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The D70 is Nikon's reply to Canon's Digital
Rebel (EOS 300D).
Shown here with the new AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5G IF-ED, the
D70 can be purchased as a kit which includes the aforementioned lens, or "body
only". With its release, the D70 is now one of two digital SLR cameras
that are intended for non-professional users, designed to entice film SLR
users to make the jump to digital. |
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Non-slip rubberized areas are limited to the front and side of the grip
area, and a small area where the thumb rests on the back of the camera.
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Exposure Compensation: ± 5
EV in 1/3 or 1/2 EV increments. |
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Metering mode selection:
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3D colour matrix/ Colour
matrix: Metering is done by a 1,005-pixel
RGB sensor. 3D colour matrix metering uses distance
information provided by the lens. |
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Centre-weighted: calculates
exposure based on the entire frame but assigns greater
importance to the area at the centre of frame. The
size of the centre area can be adjusted (see the
Characteristics section of the review). |
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Spot meters a
circle 2.3 mm (0.09 ) in diameter (approximately
1% of frame). The circle is centred on the current
focus area, making it possible to meter off-centre
subjects. |
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Directly below these buttons
is a large LCD display which can be lit-up at the press of the  button
to its right. When the D70 is turned on, the display indicates
the current status of numerous camera settings at a glance. In
addition, the display is always On, showing the
number of shots that can be captured with the memory card currently
in the camera, or if no memory card is loaded into the camera
it shows: [ -E- ] for empty. |
| Two control dials, the Sub-command
dial, at the top of the grip and directly below the shutter
release, and the Main command dial, on the upper right
side of the D70's back, serve to set most camera functions
and options in combination with other buttons such as the Metering
or the Exposure compensation buttons mentioned above. |
Only the Mode dial is on
the top left of the D70. The Mode dial provides the expected
Program and Priority shooting modes along with a fully Manual
mode. It also provides an Auto mode and a group of Digital
Vari-Programs (scene modes) which automatically optimize
outlines, contrast, saturation, and hue according to the type
of scene.
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Auto is a point and shoot
mode that lets the D70 handle all settings. The slowest shutter
speed is 2 seconds. |
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Portrait records the
subject clearly while background details are softened through
the use of a large aperture. The degree of softening depends
on the amount of light available and a telephoto yields
the best results. |
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Landscape captures vivid
landscape shots that enhance outlines, colours, and contrast
for subjects such as skyscapes and forests. The use of
a wide-angle lens is best. The pop-up flash and the AF
illuminator are turned off automatically and will not turn
on even when lighting is poor. |
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Close-up is intended
to capture small subjects such as insects, flowers, etc.
Reds and greens are enhanced so as to be more vivid and
while the D70 automatically selects the centre focus area,
the focus area selection can be changed. A lens with macro
capability is best but other lenses can be used at their
minimum focus distance. |
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Sports prefers a high
shutter speed to freeze motion. The auto focus is set to
continuous while the shutter release button is pressed
halfway which allows following the subject's movement through
focus areas. A telephoto lens yields the best results and
a tripod is recommended to prevent blurring when a telephoto
lens is used. Both the pop-up flash and the AF illuminator
are turned off automatically and will not fire even when
lighting is poor. |
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Night Landscape allows
a shutter speed as slow as 3 seconds at 200 ISO to capture
night scenery. Noise reduction is automatically applied
to the image if the shutter speed is longer than 1 second.
A tripod, the self-timer, or the optional remote control
(ML-L3) should be used to prevent blurring at slow shutter
speeds. Both the pop-up flash and the AF illuminator are
turned off automatically and will not fire. |
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Night Portrait is designed
to balance the exposure so that both the subject in the
foreground and the dimly lit background are captured. The
flash automatically pops-up and is set to slow synch with
red-eye reduction, but can be turned off if desired. The
slowest shutter speed available is 1.3 second at 200 ISO. |
The other modes are intended to offer more control over the camera:
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Program lets the camera automatically
adjust shutter speed and aperture. The camera's selection of shutter
speed and aperture can be changed with a Flexible Program by turning
the Main command dial which presents alternative combinations. Exposure
compensation and Auto Exposure Bracketing are available. |
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Shutter Priority lets the user
choose the shutter speed while the camera automatically selects the
aperture that will produce the best exposure. Shutter speed can be
set to values between 30 seconds and 1/8,000 second. |
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Aperture Priority lets the user
choose the lens' aperture while the camera controls shutter speed. |
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Manual allows the user to control
both shutter speed and aperture. Shutter speed can be set to values
between 30 seconds and 1/8,000 second, or the shutter can be held
open indefinitely using the Bulb mode. |
Two buttons are positioned directly below the Mode dial:
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Bracketing: provides bracketing
for exposure (2 or 3 shots over ±2EV in increments
of 1/3 or 1/2 EV). Flash bracketing over the same range.
And, white balance bracketing; one shot is captured but 3
are saved with pre-selected colour variations. |
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Shooting mode button:
- Single Frame.
- Continuous: captures images at up to about
3 frames per second when the shutter speed is above
1/250 sec. and while the shutter-release button is
held down.
