Nikon D70s Review Round-Up

If you own or have used this camera, let us know what you think! Leave your comments and thoughts below.

Steve’s Digicams

Nikon’s D70s is a refinement of one of the most successful amateur dSLR’s ever produced. While its resolution falls 2-megapixels short of Canon’s industry-leading Digital Rebel XT, the D70s offers very good shooting performance and excellent image quality. Users of consumer digicams will find that the D70s’ responsiveness, viewfinder clarity, and image quality at high ISO settings overcome the limitations of their current equipment. As with any digital camera, there are some “gotchas.” Unlike the D100, Nikon does not offer an optional vertical grip/battery pack for the D70s. Users of fixed-lens digicams will eventually discover another problem, keeping the imager clean. Nikon is offering a very good value. READ FULL REVIEW

Other Nikon D70s Reviews

CNET

With the D70s, Nikon upgrades its popular D70 consumer digital SLR. The improvements are minor, but they should be sufficient to keep this camera, already one of the best in the sub-$1,000 class, competitive with smaller rivals This tweaked 6-megapixel model retains the solid design, the impressive performance, and the excellent image quality we liked in the original, while repairing a few of the more frustrating shortcomings. … Some of the improvements are hardware based, such as the beefier lithium-ion battery, a color LCD expanded 10 percent diagonally to 2 inches, the more comfortable eyecup, and a socket for an optional wired (not infrared) shutter remote. Our images had good exposure and dynamic range, although the D70s tends to underexpose slightly to capture extra detail in the shadows … The D70s’s light-sensitivity range begins at a high ISO 200, but, like its predecessor, this camera produces surprisingly good photos, even at its maximum setting of ISO 1,600. … Small improvements fine-tune one of the best digital SLRs in the sub-$1,000 class. READ FULL REVIEW

Photo.net

The changes from the original Nikon D70 are fairly minor, with upgrades to the AF system and some tweaks to the user interface. … The most significant changes are: The Nikon D70s has a refined 5-area autofocus system now has an all-area search priority to go along with the camera’s single area, dynamic area, and close subject priorities, improving the camera’s ability to acquire focus on fast moving subjects within the frame. The Nikon D70s now boasts a larger 2.0″ LCD monitor … A new remote port for the Nikon MC-DC1 electronic cable release (optional) allows users to trigger the camera and hold the shutter open via an electronic cable release. A built-in Speedlight with a wider angle of coverage supports 18mm lenses. A new easier-to-read menu design in the Nikon D70s uses color-coded menus, and a larger type-face. A higher capacity EN-EL3a battery offers users more pictures per charge. The EN-EL3a battery comes with a new, smaller MH-18a battery charger. Both the new battery and charger are included with the D70s. READ FULL REVIEW

Thom Hogan

The drawbacks are all minor compared to the pluses. The D70 takes beautiful photos when used well, and can give almost any digital SLR on the market a run for the money in image quality. We may quibble about slight differences in color, or noise, or aliasing between different models, but these discussions are no different than the Provia versus Ektachrome type of debate. In short, expect to produce darn good results out of this camera. Bottom line: The D70 is the digital SLR for the masses. A very well-rounded camera that will make many a digital newcomer happy. Considering that you can control so much more with a D70 than you can with the Digital Rebel, those that prefer manual to auto won’t have any troubles paying an extra US$100 for the privilege. READ FULL REVIEW