Shooting the Nikon D70 in 2022

2004... Jesus, time passes quite fast. I won't review that Nikon D70, the specs sheets and reviews are everywhere on the internet. Only 3 figures are significant anyway: 6.1 megapixel CCD sensor, 1\/8000th second max shutter speed and 1\/500th second x-sync. I decided to buy and shoot this camera again with the Nikkor 18-135. For 20 bucks, what could go wrong?

June 13, 2019

After some cleaning and firmware upgrade, it turns out that camera looked good, and was perfectly working.

And you know what? It still takes photos.

It is easy to use, AF works as it is supposed to work, not the fastest but accurate, exposure is OK, and noise, that wasn't really an issue at the time compared to the other digital cameras, is even less of an issue today with DxO Prime noise reduction.

Of course, resolution is only 6MP, and cropping is not much of an option here, but that is more than enough for publishing on the web, or print some very nice 10x8 prints or even 13x19 prints.

If you expose your photos correctly, there is no need for crazy highlights / shadows recovery.

I enjoy shooting mostly any camera (I'm actually having fun these days with an "antique" HP 5MP point and shoot), but I really like that D70, and for the price of a little more than two packs of cigarettes, it is a great camera to have and shoot, compatible with almost all Nikon F glass.

You may also like

Birding with a cheap Sigma 135-400?

When it comes to birding, the common advice is to get a camera with low noise, fast AF, fast burst, big buffer and some long lens, preferably a super fast telephoto. It is indeed good advice, but you'll have to pay thousands of dollars to buy that gear, even on the used market. What if you want to shoot birds on a super tight budget? You'll still need some camera and lens. Maybe consider buying some older inexpensive gear?

Nikon N50 / F50 shooting Kodak UltraMax 400

I didn't shoot film for years. Didn't really plan to. Not that I don't like it, because I love film, but I just didn't have an opportunity to do so. When I saw that Nikon F50 with a 35-80 for 20 bucks, I just bought it. Ordered a new battery on amazon and a couple rolls of Kodak Ultramax 400

Tamron SP AF 70-200mm F2.8 Di LD IF Macro

It took me some time to write about that A-mount lens I got NOS for 250 bucks. At that price, you will unlikely find any better F/2.8 telezoom.

Shooting the Nikon D200 in 2022

The D200 is a camera I always loved. At the time it came out, it was a hell of a camera for the price Nikon asked. Shooting it in 2019 is still a pleasant experience. 2005 specs? that's outdated, nobody wants that. Photos taken with that camera will be ugly, especially compared to the Sony A9 ($4500), the Nikon D850 ($3000) or the Canon 5D mark whatever ($2700). Or will it not?

Shooting the Sony A77 in 2022

If you have some A-mount lenses and want an APSC DSLR that can take them natively, you don’t have many options. Especially if you can’t / don’t want to spend a lot of money.

Tokina 12-24 DX adapted on Micro 4/3

Some sample photos taken with the Tokina SD ATX pro 12-24 F/4 IF DX ASP Nikon F-Mount on the Olympus EM1.

Sony RX100 m3: all you need from 24 to 70mm

I got this little camera for $200 a couple years ago and didn't write about it yet.

Sigma 500mm F/7.2 AF APO

How good can be a Sigma 500mm F/7.2 AF lens from 1990? Simple answer: definitely worth 89 bucks BUT there are lots of BUT...

Shooting the Minolta Maxxum / Dynax 7D in 2022

The short lived most advanced Minolta DSLR was released in late 2004. It became later the foundation for Sony's A-mount cameras. It featured the first in body stabilization in a DSLR, a 6MP CCD sensor and loads of controls. This camera is a photographer's delight. The body feels right, the controls are great and natural: coming from a film SLR, you just feel at home with the Minolta 7D. And You can use all the now often cheap quality Minolta lenses, as well as the more expensive Sony A-Mount lenses.

Fun with the DXO ONE in 2023

In 2015, Dxo decided to sell a tiny camera that connected to the iPhone. They used the 1inch 20MP sensor from the Sony RX100 m3 that I really love a lot, 32mm equivalent lens that is pretty bright: F/1.8 and shoots RAW.

↑Back to Top