» Nikon D70S 6.1MP Digital SLR Camera Kit with 18-70mm Nikkor Lens

Nikon D70S 6.1MP Digital SLR Camera Kit with 18-70mm Nikkor Lens Reviews

Customer Rating:
Summary: Great Camera, but behind Canon
Comment: I got this camera as a kit purchased off the Internet from an online merchant (not Amazon) in 2004. It dodn't come with the same equipment as this one, but it did include the camera body, 2 lenses, cleaning kit, sunshade, 3 filters, a macro lens, a charger and 2 extra batteries, a mini and compact tripod, a soft case and hard travel case.

Even though it came with all these accessories (the compact tripod was junk, as was the charger, the batteries didn't fit in it, and the macro lens was low-quality), the lenses weren't the same Nikkor 'DX' AF-S IF ED lenses this one comes with. My camera came with the lower quality AF-S 'G' line lenses (no ED glass elements or IF focusing).

There's a lot to like about the D70S, which is an upgraded version of the D70. It was recommended to me by a freelance photographer who does work for a popular magazine (National Geographic), so I bought it on their recommendation. If I had a choice, I'd have got the Canon Digital Rebel, but this one hasn't dissapointed me. It's got all the features of a modern SLR, but with the convenience of a digital camera. Everything on this camera is adjustible: F-stop, exposure, focusing, focal lengths, white balance, shutter speeds, flash profiles, you name it. Although not as critical for beginner photographers (it does have an 'auto' mode, no tweaking requiried), there are several manual modes which allow you to adjust things.

It takes great pictures for 6.1 megapixels on its own in the 'Auto' function, but if you can use the manual modes, they only get better.

My only gripes with the D70S are the low MP rating (it's advertised as 6.1, the comparable Canon's are 8-10), smallish LCD display (only 2"), and the size/weight (it wenghs almost 2 lbs for the body only-Canon's Rebels are much more compact and lightweight). Another minor complaint is that it also takes Compact Flash (CF) memory cards. They're more expensive than SD or SDHC cards as far as capacity, and larger. It's not very user-friendly either; it has taken me a while to get all the particulars of this camera down to the point they are useful.

To be fair, the feature-set was advanced and the norm for 2004, but Canon makes a better camera (lighter weight, smaller, more user-friendly, easier to use).

Pluses are the nearly infinite adjustibility (albeit there's a learning curve), high quality, fast start-up times, and the wide variety of lenses you can use with it. If you can afford it, avoid the standard Nikkor lenses and go for the DX line with the ED glass elements and improved IF functions or image-stabilization.

Although I prefer and recommend Canon for cameras, this is a good-enough camera that once you figure out how to use it, you can start shooting pictures just like the big gun photographers!

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Great photos, poor durability, no support
Comment: I am an amateur photographer who stretched a few years back to buy a Nikon D70 based on Nikon's reputation for quality and durability. The camera has taken great photos, but recently had a shutter failure that Nikon is charging over $200 to fix. Research shows this is a known issue with the Nikon D-series - no matter how good the images, if the camera only lasts a couple of years in light use, you do NOT want to spend a lot of money on it. Forget Nikon - buy a Canon!

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Good DSLR
Comment: The Nikon D70S is a very good beginner to intermediate digi slr. Easy to use but also has a lot of options and manual settings. Battery life is amazing. Taken at least 500+ photos in raw format and still have half battery. Well built, strong body. 6.1MP is decent. Everyone now a days thinks more is better more is better however 6.1 is plenty for me. It all comes down to the photographer anyways. Good for people who are beginning digital photography, def. worth the extra money over the D40.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: 100000 and still going
Comment: Have had this camera for over 3 years, have had it on ski trips, to Costa Rica 3 time, baseball tournaments, paintball tournaments, boating and fishing. This camera is a work horse as far as I'm concerned. I stopped counting at 100,000 pictures and it's still taking great shots without ANY problems. Have had many a Canon owners say they wished they had the Nikon. Waiting to purchase the new D90 when it comes out mainly for the faster fps. Gonna give my D70 to my 14 yo son. Can't say enough good things about his camera and the quality pictures I've taken!

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Great when it works- Service isn't worth the price
Comment: I bought this camera 3 years ago, and it worked beautifully until on a long trip in Yellowstone. After changing the memory card, the mirror locked up, as other posts mention, making the camera completely useless. Since I was past the warranty period, Nikon told me I would be charged, even though they had (have) a vague-enough-to-weasel-out-of service advisory out for this problem. The way the service works is to receive the camera, have a front desk monkey put it into a cost-to-repair category, which you must then authorize payment for before they will proceed to actually see what is wrong with the camera. When I asked how they knew what it would cost and why it wasn't covered under the service advisory when they didn't know what the specific problem was, they just told me they always hear the same complaint (should be a warning to them), but that's the way they'd always done it. I should have bought a Canon. Their service is well-known to be top-notch in the industry, and the cameras are good quality for a lower price. I highly recommend AGAINST Nikon, unless you're buying lenses and flashes.

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