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Nikon D70s SLR Digital Camera Kit w/ 18-70mm Lens (6.1MP, 3008x2000, 4x Opt)
- Spec Navigator
- Digital Format
- Display
- Exposure
- General
- Image Processor
- Included Software
- Lens
- Shutter
- Storage
- LCD Screen
- Exposure Controls
- Dimensions
- Power
- Flash
- Lens Features
- Connectivity
- Other Features
Image Processor
| Number of image sensor pixels | 6.1 megapixels |
| Image sensor | CCD |
| Maximum horizontal image resolution | 3008 |
| Maximum vertical image resolution | 2000 |
| Image sensor quantity | 1 |
| Image format |
|
| White balance | 0 |
Lens
| Accessory Lens | No |
| Lens Model | Nikon DX AF-S Nikkor 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5 G ED |
| Telephoto Aperture Maximum | 4.5 mm |
| Wide-Angle Aperture Maximum | 3.5 mm |
Exposure Controls
| Maximum shutter speed | 8000 |
| Minimum shutter speed | 30 |
| Bulb setting | 0 |
| ISO equivalencies |
|
| Exposure settings | 0 |
| Exposure compensation range | 0 |
| Number of scene modes | 6 |
- Lab Tested
- How We Test Cameras »
Pros
Small and lightweight
Cons
Image quality could be better
Bottom Line
Small and lightweight, the D70s offers conveniences that other models don't have, but its image quality lags a bit.
Nikon D70s
D70s SLR Digital Camera Kit w/ 18-70mm Lens (6.1MP, 3008x2000, 4x Opt) Review, by Richard Baguley August 1, 2005
Compared to some other digital SLRs--such as the bulky Fujifilm Finepix S2 Pro or the heavy Konica Minolta Maxxum 7D--the Nikon D70s feels small and lightweight. The D70s fits comfortably in the hand, measuring just 5.5 by 4.4 by 3.1 inches, and weighs only 1 pound, 9 ounces without the lens. Although the camera offers a profusion of buttons, the most commonly used ones fall under the fingers, such as the buttons to change metering modes, exposure, and focus lock. The two control dials--one on the front and one on the rear--fall naturally under your index finger and thumb. Having two dials makes controlling the camera in full manual mode much easier than with cameras that have only one dial. On the D70s, one dial controls the shutter and the other changes the aperture. In contrast, the Digital Rebel XT, which has just one dial, makes you hold down a button so the dial changes the aperture instead of the shutter speed.
Also, you can also control most of the settings on the D70s using a combination of a button and one of the control dials, instead of having to navigate an on-screen menu. For example, to change the ISO setting on the D70s, you hold down the ISO button and turn the control dial. This method can be a little awkward because you need to use both hands: one to hold down the button and one to rotate the dial. The settings can also be accessed through the menu, which is navigated with a 4-way thumbpad. A single rechargeable battery powers the camera; it lasted for 500 shots, the cutoff point in our tests, and easily enough for a weekend trip.
One curious omission is the ability to store custom settings; most digital SLRs allow them. However, the mode dial on the D70s does have seven scene modes (for portraits, sports, night shots, and so on), plus the usual manual exposure modes: shutter-priority, aperture-priority, program, and full manual.
Although the 2-inch LCD is a slight improvement on the 1.8-inch screen on the D70, it still looks small compared with the 2.5-inch screen on the Maxxum 7D. The Nikon screen is clear and bright, however, and is easily viewable in anything but direct sunlight.
We found the autofocus of the D70s to be very responsive, focusing quickly in most lighting situations. The D70s was very quick to start up: It was ready to take photos less than a second after we turned it on, so you aren't likely to miss a shot while waiting for the camera.
Serious photographers are more likely to manually adjust settings rather than be content with automatic settings. That's why our SLR testing now includes some shots taken using manual adjustments, in addition to shots using automatic settings. All of the SLRs we tested improved their color accuracy scores under manual settings, but none more dramatically than the D70s: It earned the lowest score under fully automatic mode, but scored higher than most of the other SLRs after we set a custom white balance and adjusted its exposure settings.
