My camera is at Nikon for second repair, First time the Flash would not retract, They fixed that problem, Now it is back as the camera does not recognise that a memory card is present. I m now in my second week of waiting for this repair.

This is a good camera. The only real complaint is the lack of raw jpeg or tiff storage (you can store raw or compressed jpeg only)

That means a lot of dark room work, or a lot a reduction in printable size. ISO Range is also limited to 200 in the lower end.

A word of caution. When you see this camera selling for new at a price that is significantly below what the Amazon vendor Adorama offers (A reputable lower prices kind of firm) be very cautious.

There are a lot of scams where they offer you a ridiculously low price ($500) for new camera but only if you contact them first. Then they try and upsell you and if you dont buy a bunch of over priced very expensive garbage they cancel your order, but then they have you credit info.

[...]look at Genius Cameras to get a good idea of how this works.

Good luck, great camera.

Sometimes it won't let me take a picture. I finally figured out why - different focusing systems are very particular. Read the manual chapter on focusing. You'll learn about its different modes and each mode's requirements.

I've owned the D70 since the first day it was available in the U.S. of A. It's a great camera with too many features to ever use. Oh yea, that's because its Japanese!

This camera is awesome! I have a Nikon N80 35mm film camera and the D70 is basically a digital version of the N80. They look and perform in very similar manners. The D70 is slightly taller and heavier than the N80, though. I do want to warn people that digital photography with a D-SLR is different than film photography with a 35mm SLR. It takes practice and a little time to get used to it. But once you do you'll love it!

The D70 has pretty much everything a digital SLR needs. It takes exceptionally sharp pictures with the 6.1 MP sensor. The rechargeable battery lasts forever. So far I've taken about 200 pictures (some with flash, some without), reviewed the pics on the LCD and experimented with various menu functions and the battery meter hasn't gone down any yet.

The menu on the D70 is expansive. It has all kinds of customizations to make the camera fit your personal preferences (Like which control knob changes aperture or shutter speed, bracketing order, self timer length, etc). The camera also includes many white balance settings and adjustments like vivid, saturation, contrast, etc.

The camera can take pictures in 5 different options: NEF(RAW), JPEG fine, JPEG Normal, JEPG Basic and NEF+JPEG Basic. And the pictures can be taken in 3 sizes: L (3,008x 2000), M (2,240x 1,488) and S (1,504x 1,000).

The D70 has a very fast write time to the memory card. Plus it has a memory buffer which lets you continue taking pictures even while the camera is writing to the card. Because of this I would recommend saving some money by buying a basic type memory card. I don't think you really need a "high speed" card. When I was testing out my camera, with a basic card, I was able to take 7-8 JPEG Fine pictures in about 3-4 seconds before the camera's buffer filled up (as soon as a picture is written to the card the buffer frees up space and so you can continue to take pictures but the picture taking rate slows down, maybe 1/sec. instead of 3/sec.)

The viewfinder is very clear and has a bar at the bottom that tells you shutter speed, aperture, metering numbers, etc. You can elect to add horizontal and vertical lines to the viewfinder as one of your custom settings. I would recommend doing this since it helps you keep things leveled up.

Auto focus is fast and pretty accurate most of the time. Of course you need AF lenses to utilize this feature. There is really no "shutter lag." As soon as you push the shutter button the camera takes the picture. Also, there is no start up time when you turn the camera on.

There are a few things I wish the D70 had. First, I wish it had a bigger viewfinder (like the one in the N80). Second, I wish it had "live view" on the LCD monitor like point and shoot cameras. As far as I know no D-SLRs have "live view." Since SLRs have a through the lens viewfinder the camera's mirror (which flips up when the picture is taken) blocks the digital sensor. Third, I wish it had a sensitivity speed of ISO 100. And fourth, I wish it had a mirror lockup mode for taking slower shutter speed pictures (The mirror can be locked up for cleaning, why not for picture taking!).

In conclusion, this is a great camera and you will not be disappointed. I think it is a steal for $1,000 since it has many professional D-SLR features. I would definitely buy it again and I very highly recommend it. Best of luck in your digital photography endeavor!

Love the camera. Perfect for move from film slr to digital slr. I love this camera. Will keep it for life.

