D70 or D80

[aaron.lee2006]

I can't decide.. Can anyone give some input on which one I should buy??

[James L]

Originally Posted by aaron.lee2006

I can't decide.. Can anyone give some input on which one I should buy??

To me, it really depends on your budget.

The d80 is a superior camera in many ways. The viewfinder is way better to look through. The 2.5" lcd is great, and the menu's are better (minor thing). It has 11 area AF versus I think 5 for the d70, and finally, it is 10.2 MP versus 6.

Now, having said all that... the d70 is a great camera.

Imho, way more important than the body of the camera is the glass you put on it.

If I was on a fixed budget, say $1500, I would buy the d70 body, and leave as much money as I could for great lenses.

If money wasn't a huge issue, I would buy the d80. It is new technology, versus the d70 which came out in 2004.

For example,

I use the 18-200 VR lens. I love it. If I had a fixed budget I would buy the d70 and that lens, versus the d80 and a kit lens which is ok, but not great.

Luckily, business was good so I use the d80 with the 18-200 VR lens!

Hope that helps.

Cheers,

James

[Wallace25]

I work for a photography company and used a d80 for the first time last week, and had lots of problems with th sd cards working right. might have just been a bad camera, we are sending it back, but i like the d70, it uses cf cards.

[techster85]

I think your experience was an example of a camera flaw, I've never had a problem with d50's and their sd cards...that being said...D80 all the way, I've used the D70 and the D70s and the D80...if you have the money D80. But if you don't look at the refurbs on adorama.com...

[compuwar]

Originally Posted by aaron.lee2006

I can't decide.. Can anyone give some input on which one I should buy??

The D80 unless you have a compelling reason (like 20 CF cards, or a need to shoot at a very narrow aperture) not to. Its performance is better other than at a narrow aperture where a higher-resolution camera will be diffraction limited sooner than a lower resolution one. High-ISO shots will be appreciably better, dynamic range will be better and image quality for crops or extra-large prints will be better.

[Plymouthbreezer]

If you can afford, go with the D80 - it's a newer body and has improved features. If you have the money, go with the D80.

But the D70s is a wonderful camera. I got mine a few months ago, and honestly, it's the best investment I've made in a good long while. You won't be disappointed with either, as they both are fantastic cameras.

Keep in mind too, that a good lens would help even a D50... That, as well, as the person operating the camera.

[aaron.lee2006]

Thanks everone. I am on a budget (15, highschool etc.) So I will probably buy the D70. Although depending ony my next job and how much money I make I might go with the D80.

[ribbonthecat]

I just bought a D70, and I've been having a lot of fun with it. Used from BH with a 2GB CF card and a 50mm F1.8 lens, it came out to $600, and I've been very happy with it.

Of course, I've never touched any other DSLR, so what do I know.

[ebouwman]

Originally Posted by James L

If money wasn't a huge issue, I would buy the d80. It is new technology, versus the d70 which came out in 2004.

The D70 was upgraded to the D70s which is better, but probably not that much, i think lots of the updates had to do with the firmware though and not really the hardware...

[suneohair]

Originally Posted by ebouwman

The D70 was upgraded to the D70s which is better, but probably not that much, i think lots of the updates had to do with the firmware though and not really the hardware...

Bigger LCD. Cable release support. Firmware.

You can buy a D70 with the D70s firmware, or flash it yourself. I don't notice a difference in price on the used market. I would go with a d70s unless you get a killer deal on a D70 (under $300, and yes it can happen).

A d70s body can be had for under $400 if you look around.

[ebouwman]

Originally Posted by suneohair

Bigger LCD. Cable release support. Firmware.

You can buy a D70 with the D70s firmware, or flash it yourself. I don't notice a difference in price on the used market. I would go with a d70s unless you get a killer deal on a D70 (under $300, and yes it can happen).

A d70s body can be had for under $400 if you look around.

WOW, i have to find myself one of those!

[suneohair]

Yeah. Look on photo.net, nikonians, fredmiranda, ebay as well.

A d70s body would be half as much as a d80, little more than half if you don't ship around.

As said above, get the d70s and lenses. As nice as you can get. Build that over time. Once you get better and need a d200 or better, you will have the glass there. Just swap the bodies.

The glass is the biggest investment. I know the bodies are expensive, but the glass doesn't change often. A 50 1.4 today is the same 50 1.4 in 10 years in most cases.

D70(s). Shop around.

[b0tt094]

so u have never touched any other dslr, if you don't mind me asking what camera do you use now and how much experience do you have. I would hate to see someone go over board and be over they're head in functions

[ribbonthecat]

I've played with some Nikon digital PSs and I have used my Nikon FE extensively.

[carbonmotion]

check out kenrockwell.com
he makes pretty solid advice for beginner!

[Westside guy]

I love my first-gen D70. Solid camera, FAST (!!!) in every way. Noise is nonexistent up to (and including) ISO 400, okay at ISO 800 and so-so at 1600; but it seems to be better than the first-gen Digital Rebel at those same ISO settings (I own the Nikon, and at work use the Digital Rebel). Boy, that first-gen Digital Rebel is slow-ow-owwww...

