I'm ready to make the leap to a digital SLR, and I was hoping to find a bit of advice from those who've already blazed the trail for me. It's been a gradual move for me. I bought a Nikon CoolPix 990 in 2002, but still wasn't ready to give up on film. Well, the film cameras ended up staying in the bag, then staying home entirely. My well-worn and much-beloved F3HP's went on the eBay block in late 2003, followed by the first FM in 2004 and the other FM in 2005. :embarassed: The only film camera I own now is a faithful old FE whose meter rarely judges the light of day. Everything else - enlargers, strobes, darkroom stuff, all of it - has been e-traded (mostly to fund my trains). Anyway, I've sort of come full circle. A few years of digital convenience has hooked me, and now I find myself wanting to do the things that I can't easily do with the old 990, but without getting developer stains on my fingers and film dents in my wallet. I do a lot of railfanning, and the area in which I live is conducive to shooting slow trains, relatively close. I also like to shoot landscapes, mostly autumn leaves and farm scenes, both found in abundance in western PA. In more controlled settings, I take a lot of portraits and project shots, and I'd like to be able to get some quality model railroad shots as well. I've decided on either the D70s or D80 (just can't go non-Nikon), but I'm really not sure which would better fit the type of shooting I wish to do. The D80 has that 4+ MP advantage, of course, but I'm not sure how important that is for me, as I can't imagine wishing to make prints larger than 8x10, or 11x14 at the very largest. The D70s has a higher shutter speed of 1/8000, but the D80, while slower at 1/4000, has an electronically-controlled shutter. The D80 is a more up-to-date platform, but with the D70s, I could have the camera with the same lens (Nikkor 18-135) and Nikon's CaptureNX software (which I've read is quite an impressive package) for about the same price as the D80, and be able to continue using my current crop of CF cards as opposed to the D80's SD cards. Beyond that, the two cameras seem remarkably similar, so I figure the best path to take is an appeal to experience. What do you folks who have experience with these platforms think of them - pros and cons, strengths and weaknesses? Somebody please help me empty my wallet here. :teeth: Thanks! Ray
IMHO, rent or borrow a nikon you like and try them for a week before you decide to get one. And don't forget about lens to accompany the body. I use my D70s for 1 year and it still give positive results, even after it got "blessed" by the feedwater pump of a steam loco.:shade:
I'm not sure how to advise you on this one. You seem to have defined your reasons for either camera quite well. I'm perfectly happy with my D70 and D100, and I often print at 11 x 17 or 13 x 19 inches. If I do splurge this year, I'll go all the way to the D200, because it has weather seals. The only problem I've had with the D70 is lack of weather seals--it has broken down in the rain. It's fine once it dries back up, but I have lost a few opportunities out in the field.
The way you described your shooting, either one will serve your needs. You've pretty much summed up the pluses and minuses of each platform. If I were in your shoes (I have a D70 for 2.5 years now, over 10,000 shots) I would go for the D80 not because the D70s is not good, but like you said, the D80 is a more current platform With DSLRs, always go with the most current platform that your wallet can afford, sort of what you do when purchasing PCs. As for the SD vs CF debate, memory is soooo cheap now a days, you can rebuy your collection of CF cards for mere pennies on the dollar. You can get a 2GB Sandisk Ultra II SD for $60 after rebate from B&H. How many 1GB or 2GB cards do you really need? Also, the crop of CF cards that you have now, that you've used with the Coolpix 990, are most likely not the fast type and therefore you won't be able to take advantage of the D70s' speed. When I went from my Coolpix 950 to my D70, even though both take CF cards, I had to rebuy all new CF cards to take advantage of the D70's speed else the cards will limit the D70's read/write speed.
I did the same as MK, and bought two fast (144x) 4-gbyte CF cards to take to Alaska, for two cameras. Prices are still dropping. I think they were $100 each early this summer, and haven't looked since. The 512Mbyte cards they replaced were far more expensive three years ago. I can't emphasize enough that freedom from worrying about filling up a card is priceless, especially when you are three weeks in the wilderness.
