I looking for a Nikon dlsr camera, I been looking at D70s and the newer D40. Which gives the best performance?

Answer 1

Boy this is a tough question. I have a D70s and my wife has the D50. The D40 is newer, but "similar" to the D50. The D70s does a few things that the D50 can't do or can't do quite as easily, but this would not be a factor in your choice.

The D70s has 5 autofocus zones (center, 12, 3, 6, and 9 o'clock) while the D40 only has the three on the horizontal. Nikon claims that this would not make any difference to most users, but I have found the top and bottom zones quite helpful and would not like to do without them.

Storage on the D70s is on a CF (compact flash) card and the D40 uses an SD (secure digital) card, so this might matter if you already have some cards on hand. If not, I still kind of feel more secure handling the larger CF cards.

The D40 has a programable FUNC button, which my D200 has and I like that idea. The D70s does not have this.

The D40 has a lot of in-camera retouching, but I would never use that feature. The D70 does not have this.

The D70s has an LCD on top of the camera for status, which the D40 does not, but the D40 uses the 2.5" rear LCD for camera status between shots. This is certainly easier to read, but I don't know how it is to live with day-to-day, as I have never done this.

There is no depth-of-field preview on the D40, but there is on the D70s.

There is no exposure bracketing and no white balance bracketing on the D40, but there is on the D70s.

The D40 will not autofocus with some older Nikon lenses and the D70s will. If you do not have some lenses from a Nikon film camera already, though, this would not be a problem for you.

If you go to this page, you will see a chart that compares the D40 to the D50 and highlights the "better" camera in each category. You can also go on and read the entire 25 page review.

This will come down to a matter of what features you find important and how the camera feels in your hands. The D40 is noticeably smaller. You have to go to a photo shop or camera department in a big box store and see what you think. Personally, I like the larger size of the D70s and I would miss the 5 autofocus zones.

The D40 sells for $600 WITH a (decent) lens and the D70s BODY alone sells for over $600. You can add the same lens to the D70s for an additional $170, bringing the total purchase to $800. Of course, you will need to buy a memory card for either camera, so allow for that.

Now that I have you spending $800 instead of $600, as I would prefer the D70s, maybe I can talk you into going "just" another $200 and you can consider the D80 with the 18-55 lens... The D80 is a world of difference ahead of EITHER the D40 or the D70s.

Answer 2

The D40 does have a clearer picture than the D70 per pixel but its realtively not noticable. A few draw backs of the D40 is that not all Nikon lenses are compadible with it. The D70 will give you better performance in most situations since it has more focal areas than the D40. But I would stand by the D70 just because the camera is only as good as the lens you have on it, and all of the D40 lenses, or most are, above $1000+.

Answer 3

let me put it this way
D70s is been in the market for quite some time, it is up to many photographer expectation. the function is good and user friendly and it has 5 focus point. while
D40 is the new generation DSLR, it is design for beginer. it has only
3 focus point. The best part is it has almost all the function of its elder brother D70. The only bad thing about D40 is it must use only AF lens, other lens can be use buy manually.
If you are a beginer it would suggest you use D40. It has more new function than D70
Conclusion:- both of the model produce superb quality picture.
have fun with it!

Answer 4

Christianity!

Answer 5

no idea which gives the best performance, but if its any help I have a D70s and I love it

Answer 6

I like the d40 better
I have read some great reviews

Answer 7

there's no great difference between them ...just the lcd size and the weight .....d40 is better

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/compare_post.asp?method=sidebyside&cameras=nikon_d70s%2Cnikon_d40&show=all

Answer 8

Both models, prices from almost every merchant and consumer written reviews at cheapest prices search engine.
http://www.cheapestpricessearchengine.com/

Answer 9

We have found and indexed reviews for both cameras over on our site, if that helps your buying decision --

http://www.reviewhub.com/nikon.html

Good luck!