D70

graigdavis · May 28, 2004

I am looking to buy a D70 sometime this year. I have shot my friends quite a few times and I love how it feels, shoots and its results as well.

Since I have never had a DSLR I know nothing about lenses. So could someone give me the low down? What companys are good, what are bad, what mm is needed for what. I shoot a lot of action sports so I will need a lense for that. And what is a good lense for just all around photography?

Where can I get the best deal on a D70 as well. Anyone want to sell me theirs for a good deal?!

Big Mike · May 28, 2004

graigdavis said:
I am looking to buy a D70 sometime this year

You had better order is soon then. Last I heard, they were back ordered just about everywhere. As are most of the common accessories like the shutter remote etc.

As for lenses, what do you currently use the most? Divide that by 1.5 and there you go. Obviously Nikon lenses are good, Sigma & Tamron are also good lens brands.

graigdavis · May 28, 2004

Well Im not in that big of a hurry. Are there any other cameras in the same league for close to the same price?

Big Mike · May 28, 2004

What do you shoot with now? If you have an investment in a certain brand of lenses...I would stick with that brand of camera.

The Canon D-Rebel is a little less expensive but has fewer features than the D70. The Canon 10D is more expensive (but prices are dropping). I'm not sure of the feature comparison between the 10D & the D70.

Pentax has the D*ist DSLR but it's more expensive than the D70, maybe more in the 10D's price range.

voodoocat · May 28, 2004

Ha! I doubt many people are parting with their D70.

As far as lenses go...

With the APS sized sensor you get the 1.5 crop factor. This is great for the telephoto side but not so good for wide angle work. I love wide angle and hate that I have to spend a fortune to get good wide angle. That is why I opted for the kit lens. 18-70 is a good range and the lens is actually quite sharp with decent contrast. It needs to be stopped down a couple stops to prevent slight vignetting throughout the focal range. It's 3.5-4.5 so it's not fast by any stretch of the imagination.

The next zoom lens I plan on getting is the Sigma 70-300 APO Super macro II. It's about $210 on B&H. About $50 more than the non-APO model. I recommend to go APO for much better quality.
It weights 1.25 lbs so it's fairly light. It can do 1:2 focusing @ 300mm.

Speaking of Macro, you have a few choices for fixed length macro lenses. If you go Sigma or Tamron you can save a couple hundred bucks. I plan on getting the Sigma 105mm macro lens. It's a very sharp lens.

Of course, the 50mm 1.8 lens is a must have for anyone. Very sharp and very fast. With the crop factor it makes a nice portrait lens. Plus it's the least expensive lens you can buy. Eventually I want to get the 85mm 1.4 lens which is THE portrait lens. It's also $800 for the 1.4 model.

As far as accessories go. I would get yourself a nice circular polarizer. Don't skimp by paying $50 on a mediocre piece of glass. I got a B+W 67mm slim polarizer (to prevent vignetting on the wide angle) for $82 after shipping on ebay (brand new).

The IR remote (ML-L3) is another must have. It retails for $15-20 (when you can find it)

I would also like to get the SB800 flash ($300) You can operate the flash off camera without a cord. It uses IR to trigger the flash. Furthermore, you can get more flashes (like the less expensive SB600) and slave up to 3 more flashes.

voodoocat · May 28, 2004

Correction on the SB 800 flash...

You actually have to use the SC-28 or 29 cord to get iTTL when using the flassh off camera. I guess the wireless configuration doesn't do TTL.