MaximumPC 2004 06

Nikon’s new D70 digital SLR body

should have cost-conscious F-mount

fans doing cartwheels. This hot new

digicam puts to rest any nagging

fears that the company had simply

given up to Canon. At $1,000

for the body, which is plastic yet

sturdy, the D70 is an amazing tool

with many features that outstrip

cameras costing $500 more.

Among the camera’s most

impressive attributes is its buffering

ability. Use a high-speed CF card,

set the D70 to “normal” quality

(1:8 JPEG compression versus 1:4),

and you can hold down the shutter

release until the Compact Flash card

fills up at 3 frames per second with

no slowdown. Every other digital

SLR on the market (including more

expensive professional models) bogs

down after the buffer’s been filled,

but not the D70. Nikon says you

can shoot about 144 photos before

the camera slows down, but we

were able to capture more than 150

images at the “fine” setting.

But the D70 isn’t just about

machine-gun photography. It’s

also an excellent 6.1 megapixel

camera. Nikon won’t disclose

who makes the sensors for

its digital SLRs but the D70’s

imager offers noiseless, nicely

saturated pictures at low ISOs.

We did find, however, that as

the ISO ramps up to 1600, the

noise—similar to graininess in

high-speed film—became more

pronounced. While far cleaner

than most 1600 speed films, the

CCD imager is definitely inferior

to the CMOS sensors used in

Canon’s digital SLR cameras.

More troubling to us are the

moiré patterns that appear in

images produced by the D70.

Moiré patterns occur when a fine

pattern, like a row of houses, or

even a tweed jacket, interacts with

the fine mesh of photoreceptors

in a camera, resulting in a series of

colored bands in photographs. Most

digital cameras exhibit some moiré

at times, but with the D70, it’s more

noticeable. In fact, we found the

D70’s moiré patterns to be far worse

than those of the Canon EOS 10D

in side-by-side comparisons.

But is the moiré issue a deal

breaker? We asked our own staff

photographers, both Nikon

shooters, and got a split opinion.

One said she definitely couldn’t

live with it, while the other said

that if he were a vested Nikon

user on a budget, he could accept

the moiré. Realistically speaking,

the moiré patterns will show

up in just a small percentage of

shots, and then only at high-

magnification, so it’s excusable as

far as we’re concerned. That said,

image freaks might do well to wait

a month or two in case Nikon

resolves the problem.

While the D70 can’t beat the

competition in moiré, it’s got

the edge in user tweaks. Canon’s

Digital Rebel broke new ground by

being the first digital SLR for less

than $1,000. To get there, though,

Canon gutted most of the advanced

features and tweaks. Nikon took the

opposite tact, giving budget users

additional control. If you want the

camera to, say, switch to a higher

ISO speed when you hit 1/30 of a

second instead of 1/60, you can do

that. The D70’s electro/mechanical

shutter also lets the camera sync

at 1/500 of a second. This lets

you shoot with a flash at higher

shutter speeds.

The D70’s focusing capabilities

are another story. The focus point

system—borrowed from Nikon’s

$250 film SLRs—is hard to read,

a flaw that’s compounded by the

viewfinder’s smaller-than-average

size. Furthermore, the D70 doesn’t

let you change focus modes without

digging into the menu.

Still, these are minor nitpicks.

We were prepared to give the D70 a

Kick Ass award, as it truly whoops

the competition in feature set,

but the moiré issue tempered our

enthusiasm. We’ll revisit the D70

down the road to see if the matter

has been corrected.

—GORDON MAH UNG

than most 1600 speed films, the

Nikon’s 6-megapixel D70 offers features that

can’t be found in cameras that cost $500 more.

Incredibly fast performance and 1/500

sync speed.

VELVIA

VELVEETA

Noticeable moiré, and unable to easily change

autofocus modes.

$1,000 body only ($1,300 with 18-70mm

F/3.5-4.5 lens), http://www.nikonusa.com

MAXIMUMPC VERDICT 9

Nikon D70

The newest budget digital SLR on the market rocks the

competition with high resolutions and fast write speeds

Reviews

A nagging

concern we

have with the

D70 is the

occurrence

of excessive

moiré patterns,

as seen on

the roof tops

behind the

power line.

SPECS

Sensor 6.1MP (3008x2000) CCD imager

Metering 1005 pixel color meter with

matrix metering, variable center

weighted metering (75 percent

with adjustable diameter circle),

1 percent spot metering

Drive 3 fps for 144 exposures using

high-speed media (tested

beyond 144 by staff)

Flash Built-in with 1/500 sync and

support for wireless i-TTL with

SB600 flash units

ISO range 200-1600

Storage Compact Flash Type I and Type II

with FAT32 support

 MAXIMUMPC JUNE 2004