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Quick and versatile 6.1-megapixel AF digital SLR for under $1000. All photos by Mike Stensvold
The second AF digital SLR to break the under-$1000 price barrier, Nikon's D70 is a 6.1-megapixel model with a lot going for it besides the low price, including excellent performance, a top shutter speed of 1/8000, flash sync up to 1/500, simplicity for point-and-shooters, a full range of advanced features for serious photographers, and the ability to use a wide range of excellent AF-Nikkor lenses.
Focusing
A switch in the traditional Nikon location on the lens mount lets you select auto or manual focusing. The D70 provides both single-shot and continuous AF, but you have to go into the Custom Settings menu on the LCD monitor to select one. Predictive AF activates automatically in either AF mode when the camera detects subject movement, and the camera features Nikon's handy Lock-On, which keeps focus on the subject even if something momentarily comes between it and the camera, as when a bird you're tracking briefly flies behind a tree.
There are five focus areas, indicated by brackets in the viewfinder: center, left, right, top and bottom. The center is a cross-type, reading both horizontal and vertical lines. You can select any of the AF areas manually by sliding the focus selector lock on the camera back away from L, then using the multi selector to select the desired area (which will be indicated in the finder). You can also let the camera select the focus area via Closest Subject AF (the camera focuses on the closest subject to appear under one of the five AF areas) or Dynamic AF, in which the camera focuses on the subject using the appropriate sensor, then switches to other sensors covering the subject if the subject moves away from the original sensor—handy for erratically moving subjects such as birds in flight. Like the AF mode, the focus-area mode is selected via the Custom Settings menu on LCD monitor.
Theoretically, the AF system operates in light levels from EV –1 to EV 19, although, as with all AF SLRs, AF speed slows noticeably toward the lower end of the range. An AF-assist illuminator on the front of the camera body automatically activates in dim light; you can cancel this when its operation would be distracting, via Custom Setting 4.
Manual focusing is done easily by moving the focus mode selector to M and rotating the lens' focusing ring until the image appears sharp in the finder. The finder's in-focus LED will glow when focus has been achieved, whether by auto or manual means. A slider just to the right of the finder eyepiece lets you set dioptric adjustment from –1.6 to +0.5, to further aid manual focusing (and composition). You can (via Custom Setting 8) activate viewfinder grid lines, which are handy for subjects where horizontal or vertical alignment is critical.
Like all current Nikon AF SLRs, the D70 will provide full functioning with the current lineup of G- and D-series AF-Nikkor lenses, which range from a 10.5mm f/2.8 180° fisheye to a 600mm supertelephoto (which, with the D70's 1.5X "telephoto factor," provide framing equivalent to 16mm through 900mm lenses on 35mm cameras). A number of other Nikkor lenses can be used with a loss of some camera functions. The D70 is offered in a package with the new designed-for-digital AF-S Nikkor DX 18–70mm f/3.5–4.5G IF-ED zoom (equivalent to 27–105mm on a 35mm camera), which incorporates a Silent Wave motor for quick and quiet autofocusing, and an M/A mode that lets you adjust focus manually in AF mode without having to switch the camera to MF mode.
Exposure
Three metering systems, seven Digital Vari-Programs, and a full range of "serious" exposure modes suit the D70 for everything from point-and-shooting to serious photography. The metering systems (selected by pressing the metering mode button and rotating the main command dial until the desired icon appears on the LCD panel) include 3D color matrix (when D and G series lenses are used), center-weighted, and spot.
With 3D color matrix metering, the camera employs a 1005-pixel RGB sensor and distance data from the AF system to provide very accurate exposures in a wide range of exposure situations. When non-D or G lenses are used, this mode reverts to standard color matrix metering, without the distance data. The center-weighted metering places 75% of its emphasis on the central 8mm of the frame (indicated by an 8mm circle in the finder); you can use Custom Setting 11 to change the 8mm area to 6mm, 10mm or 12mm. Spot metering concentrates sensitivity on a 2.3mm circle centered on the active AF area.
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