I purchased this camera in March of 2006 and it has treated me well. If you are considering a camera I would definitely recommend it or its newer version, the D80. Takes good photos, comes with a protective lcd cover, has the extra scroll wheel for more quick controls over settings, and a variety of other cool features.

At the time, I just purchased the body and instead of getting the kit lense, I bought the Sigma 10-20mm wide-angle lens. I did this because I knew that instead of the 18-70mm kit lens, I wanted the more versatile Nikon 18-200mm VR lense that had recently come out. I use mine primarily when traveling and I knew this combination would cover me off in 90% of the circumstances.

My Nikon D70s

Since then, I have purchased the 50mm 1.8D lense, the SB-600 flash, and a camera-to-ipod file transfer device so that I'm set to go when traveling.

I did not own a film SLR beforehand so I did not have any other lenses to base my decision to by a Nikon off of. If you want to know why I purchased a Nikon here are the reasons. Keep in mind I was comparing to the Rebel XT.

• Number One Reason: The Nikon 18-200mm VR lense. If you don't know what this means, it is a versatile lense that goes from wide-angle to a decent zoom level. Perfect for traveling. I almost never take this lense off my camera.

  Now Sigma and Tamron make this lense for other cameras, but the extra feature with the Nikon is that it is a bit quicker on the higher zoom and it has VR (Vibration Reduction). If you are familiar with Canon, VR is Nikon's image stabilization. It helps you take more photos in low light situations. I have found it invaluable. The equivalent lense is not available for Canon yet.

  This lens was impossible to get a year ago, but now is more available and cheaper. You can read more about it on my article on the Nikon 18-200mm VR lens.

• I have large hands and I love the feel of a big, beefy camera. It just felt better in my hands. I bought and returned both the Nikon D50 and the Canon Rebel for a week each so I had a good feel for both of them. The Nikon just feel superior in terms of sturdiness. I don't know if it actually is sturdier but it sure feels that way.
• D70s had the extra thumb wheel. At the time I thought I would need it for manual shots, but I realize I don't do that many. It does control a lot of other features though, which I found I have used a lot. I hate going to the on screen menu and on the Nikon, I almost never do.
• D70s had the protective screen cover. I know this sounds lame. You can just buy the sticky plastic for your camera lcd, but I really liked it. It makes it look that much more ready to travel with.
• Higher maximum shutter speed (1/8000 sec). This is really nice in bright light as it occasionally can't have a fast enough shutter to not overexpose the picture.

Now that I have talked about how great it is, I will discuss some of the negative points I have noticed. This is from shooting with a Rebel XT to see the difference.

• The Nikon tends to have a "hot" flash. A little bright and sometimes too white. The Canon seemed to pick this up better. If you are play with your settings you can control it.
• The white balance is occasionaly wrong on the Nikon. This makes the picture have incorrect colors. If your pictures in RAW mode, this doesn't matter as it is easy to change when you at home. If you notice it on your screen, or like me, just get used to what situations it happens in, you just select the right balance using your command wheel and you're fine.
• Minimum ISO setting of 200. It would be nice to go lower for really brightr situations, but the high shutter speed compensates for that.

You can see more specs at dpreview.com.

Bottom line it is an awesome camera. The Rebels are excellent as well and I would tell you to buy whatever make your current lenses are. If you don't have any yet, then go try both out like I did and pick the one that feels the best. You definitely won't go wrong with the Nikon.

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Choosing a Digital Camera
Nikon D70s and Hot Flash
Nikon Speedlight SB-600
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Category: Photography

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