Nikon N70 35mm SLRs
Nikon N70 35mm SLRs
[Sep 27, 2002]
sripley814
Intermediate
Strength:
* Great metering in program mode. * Great for all manual control. * Light-weight body. * Great feel in your hands
Weakness:
* Inside ISO reminder would be helpful - camera doesn't default back to DX after film is taken out. * LCD is not backlit. Great camera. Some say that the LCD interface is confusing, but I don't think so - give it a chance. The LCD isn't backlit, so using in dim light or at night is difficult. Otherwise, the button placement is logical and very easy to use. And since it got poor ratings (I don't know what they were talking about) to begin with this camera is a great value! Customer Service N/A Similar Products Used: Previous camera was a Pentax 1000! |
[Jun 05, 2002]
Pieter
Intermediate
Strength:
User friendly Many options High quality Well built (Used) Price
Weakness:
No backlit display (but that's the ONLY thing!) I think, judging by all criticism on the interface, that this is a camera for intelligent people. It really isn't all that difficult to use! Besides it lets you preprogram three (!!) settings, that you can do at home with the owner's manual on your lap. Then there are no less than eight factory preprograms for your convenience. What the $%#@ more do you want?! A trendy round turning knob, because all your class mates' camera's have one...? Don't be childish. This is a very good and user friendly camera. One of he best features is that the F70 allows me to use it as an aperture priority camera accepting my old AIS (and alike) lenses. What I like best is the high value, the quality and sturdiness for this low price! Customer Service None needed Similar Products Used: Nikon FM2 (also VERY GOOD camera!!) |
[May 31, 2002]
Zecicu
Expert
To be sure, there is a small 5-seconds mental effort that we have to make to understand the N70/F70: "I choose one function with one button, I then change the settings on that function with the other button". I understand the fact that some people have the philosophy of the-machine-should-learn-to-think-like-me, but for those who can overcome this tiny effort, the GameBoy screen on this camera is fantastic! At one glance, I have not only all the settings summarized in one screen, but more importantly, the screen serves as a checklist of things that one should to keep an eye on as well. OK it looks unprofessional but hell, I don't shoot 100 rolls of film a month and so, it's understandable that I appreciate a checklist. The thing that I really appreciate about the camera is that it is soooo full of functions. Going down the range, F65 and below, you don't get a camera you can truly control (eg. shutter/aperture priority would only work with matrix, not spot nor center-weighted). Going up the range, you will have to lug an extra flash that takes a helluva lot of space and weight, making the whole camera totting experience very clumsy and uncomfortable, if you don't want to shoot portraits only in cloudy weather. If you agree with the above, there are only 2 choices in terms of Nikon AF bodies: the N70 and the N80. True you don't need most of the gimmicks most of the time but because you have so many of them, you end up using one gimmick or another most of the time, ie. individually each gimmick is of little use but altogether, don't let anyone tell you otherwise, it is a real strength. After all, the good photos are when there is something exceptionnal/unconventionnal about it and these are situaltions where you call for gimmicks, so I say the more the better! Example: there are some situations that are truly important that we don't miss. The 3.7 fps on this camera coupled with the autobracketing function ensures that with one squeeze of the trigger, you have three shots bracketed of your child winning that race in less than 1 second ensuring that at least one of your slides come out right (as a comparaison, the N80/F80 does only 2.5 fps). Gimmick for sure but when the occasion does come up, you're pretty glad your swiss army knife has that function. When deciding to buy this camera or not, it is inevitable that one compares to the N80/F80, so here's a q Similar Products Used: F50, F801, F90X, F5 |
[May 04, 2002]
JTM
Intermediate
Strength:
* Well covered in previous posts * Bright/Clear HP type Viewfinder * Superb metering * Excellent racketing/compensation options * Very durable * Fast and quiet * Meters manual lenses * Very Good TTL/Fill flash accuracy * Compact and relatively lightweight
Weakness:
