nedjetwave posted a reply:

A interesting discussion, to which I have little to add other than to say that despite the recent acquisition of a D7000 (which I am delighted with) I have always intended keeping my D70s. I bought that little used from a friend whose wife had run off with his D300 and all his lenses. Since then it hasn't missed a beat and it has been hammered in all weathers throughout four rugby seasons taking action shots for the club website and magazine. It now sees duty as backup on Saturdays and still comes out for all manner of other occasions.

ulugeyik posted a reply:

It must have been something mechanical for me, perhaps a bent pin that I fixed without realizing while trying different cards.

DigitalCanvas72 posted a reply:

ottoboyau:

Look in the card slot with a flash light. If any of the pins are bent then this will cause the FOR message to appear. I had this issue with one of my D70's a while back. I had to remove the card reader from the camera and bend the pin back. Its not an easy job if your not mechanically inclined.

Mines been working fine since the repair.

When inserting the card you have to be easy with it.
First slide the card into the camera. Once you feel the card touch the pins then push the card into the socket. Don't just insert the card in one motion.

The other issue could be that the CF card itself could be faulty which would give you the FOR error. New CF cards and SD cards can fail or become corrupt.

Or you have not updated the firmware on your D70.
If your using a CF card larger then 4gb then this could cause issues. Older firmware versions had trouble reading the correct number of images left on the card. The current firmware version for the D70 is A2.0 and B2.0. You can still download the update from Nikon's website.

D,mon posted a reply:

I have thought about buying second hand digital on e bay, but above type of thing puts me off. I think that there`s more scope for intermittent faults with digital cameras, and buyers only become aware of it long enough down the line not to want to take it up with the seller.

ottoboyau posted a reply:

I have had the same FOR problem unexpectedly - all fine, tried to change the quality of the photos (through the camera) ended up with the request to format and now can't do anything with it.Tried a brand new card, the camera goes through all the motions but won't actually take a photo.
It also takes a long time to boot up....the hour glass stays on for a long time even though the battery is well charged.
I have been told to take it to the repair shop, but that is going to cost me more than I paid for the camera (just in Jan this year, second hand)
If anyone has any tips at all to try, I would be most appreciative!
thanks

jasongreen2010 posted a reply:

Because when you push too far the quality suffers? i shoot raw too.

AtlantaTerry posted a reply:

jasongreen2010: since I save RAW image files on my D70 why could I just not make the colors anything I want?

jasongreen2010 posted a new topic:

For me the color difference of a d70 is what makes it. At first it seemed a handicap, but after a while i learned to appreciate the colors. Much like film photogs liked certain films. please post some picks that show interesting color shifts of the D70.

D,mon posted a reply:

I often see discussions on people wanting to upgrade from their present camera (not just Nikon) and am generally unconvinced as to the reasons given.

It seems that most people are convinced that they`ll immediately see a visible increase in image quality. If low light or fast action photography for e.g. is the goal it seems to me a more convincing argument. It`s a pity more tests are not published to compare image quality presented in the way most people view them, as opposed to small section comparisons.

If you look up the web and look for ` Nikon D70 One of the best DSLR cameras ever produced`. nikond70fan.wordpress.com/, you see some pretty convincing arguments showing how well the D70 stacks up against the Nikon D800 and Leica M9.

However , I think you could argue till you`re blue in the face, and you won`t stop people just wanting new cameras.

jasongreen2010 posted a reply:

I guess your referring to the resolution difference. and your are right. however i hardly ever print bigger than A4 and most non photographers wouldn't know the difference at that size.

D,mon posted a reply:

jasongreen2010. If you print your photos house size you`d have to view them from another town.to make them look the same...

Surely that`s a drawback,.and a flaw in you argument.

Just saying.........

ac12basis posted a reply:

GO FOR IT.

For the average person, 6MP is PLENTY of pixels.
Unless you print at 11x14 or larger, at the average viewing distance, no one will notice anything.

In fact with my D70, I did a corporate employee group shot, printed 13x20 inches, and it came out just fine. Last I knew it was hanging outside the company president's office.

I agree, the rapid feedback of the results of a shoot with digital makes learning a lot easier and faster than with film.

gud luk with the new toy

jasongreen2010 posted a reply:

D70s


D300

I was testing my manual flash setting and thought you may like this comparison. both shot at iso 200 white balance of Flash. and 24mm f2.8 Ais lens @ f5.6. Lit with to oldschool sunpack flashes. the warmness of the d300 is the only difference i care about.

HLT Photography posted a reply:

Congrats to the OP for buying the used D70 and very nice shots by the two above posters. I just happened to bring my '06 D70s to work today and plan to put it to some use.

DigitalCanvas72 posted a reply:

Might as well show off to. These pics were taken with my D70

This one was taken with the Nikon 35mm 1.8G. I also used the built in flash in commander mode to control an SB-700 Speedlight held to the left of the camera.



This one was taken with the Nikon 70-300mm VR



So as you can see for a 9 year old body it still holds its own against modern DSLR's and Mirrorless cameras. Not to mention that the D70 with the EN-EL3e battery can take about 1,500 shots per charge if your not using the flash. That's something that modern DSLR's probably wont be able to do for some time.

MrDAT posted a reply:

From the D70 I got:

AnEpicNguyen posted a reply:

Thanks for the input guys! I've decided to buy.

The low price is good and it's compatible with my old lens. I'm not looking for an upgrade anytime soon so the 6.1mp is good for now. And with digital, I think I can hone my skills more quickly. Shooting film can be amazing but to wait for the results to process just so you can make changes to camera settings is really not effective.

I'll still shoot film though. :)

DigitalCanvas72 posted a reply:

For $175 it sounds like its a good deal. As long as the D70 doesn't show too much wear. Then I'd probably buy it. One thing to point out though is that the rubber hand grip and the rear grip on the CF card door will always have some kind of wear. So don't think to much about it.

As far as wear is concerned just look for labels worn off of buttons and polished plastic were the user would have been holding the camera allot. These are good indications of how much the camera has been used.

You can buy a refurbished Nikon D80 for around $379 with a warranty. The D80 is a better camera in every way but it can't flash sync as quickly as the D70 can.

Lastly the amount of mega pixels isn't the end all and be all of a digital camera. 90% of the photos people take with an SLR will never be blown up (or leave the computer screen). The D70 can print out fairly large prints if need be. You'd be hard pressed to tell the differences between a photo taken with a D70 and a J1. Both cameras are capable of capturing amazing images, but both can also capture images that look like "snap shots".

MrDAT posted a reply:

D,mon:

To me, not sure about the OP, but losing AF motor is a big deal. If the OP will not want to buy the older AF lenses (non AF-S) then, yeah, those smaller bodies are fine.

D,mon posted a reply:

As much as I love my own D70, in spite of having later models (not Nikon), I would seriously consider hanging on and saving up for a modern, but older model with a kit lens like the D3000. Selling for around £150 - 200 uk pounds second hand (e bay). Cheaper possibly if you bid well.

It sounds to me that you would appreciate all the modern stuff like live view/more megapixels etc. You could upgrade over time from that point. .

Good luck with your eventual choice.