Nikon D70

Viewfinder (6.0)
The Nikon D70 has a fixed eye-level penta-DACH-mirror optical viewfinder, similar to that on the Canon EOS Digital Rebel. What does that mean? In simple terms, the Nikon D70 and the Canon EOS Digital Rebel use a series of mirrors to reflect the image from the shutter mirror to the eyepiece. This is a cheaper and more lightweight option than the pentaprism viewfinders of the Canon EOS 10D and Nikon D100. The Nikon D70’s viewfinder also has a clear matte screen with on-demand grid lines and focus brackets to aid in composing your images. Like the Canon EOS Digital Rebel, the Nikon D70 boasts a 95% image coverage with its viewfinder. The diopter adjustment option ranges from -1.6 to + 0.5 m ¹.

LCD screen (5.5)
The LCD screen (or monitor) on the Nikon D70 is a standard 1.8 inches, but it has a very impressive 130,000 pixel resolution that puts the 118,000 pixels of the Canon EOS Digital Rebel and the Canon EOS 10D to shame. You can tell that Nikon is proud of this feat because they included a great little plastic monitor cover to protect it! The brightness on the LCD screen ranges from -2 to +2 and can be adjusted by going into the set-up section of the menu and using the multi-selector. The Nikon D70 has one of the best LCD screens that I’ve seen, rivaling any other on the market.

Flash (8.5)
The flash mode on the Nikon D70 (accessed through the custom setting menu) has three selections to choose from: TTL (through the lens), manual, and commander. Using i-TTL flash control, the Nikon D70’s Speedlight can be used be used for full or fill-in flash purposes. The standard flash mode is activated automatically in both manual mode and also when spot metering is selected in program, shutter, and aperture priority modes. This is good for exposing correctly for subjects in the foreground at the expense of the background detail. The fill flash option on the Nikon D70 is activated automatically for all modes (except manual) and also when spot metering is selected in program, shutter, and aperture priority modes. The fill flash speedlight gives off a series of nearly undetectable pre-flashes that help the metering system adjust for a natural balance between the foreground and background of the image.

Manual flash on the Nikon D70 has adjustable settings: full power, 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, and 1/16 power. When the built-in Speedlight is activated in manual, program, shutter, or aperture priority, the flash will fire at the chosen setting. Within commander mode you have the option of TTL flash control, manual, and AA (auto aperture). This mode is best for situations in which more than one Speedlight is in use, as in wireless flash photography. I was impressed with the flash capabilities of the Nikon D70.

Zoom Lens (8.5)
The zoom on a digital SLR camera functions the same way as on a traditional SLR. Simply rotate the zoom ring on the outside of the lens and watch through the viewfinder to see how the range changes. The zoom on the kit lens that comes along with the Nikon D70 ranges from 18mm to 70mm – a great range if you’re only carrying one lens around. It gives you the opportunity to capture a wide area while allowing you to zoom in and get closer to subjects that are far away. The kit lens on the Canon EOS Digital Rebel only allows you to go from 18mm to 55mm, eliminating any shots where you need even the slightest bit of telephoto.

The Nikon D70 has a D lens mount and can accommodate many different lenses. The Nikon D70 kit comes with a Nikkor AF-S DX 18-70mm 1:3.5-4.5 lens. As I said, I am very pleased with this lens and found that it gave me more flexibility than the kit lens that comes with the Canon EOS Digital Rebel, but you can choose to buy a variety of lenses. It is recommended to use CPU lenses with either a D or G mount, such as the Nikkor 10.5mm f/2.8G ED AF DX Fisheye, Nikkor 12-24mm f/4G ED-IF AF-S DX Zoom, Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8G IF-ED AF-S DX Zoom, or the Nikkor 18-70mm f3.5-4.5G ED-IF AF-S DX Zoom lens. The Nikkor DX lenses are lighter and designed more for digital cameras than the other Nikkor lenses on the market.