Is the Nikon D70 a good camera?

Question

I'm thinking about buying a nikon d70 soon, but I'm new to the whole SLR camera thing. I've been reading about them though. I'm a little confused on lens and mm's. I want to take a lot of close up photography(and the kind that is blurred in the background, not sure if thats the same?), some at baseball games, and I just want to take better pictures than what my olympus stylus can do. What kinds of lens would you recommend? And whats the difference between mm's? Is higher better? Any information would help. Thanks!

Mephistopheles - i asked for information...i have been playing around with digital cameras for a while now, im ready to advance...ugh i wish people wouldnt be so stupid....dont answer the question if you dont plan on being any help...thanks

Answer 1

Sam's answer is excellent (as usual).
The 18-70 lens that he recommends is a good lens and it has the perfect range for street photography, indoor shots, and probably 90% of your requirements.
When you say close-up photography, as in flowers and such, you'll want a macro lens. You can do this on the cheap and get a regular zoom lens that also does macro (a lot of zoom lenses have this as an extra feature), or if it's important to you, you can buy a dedicated macro lens. Nikon makes some of the best, but expect to pay +$400.
I've had an old Nikon 55mm macro on loan this year, and I'm still amazed that I can select what part of a bee to focus on. They really are great. If I were to buy a macro lens myself, I'd probably get something with a focal length between 100 and 200mm. With the 55mm I have to get so close to tiny objects to fill the frame, that I nearly crush them (in the case of bees, at great risk to both of us ;-)
For tight zooms at baseball games, you'll want something like the Nikon 70-300mm. The 70-300mm comes in two versions. The cheaper one costs $310 and the more expensive one is $530. The more expensive version adds vibration reduction and some extra goodies. Without VR, you'll need to steady yourself against something or use a tripod at maximum zoom. If you're willing to spend a small fortune, you can consider things like the Sigma 50-500mm for $1000. The more mm, the closer you can zoom, the better. Even 300mm is pretty insane though.
The 70-300mm only has one drawback, and that's that it isn't particularly suited for low light photography. This might give you grief at night games bacause you'll have to use shutter times that are too slow to freeze the action.
Lenses that can do low light AND have a big telephoto range all cost a fortune. Those are the huge lenses that you see at the sidelines of professional games.
For blurry backgrounds, the aperture setting is important. I keep my Nikon dSLR in in Aperture priority mode 99% of the time. For portraits, an aperture setting of f/2.8 or f/4 usually provides the most pleasing results. The lower the number, the more blur. The limit is determined by the lens. Most lenses can do f/4, so that's not really an issue. If you want to go crazy with background blur, you can get lenses that go as low as f/1.4.
I can second Sam's advice to get the 18-70. And I'd add the cheaper 70-300mm to that. This is one of those lenses that can also do macro, so for $310 it might be all you need. If you find that it doesn't meet your needs, you can always sell it on eBay for a small loss and upgrade.

Answer 2

Firstly- it's a great camera.
You'll need a macro lens for the close-up stuff, and a good telephote/zoom lens for the baseball games. But that's half the fun of buying a DSLR. Looking for the right lens takes just as much, if not more research than looking for the camera. But- rest assured that if you're buying a Nikon- there is plenty of great glass out there to choose from.

To note: Nikon has announced the follow-on to the D70/D70s and it's called the D80. It has been bumped up to 10Mp from 6, which is a sizeable step up. So- it you plan on printing things Large- it might be worth the step-up.

Or- the D50, the D70's little brother is also an excellent camera for quite a bit cheaper, and probably still has all the features and capabilities that you'll want.

personally- the only downside I find with the D70 is that the viewfinder isn't big. i.e when I look into it, it looks like I'm looking down a tunnel. I like big viewfinder magification- I guess since my eyes are getting old. (kudos Pentax)

Answer 3

Yes, the D70s is a very good camera. Get one NOW while they are still available, as Nikon is replacing it with the D80, with a list price of $999; assuming you will be able to find one. They dropped the D70s price by $150, so this is the bargain of the year, in my opinion.

Get a "decent" lens, such as their Nikkor AF-S 18-70 f/3.5-4.5G ED DX lens and not the "kit" lens. This is a good general purpose lens for many situations and it will cost about $300. When you are ready to add lenses, the sky is the limit with Nikon. Get a 1 GB memory card, such as the Sandisk "Ultra" for decent write speed. You can get these in the $30 range. An "Extreme" is faster, but I doubt anyone would notice the difference except a pro.

Answer 4

I have a D70 and I love it! Here is my advice: First, buy it at a reputable camera store, and not a big department store. The people who work at camera stores will be able to answer all your questions. They can even help you pick out the right camera and lens for your needs.

Second, as soon as you unpack your new camera, crack open your manual and go through it page by page, learning everything there is to know about your camera. It may seem tedious, but it will save you lots of time and frustration later.

The closeup lens you want would be called a macro lens. Make sure you also have a lens for general purposes, though. The difference in the millimeters is how narrow or wide the scope of your picture will be. Higher numbers are for telephoto lenses, which work like binoculars to bring far-off subjects closer. Wide angle will include a wider view in your picture, and it's great for interior room shots. In between is a normal lens, which is what you would use for most pictures. It's similar to how you normally see the world. Zoom lenses can range from wide to normal, normal to telephoto, telephoto to even more telephoto, or all the way from wide to telephoto. Again, ask at the camera store for a better explanation. Or better yet, ask to try out different lenses in the store so you can see what the difference in the view is.

Finally, good luck! Nikon makes great cameras. I've been using them for about 25 years now.

Answer 5

If you are new to photography why not get a cheaper camera and play around with that and after you understand how things work then make a decision. A Nikon D70 is undoubtedly a good camera but maybe too good for you at the moment.

Answer 6

I have two of them and I do wedding photography. It's a great camera. However the new ones are called D70S. One can't go wrong with the camera.

Answer 7

yeah D70 are great, but if your going to do macro (close up) photography you'll probaly want a seperate macro lens.

Answer 8

I have one. I have been a photographer for years. I chose the D70 for it's quality, versatility, and expandibility. LOVE IT!