Nikon D70s

(Format: Data from the Nikon website followed by my comments)

6.1 Effective Megapixel Nikon DX Format CCD: Optimized to deliver a wide dynamic range that produces great pictures with high resolution and sharp details, the DX Format CCD sensor's 6.1 effective megapixels yield 3,008 x 2,000-pixel images that are suitable for making large prints, or for creative cropping to bring out detail.

After years of using the D70 and the D70s and various other cameras I can say the image quality from the D70’s is good enough for 99% of all non-professional photographers. The image quality was actually even good enough for the semi-professional photographer. The worst issue for the D70s was the fact that it is prone to noise issues under some circumstances. I have made and sold many great prints and stock images from this camera.

Near-Instant Power-Up in 0.2 Seconds: Turn the D70s on and with a power-up time of a mere 0.2 seconds, it’s ready to shoot. Pictures are processed and recorded extremely quickly. Preview images appear on the LCD monitor almost instantly.

I can definitely attest to this, I have never had to wait for this camera to get shooting!

7 Digital Vari-Programs: Digital Vari-Program selections automatically optimizes white balance, sharpening, tone (contrast), color, saturation and hue settings to best match the selected scene, making creative photography as simple as rotating the mode dial. Choose from Auto, Portrait, Landscape, Close Up, Sports, Night Landscape, or Night Portrait for automated performance that makes the Nikon D70s the right choice, whether you are still learning how to make great pictures or an experienced photographer simply in a hurry to capture precious moments.

I have never used these, but from what I’ve seen they do a decent job at getting the shot right.

Increased Battery Performance - with new EN-EL3a rechargeable battery: The new EN-EL3a rechargeable lithium-ion battery increases energy capacity to shoot more images while maintaining the same form factor as the EN-EL3 battery. The new Quick Charger MH-18a is smaller than the charger it replaces, and is capable of charging both the EN-EL3a and EN-EL3 batteries. When the need arises, the Nikon D70s can also be powered using CR2 batteries. (Requires the optional CR2 battery holder, MS-D70)

Battery life is one of the best features of these cameras. One can reliably shoot and entire day without worrying about battery failure. I have an old D70 that gets limited daily use with flash and the battery will last a month or longer.

New Large 2.0 inch TFT LCD Monitor: Playback options on the new 2.0-inch LCD monitor include single frame, 4 or 9-image thumbnail display, zoom with scroll (up to 4.7x), automatic slide show, histogram indication and highlight point display.

The preview monitor is good enough, by today's standards it's a rather small and dark. But for real world usability it is just fine.

3 fps Continuous Shooting - for up to 144 consecutive shots*: High-speed continuous shooting means never falling behind the pace of the action or missing the moment. The Nikon D70s can shoot a rapid 3 frames per second for a continuous burst of 144 pictures* thanks to optimized systems throughout the camera.*When using JPEG Normal – Large setting, and a SanDisk SDCFH (Ultra II), SDCFX (Extreme/Extreme III) or Lexar Media 80X WA CompactFlash(TM) card

I'll be honest after using the D200 the D70s feels painfully slow. But again for real world photography 3 frames per second is actually pretty darn fast. 3 frames a second blows away the vast majority of point and shoot cameras.

3D Color Matrix Metering: The 1,005-pixel RGB Exposure/Color Matrix Metering Sensor evaluates brightness, color, contrast, selected focus area, and subject-to-camera distance information, references the results against an onboard database of 30,000 scenes from actual photography, then uses high-speed processing to deliver consistently dependable automatic exposures.

3d color matrix metering is the reason many people decided to go with Nikon products, and the D70 is no exception.

Fast - 1/8000 sec. Maximum Shutter Speed & 1/500 Sec. Flash Sync: Shutter speeds from 30 to 1/8,000 sec. and flash-synchronized shutter speeds of up to 1/500 sec. provide a photo experience with greater breadth and creative flexibility to catch more of those important picture moments.

What truly made this an excellent camera was the 1/500sec flash sync. Most people don’t understand the importance of this, but it is a life saver. Fill flash is unfortunately (for you) one of the least used and least understood features used by most amateur photographers. Proper use of fill flash eliminates harsh lighting and ugly shadows. Even in decent daylight if possible using fill flash will improves ones photos, and that 1/500sync allows one to use flash in many more situations.

In all honesty if I were not shooting professionally used images in such demanding environments I would likely still be packing 2 D70s cameras in my photo bag. The 1/500 sec. flash sync is still the leader and currently no other digital slr offers it. The most limiting factors are noise issues and low resolution. The resolution is great for normal use but editors are megapixel crazy.