Nikon
D70 Review:
First Contact
by Wayne Lorimer
username: w_lorimer
Nikonian in New Zealand
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Nikon
D70 Review: First Contact
It
would be fair to say that digicams – point-and-shoot compact
cameras, hold the lions share of digital sales today. Quality
has gone up, prices have come down (considerably), and this
all bodes well for the consumer (that’s you). Digital camera
sales have now overtaken conventional film sales, and it may
soon be hard to justify any film camera sales at all.
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Nikon
D70 Digital SLR, from a Nikon Canada ad |
But
digital technology certainly didn’t start out this way – all
those many years ago. Digital images started getting noticed
only at the very top end of the market, with digital SLR’s aimed
at the working pro. These were hybrid cameras produced in partnerships
with Kodak, Nikon and Canon. They were bulky, heavy, and very,
very expensive.
The convenience of shooting digital couldn’t be denied however,
and as demand for the technology increased at the consumer end,
digital point-and-shoot cameras were quickly developed. The
rest, as they say, is (very recent) history.
To
a large extent, digital SLR’s remained the domain of
the working pro. While they have reduced down in size
and price, they are still considerably more expensive
than their digicam consumer counterparts. Or at least
they were.
In 2003, Canon dropped a bombshell when it introduced
the 300D – the first digital SLR aimed squarely at the
consumer. At around NZ$2500 for the body and lens kit,
the 300D was still a relatively expensive camera, but
early supply could not keep up with demand, although
Canon sold bucket loads of them.
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question on everyone’s lips now was "What will Nikon’s
response be?" Well, we didn’t have to wait long,
for in December 2003 Nikon announced the introduction
for 2004 of their consumer-directed digital SLR – the
6.1 megapixel Nikon D70. |
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