A blast from the past - Nikon D70s

[nerwin]

I recently purchased an untested lot of cameras on eBay for funzies. One the cameras included was a Nikon D70s, I never had this camera before but started out with a Nikon D60 which is newer. As I essentially paid $13.25 for this camera I thought it wasn't a bad deal. It did come with a battery, but no charger. I did rig up a way to charge the battery to test the camera and managed to take a dozen photos with it. The camera looked pretty rough, all the rubber was sticky and just nastiness all over the camera. I spent a couple hours on a rainy day going through the entire camera and giving it a good clean. The mirror was dirty but the sensor was actually very clean. The viewfinder is also clean and everything is functional on the camera.Only 39K on the shutter! That ain't bad for a camera from 2004!

For some reason it mounts my Non-AI lenses without issue so I been having fun using those on it. The photos still look quite nice even today, when you get the exposure right that is. There is no dynamic range, but there is some wiggle room.

The tricky part was getting the CF card to read on my Macbook Pro, I had to dig through my closet to find my old card reader that has CF slot. It worked!!

Overall I been having a bit of fun with the camera. Since I am using non-cpu lenses, I am stuck with no meter and 100 percent manual control which is fine because its been challenging me to take photos and kinda of gives me film vibes if I'm being honest.

 

[MartinCrabtree]

Not a bad purchase. Many outstanding photographs have been taken with mediocre cameras. The D70 isn't a bad place to start as your photos show. Enjoy.

 

[nerwin]

Not a bad purchase. Many outstanding photographs have been taken with mediocre cameras. The D70 isn't a bad place to start as your photos show. Enjoy.

I think for anyone starting out in photography, it's perfectly fine..in fact beneficial getting an older camera to learn the basics. This camera brings me right back when I first started. I think as more and more cameras become so advanced we often rely on it to take good photos when these older cameras require more effort to get the same results.

 

[smoke665]

these older cameras require more effort to get the same results.

Or maybe experience makes you more aware of the effort. As a newbie you'd be shooting blindly.

Nice find, nice write up!

 

[nerwin]

Or maybe experience makes you more aware of the effort. As a newbie you'd be shooting blindly.

Nice find, nice write up!

That's true too. I remember getting the D60..my first DSLR and camera that had any sort of manual controls and just using auto because I had absolutely no idea. Auto mode is a good way to start out to be honest and learn from it. I know some people today will say "just use your phone" It seems to be a popular phrase these days but there is nothing like using a dedicated camera that doesn't have distractions.

 

[MartinCrabtree]

Don't hafta answer the camera.

 

[nerwin]

Don't hafta answer the camera.

I don't answer my phone

 

[VidThreeNorth]

I recently purchased an untested lot of cameras on eBay for funzies. One the cameras included was a Nikon D70s, I never had this camera before but started out with a Nikon D60 which is newer. As I essentially paid $13.25 for this camera I thought it wasn't a bad deal. It did come with a battery, but no charger. I did rig up a way to charge the battery to test the camera and managed to take a dozen photos with it. The camera looked pretty rough, all the rubber was sticky and just nastiness all over the camera. I spent a couple hours on a rainy day going through the entire camera and giving it a good clean. The mirror was dirty but the sensor was actually very clean. The viewfinder is also clean and everything is functional on the camera.Only 39K on the shutter! That ain't bad for a camera from 2004!

. . .

How many megapixels are on the sensor of those cameras (both the "new" D70s and your previous D60)?

 

[NerdyTimelapser]

The Nikon d50 was my first digital camera! I preferred the d70 but it was out of my budget haha. Some great captures with your d70s, love it!

 

[nerwin]

. . .

How many megapixels are on the sensor of those cameras (both the "new" D70s and your previous D60)?

The D70s has a 6.1mp CCD sensor and the D60 being newer has a 10.2mp CCD sensor which I believe is the same sensor that's in the D80 and D200. I know 6mp isn't a lot these days but it's not as big of a difference as you think. Noticable on my 4K monitor though hahaha.

However what I noticed was the colors and contrast from the D70S (D50 has the same sensor as well) just look really nice, kinda filmic in a way.

For $13 and another $18 for new battery and charger isn't that bad for a nest camera.

The D70S series is a weird camera honestly as it's like a semi professional camera instead of a prosumer camera. The D50 and D80 only goes to 1/4000th where the D70s has max shutter of 1/8000th which is great for my faster glass. It also has significantly less shutter lag than the others much more in line with the D200.

 

[nerwin]

The Nikon d50 was my first digital camera! I preferred the d70 but it was out of my budget haha. Some great captures with your d70s, love it!

Now you can get them for cheap!! Haha. I had fun restoring this one, it was pretty gross looking...didn't even have a body cap. I cleaned the sensor and focus screen, the mirror too and it's spot less now.

I did take it apart and noticed it was repaired at one point, on the bottom someone wrote a smiley face on the ribbon cable. There are engraved on the bottom and inside the battery compartment. Not exactly sure what they mean.

 

[NerdyTimelapser]

Now you can get them for cheap!! Haha. I had fun restoring this one, it was pretty gross looking...didn't even have a body cap. I cleaned the sensor and focus screen, the mirror too and it's spot less now.

I did take it apart and noticed it was repaired at one point, on the bottom someone wrote a smiley face on the ribbon cable. There are engraved on the bottom and inside the battery compartment. Not exactly sure what they mean.

Nice haha! Nowadays I'm looking around a bit for a d700, that's the camera I wanted at a later stage, but obviously even more out of budget

 

[nerwin]

Nice haha! Nowadays I'm looking around a bit for a d700, that's the camera I wanted at a later stage, but obviously even more out of budget

I also wouldn't mind grabbing a D700, I also always wanted one one of those but people still ask quite a bit for them now.

 

[NerdyTimelapser]

I also wouldn't mind grabbing a D700, I also always wanted one one of those but people still ask quite a bit for them now.

Yeah they remain quite popular

 

[24megapixseal]

I, too, started with the D70s when it first came out (2004)...I had very little DSLR photography experience...funny thing is, my brother was trying to teach me about how to use the exposure compensation....back then, it just wouldn't click in my head....so I ignored him, figured I'd never use whatever it was he was trying to teach me........speed up 21 years to the present, I use exposure composition ALL THE TIME now...

It's the perfect example of "Ya don't know what ya don't know!".....

It's been a WONDERFUL journey, with lots of found memories of the ol' D70s....(I still have it too....buried way back in the closet!)