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I just upgraded to this D70s from my previous D50.
The great thing about this upgrade now (Mid 2007) is that a used D50 and used D70s cost about the same. I sold my D50 and bought a D70s and hardly had to top up any money at all...!
The upside is that now my Tokina lens works great. It didn't work at all on the D50. My Sigma lens worked on both fine though. But you should TEST TEST TEST any non-Nikon lenses before you buy. I called up the Nikon help desk and queried about the non-compatibility of non-Nikon lenses and they just dismissed me - non-Nikon lenses are not our responsibility..... You have been warned.
Another great feature is that the LCD panel on the top of the D70s has a light unlike the D50. So in the dark I just have to press a little button and BOTH the lights on the camera and flash light up for easy viewing. Invaluable..
The D70s also has the ability to fine tune the white balance. This is just so handy when you want to get it just right the first time around without having to fiddle around with image editing software after. A MEGA time saver.
On the downside:
There are more buttons so I had to read the instructions more carefully again. The buttons are not as intuitive to figure out as on the D50. Like I could not find the self-timer button. On the D50 it is clearly marked. On the D70s it is not. I had to look at the manual and lost a few shots.
The CF cards the D70s uses cost more per GB than the now cheaper SD cards. And they are bigger in size too. SD cards really are easier to use. The only plus side is that the D70s takes all sorts of super large capacity CF cards. And at Max image quality they can still last 000s of shots. The D50 uses up to a maximum of 2GB SD cards so changing cards is necessary. But personally I never take that many pictures at 1 go so I would still prefer SD cards.
This D70s is bigger and slightly heavier. The new D80 is smaller so this must be because it is an older design. But at the price I paid I'm not complaining...!
On balance the main reason I have for having the D70s is that I can now use my Tokina lens. It is a small improvement in features from the D50 and the cost to upgrade form one to the other is equally small.
Bottom line - I am pleased that I did upgrade.
The great thing about this upgrade now (Mid 2007) is that a used D50 and used D70s cost about the same. I sold my D50 and bought a D70s and hardly had to top up any money at all...!
The upside is that now my Tokina lens works great. It didn't work at all on the D50. My Sigma lens worked on both fine though. But you should TEST TEST TEST any non-Nikon lenses before you buy. I called up the Nikon help desk and queried about the non-compatibility of non-Nikon lenses and they just dismissed me - non-Nikon lenses are not our responsibility..... You have been warned.
Another great feature is that the LCD panel on the top of the D70s has a light unlike the D50. So in the dark I just have to press a little button and BOTH the lights on the camera and flash light up for easy viewing. Invaluable..
The D70s also has the ability to fine tune the white balance. This is just so handy when you want to get it just right the first time around without having to fiddle around with image editing software after. A MEGA time saver.
On the downside:
There are more buttons so I had to read the instructions more carefully again. The buttons are not as intuitive to figure out as on the D50. Like I could not find the self-timer button. On the D50 it is clearly marked. On the D70s it is not. I had to look at the manual and lost a few shots.
The CF cards the D70s uses cost more per GB than the now cheaper SD cards. And they are bigger in size too. SD cards really are easier to use. The only plus side is that the D70s takes all sorts of super large capacity CF cards. And at Max image quality they can still last 000s of shots. The D50 uses up to a maximum of 2GB SD cards so changing cards is necessary. But personally I never take that many pictures at 1 go so I would still prefer SD cards.
This D70s is bigger and slightly heavier. The new D80 is smaller so this must be because it is an older design. But at the price I paid I'm not complaining...!
On balance the main reason I have for having the D70s is that I can now use my Tokina lens. It is a small improvement in features from the D50 and the cost to upgrade form one to the other is equally small.
Bottom line - I am pleased that I did upgrade.
Guide created: 07/04/07 (updated 07/15/08)
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