D70 upgrade to ???

[Winnie]

Hi Folks,

I've had my D70 since June '05 and it has served me well. Never broken down or caused me a problem. I feel that things have moved on quite a bit and wonder whether I should be looking to upgrade to something newer?

My current kit is :-

D70
18-70
50 1.8
Sigma 70-200 2.8
Tamron 90 2.8
SB800

Now, I have been reading loads of threads regarding upgrading and I can't decide between the D80, the D200 or maybe just some new glass. I shoot portraits, hopefully weddings, macro/nature and some landscapes. I don't often shoot sports but could do in the future. What would be a good upgrade route for me? Money is not a major concern as I have a bonus coming soon.

The D80 seem like a move sideways in some respects whereas the D200 is a move more into a semi-pro body. I could really use some guidance on this one.

Thanks in advance.

Alex

[Bonner]

I have a feeling you will hear the D200 owners saying D200 and the D80's, theirs. Looks to me like you have enough in the way of lenses and money is not an issue. I think you will be happy with either one and if you do paid work, the D70 is a great backup camera. -Jim

[cyclohexane]

D200 would be my choice. You would also not have to buy SD cards if you don't have any. I calculated the cost of replacing my D70 with a D80, and to get enough SD cards for the volume of shooting I sometimes do, I might as well buy a D200 and use my existing cards.

Naturally, I didn't do either and put the cash towards school, but that's another story. =)

[koisanke]

I have both and would say the D200 would be the better choice if you can afford it. It uses the same card you currently use, of course the glass can still be used with either one. The D200 has a much better meter and a sturdier body. So for the extra $400.00 or so I would go with the D200.

[Marc Kurth]

Alex,

I don't see a clear reason to change. What are you unhappy with right now?

Marc

[Winnie]

Thanks folks.

I only have 1x1gb and 2x256mb CF cards so changing cards is not a big deal. I don't shoot hundreds and hundreds of images in one go anyway, it tends to be <100 on most occasions.

Marc, The only thing I have been frustrated with recently is the AF on the D70. When shooting lifestyle portraits I feel like I am missing some opportunities by it not locking on quickly enough. Now whether either the D80/D200 will be significantly faster remains to be seen but that is a major selling point for me. The screen on the 70 is also a miserly 1.8" and the viewfinder is quite dark, when I wear my glasses it makes shooting tricky at times.

Ultimately I don't HAVE/NEED to change but I feel the 70 is getting a bit long in the tooth and that maybe I should upgrade to newer technologies. That might be totally wrong though. I can't say hand on heart that I have mastered the D70 which perhaps means I should stick with what I have. If I do get into weddings I will need a 2nd body and had thought that the 70 as backup and something else as main would work well.

Regards

Alex

[cyclohexane]

The only thing I have been frustrated with recently is the AF on the D70. When shooting lifestyle portraits I feel like I am missing some opportunities by it not locking on quickly enough.

I'd suggest manual focus, but it's pretty hard to manual focus anywhere other than infinity using the D70 viewfinder.

The screen on the 70 is also a miserly 1.8" and the viewfinder is quite dark, when I wear my glasses it makes shooting tricky at times.

Sounds like the AF is not the only thing you're frustrated with...

The viewfinder is worth upgrading for. My perscription is quite strong, and I was surprised at how much my compositions improved when I bought my D2H (the D200 wasn't out yet) and was able to see through the lens again. =)

Now, the screen, I've found that bigger screens often equate to chimping temptation, and I've missed a few shots enjoying the nice screen on my D2HS, which is light years ahead of the D2H screen. It's not as nice as the D200 screen, but it's close...

maybe I should upgrade to newer technologies. That might be totally wrong though.

I've found that most of the time, upgrading to newer technologies causes my work to temporarily degrade until I get a feel for the new camera.

If I do get into weddings I will need a 2nd body and had thought that the 70 as backup and something else as main would work well.

I personally don't like the idea of having different bodies as back-up cameras; it's not very convenient to switch, especially if you end up shooting them both at once. My D2H and D70 served as back-ups for each other (depending on what I was shooting), and whenever I'd shoot with both I found it pretty annoying making the switch. For one thing, if I slung the D2H to switch to a wider angle lens when shooting sports, I'd suddenly discover that I couldn't see anything, courtesy of the D70 viewfinder. I got used to that pretty quickly, but then I'd always find something else that was different between the two bodies that'd snag me, and every time I paused was a potential missed shot.

[badpickev]

up until sports i would say S5. it was made for the portrait, studio, wedding photog

[Marc Kurth]

IMHO, Michael supplied the best info in his post above

I bought a pair of D70's during the initial release - then moved to a pair of D200's just over a year ago. One of my D70's had 66,000 actuations, the other 24,000 - neither one ever missed a beat and were working perfectly when I sold them.

