# Nikon Dslr's



## Barryboy (Mar 21, 2006)

Hi...

I have finally decided to stretch the budget a bit and go for a DSLR (yes, I am giving up film altogether). I prefer the 'feel' of the Nikon over the Canon, as it seems more 'substantial'.

Here's my question: By careful shopping around I have found the D70S (new equipment from a UK supplier) at only Â£90 more than the cheapest price D50. Given that my interests include sport as well as the usual stilll life, landscapes etc. do you think it's worth spending the extra Â£90 on the D70S? What would you do in my situation?

As always pleased to hear

Rob


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## in_denial (Aug 3, 2005)

Barryboy said:


> Hi...
> 
> I have finally decided to stretch the budget a bit and go for a DSLR (yes, I am giving up film altogether). I prefer the 'feel' of the Nikon over the Canon, as it seems more 'substantial'.
> 
> ...


Is that with/without the kit lenses? The D70 normally comes with a 18-70 of slightly better quality than the 18-55mm D50 kit lens. Are you thinking of buying any extra lenses? The Â£90 could go a long way towards a new one. Nikon didn't cripple the D50 wrt the D70, so there is not a huge amount of difference between the two unless you are pushing the photography envelope.


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## Barryboy (Mar 21, 2006)

in_denial said:


> Barryboy said:
> 
> 
> > Hi...
> ...


No, that's body only prices - Â£419 for D70s and Â£329 for D50. The 18-55 issued with the D50 kit (at Â£389) is widely thought by most reviewers to be not good enough. The Â£60 saved would go towards a good, used Nikkor 28-200, regularly available around the Â£120/130 mark. I'm pretty much decided as regards the lens - it's the body that's in question. There are quite a few differences, but the most iportant to me are the burst mode improvement with the D70S, the provision of a DOF preview and the fact that the D70S body is metal, whereas the D50 is plastic.

Frankly I am leaning towards the D70S, but if anyone had tried both and considered it a waste of the extra Â£90 I would listen to their comments.

Rob


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## Jeremy67 (Jun 27, 2006)

"D70S body is metal, whereas the D50 is plastic"

Does that make the 70 heavier. How much will you be lugging it about?


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## Barryboy (Mar 21, 2006)

Jeremy67 said:


> "D70S body is metal, whereas the D50 is plastic"
> 
> Does that make the 70 heavier. How much will you be lugging it about?


It will be heavier, but as I weigh 18 stones plus, a few grammes of camera body is incidental...... I will be lugging the camera about a bit, but for many years I lugged a Manfotto studio tripod, Mamiya 6x7 body and three lenses as well as all the rest of the usual stuff up moutains, across fields and beaches and through boggy undergrowth so really weight doesn't come into it. I plan on getting a Nikkor 28-200 as my main lens so won't need a bag full of lenses either.

Rob


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## in_denial (Aug 3, 2005)

Barryboy said:


> Jeremy67 said:
> 
> 
> > "D70S body is metal, whereas the D50 is plastic"
> ...


I thought the D70 was metal as well, but I was told by the guy from whom I bought my 18-200mm (and who has one) that it was plastic. A quick scan of the web finds one mention of it being plastic (dpreview) but I'd check with Nikon. I'm sure the D2 / D200 are metal. The D50 struggles to take a sequence of raw images rapidly, but 'fine' jpegs are rattled off very quickly. Sounds like you want the D70 anyway; you won't be disappointed with either...

-- Tim


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## Stan (Aug 7, 2003)

Most DSLRs are made of Polycarb but some have a chassis made of "metal".

Not that it really matters, if you drop one it will be very broken. And it will cost you more than the camera is worth to repair, trust me. 

The D50 is a bargain but the D70S is a better camera when coupled to the Nikor 18-70mm, pay the price and use the camera. 

How important is the choice anyway?

If I had to choose a camera based on my skill level then it would likely cost much less than any digital SLR.

At one time I had too much money and not enough skill.