I've been a Nikon owner for 15 years now and finally made the change to digital. I love everything about the camera...except for the limited use of the older flashes. I have a SB24 flash that was a wonderful flash for the film cameras, but it is of limited use now with the D70. But I guess that's to be expected to keep moving forward. I would recommend this camera to anyone looking for a DSLR whether they have Nikon lenses or not.

For anyone familiar with Nikon SLRs wanting to make the change to digital...this is the solution. Same feel and basic operation as the popular film SLR with the added convenience and cost saving of using the lenses you already own. Only good things to say about my purchase.

The D70 is the digital SLR to record daily life and life events. With a 6 megapixel resolution limits the size of prints you can make with it to about 11" by 17". If this is not a problem for you then this is your digital camera. If you want to be able to make larger prints with good resolution, then you need to spend a great deal more money for a higher resolution digital camera (about $5,000) or stick with film. I keep my old N90 for these purposes.

Buy the D70 without the bundled 18-70 Nikon lens if (1) you already have a bundle of Nikon lenses; or (2) if you want a more capable first lens for your camera. If you want a more capable lens I strongly recommend the Nikon 24-120 lens. It cost $500 from B&H photo and will wind up being the lens you always keep on your camera. Its equivalent range in film cameras is 36-180 - in other words slight wide angle to more than satisfactory telephoto. This is the fourth generation of this lens by Nikon and it now has all the bells and whistles: Nikons best ed glass for super sharp and clear pictures, silent wave motor for extremely fast focusing, and vibration reduction to eliminate the shakes in low light. Nikon has other excellent zooms and you may want to look at them but I can highly recommend this lens as one to have if you never want to miss a shot of the kids or what is happening at the instant.

The D70 comes bundled with one EN-EL3 battery. To get started with the camera I suggest the following in addition:
* One extra EN-EL3 Lithium-Ion Battery.
* Two 2GB 80X CompactFlash cards with write acceleration (WA) technology.
* One CF card reader for your computer. Firewire or USB connection depending upon your needs.

As time and money permit you may want to add the following:
* A telephoto lens for wildlife and sporting events. The 70-300mm F4-5.6G AF Nikon is a great value and complements the bundled lens nicely. If money is not an object step up to the 70-300ED or the 70-200 F2.8 with vibration reduction.
* A good macro lens such as the AF Micro Nikon 105mm f2.8.
* Polarizing filters for both your basic lens and the telephoto. Get Nikon filters there is no sense in spending money for Nikon lenses and then putting junk filters on them.
* A bag to carry all this stuff.

This will get you nicely started. Further down the line you may wish to get the following:
* A speedlight. Either the SB 600 or 800.
* A tripod and ballhead.

Be sure to check prices at B&H Photo as well as those shown here. They have a tremendous selection and have long been known and trusted by serious photographers. In addition I would suggest that anyone who buys a D70 join Nikonians. There or literally tens of thousands of people who are more than happy to help you with any question you may have about Nikon Cameras, lenses and other equipment as well as help you with your photography skills. And, bet of all, it's free! Go to nikonians.org.

After using the Nikon F100 for a while & was very happy with it, I've decided to get a D70 because some online stores offered a very good price on it.

While very enjoyable to use in general, I do feel it has a few flaws:
1) I'm unable to set which focus point is used for focusing (the camera does that automatically)
2) Unlike many other of Nikon's digital SRL's, the D70 doesn't use the sanme remote cord as my F100, but requires a USB connectioned one.
3) Raw format pictures are downloaded as NEF files, which is pretty useless.
4) The download process is too complicated - since the camera requires the drive letter that is immidiatelly after the drive letter for the computer's CD burner, it took me quite a while to manage to download some pictures to ,y computer, even though I'm fimiliar with Digital Cameras.

I shopped around a lot, and couldn't find a comparable camera for this price. It has full-featured Auto mode and all the manual control you'd want at the same time - a must get.

Many of my best shots have been with this camera and I find it fast when taking consecutive photos. Colors are average while manual functions are tedious.. This camera is quite bulky for travelling but gives you good shots. I recommend having a professional SLR camera together with a compact camera like FUJI F10. The colors and clarity of the pictures of the 6 MP FUJI are superb to the Nikon D70, not to mention the feather weight of it.