* Chaning camera settings requires removing eye from viewfider. * Requires both hands and several steps for most settings * No illuminator for the LCD Panel * No optional battery grip to allow use of AA type batteries. * Viewfinder/LCD does not display aperture when using AI lenses * No Depth of Field Preview * No Multiple Exposure I dedcided to do this post after reading all the posts as to how difficult or easy it is to learn the N70''s user interface. Personally I didn''t have any trouble learning the N70''s user interface. I have had my N70 for over four years and OVERALL I think it''s a great camera. However after using the N70 "I" have noticed the interface does have one major drawback that no one has fully addressed in their post. You cannot change camera settings while using viewfinder. You have to lower the camera from eye level, use both hands and requires several steps (Function button, Command Dial and Set button) to make changes to camera settings. Yes the Quick Recall is a great help but not a total solution, especially if you are switching between AF and MF modes to use AI lenses. Since I began wearing glasses this became more of an inconvenience. Even with the N70''s HP viewfinder just did not like using glasses with viewfinder. Buying an eyepiece coorection lens help seeing everything in the viewfinder in focus, but have to put my glasses on to use the N70''s LCD Control Panel. Hence I bought the N80. I still have and use my N70 and will agree in some areas/applications the N70 is better than the N80, but the N80 controls allow you to easily make all of the most common setting changes while viewing with the viewfinder. For me the N70 and N80 make a great combination. The N80 addresses all of the noted items noted under "Weaknesses". However for action type shooting (sports, etc) I use the N70. The N80''s Dynamic AF is often too slow -- most likely due to the fact the other four AF focus sensors are not cross-field; only single-line. Plus the N80''s only 2.5 FPS. The N70''s Wide cross-field AF and faster 3.7 FPS makes it a better choice for action type photography. Customer Service None required. Similar Products Used: Nikkormat EL Nikon FTN Nikon FM Nikon F3 Nikon F80 |
[Apr 28, 2002]
boboli
Intermediate
Strength:
Metering, flash, size, ease of use, weight,[I like a fairly heavy camera] fairly rugged, fast and smooth, price.
Weakness:
Nikon never made a battery pack or a vertical grip or very many accessories for this camera. Most people don''t want to take the short time it takes to get used to this camera. It has alot of great features and they all seem to be ignored because of the LCD interface. The prices have come down since the intro. of the N80, which is not as solid feeling or as dust-humidity proof as the N70. People complain about things this camera does not have, like mirror lock up and DOF preview, well maybe you should have bought another camera. I bought this camera when it first came out and I knew what this camera had when I bought it and I have never been let down by this camera. I have traveled all over with it and it has taken alot of abuse. I now have an F100 and the N70 and I still break out the N70 once in a while just because I miss it and it reminds me of my travels. Some people just do not think they should study a manuel or take more than 15 minutes to learn how to use a camera when all they want to do is take a picture. As a photographer, I would think that most photographers would find an unusual camera interface interesting enough to appreciate it and they would be in line to buy an N70, just because it is so different. Customer Service I have never used customer service for Nikon. Similar Products Used: F100, N80, N90s, Nikkormat FT3 |
[Apr 18, 2002]
Jovan Ivkovic
Expert
Strength:
As I say in Ser. I used f70 during war 1999 in Yugoslavia, and F70 never let me down. 2nd 95% functions of F90x fast film transport 3.7fps, metering with manual lences, merein range -1EV to 20, and -1EV for AF. REAL WAR MACHINE
Weakness:
No film advance indikator in LCD... No becklight on Main command LCD panel. Flash sync 1/125 IN SERBIAN: ???????? ??????, ??? ????? ???? ???? ??? ???????? ????? 95% ???????? ?????? F90x ? ?? ??? ?? ???? ??????? ?????? ????? ??????? ???? ?? ??? ?????? ????????? ??????. ? ????? ?????? ? ?????????? ???? ?????? ?? ???? ??? 1999 ? ?????? ? ?????? ????? ????. Customer Service No so far Similar Products Used: Nikon F90x, F501 |
[Apr 17, 2002]
Martin Howell
Intermediate
Strength:
Sturdy, highly specified, easy to use (unless you are stupid), and works properly with all Nikon lenses (bar the weird ones) so you can use all those lovely prime mfs, unlike the F80. Now as cheap as chips.
