A few questions before I buy a D70s

[mkgago]

I bought a Canon G6 last May because I felt that I couldn't afford a DSLR. Ten months later, I've sold the G6 on craigslist at a loss and now I'm looking to buy a DSLR.

I'm thinking that I'll get a D70s instead of a D50 not only because I like a bigger body, but also because I don't want to outgrow this camera as quickly as I outgrew the G6.

Before I buy, I have a few questions:

1. I'm planning to purchase a body-only D70s becaues I figure that I'll use a Nikkor AF 28-80 lens that came in the kit for a N60 that I bought about six years ago. I know it's not a great lens, but I figure that it will at least get me started. It should work with a D70s, right?

2. Does anyone know whether a successor to the D70s is in the pipeline -- and if it is, when it will come out? Would I be bettter off waiting a few months?

3. B&H is selling the body-only D70s for $799. Comparing that to other sites, it seems like a great price. Does anyone know whether such deals on B&H (this price shows up only when you add the camera to your cart) disappear quickly? Would anyone like to take a guess as to whether the price will drop further in the next two months?

Thanks in advance for all of your advice. I'm sure that after I get the camera, I'll be seeking a lot more.

[George Riehm]

I bought a Canon G6 last May because I felt that I couldn't afford a DSLR. Ten months later, I've sold the G6 on craigslist at a loss and now I'm looking to buy a DSLR.

I'm thinking that I'll get a D70s instead of a D50 not only because I like a bigger body, but also because I don't want to outgrow this camera as quickly as I outgrew the G6.

Before I buy, I have a few questions:

1. I'm planning to purchase a body-only D70s because I figure that I'll use a Nikkor AF 28-80 lens that came in the kit for a N60 that I bought about six years ago. I know it's not a great lens, but I figure that it will at least get me started. It should work with a D70s, right?

The AF 28-80 will work fine mechanically, but now will have the same field of view as a 42-120, so don't expect wide-angle capability. This is due to the target size difference between a 35mm frame and APS-C size frame on a dSLR (a crop factor of 1.5X).

2. Does anyone know whether a successor to the D70s is in the pipeline -- and if it is, when it will come out? Would I be bettter off waiting a few months?

I haven't heard of anything. Eventually it is bound to happen. When it does I'm betting that it will cost more than $799.

3. B&H is selling the body-only D70s for $799. Comparing that to other sites, it seems like a great price. Does anyone know whether such deals on B&H (this price shows up only when you add the camera to your cart) disappear quickly? Would anyone like to take a guess as to whether the price will drop further in the next two months?

Norman Camera has this same price ($799) as their everyday price.

That said, I'm thinking that you would probably be better off with the D50 and the 18-55 kit lens. You could still use your 28-80 as well, and get by for about $619 (Norman Camera). The D50 is pretty much the same handling size as the D70s, and the missing features, vs. the D70s, probably won't be missed. The D50's image quality at higher ISO is better than the D70s as well. Spend the money saved on a Nikkor 50mm f/1.8 (~$100) for low light shooting), an extra battery (~$50). Or maybe a Sigma 70-300 APO DG Macro for the long shots ($184) or SB600 ($184)/SB800 ($317) Speedlight. There is a lot more to a dSLR than the body.;)

Once you are familiar with using a dSLR, then you might want to look at the "next best thing" (like the future replacement for the D70s or even a D200). In the mean time (a couple of years) you can invest in better quality lenses, which will make more of a difference in your images than a higher end body.

Thanks in advance for all of your advice. I'm sure that after I get the camera, I'll be seeking a lot more.

[mkgago]

Thanks for the great advice, George. I really need to think more about the tradeoffs between spending money on the body vs. spending money on lenses and accessories.

The question, I guess, is how much money we're talking about. For instance, I already have a 512 CF card, which the D70s uses but the D50 doesn't. Subtracting the cost of that memory card from the price difference between the D70s and the D50 bodies leaves that difference at $140. Are the differences (http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/nikon/d50-review/index.shtml) between the two cameras equal to that cost? I'm following other discussions in this forum that hash out exactly that question.

