surprisingly effective in that capacity (Nikon Capture has made the difference).

Customer Service

Good interaction on the phone

Similar Products Used:

Canon Rebel XT

-Ease of use
-Flash sync of 1/500
-Build quality

-None to speak of

I previously had the Nikon D70 as my first digital SLR. With an opportunity to trade up at no cost, I chose to go with familarity and select the D70s. This camera has provided two important attributes to an aspiring photographer: (1) Ease of use and (2) great feature set.

Images are crisp right out of the camera under its normal settings; I find myself only tweaking the exposures occasionally as RAW conversions. And the flash sync of 1/500 is great.

The kit lens is sharp and has great color, and is probably one of the best kit lens/values offered today.

This camera has provided excellent images at a great value. Espcially at the close out prices they are currently running on these.

Customer Service

-Nikon could be stronger on this point; especially via the web

Similar Products Used:

-Other film based SLRs

Image quality is better than 35 mm, from what I can tell so far...assuming you don't want to make huge prints.

Autofocus is fast and accurate.

Logical control layout, with buttons for all the important features.

Grip is comfortable in my hand. (I'm a 6 ft guy)

Compatible with Nikon lenses. :)

Autoexposure under exposes in low contrast lighting.

The only other weaknesses are ones that I was aware of before I purchased this camera, and they have not surprised me. They are:

Tiny viewfinder.
No mirror lock-up.
Small LCD.

This is my first digital camera, but not my first SLR. I got it with the 18-70 kit lens, and I've been very impressed with the sharpness of images. The controls are layed out well, and the grip fits my hand perfectly. It has plenty of features to give you lots of flexibility.

High ISO performance beats what I've seen from high ISO film with out a doubt. But, from what I've read the competition is even better.

As others have mentioned, the auto exposure seems to under expose fairly often...most commonly in low contrast lighting. Keep an eye on the histogram and this is no big deal. It seems strange to me, because the meter seems to do better in more difficult lighting.

Over all, I like this camera very much, although I have not made many prints yet, and no large prints. I have also not used the creative lighting control, which sounds like a great feature.

I think this camera is a great choice for a film shooter wanting to get into digital on a small budget.

Customer Service

Not needed.

Similar Products Used:

No other digital cameras, but Nikon N75 film SLR.

If you do not like setting your camera manually, their are six preset modes: portrait, flower, mountain, action, night, and night portrait. These give you a mode for most variables you encounter. The camera is simple to use with easy to find buttons, if you do not have much experience with a digital camera and dont like reading directions, all you have to do is play around a little and you will soon be comfortable with the camera. The camera is a good mediater between the higher and lower priced cameras, it has everything a begginer could want with most things a professional wants. The camera also has a very good color system, when i am shooting objects with color, their is crisp and beautiful colors that pop out at you without any unatural differences.

The iso is slightly dissapointing, only going down to 200. For people who like to shoot in black in white it does not have tht option. I also find it has poblems with its bluetone, in some conditions it is very hard to get a good shot without excessive grays and blues.

The Nikon D70 is good camera, with a wide feild of use and a good pricetag with only a few small setbacks.

Incredible batter life. Ease of use for a beginner, and advanced enough for the more creative photographer. Very light weight.

Sometimes it seems as though the camera doesn't process the images as fast as Nikon says it can. On/off switch awkward.

I really love the camera and am generally very satisfied with the image quality. My only complaint is that at times when I push the shutter release, nothing happens and I might have to wait 2 or 3 seconds and press it again before it finally takes the picture. It's not the memory card, because I am using the faster card. A friend who has the same camera, has had the same experience.

many many

slooow shutter release(when pressed on knob)....small viewfinder...

The Nikon D70 s is really a very very fine camera and as a pro i find it usable as a proffessional tool for PJs and photojournalist as well as commercialist- and wedding photographers as well.THIS IS THE BEST DSLR For the time being when it comes to money for camera value.
Paired with the best flash system in the world a Nikon SB 800 and a Nikkor 18-200 lens you can take fabolous astonishing pics for low money,i know some PJs who use this combi and make very good work for at budget.
It is much better than Canon D20 ,in fact i think Canon had to do an improvement (D30)...quickly in order NOT to loose it to this wonderfull Nikon machine,and its bigger brother D200.
The only complaint i have is the small viewfinder,and also it is not soo quick on the shutter release-( i use to work with D1H and D2H ..and other pro cams.)....BUT it is much better than other DSLR,on this price level you can not expect much.
Maybe NIKON will make Their Improvement ; Nikon D70 s 2 soon?
So far im sure many amateurs and pros is very satiesfied with The NIKON D70 super.

Customer Service

nope..its strong made

Similar Products Used:

canon..minolta...olympus..nikon...all ..and all