Nikon 8800 vs D70 or D200

[pwman]

Currently have a 8800. Use at work for all kinds of things from web postings to enlargements in hard copy. Shutter speed makes it not that great for some action shooting that is required. Question --- will the quality of the D70 be less than the 800 due to reduction in pixels from 8M to 6m? Should I get the D200 instead?

[coldrain]

The quality of the D70s will be vastly superior over the 8800. Number of pixels says very little. The bigger and better CCD with MUCH bigger pixels will give you image quality you can not come close to with the 8800. Also possibility of shallow depth of field and the ability to use very good lenses will be a big step up.

Most important thing: Buy very good lenses!
Cheap(ish) consumer level lenses are what will limit the performance much more than the difference between the D70s 6mp and the D200 10mp. If you do not want to post process every photo (if you are a JPEG kind of guy) then consider the D50 instead of the D70s.

I'll say it agian, lens choice is what matters most.

In order of importance for good results:

1. Photographer
2. Lenses (!!!)
3. Camera body.