I switched for the viewfinder and metering with my old AI(S) primes - not because of reliability or image quality. (I produced some pretty decent magazine and billboard work with the little D70’s)

Things I found:
- D200 viewfinder alone is almost enough justification for the upgrade
- AF is way better, but it's not up with the D2 bodies
- The D200 will more readily show any weaknesses in lenses (yours will be fine)
- D200 files require a very different post processing workflow
- Battery life of the D200 is a fraction of the D70, but still reasonable if you are careful

Bottom line is I'm very happy with the change, but there is a learning curve.

Marc

[Winnie]

Thanks all, appreciate all the great information.

I have decided that my heart is set on a D200 and my head is following on quickly behind. All I need now are the pennies and I am away. Maybe I should start upgrading my CF cards now in readiness too.

One other thing I should ask is whether or not I will need a better tripod head or legs because the weight of the kit will increase? I currently have Manfrotto 190ProB legs with a 484rc2 head. It's fairly lightweight but might be ok to start with?

Cheers

Alex

[cyclohexane]

By the way, I do have experience shooting the D200. It isn't a good fit with the D70 if you're shooting them together. The D200 does integrate pretty well with my D2H or D2HS bodies, but I find myself mashing the bracket button and wondering why the screen stays off. The different location for ISO, QUAL, and WB didn't actually bug me, probably because I knew there wasn't the second back LCD with the buttons under it, so I wouldn't look for them in the first place.

Battery life of the D200 is a fraction of the D70, but still reasonable if you are careful

Yup. Luckily, EN-EL3e's are reasonably-priced and small, so one can carry some extras. When shooting JPEG, the battery life improves.

[Marc Kurth]

Luckily, EN-EL3e's are reasonably-priced and small, so one can carry some extras. When shooting JPEG, the battery life improves.

You’re right, shooting jpg does help (which I do about half the time) along with reduced chimping. I added the battery grip to one of mine because it holds two stock batteries OR my rechargeable AA's which that I have tons of for my flash's. In a pinch, I could always use alkaline but I haven’t tried it.

I forgot to mention that I really, really like the "cropability" of the larger files. I can only get out to 420mm (300 plus a 1.4) but I really need 600mm sometimes.......

I'm constantly amazed at just how far I can push the cropping - assuming that I did a good job on the original......

Marc

[rootrider]

Originally Posted by Marc Kurth

- D200 files require a very different post processing workflow

mind explaining this further?

[tsp]

With the EN-EL3e battery I was averaging about 400 shots on the d200 shooting JPGs and I had the image preview turned on. Then I was going to shoot an Auto-X event ad decided to buy a third battery, just so I would have enough for the day. I turned off the image preview and then shot 3200 images on the the 2 batteries in the MB-D200 and never had to use the third battery. I would just occasionally check an image or two just to verify some pan shots I was doing. I would rate the battery as excellent.

[badpickev]

see jpegs are where fuji shines try the s5 when it comes out. see if its what you are looking for.

[Nikonfreak]

Originally Posted by Winnie

Thanks folks.

I only have 1x1gb and 2x256mb CF cards so changing cards is not a big deal. I don't shoot hundreds and hundreds of images in one go anyway, it tends to be <100 on most occasions.

Marc, The only thing I have been frustrated with recently is the AF on the D70. When shooting lifestyle portraits I feel like I am missing some opportunities by it not locking on quickly enough. Now whether either the D80/D200 will be significantly faster remains to be seen but that is a major selling point for me. The screen on the 70 is also a miserly 1.8" and the viewfinder is quite dark, when I wear my glasses it makes shooting tricky at times.

Ultimately I don't HAVE/NEED to change but I feel the 70 is getting a bit long in the tooth and that maybe I should upgrade to newer technologies. That might be totally wrong though. I can't say hand on heart that I have mastered the D70 which perhaps means I should stick with what I have. If I do get into weddings I will need a 2nd body and had thought that the 70 as backup and something else as main would work well.

Regards

Alex

Personally, I would say that if you don't have a real reason to change or upgrade... don't.

If you need the faster / better focusing systems of the D80 or D200, then by all means go for it. The D200 and D80 are really excellent cameras.

The D70 may be getting long in the tooth, but there was a guy shooting the Orange Bowl game on the sidelines with a D70s... so I don't know how bad that camera is. Also, I see lots of guys out there at events with D1 generation cameras... so "old" and "outdated" are not the same thing.

If you don't really have a need to upgrade the body, then if you have a need for a particular lens, look at glass. My take... I gave up on collecting lenses and now only purchase a lens that I'd I would use on a consistent basis.