The resolution will still be better with the D80 even on smaller size images. The possible downside is working with raw images in the 9MB size range might tax your desktop more than you would like.
That's true, Lenny! I processed some D200 images for a guest, and they were noticeably slower coming up and processing. I have a two-year-old G5 duel 1.8 G processor with 2 Gbytes of memory. I'll probably have to go to 4 Gbytes, which is not a big deal these days. I think the newer processors will be able to handle the demands quite easily.
Which leads, of course, to my next question: what's the best software to use for manipulating RAW images. Nikon Capture NX seems to get good reviews, but are there others better/easier/cheaper/just as good? Ray
Cheaper and pretty good would be RawShooter Essentials 2006. It's free. http://www.pixmantec.com/products/rawshooter_essentials.asp Better download ASAP as Adobe bought Pixmantec and who knows how much longer Adobe will keep the Pixmantec stuff. All the other stuff gets pretty pricey. Of course if you shoot with Canon the software comes free.
I use Photoshop--a very pricey option. The last time I tried Nikon software, it replaced a number of Photoshop plug-ins with Nikon plug-ins that were not as competent as the originals. I had to reinstall Photoshop to get rid of them. Perhaps I made an installation mistake, but loosing my pre-sets in Photoshop really affected my workflow for weeks.
Nikon Capture is optional and costs $100. Capture NX is a newer product (that is also not free) and is meant to be the next step up from Nikon Capture.
I think Capture NX is about $130 US. I will say that photographers who use it really love it. I haven't tried it. Using Photoshop for image editing is a little like sending an aircraft carrier to rescue a sinking fishing boat. But I need Photoshop for other stuff, so I might as well use it for photo editing.
Okay, I am way late to the party but... As this is my product (yes I work for Nikon and love trains)...I can tell you it is amazing software, not just for RAW NEF files from Nikon cameras, but for EVERY camera out there. If you have a JPEG or TIF you can use it to make corrections. Once my layout is built, I will post some shots but visit CaptureNX.com to watch some tutorials and also you can download a 30 day trial. Best, Michael
I'll try it, Michael. I don't shoot RAW NEF any longer. The Nikon D70 in-camera JPEG processing is just fine with me--near perfect in every situation. Will Capture NX entice me back to RAW?
Not sure that you'll need to shoot raw, but it's nice to have when memory is so cheap these days and you can fix mistakes. Even so, for a JPEG shooter, NX is great in its own right. There is so much you can do with control points and effects, especially for modelling photos. Best, Michael
Michael, Haven't seen your posts in a while, must be busy at Melville. Q: Will the D40 be ever sold as a body only unit? I'm going on a trip of a life time at the end of May, to Grand Canyon, Bryce Canon, Zion, and anything in between. It'll be almost a two week trip. I have a D70 with over 12,000 shots and I'm thinking about having a second backup body. I'm aware that some of the earlier D70 (mine is on the borderline between old run and new run) can suffer from BGLOD. Last thing I need is being in the middle of no where in the Grand Canyon w/o a camera. I would like to get a D80 or D200 body but it's a bit to justify as a backup. A friend of mine suggested picking up a used film body as they're a dime a dozen now. I would then be able to continue shooting as all the lenses and my SB-800 would still work. But that means I'll have to buy file, egad!
MK, What's BGLOD mean? That's quite a trip you are planning. Each will provide thousands of photo opportunities. Don't forget Canyon de Chelley! There's also Mesa Verde in the Four Corners area, and Chaco Canyon in NM for the adventurous. Chaco would be my choice if I had to choose among the three. I'm in the same conundrum about the D80 or D200. I bought the D70 to back up the D100, and found it a far superior camera, so the D100 is now the backup. But that was in a different time, when money was flowing much more freely than it is now. With my D70 crapping out in the rain, I'm saving for the D200 rather than the D80.