I've been a "prosumer" for many years, and was always frustrated that as much as I might try I couldn't make photos like Galen Rowell or those found in Outdoor Photography. I tried using Velvia, took classes, all the rest. Now, with the D70, I think I can pictures I can be proud of. And perhaps more importantly, that my wife likes.

I'm just finishing a trip to France and I'm delighted with the D70. It's various automatic modes work great and really, my photos look fantastic. As a friend suggested, I always use the highest-resolution offered so that later I can crop as needed, and the slowest ISO speed. Down in Paris' catacombs I took great free-handed photos in the near-darkness by increasing the "film speed" to 1600. How'd you like to try that with film?

The other VERY great thing is the battery. I've had a CoolPix 900 and found myself having to carry a bandolier of batteries; it seemed like they needed changing about every ten photos. The D70 just seems to go on forever. Since the time I bought it (in late November) and first charged it, I've had to re-charge once. That's it.

So it you've got an investment in Nikon lenses and want to leverage that investment, the D70's a great opportunity. At least for now it's everything I've always wanted.

My first DSLR was a Nikon D100. The D100 was a marvel at the time, one of the first affordable DSLRs, but when the D70 came out, I bought one. The D70 is the camera that the D100 should have been, with much improved placement of controls, and menus that were much improved in appearance (after a firmware upgrade). I've taken several thousand photos with the D70, and some of them have won contests with nice prizes. For the current price, I doubt if there's a better bargain to be had.

I recently bought a Nikon D200, but I'll definitely keep my D70 for a backup.

The D70, especially since the d70s came out, is a bargain. I bought the D70 and upgraded the firmware (easy - see nikon website) and now have a D70s sans the .2 inch larger screen on the back.
I used to do freelance work and have boxes of nikon accessories to play with so I just bought the body. Only complaint? These new D-series cameras don't seem to like the old flash units. Oh, and when will Nikon go full frame so we don't have to deal with these small-sensor lens (or the conversion factor) and use our old proper film ones. Alas.

Otherwise the D70 is perfect...
Light weight. Depth of field preview. Grid in the viewfinder. Instant on. Fast processing. The new built-in wireless "commander-mode" with the new flashes.
This camera is a joy to use.

The D70, especially since the d70s came out, is a bargain. I bought the D70 and upgraded the firmware (easy - see nikon website) and now have a D70s sans the .2 inch larger screen on the back.
I used to do freelance work and have boxes of nikon accessories to play with so I just bought the body. Only complaint? These new D-series cameras don't seem to like the old flash units. Oh, and when will Nikon go full frame so we don't have to deal with these small-sensor lens (or the conversion factor) and use our old proper film ones. Alas.

Otherwise the D70 is perfect...
Light weight. Depth of field preview. Grid in the viewfinder. Instant on. Fast processing. The new built-in wireless "commander-mode" with the new flashes.
This camera is a joy to use.

i had one of these: the d70 kit. i still have the 18-70mm lens from the kit but retired and sold the body. it was a wonderful companion. fast, incredible battery life, super quality images. the only camera better than this beast is the body that replaced it: a d80.

It is easy to use. Believe it or not this is my back up camera to my Nikon N90s 35mm. It does everything the way its supposed to and does it without a problem. I bought it used this year in June. This is my first digital SLR. It isn't the best and I knew that when I bought it. I have no complaints. It is just a simple pro-sumer camera. I'd buy again.

I bought this camera 3 years ago, and it worked beautifully until on a long trip in Yellowstone. After changing the memory card, the mirror locked up, as other posts mention, making the camera completely useless. Since I was past the warranty period, Nikon told me I would be charged, even though they had (have) a vague-enough-to-weasel-out-of service advisory out for this problem. The way the service works is to receive the camera, have a front desk monkey put it into a cost-to-repair category, which you must then authorize payment for before they will proceed to actually see what is wrong with the camera. When I asked how they knew what it would cost and why it wasn't covered under the service advisory when they didn't know what the specific problem was, they just told me they always hear the same complaint (should be a warning to them), but that's the way they'd always done it. I should have bought a Canon. Their service is well-known to be top-notch in the industry, and the cameras are good quality for a lower price. I highly recommend AGAINST Nikon, unless you're buying lenses and flashes.