As someone mentioned (I think) - Nikon provided a firmware update for the D70 that gives it most of the functionality improvements of the D70s. Obviously it doesn't make the LCD display expand.

If you think you'll do a lot of low-light stuff, get the D80 since I believe the noise performance is better (hearsay, no specific knowledge on that). Or if you plan to do a lot of poster-size stuff where the higher pixel count will actually make a practical difference. Otherwise, as others have said get the D70 and some good lenses. Nikon has kept the same lens mount for decades, so you can upgrade the body a few years from now if you wish without having to replace the lenses - only caveat would be if Nikon came out with a full-frame sensor DSLR in the future, since their digital-only zoom lenses don't necessarily cover that full frame at all focal lengths.

Probably obvious, but - be sure to get a FAST CF (or SD, or whatever) card to use with the camera. The Nikon DSLRs are quite speedy, and if you do multiple exposures you can find the storage write speed to be the limiting factor. In jpeg mode the D70 can shoot something like 2-2.5 fps continuously, until the card fills up.

[James L]

Originally Posted by Westside guy

If you think you'll do a lot of low-light stuff, get the D80 since I believe the noise performance is better (hearsay, no specific knowledge on that). Or if you plan to do a lot of poster-size stuff where the higher pixel count will actually make a practical difference.

this image was taken on a d80, with no flash, at either ISO 1400, or ISO 1600:

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/176/3...d7c30989fd.jpg

Cheers,

James

[compuwar]

Originally Posted by carbonmotion

check out kenrockwell.com
he makes pretty solid advice for beginner!

Um, Ken's credibility is seriously in question almost everywhere. For Nikon, Thom Hogan at www.bythom.com is widely considered to put forth much more sound information. For Canon stuff, Michael Riechman (sp?) at luminous landscape seems to provide valuable advice.

[tip]

I have a D80 and it is an excellent camera. If you have the extra money, I strongly recommend this. Then again, if you have the extra money, prices for the D200 have dropped a bit as well. You can't go wrong with the D70s either.

All I can say is: Go to your local camera shop and check them out in person.

There are tons of shady operations out there, advertising cheap prices - make sure you keep: www.resellerratings.com in mind.

[Piarco]

I've got a D70s and love it. Nearly upgraded to the D80, but the newer features aren't quite enough for me to cut my beloved D70s loose. Plus the reduction in body size is a minor bugbear for me. I think the D70 is a perfect size... at least for my hands. I'll be doing a "CS"... missing every other generation, and getting a D90 whenever that comes out.

Like others have said, the D70 is a phenomenal camera, that combined with some decent lenses (I've got a 50mm 1.4f Prime, and the 18-200VR is on order) and it'll do you proud.

Oh, and get a tripod.

[generationxwing]

I am in love with my D70S. It is an amazing camera, and I could reccomend it to anyone in a heartbeat. You included.

If you can afford the D80, I say you should go for it. Nikon makes great equipment, so I have no reason to doubt that the D80 would be any different.

If not, the D70S is a great camera that you can't go wrong with.

[ribbonthecat]

How can I check to see if the used D70 I bought has the updated firmware? If it doesn't, how do I download the firmware update?

[tip]

Originally Posted by ribbonthecat

How can I check to see if the used D70 I bought has the updated firmware? If it doesn't, how do I download the firmware update?

Step 2 has how to check. The rest of the document tells you how to upgrade to the latest firmware v2.0 (assuming you are on a Mac). The D70s has no firmware updates available.

[Westside guy]

Originally Posted by Piarco

Like others have said, the D70 is a phenomenal camera, that combined with some decent lenses (I've got a 50mm 1.4f Prime, and the 18-200VR is on order) and it'll do you proud.

The 18-200 is a great lens, although at $750 it's outside of some peoples' budgets. When I got it I was looking to replace the 18-70 kit lens (which is a really nice lens, especially considering it basically only cost $100 in the kit) plus a 70-300 ED that I bought. I'm having second thoughts about getting rid of that second lens though.

The only prime I have is the f/2 35mm, which I like a lot. With film cameras a 50mm prime was considered a "must have", so this fills that role (because of the 1.6x magnification factor). There are more I'd like to have; but with a mortgage and a kid it takes time to save up for more toys.

[QuantumLo0p]

A big thing for me is the faster shutter speed of the 70. There have been times when I needed a short depth of field while using a short lense in bright light and was able to get the shot with the 70's fast shutter. For me the question would be D70 or D200. I bought my 70 when they first became available while the 200 was not out yet and have not been disappointed. However, if I were to buy today I would buy a 200.

Sounds like the 200 is not in the running for you so I would do a side by side comparison chart of all the 70/80 features and try decide which features are important to YOU. If you have more questions on individual features then post again and I'm sure the forum crowd will have answers for you.

Have fun with your new camera!