Nikon
D70 Review:
First Look
by Wayne Lorimer
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Nikon
D70 Image Quality
Now
all of this is all very well and good. But what about the thing
that ‘really’ counts? What about image quality? Well, don’t
worry, because the Nikon D70 doesn’t disappoint at all on that
score either.
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Concert
at ISO 1600 - Nikon D70 Digital SLR |
In
keeping with what I have already said, the camera offers lots
of options for image capture with up to nine levels of .jpeg
quality plus RAW. You can also select simultaneous RAW and .jpeg
capture (at the large/basic setting), while ISO ranges from
200 to 1600.
The Nikkor 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5G DX series lens is also an excellent
performer, producing crisp, sharp images with good colour balance
and very pleasing contrast. Overseas reviewers of the lens have
noted a tendency in some cases for the lens to produce a moire
pattern (an effect that produces obvious grid-lines under certain
circumstances). But I never experienced this with any of the
shots I took under various lighting conditions.
Nikon
D70 Performance
The
first night I shot with the Nikon D70 was to cover an
in-door concert under low light conditions, without
flash! (See image above). A tough assignment first up
– but the Nikon handled it superbly. I simply set the
ISO to 1600, switched the camera to aperture priority
f/4.5, and reviewed the images back on the LCD screen
as I shot them. I was very impressed with the clarity
of the photos, even at ISO 1600. Image ‘noise’ (the
conventional equivalent of grain in film) was very acceptable
given the shooting conditions, and I left the venue
safe in the knowledge that I had captured perfectly
exposed shots.
All other images were captured outside, concentrating
on the kind of landscape images I specialise in. For
these occasions the Nikon D70 was a joy to use. The
large 1.8” LCD screen is capable of being read in even
strong outside light, while the use of a protective
plastic casing that snaps over top of the LCD is a nice
touch, and shows that someone in Nikon’s engineering
department is on the ball.
The
landscapes I shot with the Nikon D70’s 6.1 megapixel
sensor were sharp, noiseless at ISO 200, and highly
accurate in terms of colour rendition. I also used the
histogram function in playback mode to quickly and precisely
evaluate the correct exposure. Learn how to use a histogram
correctly and it will be your image-making friend for
life! |
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