GearBits

Nikon-D70 (Nikon Breaks New Ground Again)

If you have been reading my columns in photography, you know that I'm a Nikon owner. It's not that I have anything against Canon since my first SLR camera was the Canon A1 more than 25 years ago. However, I have grown accustomed to the Nikon "feel," and I can't seem to go back to Canon.

Anyway, when Canon broke the $1000 barrier with the introduction of its 300D (Digital Rebel), I was curious to see what Nikon's repsonse will be. Now we know. It's the Nikon D70. Unlike the Canon 300D, which is really a diluted or cheaper version of the Canon 10D. The Nikon 70D is not really a cheaper version of the 100D since it add several new features that the D100 lacks.

For instance, the shutter speed now maxes out at 1/8000 sec instead of 1/4000, the LCD panel has been upgraded (higher resolution), and the flash sync speed is now up to 1/500 second instead of 1/180 for the D100. You can also take pictures in compressed JPEG + NEF combination (not available in the D100) and it can shoot 12 images continuously in the high JPEG quality mode (compared to 6 images in the D100). The D70 also comes with USB 2.0 rather than USB 1.1 for the D100.

So, as you can see, the D70 can stand on its own. Of course, it's not the D100 in a sense that there are a number of features that are not available in the D70 (such as metal body).

The price for the D70 is $999 (body only), which is $100 more expensive than the Canon 300D, but with all the upgrades, it's definitely worth it. All in all, it's going to be a great entry-level digital SLR. Check it out at Nikon.