New Nikon D-70 under $1K DSLR
An excellent in-depth review and comparison with Canon's offerings. (Hint: Nikon blows them out of the water this time around) can be found on the
Imaging Resource website.
bq. In early 1999, Nikon entered the professional digital arena with their first all-digital SLR, the D1. The 2.7 megapixel price and list price of $5,850 for the body rocked the pro camera world. Under two years later they raised the bar again with the D1x, a 5.47 megapixel camera at an even lower price point than the D1. Then last year came the D100, with a full 6.1 megapixel imager going for under $2,000, available most places now for around $1,500, body only. This offering was the first Nikon to really draw in the advanced amateur, film SLR owner who has been waiting for just such a product. Then Canon hit the street with a sub-$1,000 digital SLR with a bundled lens to meet that magical $999.99 price point that lured consumers in droves. As they did in the film arena with their N55 to N80 range of cameras, Nikon answered, this time with a camera that exceeds the capabilities of Canon's Digital Rebel. Nikon's answer, the D70, does not include a lens at the sub-$1,000 price, but it has a whole lot more features and a more solid feel than the competition. For an additional $300, users get a special 18-70mm lens (equivalent to a 27-105mm zoom on a 35mm camera), designed just for the camera's smaller sensor. Further, the new camera is compatible with almost the entire range of Nikon's F-mount AF lenses. A lower price is great, but we have to see what compromises Nikon had to make, if any, and whether those compromises will result in significantly reduced image quality over the current Nikon benchmark, the D100. Read on for our detailed analysis. (We'll give you a hint though - There are precious few compromises to be found anywhere in the D70.)
Good stuff. I have the D1X and will probably get the D2X a year or so after it comes out but there is no rush - very happy with the D1X. I had looked at the D-100 but found too many compromises. The D-70 looks really good. Might be something to get as a second body. Also, the lens that comes with it is worth taking a look at. Nikon has been coming out with a series of lenses specifically for digital sensors and the optical quality is superb.
Posted by DaveH at April 15, 2004 12:02 PM