We found that the automatic metering of the D70s consistently underexposed our test images, leading to weak colors. To be fair, most digital cameras underexpose because it is easier to recover details in an underexposed picture than in an overexposed one. The images I shot were underexposed only by around half a stop, so they were easy to fix in my image editing application of choice, Adobe Photoshop.
Outdoor images looked more impressive, though the shots I took on a sunny afternoon did have a slightly bluish cast to them. Exposure was more accurate in daylight, although some images were still underexposed using automatic metering. As expected, we were less impressed with the images when we increased the ISO setting (as when shooting in lower light): We noticed noise in our test images beginning at ISO 800; noise was very noticeable in images shot at ISO 1600. However, the D70s did earn one of the highest scores for its noise reduction (only the Canon EOS 20D scored higher); the pattern of noise was less obvious than with other cameras--none of the annoying white dots that we saw in the Finepix S2 Pro's images, for example. For exposures longer than a second, the D70s includes an additional noise reduction mode, whereby it takes a second exposure with the shutter closed in order to gauge how much digital noise the image sensor's electronics are introducing, and then uses the reading to subtract noise from the first shot.
On the other hand, the D70s did not score well in our sharpness and distortion tests. Though it did an impressive job in rendering fine lines distinctly, the sharpening process that the D70s uses to bring out these details also introduced some moir?? artifacts, with unsightly color fringing in some areas.
At $1299 for the kit we reviewed, the D70s costs a few hundred dollars more than some other SLRs we've tested. But it is a good value for the money if you don't own any lenses: the 18-70mm Nikkor lens that comes with the kit is excellent. But if you already have Nikon lenses, you can save a bit of cash by buying the body only, which goes for $899. You can use the D70s with most lenses that use the Nikon F mount; only a few older lenses won't work with it.
Upshot: The small, lightweight Nikon D70s offers conveniences you won't find on other models, though its image quality lags behind many other SLRs.
Richard Baguley
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PCWorld Lab Results
- Rating Breakdown
-
77
-
82
-
80
- See Complete Lab Results »
Performance Comparison with Similar Cameras
77
72
81
87
Performance
| Battery Life (minutes) | 273.5 |
| Image Quality Score | Good |
| Image Quality, Color | 55 |
| Image Quality, Color--Adjusted | 71 |
| Image Quality, Color--Auto | 39 |
| Image Quality, Distortion | 46.9 |
| Image Quality, Distortion--Noise | 59.3 |
| Image Quality, Distortion--Noise Reduction | 84.3 |
| Image Quality, Distortion--Sharp Interpolation | 27 |
| Image Quality, Exposure | 38.2 |
| Image Quality, Exposure--Flash | 48 |
| Image Quality, Exposure--Normal | 34 |
| Image Quality, Overall | 46.7 |
| Image Quality, Sharpness | 34.8 |
| Number of Batteries | 1 |
| Number of Shots | 500 |
User Reviews
Review Now! Already own it? Tell us What You Think
User Reviews From Around the Web
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Reviewed by: low1947
Strengths: Feels jus like my Nikon 6006--easy to use--I can use my lens that I already owned
Weaknesses: None
Overall: This camera is great, it is easy to pick up and start using right away. The menu is easy to step thru and understand. Pictures were great and the 18 to 70 lens worked great if you only have one lens.
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Reviewed by: MORE4MY$
Strengths: Gets you shooting quickly, overall manual is easy to understand, intuitive settings (but read the manual first)
Weaknesses: Just a bit overwhelming with all that you have to learn; it would be nice if Nikon included a cable release.
