d70s vs d80

[dataz722]

Ok, I am looking into getting a Nikon DSLR. I cant decide to get the D80 or if I should save the money and get a used D70. Aside from the resolution are there any big differences between the two that would make me lean towards spending more money on the D80? Thanks.

 

[anubis404]

The D80 is a much newer body. That's something to consider, however it depends on what photography you're going to be doing. In general, I would buy a D70 and use the extra money for a really nice lens.

 

[Parkerman]

Well, the D90 will also soon be an option.

 

[Mitch1640]

if you get a d70 i believe you cant use SD cards bigger then 2 gigs..

 

[anubis404]

if you get a d70 i believe you cant use SD cards bigger then 2 gigs..

That's correct. I don't believe they accept SDHCs. Not a problem for me because my memory is all invested in 2gb cards, but this is something to consider if you only have one or two high capacity cards.

 

[Samriel]

The LCD display on the D80 is bigger and generally easier to look at. If you are on budget however, I would also suggest getting a used D70 and better glass (i.E. the Tamron 17-50mm f2.8 ).

 

[Resin42]

I would also suggest getting a used D70 and better glass (i.E. the Tamron 17-50mm f2.8 ).

Really? The 18-70 kit lens gets a really good name and I'd heard Tamron felt kinda cheaply constructed.

 

[manaheim]

The D70 is 6MP cam instead of a 10MP one. That's a pretty notable difference.

The D70 takes compact flash cards, the D80 takes SD cards. Compact flash are a hair more "risky" because they have pins, so you generally want to avoid popping and re-seating them a lot to avoid the risk of a pulled pin. SD cards are obviously smaller, and a hair more expensive per meg.

Someone commented on the max storage capacity on the D70, which is presumably true, but keep in mind at 4MP less, you won't need the high capacity quite as much. 2 gig on a D70 in RAW will get you like 200+ pictures. In JPEG/fine you're probably pushing nearly 500... maybe more. If I remember I'll flip my D100 into JPEG/fine when I get home. It has a 1 gig card in it. I think it reports like 265.

The D70 tends to take sharper pictures right off the bat because it has a less noticable anti-aliasing filter and the sharpening is turned up a bit. This isn't necessarily a big deal except it's harder to "unsharpen" an image than it is to sharpen one.

ummm... I think the D80 has a bigger LCD.

The D80 is obviously going to be newer/faster. The D70 is based off of the D100 which was the first entrant into the prosumer market, but the D70 is SOOOO much more camera than the D100 was in so many ways... it's really a good camera.

BTW, if you go for a D70, make sure you get a D70S... it's notably better than the D70. Faster, bigger screen, etc.

If you're money concious, then I'd say find a GOOD D70S and go that route. Otherwise, get the D80. You really can't go wrong either way.

 

[dataz722]

Ok, a couple more things then. The size of the card really doesnt matter much to me because I would probably only be getting a few 2 gig cards no matter which one I pick. Also it is my understanding that a firmware update will bassicly make a d70 into and d70s... is this correct?

So pretty much what everyone is saying is that if I have the money to get the D80 but if I want to save some money just get the D70 and I wont regret it.

If I do get the D70 i would probably spend some more money on a lens so what would be reccomended for a good all around lens in the 400 or 500 dollar range.

Also, the D90 is out of the question becuase I need this in the next two weeks.

Thanks for all of the advice.

 

[tasman]

if you get a d70 i believe you cant use SD cards bigger then 2 gigs..

The D70 has Compact Flash Cards not SD.

 

[Parkerman]

Well, Don't make your decision on mega pixels. for the most part they are just a gimmick.


I've heard alot of good things about the D70, I would suggest it because you could pick it up at a better price.

 

[tasman]

I have a D70s and it is a great camera. I looked at getting a D80 and did not like the feel of the camera, and the size is a bit smaller. I got lucky and found my D70s on Ebay, for a good price. And then I invested in some real good lenses.

 

[manaheim]

Before I answer this, what is your skill and experience level? Are you new to photography? New to SLRs? Both? Neither?

What do you plan to do with your camera? Or do you know? Have you tried doing any of the kinds of things you think you may be interested in? What were your results?

 

[TamiyaGuy]

In my opinion, it is worth getting a slightly worse body and saving up for a couple of good lenses. However, the D80 has a few noticable differences. First off, it has a bigger LCD screen. This can make viewing photos and checking focus much easier in-camera. Also, the D80 is just a newer model. It's got nice little features that, odds are, won't appear in the D70. Go into a camera store (with used D70's in stock) and try each camera out. You might just like the feel of one or the other. But if you can't tell the difference (or don't care), then I'd go for a good used D70s.

 

[dataz722]

Before I answer this, what is your skill and experience level? Are you new to photography? New to SLRs? Both? Neither?

What do you plan to do with your camera? Or do you know? Have you tried doing any of the kinds of things you think you may be interested in? What were your results?

My experience is relativly low. Years ago I used to use my grandmothers old 35MM SLR. It was about 15 years old at that point and that was probably close to 10 years ago. I took some decent pictures with that.

I have a fair amount of knowledge for someone with my experience. Not alot and I do have ALOT that I still need to learn.

I plan on mostly doing action photos and landscape/wildlife.

Any advice on anything will be great.