- Self-timer: selectable delay of 2, 5, 10
or 20 seconds.
- Delayed Remote: 2 second delay. (Requires
optional ML-L3 remote.)
- Quick Response Remote: immediate shutter
release. (Requires optional ML-L3 remote.)
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And five others are arranged along
a gentle arc to the left of the 1.8 inch, 130,000 pixel
monitor:
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Playback enters or exits
the playback mode (touching the shutter release lightly also
exits the playback mode). |
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Menu displays the menu
which has 4 sections: the Playback menu, the Shooting menu,
the Custom Settings menu and the Setup menu. (The first
three of these are examined in the Characteristics section
of the review, and an overview of the Setup is available
in the Interface and Software section of the review.) |
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In addition to being an item
in the camera's menu, ISO can be set with this button
in conjunction with the Main command dial while looking at
the top display. ISO speeds of 200, 250, 320, 400, 500, 640,
800, 1000, 1250, and 1600. |
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In Playback the same button also
presents Thumbnails of images that are on the memory
card. |
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White balance: as with
ISO, white balance can also be set in the menu, but this
button, with the use of the Main command dial, makes the
change faster. The possible settings are: Auto, Incandescent,
Fluorescent, Direct sunlight, Flash, Cloudy, Shade, Preset
(set on the spot for the ambient light). |
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The Help button serves
to obtain a short description of each of the Custom
setting options. In addition, during full frame
or thumbnail playback, this button can also be used to lock frames
to prevent accidental deletion. |
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Allows setting the image quality
with the Main command dial without accessing the menu. (See
the Characteristics section of the review for the
image quality settings available.) |
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serves to confirm some selections
made in the menu or some actions. |
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Magnifies an image displayed
on the screen in Playback. Changing the degree of magnification
requires pressing the button
while turning the Main command dial. |
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The right side of the D70's back
is quite bare in comparison to the left side. One button at the
top serves for:
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Auto Exposure and Auto Focus
Lock: by default, this button locks both exposure and
focus when it is pressed and held, and in use this is reflected
in the viewfinder's data display by EL appearing
near the focus point indicator. The button can be reconfigured
to act as AE Lock only, AF Lock only, AE Lock and Hold
(button needs to be pressed again to cancel), AF On (button
starts the autofocus, not the shutter release), FV Lock
(Flash level locks when the button is pressed, and released
when the button is pressed again). |
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A four direction control called the Multi
selector is next. It serves to navigate the menus, and
select the focus area in many modes (see further). Below
is a sliding lock that serves to lock the AF selection function
if it is undesirable (the Multi selector remains functional
for menu navigation even if locked).
Last on the back is the Delete button  which
erases one image at a time, in Playback.
The D70 is equipped with an accessory shoe that allows SB-series Speedlights,
including the SB-800, 600, 80DX, 28DX, 28, 50DX, 27, 23, 22S, and 29S to
be mounted directly on the camera without a sync cable. The accessory shoe
is equipped with a safety lock for Speedlights with a locking pin, such
as the SB-800 and SB-80DX.
In addition the D70 also has an electrically released pop-up flash with
a Guide Number 15 m/49 ft at 200 ISO, the camera's nominal sensitivity.
A button, on the left side of the prism housing, serves to control the
flash, its modes and flash compensation:
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releases the flash, and serves
to select the flash with a button just below the prism housing,
on the left side of the camera. The flash modes available
to the user depend on the shooting mode in use, but cover:
- Auto flash,
- Auto flash with red-eye reduction,
- Forced off, Auto slow synch,
- Auto Slow synch with red-eye reduction,
- Rear curtain synch,
- Slow rear-curtain synch.
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Flash Compensation:
is set using the Sub-command dial on the upper part of
the grip. A compensation range of -3EV to +1 EV in 1/3
or 1/2 EV increments is available. |
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Still on the front left of the D70,
the lens release is next, followed by the Focus mode selector:
Auto focus or Manual focus.
The TTL viewfinder of the D70 is very similar to the one on the D100 and
provides a diopter adjustment (-1.6 to +0.5 m-¹). It offers
a very crisp image and is equipped with an on-demand composition grid. |
The grid flashes from black to red along with
the focus points when the shutter release is pressed halfway.
The main focus point in use is indicated with a thicker mark.
An illuminated display below the viewfinder provides information on all
major settings including, of course, aperture and shutter speed, AF indication
and AF point, exposure compensation and the number of shots remaining. |
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Nikon provides a plastic cover
for the LCD monitor to protect it against scratches and wear.
The cover clips at the top and bottom and, in use, is generally
unobtrusive.
Ergonomically, the D70 is pure SLR. It provides a comfortable grip
that imparts it with an excellent in-hand feel. Its controls are logically
placed, and easily reached which avoids having to hunt around for them
when the camera is at eye-level. |
| To the user though, the most
noticeable aspect of the Nikon D70 is that it is immediately
ready to shoot when the power switch is pushed to the On position.
While all digital SLR are fast, this one is even faster. |
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Introduction