Overall: I'm an advanced amateur photographere. Lots of experience with 35mm and large format cameras. I decided to take the plunge into digital during the Christmas holidays because one of the online stores reduced the price of the kit to $1025. Special holiday incentives from the store (Circuit City). I was looking at both the D70s and the Canon 20D. The Canon was several hundred dollars more expensive than the D70. What eventually eliminated the Canon for me was that it was hard to see the menu options that are listed on the monitor: the test was smaller than the D70s. And if the Canon was hard to read in the store with the store's even fluorescent lighting, I knew that I was going to have problems reading it in the field. So even though the Canon might have a better reputation, I went with the Nikon. Yes, the Nikon seems heavier than the Canon. But the "extra" weight seems to me to make the camera seem steadier. Again, I've never owed a point and shooter or another digital camera. Yes the body is made of plastic but that didn't bother me. I just have to make sure that I don't drop it. "Assembling" the camera was a breeze. Nikon did a great job of creating a quick start poster that tells you everything you need to do to get shooting (in point and shoot mode). I think that I was up and shooting within 30 minutes (and I'm a slow reader) -- of course that's after you've charged the battery. Getting additional information about using the camera (where you take control of the camera) was clearly written in the in-depth manual. A word of warning: glance over the first few pages of the manual where they list every part of the camera. When I tried to get through this section, I was overwhelmed by all of the parts. Go directly to the section where it starts talking about shooting with the camera (more or less a repeat of the quick start poster). Don't even try to learn the parts in those first few pages. The manual is clearly written so following along and learning to use the camera is a breeze (especially if you've owned an SLR before). There's nothing too complicated and if you read carefully, you won't get frustrated (I skimmed one section and decided that my camera wasn't working right; reading the section over a bit more carefully, I realized that I had to get out of automatic mode or out of RAW image capture to follow the instructions in the manual). One problem with the manual is that it has all of these icons that they use to cross reference different sections of the manul. These icons are annoying and take up space unnecessarily. But the writing is clear and concise. The engineering of the camera makes accessing different features easy. Somebody was really thinking when they designed it. The menus are easy to read and use. It feels like an old friend once you get through the manual and learn about all of the features. It really is intuitive. I shot a christening with the camera. Nothing could have been easier. I left it on point and shoot mode and got some good images. A friend performed an experiment comparing the results of an image shot with a D70s and Canon 20D. Other than the Canon feeling a little bit bluer, I couldn't tell any difference between the images both of which were blown up to 13" by 19".
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Reviewed by: whirled
Strengths: Easy to use with preset settings for beginners and manual settings for pros. Excellent image quality and good battery life.
Weaknesses: Casing feels like a very cheap plastic. This goes for almost all digital SLRs, but would be nice if it came with a starter memory card, too.
Overall: This is an excellent camera that really is good for beginners through pros. I was a bit leary of that at first because it seemed too broad of a scope to cover, but the preset settings allow a beginner to explore with different lighting and speeds. For example, there's a preset for night portrait, which allows for detail image in low lighting for beginners who don't know what shutter speed or amperture to set it at. After playing around with that for a while, beginners can try certain manual settings.This camera can really take pictures in all situations. Great for family gatherings, weddings, portraits, sports shoots, vacationing. It might be a bit heavy and big if you want a good digital for everyday point & shoot. But I wanted something to explore my creativity, so I went with this camera.The prices on this camera are very decent for its abilities. Canon Rebels are a bit cheaper, but the lens quality doesn't seem as good as Nikon.Overall, this is a great camera and I'd buy it again. If you're looking for a camera you can "grow" with, this is it.
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Reviewed by: akak1997
Strengths: Fast Start up, Solid Build Quality, Greate User Interface
Weaknesses: ISO 200 still has noise under low light? 6 mega pixel, kinda heavy.
Overall: This is my first dSLR, I've a Cybershot P5 before. It is very different upgrading from a P&S to a dSLR. Whenever I want to take a picture with my P&S, it takes forever to start up, I've missed a lot of photo opportunity because of that. I spent a month researching the Canon Rebel XT and the Nikon D70S, and the features and image quality are pretty much evenly matched. The reason why I choose the D70S is mainly because of how it feel in my hands. It's a perfect fit. The Rebel XT is just too small for me and it feels like it's poorly built. I got the d70s with the 18-70mm lens kit, the image under good lighting was awesome, sharp + great color. But in low light situation, the picture wasn't as good, however, that might because of my skill level (beginner). the user interface is very nice, it has all the buttons and dials to let me access settings directly. Battery life is Great! amazing compare to my P&S. I've shot close to 200 photos with flash, I still didn't have to recharge my battery yet! This camera is kinda heavy, but it might not be a bad thing, at least it's not a big problem for me.
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Reviewed by: frank914
Strengths: handles well.even if you are new to digital camera this the camera for you even my wife can use it
Weaknesses: none that i can see
Overall: well worth the money.many lens for this camera.looks great also.you well have people telling you what a great looking camera you have and that you look like a pro with it
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