Despite your sensible advice about lenses, my experience with the Canon makes me a little gun-shy about choosing the lower-priced camera body. I doubt that I'll ever upgrade to a D200 -- I hope that the camera I buy now will last for a very long time. And I don't want to be sitting here, three years from now, thinking, "I really wish I had sprung for the better camera."

Of course I want all of the lenses you mentioned, but I'm especially interested in a 50mm, since I take a lot of low-light shots of family and friends.

You've given me a lot to think about. Thank you.

[K1W1]

Both camera's (D50 and D70) are great but there are several distinct differences between them. You have already mentioned size.
One other important difference is post processing. It's generally accepted that the D50 produces out of the camera images that require little or no post processing whereas the D70 does tend to need more computer software intervention to achieve great results. This is not a problem with either camera simply a reflection of the target market.
You should consider how much post processing you want to do when choosing the body to purchase.

[George Riehm]

Thanks for the great advice, George. I really need to think more about the tradeoffs between spending money on the body vs. spending money on lenses and accessories.

The question, I guess, is how much money we're talking about. For instance, I already have a 512 CF card, which the D70s uses but the D50 doesn't. Subtracting the cost of that memory card from the price difference between the D70s and the D50 bodies leaves that difference at $140. Are the differences (http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/nikon/d50-review/index.shtml) between the two cameras equal to that cost? I'm following other discussions in this forum that hash out exactly that question.

Despite your sensible advice about lenses, my experience with the Canon makes me a little gun-shy about choosing the lower-priced camera body. I doubt that I'll ever upgrade to a D200 -- I hope that the camera I buy now will last for a very long time. And I don't want to be sitting here, three years from now, thinking, "I really wish I had sprung for the better camera."

Of course I want all of the lenses you mentioned, but I lust most heartily after the 50mm, since I take a lot of low-light shots of family and friends.

You've given me a lot to think about. Thank you.

That was the idea. I bought the D70 the first month it was out (March 2004), and while I have considered other cameras like the 20D and offerings from KM and Pentax, none is the complete package, nor appreciably better,so I can definately see where you are coming from.

A good starter kit might just be the D70s and a Nikkor 50mm f/1.8, although I have always liked the flexibility of a 3X (or greater) zoom, with decent wide angle capability, so I have opted for the Sigma 24-70 f/2.8, more for the color and contrast characteristics than for speed.

I also have the Sigma 18-125 DC, which is a very reasonably priced high ratio utility lens, with good center sharpness, on the plus side, and moderate vignetting wide open, at the extremes of FL, on the minus side. Considering the 7X zoom ratio, it's an excellent starter lens. Most of the pictures on my smugmug gallery were shot with that lens. For $230 it is definately worth a look.

Here is the gallery (some photos taken with my old CP990 where noted):

http://d70fan.smugmug.com/

[thebac]

I agree with George that the D50 gives you better bang-for-the-buck than the D70(s). However, the D70 does have several features that are missing from the D50--if those features are important to you, the D70(s) might be the way to go.

Some features aren't very useful to me, like the faster top shutter speed, the DoF preview, faster frame rate, WB fine-tuning, and others I can't think of right now.

However, there are also features that are really useful to me, like being able to use the pop-up flash in commander mode for the SB-600/800, the backlit top LCD (if you need to change settings in low light), the gridlines in the viewfinder (always on in my D70), and the second wheel.

As for your specific questions:

1) It'll work fine with the D70s, but as George said, you're losing the wide angle. You might want to consider the 18-55 or the 18-70 (it seems like the new Sigma 17-70 has also gotten very favorable feedback from users).

2) Probably in the pipeline, especially b/c the D70s is only a slightly revamped version of the D70 which came on the market in 2004. Anytime soon--who knows, this is Nikon, not Canon, so they take their time.

3) Don't know, wouldn't dare hazard a guess, either.

[mkgago]

Thanks, everyone, for the good advice. My thinking right now is that I'll get the D70s and one of the utility lenses recommended above. I'm taking a trip to Ireland in few months, and a flexible lens will come in handy. I'll wait on the 50mm lens for a bit -- it's not absolutely necessary at this moment.

I tend to fret endlessly about big-purchase decisions. The nice thing about having two good choices is that I can't really go wrong.

And I love your pictures, George -- thanks so much for sharing them!