These days I have the same skill and much less buying power.

Go figure in your own environment.


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## Roger (May 17, 2003)

This proves nothing at all, but its quite interesting.

A colleague and myself cooked-up a little test for our works camera club.

He has a Nikon D70, I have a Canon EOS350........we both took the same shot using the same settings and printed both shots on the same printer using the same Kodak Ultima paper.

We also threw in a "control" shot which was taken on a camera which lives in my car and enjoys a tough life.........it is a 4Mp Jenoptik which cost me Â£35 new and delivered.

Again printed on the same printer/paper.

The prints were coded so we new which was which and the results were shown to 11 members of our little club.

6 thought the Jenoptik was best, 3 went for the Canon and 2 for the Nikon.

Conclusion? ....the Â£35 Jenoptik is a hell-of-a good-buy!

Roger


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## seiko6139 (Aug 25, 2003)

I have said this before and I'll say it agian......STICK WITH FILM !

If you MUST go digital, but a Nikon D100 or D200.

AVOID CANON!


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## murph (Aug 14, 2006)

seiko6139 said:


> I have said this before and I'll say it agian......STICK WITH FILM !
> 
> If you MUST go digital, but a Nikon D100 or D200.
> 
> AVOID CANON!


Sometimes you just want a quick pic of something, to know right away what the pic turned out like or are building an image up from a number of other images using software so just want to use digital.

Do you develope your own film by the way?


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## Regal325 (Aug 5, 2005)

> I have said this before and I'll say it agian......STICK WITH FILM !
> 
> If you MUST go digital, but a Nikon D100 or D200.
> 
> AVOID CANON!


Film is OK for a bit of nostalgia if you have the time to waste waiting around for the processing...even the Pros dont seem to bother with it these day and who can blame them.

As a casual observer, it seems to me that Canon usually get better press reviews...if I were in the market, I would but a Rollei or Leica-- digital of course, film wouldnt even be a consideration these days


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## James (Jul 17, 2006)

I think Nikon will serve you well in DSLR. both are good bodies. get what you can afford and spend the money on the best glass. keep in mind the longer the telephoto range the poorer the performance of it, they try to make the lens do it all and loose edge sharpness, contrast, have distortion etc. a shorter zoom range had less compromises keeping in mind single focal length (non zoom) will give the best results every time, zoom lens in the pro range are very nice, consumer ones tend to lack contrasty imaging be carefull of that do your research. You will need to post process regardless.

Enjoy the hobby is the main thing, have fun









btw see my thread in here for a pic I took last winter with a Canon point & shoot A620, even the downsized compressed pics for viewing here look pretty good, the first pic you simply cannot tell in print if its digi or film only in the latitude of the exposure range highlights vs dark areas gives it away to a trained eye


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## James (Jul 17, 2006)

further to......one reason I state spend the money on the best glass is digi technology is still very much in its infancy and is changing quickly and yearly but lens technology is very mature in its manufacturing and tech, the glass can make or break it but still a lot is up to the operator understanding it all


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## Barryboy (Mar 21, 2006)

Thank you one and all for your thoughts and opinions. The decision is made: a Nikon D70S with Nikkor 18-70 is inbound. At some indeterminate future time I will look into a Tamron 90mm macro lens (or similar) but my finances are being stretched beyond belief for the immediate future. In the last couple of days I have had to face up to large unexpected bills for my car , my wife's car and I am now told that the central heating boiler has to be replaced within the next week or two . Additionally I am committed to a holiday in the next couple of weeks and Xmas is just around the corner..... Happy days....

I am open to offers of financial assistance and my bank manager would welcome all contributions...

Rob


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## Agent orange (Feb 11, 2006)

Hi Rob

Good to see you've come to a decision. Looks like you've spent a bit more than initially intended, but in the long run you won't regret it. "Quality remains long after the price is forgotten" to paraphrase Henry Royce. Enjoy your camera and don't forget to post some images.

Cheers

Gary


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