Upgrading to D70S !

[Desmond]

I've made a deal with a local dealer who has acquired some old stock D70S's and D50's brand new . I don't use the D80 so much anymore since the matrix metering really annoys me . 10 Megapixels forced me to buy a more powerful computer and bigger cards . I don't need 10 meg and have had better results from my D40 .
So he has agreed to give me two brand new D70S bodies with 12 month warranties in exchange for my D80 and MB D80 battery grip [17500 clicks on it ] .
I'm losing a 10 meg sensor and irritating metering and gaining two 6 meg bodies and the superior 1005 segment meter and high speed flash synch that works up to 1/8000th sec with my SB24 if needed .
I really like the feel of the D70S and feel I will gain by having two bodies that work the same in situations like weddings .
I already bought a D70S from him with 18-55 lens and 1 year warranty for$560 so will sell one of them and actually get some money back from the trade .
One advantage of older bodies seems to be repairs . When I bought my very first D70 and eventually scratched the sensor cleaning it I was quoted $1000 to replace it . 6 months later I was quoted $500 and after a year it was $250 .Maybe they are cheaper now .... or discontinued

 

[watsonD50]

Nothing wrong with that

the D70s is a great camera and I agree it's all about the metering, i migrated recently from the D50 and D200 and the metering is what makes this camera so special as I don't worry about exposure compensation, checking the histogram, or using curves in Capture to fix issues - in fact i don't post process as much as I used too. Please post some pictures soon from your new acquisition !!!!!!!!!!

Desmond off topic, what do you think about your Tamron 28-75 2.8 ?

Daniel

 

[Chayelle]

I really like the D70s...our first dslr, and I bought a second one. They are an easy camera to appreciate.
Do keep up your great threads, Desmond...
I enjoy your photos and your dialogue...
and your part of the world is rather nice to look at as you are enjoying yourself.

 

[Someguy]

Sounds like a great deal! I have had the opportunity to use one a bit a couple of years ago and I really like the body! Preferred it in fact over my D50 as it is just a bit bigger and felt better in my hand.

Good luck with them!

 

[Desmond]

the D70s is a great camera and I agree it's all about the metering, i migrated recently from the D50 and D200 and the metering is what makes this camera so special as I don't worry about exposure compensation, checking the histogram, or using curves in Capture to fix issues - in fact i don't post process as much as I used too. Please post some pictures soon from your new acquisition !!!!!!!!!!

Desmond off topic, what do you think about your Tamron 28-75 2.8 ?

Daniel

Well I was expecting to get a bashing for speaking against the D80 but it seems there is some agreement here !
I like the Tamron very much with respect to speed and sharpness and would recommend it for someone looking for that range in a lens .... BUT : I very seldom use it because of the limitations of 28mm at the wide end - it's a bit like having a compact that doesn't go wide enough for my style of shooting .
At a wedding I found that in the house I often couldn't step back enough to fit the picture in and ended up with the 17-50 on my camera each time .
With regard to samples from the new camera , there are some in the wanderlust section under "Te Toto gorge "

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[Desmond]

I really like the D70s...our first dslr, and I bought a second one. They are an easy camera to appreciate.
Do keep up your great threads, Desmond...
I enjoy your photos and your dialogue...
and your part of the world is rather nice to look at as you are enjoying yourself.

Thanks , I expect to get more "your camera takes nice pictures " comments :biggrin: . Even though it's down to the person behind the camera there is still quite a bit that relies on accurate metering when the action speeds up and you don't have too much time to twiddle .
I used to take pictures and look at the screen and think "oh , so that's how it should look since a $1500 camera couldn't be wrong ?" , until I got the D80 and thought "how can two cameras give such different results !" and started working on exposing for the correct lighting .
Yep , it's a beautiful country New Zealand , and I am enjoying it immensely .

 

[Desmond]

Sounds like a great deal! I have had the opportunity to use one a bit a couple of years ago and I really like the body! Preferred it in fact over my D50 as it is just a bit bigger and felt better in my hand.

Good luck with them!

When I had my first D70 and then got a D50 I found the D50 felt a bit 'lumpy' in my hand and though I have gotten used to it and love my D50 it felt so soothing to get the D70S in my hand 4 years later and it just felt so good in my hand . Normally it takes a while to get used to the shape of a different camera , not the D70 - it's the "standard" way a camera should feel .