Weakness:
No DOF or cable release if this matters to you. There are workarounds though. Be thankful for stupid Photomag writers and gullible camera buyers. When this camera was released, the stupid PW''s couldn''t be bothered to spend the 10 minutes it takes to understand how to use it. They continued to undermine the credibility of the F70 for its lifetime, and when the F80 was released, legions of gullible camera buyers traded-in their F70s for F80s so that they could feel good again about owning a camera that the Pws liked! As a consequence used F70 values are at an all time low right now. This is great news for you because you can profit from their stupidity and get the best Nikon bargain of all time. I have just bought a second one mint and boxed for £169!! A colleague with an F60 tried it (despite saying first that he thought the F70 was supposed to be a turkey!)and couldn''t believe what a superior camera it is. Needless to say he has bought one too. Customer Service Nikon UK have been fine when needed. Similar Products Used: FM,FM2,FE2,FA,F801s,F90X,F80,Bronica,Mamiya, Large Format. |
[Feb 16, 2002]
l-tarquin
Intermediate
Strength:
3 metering modes (spot, matrix, c/w) V. flexible program mode Good shutter speed range Shows shutter speed in 1/3 stop increments Now available very reasonably s/hand Very good handling (for me anyway) Informative viewfinder display Surprising easy focussing in manual mode Great viewfinder - bright & easy to use for spectacle wearers Meters AI & AIS manual focus lenses (unlike F60, F65 & F80) Many features of the F90 / N90 at less than half the price
Weakness:
Flash synch only to 1/125 Only shows apertures in whole stops Needs electonic cable release (but it works very well and was worth the money) Non-interchangable focussing screen - but hey! this is mainly an amateur use machine!! This is a much underrated camera, based largely on the ability of people to use the allegedly hard to use control panel. It has all of the functionality I need including spot metering, wide shutter speed range and an ability to meter manual focus lenses. In fact I like it so much, I have just bought a second body (£175 s/h). Purists will argue that the lack of DOF preview is a serious omission. However, once you get the hang of hyperfocal focussing & understand depth of field tables, it''s not really a major problem. Metering is very flexible & accurate. AE-Lock also works well. Built-in flash (g/n 15 in metres 100 asa) surprisingly effective, but beware red-eye. TTL flash works very well. Customer Service Never needed Similar Products Used: Nikon F60 / N60 Nikon F50 / N50 |
[Feb 08, 2002]
Amodha
Expert
I am only going to state the faults which I have found using this camera so far. But it has to be noted that this camera has more strongpoints than faults and it has served me very well during the 2 years I have used it. One major fault or "feature" is that the camera dosnt automaticaly re-wind the film when the roll is over. Just under a week ago I was photographing a leopard and I finished my roll. In all the excitment I didnt realise that I hadnt re-wound the film. I took a new roll out and opend the back of the camera. Luckily for me the sun was setting and little light got in thanks to my super quick reflexes. The best shots (last few) got spoilt but the rest was intact. At this point I must say that Nikon should have had a way to lock the back of the camera when a roll hadnt been re-wound. The thinking behind not having an auto rewind mayhave been to give the phototgrapher time to take in a situation like wildlife photography and not suddenly disturb the animal. It is highly unlikely thay nikon would do something about the N-70 but I hope they dont make the same mistake again. Not having the LCD panel lit is a majot problem when shooting at night. |
[Jan 23, 2002]
DR photo
Expert
Strength:
Solid body.Strong flash.Good speed.Lot of features,flash controle.Very complete.
Weakness:
Not easy to learn, better having the book.Flash syncro is only 1/125 so it''''s more difficult for fillflash. No lighted panel. Very good camera.Stronger flash than the F65 or F80.Bigger eyeview for peoples who wear glasses.Peoples says "no depth of field preview", put the aperture on the lens, press the release lens button,and turn a little bit the lens and you got it.Again "no multiple exposure", press and hold down the back release button.With your thumb, hold the back close and press the shutter button. The camera will not advance the film.Tataaaa.. I found that littles tricks on internet..And if you use the internal flash only for when you don''''t have the time to put a big flash,the battery will last. Similar Products Used: Nikon FM2,FE,FE2,N2000,F601,F70,F90X pentax P30n, K1000 and fews mores I don''''t reminder |