Rangefinder Magazine
November 2005

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Field Test Xenophon A. Beake
The Nikon D70s

AFTER A WIN IN 1918, it took the Boston Red Sox 86 years to win another World Series. It took Nikon less than a year after introducing the wonderful D70 to introduce the even more wonderful D70s.

	The left side of the D70s body shows (from top to bottom): remote connection, AC-in connector to be used with EH-5 AC adapter, video connector, USB connector for transferring images to computer or for operation the D70s by connection to computer, which will run all camera exposure functions when using AF lenses. New rubber viewfinder eyepiece can be seen on upper right.

Nikon hit a grand slam with this moderately priced lightweight DSLR that comes with a lightweight 18–70mm f/3.5–4.5G ED-IF AF-S DX Zoom Nikkor lens as part of the package. Photographers who are already Nikon users may not need the lens, but for entry-level buyers it’s is an ideal choice.

So far nothing has come up that I have not been able to handle using this camera and lens. If the light level is low but I still want to use only available light, I increase the ISO, perhaps a stop or two or even to ISO 1600. Noise is minimal and can be minimized further in Nikon Capture (Nikon’s image-editing software) or by turning on noise reduction in the camera for long exposures (more than ½ second). As a friend of mine said a while back, “A bad image is better than no image.”

This image of a restored 1940 Ford Coupe was made with the D70s. It appears exactly as it came out of the D70s, except changing the color mode from IA to IIIA, adding slight contrast to the overcast lighting when the exposure was made. Lens 18–70mm f/3.5-4.5G, exposure 1/125 at f/7.1 at ISO 200. .

No post-production corrections of any kind any were necessary for this image. Ordinarily, one would use a handheld meter to create an exposure base for his kind of subject. I set the camera on P (Autoexposure) and proceeded to calculate exposure. With the D70s set on a tripod I made a series of exposures. This particular image was made by zooming the 28–70mm AF-S lens during the one-second exposure. An aperture of f/22 was chosen to ensure enough time for the zooming effect shown

Using the D70s on “Flash” white balance with the SB-800 AF Speedlight, the amount of light captured is usually more than sufficient for a properly exposed image at 200 ISO.

I should also mention that I usually make all my exposures using NEF (Nikon RAW) compressed files. There is a wonderful feature allowing the capture of a NEF and a JPEG simultaneously. Although I don’t usually use this feature, it has some advantages. After capture you can get JPEGs from RAW files using a computer, but the process can be tedious.

“Boris the Maine Coon Cat,” made with D70s: This is straight out of the camera. The only post-production change other than a little cropping is the color mode, which was changed to Mode IA, the sRGB color space, which is a little less contrasty than Mode IIIA. Captured as compressed RAW (12-bit) file. Lens: 18–70mm f/3.5-4.5G	This image of this very photogenic young woman appears just as it came out of the camera. No post-production corrections of any kind were necessary. Compressed RAW (12-bit) file. Lens: 28–70mm f/2.8D; ISO 250; white balance, sharpening, and tone comp. were set to auto.

Using the latest version of Nikon Capture, which at this writing happens to be version 4.3, I can make any adjustments, if necessary, on any NEF file, including older NEF files.

The current Nikon Capture has some nice tools. Photo Effects, for one, is a great tool for making sepia, black-and-white and tinted images and still maintaining all of the information of the original color NEF. Did I mention that these files stay in 16-bit RAW form?

Another added feature is being able to straighten an image. Using this feature in Nikon Capture (Image > Rotate > Straighten) keeps the files in NEF form and is worth its weight in gold. NEF files maintain the original information regardless of any corrections or changes.

Actual image shown on LCDs: the bottom image shows D70s' larger monitor and top image shows the original D70.

The ability to capture a vertical image and have it appear on the Nikon browser and in Nikon Capture Editor right side up is a terrific feature. Another feature, available since the D100, is a grid, which can be activated in the Playback menu and appears on the focusing screen. This feature aids in composition and helps the user keep subjects straight. I usually attach a spirit level to the accessory adapter (hot shoe) for maintaining straight lines of subjects, and in these instances the camera is attached to a tripod.

I have been using the D70 since July 2004 and the D70s since its introduction, and have made countless images under many lighting conditions and capturing many different subjects—from night amusement rides to portraits of an Elvis impersonator and any subject a commercial photographer would usually do. This is done with much ease because of the very user-friendly controls in the D70s.

I have been using Nikon D-series SLRs since I purchased my D1 about six years ago. I have been using the D1X and D100 since their introduction. I have reviewed the D1X and the D100, and my opinions and comments come from making tens of thousands of captures of many different subjects, including all of my commercial photographic subjects.

I can attach all AF-S Nikkor lenses as well as many of my older fixed-focal length lenses to the D70s, from the 12–24 wide-angle zoom to a 300mm fixed focal length lens. I usually carry more than one Nikon D camera and a host of lenses, as well as several Nikon Speedlights. But as I got accustomed and more experienced to the functions of the D70s and the 18–70mm zoom, I found myself going out for fun images with the original package and the SB-800 Speedlight although the built-in Speedlight can work wonders. The built-in Speedlight on the D70s has a wider angle of light being able to cover an 18mm lens.

The three color modes available are as follows: Mode Ia: Displays natural looking skin tones right out of the camera. (sRGB) Mode II: Contains wider color ranges suited for processing or retouching. (Adobe RGB) Mode IIIa: Creates more vivid colors than Ia for still-life images, flowers, automobiles, products and landscapes. (sRGB)

When using these three settings on a NEF file, more than one version is available of the same file.

Comparison shows enhanced backgrounds with better readability, as well as larger monitor on the D70s for easier viewing

Some of the differences in the D70s and the original D70 are:
• a larger monitor for viewing
• a menu with a background that allows easier viewing even in bright light
• a plug for a remote control (RemoteCord MC-DC1 and Wireless Remote Control ML-L3)
• a smaller charger and a battery that charges quickly, has a higher capacity and allows close to 2000 exposures before needing a full charge
• rubber eye cup (viewfinder eyepiece) and monitor protector do not fall off (The current rubber eye cup can be retro-fitted to the D70. The part number is DK-20.)
• quicker to change functions, delete images, or go from single to multiple exposures
• focus tracking improved on slow-moving subjects.

Another new feature, especially helpful in extreme lighting conditions or for individuals who prefer not to use eyeglasses when focusing, is an audible beep. This noise lets the user know when an image is in focus.

Additionally, the image counter has been improved on the D70s. In the D70 when an empty one-gigabyte card is inserted, the counter says 99. Even set for NEF and lossless compression, more images can usually be made than indicated—sometimes twice as many as originally indicated. In the D70s, the counter indicates 179 for the one-gigabyte card and is more accurate overall.

Would I suggest a D70s to a professional photographer? I have suggested it, and the photographer purchased the camera in a New York heartbeat.

Would I suggest this camera be the only D-series you own? Not quite. This is a great little camera, but I feel it should be a backup to perhaps a D1X, D2X, D1H, D2H or D100. Some folks may only need two or three of these cameras if they do weddings and social functions and perhaps don’t need enormous files. But for me, when I was using film cameras, I took four Hasselblads with me on most jobs with an array of lenses. When using my Linhof view cameras, I brought extra lenses and backup bodies. So why not bring backup digital bodies?