 

[watsonD50]

Well I was expecting to get a bashing for speaking against the D80 but it seems there is some agreement here !
I like the Tamron very much with respect to speed and sharpness and would recommend it for someone looking for that range in a lens .... BUT : I very seldom use it because of the limitations of 28mm at the wide end - it's a bit like having a compact that doesn't go wide enough for my style of shooting .
At a wedding I found that in the house I often couldn't step back enough to fit the picture in and ended up with the 17-50 on my camera each time .
With regard to samples from the new camera , there are some in the wanderlust section under "Tev Toto gorge "

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my friend shoots weddings with a (2) Canon 30Ds, he uses the 70-200 2.8 L and the Tamron 28-75 2.8 - don't know how he does without the wide-end, but he does it...

 

[Desmond]

my friend shoots weddings with a (2) Canon 30Ds, he uses the 70-200 2.8 L and the Tamron 28-75 2.8 - don't know how he does without the wide-end, but he does it...

You can ''do it '' without the wide end but you can do it better with 17mm [17-50 ] as compared to 28mm [28-75 ] . Some have said they can shoot 90% of a wedding with their 50mm f1.8 . I believe that but wouldn't employ someone only using that range [50mm] to shoot my wedding .
As you mention , there are guys using the 300D ..... and the important part you mentioned is that they are using good glass .
I've stepped back from the rat race of trying to get better camera bodies all the time - I'm happy with 6 meg and especially the fact that so many people no longer want only 6 meg so prices are dropping :smile:

 

[Dennis Carter]

...a local dealer who has acquired some old stock D70S's and D50's brand new...

What is he asking for the D50s?

 

[Desmond]

What is he asking for the D50s?

The auction "buy-now" is US$520 with 12 month warranty , 18-55 lens .
glamuzina@xtra.co.nz is his email address for direct contact which should allow for about $20 - $40 cheaper because of auction success fees .

 

[Desmond]

I'm very happy with the metering so far ....

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[TVayos]

I think its what your most comfortable using. I prefer the feel and weight of the D70s over most cameras. I have been looking for a back up. Does this dealer have any more brand ones for sale?

I have not been paying attention to the D80. It looks similiar to the D70s, size and weight. Until now I have not read a post about an exposure problem. What was the issue?

 

[Desmond]

I think its what your most comfortable using. I prefer the feel and weight of the D70s over most cameras. I have been looking for a back up. Does this dealer have any more brand ones for sale?

I have not been paying attention to the D80. It looks similiar to the D70s, size and weight. Until now I have not read a post about an exposure problem. What was the issue?

The guy has 4 more of them brand new along with about 4 or 5 D50s brand new . I just posted my D80 to him to exchange it for two brand new D70S bodies [ I'll probably sell one of them ] . You may want to read the section on this page about exposure . http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/d80/d80-performance.htm
This is what centre weighted metering does which is very much like what the D70S would do in matrix metering .

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And this is what matrix metering does on the D80 .

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.

It really goes for the shadow detail regardless of what will happen to the highlights . Also , if you change your focus point on the same scene it will change the exposure regardless of whether you change your composition or not which can be an irritating factor to keep in mind when you have to continually twiddle with compensation .
I also got some hot pixels on my D80 sensor - Nikon couldn't re-map it for some reason . When I moved to a 10 meg camera I also had to buy a new computer because of the batch processing - my old laptop could easily batch process 6 meg images but froze up with 10 meg images . With the resultant metering I got along with the wasted time fiddling with exposure compensation I decided to get rid of it in exchange for the D70S and its 1005 segment metering .

 

[TVayos]

Interesting, its like they went from one end of the spectrum to the other.

I think that would be a problem for me. I prefer to underexpose my images.

 

[Desmond]

Interesting, its like they went from one end of the spectrum to the other.

I think that would be a problem for me. I prefer to underexpose my images.

I may just be getting a bit opposed to the D80 because of issues I've had with mine like sensor callibration needed for an F2.8 lens , hot pixels that could not be remapped by the agents for some reason and the "different" matrix metering .
I did a wedding with my D80 and the D50 as backup and the D50 images came out much nicer .

 

[Holmes]

Lots of folks out there making wonderful captures with a D70s. Classic camera, in my opinion. Love 6 MP files!

 

[Desmond]

Lots of folks out there making wonderful captures with a D70s. Classic camera, in my opinion. Love 6 MP files!

I'm really enjoying the camera , less worrying about exposure compensation .
The D40 images have about a stop of advantage with regard to noise though !

 

[Holmes]

The D40 and D70s make a pretty cool combo.

You have quite a collection of bodies there, Desmond!

 

[Desmond]

The D40 and D70s make a pretty cool combo.

You have quite a collection of bodies there, Desmond!

Thanks , I'll have to remove the D80 from that list , I sent it off last week and yesterday my two D70S bodies arrived as an exchange . I'm auctioning off one of the bodies , my D50 auction ends tonight and I should be left with a D40 and two D70S bodies ....