Julio

[Winnie]

Thanks for the comment Julio.

I guess those thoughts may be in my mind too if I could admit it.

Alex

[cyclohexane]

Try this. Borrow/rent/whatever (don't steal, unless it's only temporarily, lol) a D200, and shoot with it as you would with your current kit. At the end of the day, ask yourself, do you need any of the better aspects, or do you merely want them? If it's mostly want, I'd go back and think hard. If it's need, buy it!

If you don't really have a need to upgrade the body, then if you have a need for a particular lens, look at glass. My take... I gave up on collecting lenses and now only purchase a lens that I'd I would use on a consistent basis.

I'm with Julio on this one. I also realized recently that collecting lenses doesn't do jack. There are very few lenses that I shoot on a regular basis.

My grab-and-go bag (ThinkTank Glass Taxi, great bag) contains a D2H, D2HS, 17-35mm f/2.8, and 70-200mm f/2.8, plus memory cards and an extra battery. It sits here always at the ready for emergencies (like one today), and I rarely shoot work with anything else. If I need flashes, raincovers, more extra batteries, I can just drop them right in. If I need to carry something different, I can swap in a lens with the 17-35mm or remove the 70-200 and stuff in lenses and other accessories.

Also, adding a lens has turned into pure agony as I can't justify anything 100% right now.

[Nikonfreak]

Originally Posted by cyclohexane

Try this. Borrow/rent/whatever (don't steal, unless it's only temporarily, lol) a D200, and shoot with it as you would with your current kit. At the end of the day, ask yourself, do you need any of the better aspects, or do you merely want them? If it's mostly want, I'd go back and think hard. If it's need, buy it!

I'm with Julio on this one. I also realized recently that collecting lenses doesn't do jack. There are very few lenses that I shoot on a regular basis.

My grab-and-go bag (ThinkTank Glass Taxi, great bag) contains a D2H, D2HS, 17-35mm f/2.8, and 70-200mm f/2.8, plus memory cards and an extra battery. It sits here always at the ready for emergencies (like one today), and I rarely shoot work with anything else. If I need flashes, raincovers, more extra batteries, I can just drop them right in. If I need to carry something different, I can swap in a lens with the 17-35mm or remove the 70-200 and stuff in lenses and other accessories.

Also, adding a lens has turned into pure agony as I can't justify anything 100% right now.

I totally agree. I am going to be looking at the Lowe Pro Slingshot 300 (new and carries an SLR and 4-5 lenses) but I too am having difficulty addressing any need for new glass. I use the glass I have quite a bit and don't see a real pressing "need" for any new glass.

My standard kit for a show is :

Lowe Pro Street and Field Shoulder Harness system.

2 Nikon D200 bodies
Nikon 28-70 f/2.8
Nikon 70-200 f/2.8 AF-S VR
Nikon 300 f/2.8 AF-S VR
Nikon 35 f/2
Nikon 50 f/1.8
Nikon 12-24 f/4 (sometimes goes and sometimes stays home)
6 EN EL3e batteries
Nikon SB 800 flash
14-20 gigs of CF cards (Sandisk)

After the Orange Bowl, I see a need for a rain cover for my Nikon 300 f/2.8 VR. (It was raining badly) but I could also use a nice plastic bag for $1

Julio

[cyclohexane]

I see a need for a rain cover for my Nikon 300 f/2.8 VR. (It was raining badly) but I could also use a nice plastic bag for $1

Honestly, I think the lenses, especially the G pro lenses, are well-sealed enough for use in even moderate rain. I was caught in a downpour with my 70-200 in my hand, and it survived without any issues. I'd still keep something handy to protect it if expecting rain, but unless I live in an environment where heavy downpours are the norm I probably would just use plastic bags. I probably wouldn't even get anywhere close to the cost of a raincover, no matter how many I went through.

I am going to be looking at the Lowe Pro Slingshot 300 (new and carries an SLR and 4-5 lenses)

My big beef with the slingshot-type packs is that they don't always provide enough support when filled. The Lowepros have better straps than the Tamrac's, but they're not that much better, IMHO. I used to use a Tamrac Velocity 9 (held a D2H, D70, 18-70, 50, 70-200, flash, memory cards and batteries), but it carried really poorly. Using the waist strap would remedy the problem to great degree, but then accessing the kit became harder, which defeats the purpose of a slingshot.

I use the glass I have quite a bit and don't see a real pressing "need" for any new glass.

The only real "need" I have is a supertele for when I need more reach than 200mm without compromising quality, but it'll probably be a while before I need it, as I don't see myself shooting any field sports until next fall. Also, trying to pick one is harder than deciding which camera system to buy into, LOL.