Well, I was in The London Camera Exchange after work, and I spied a used Nikon D70s. So, I walked in, asked the price of it, expecting it to be £450+. £349 with an 18-50mm lens (I think, can't remember). The guy I was talking to said the lens was £250 worth on its own. And I'm rather tempted, it feels much better built than the D5000 or the D3000 which I'm pitching it against (purely because of cost). And for my ogre hands, it felt very comfortable.

And I'm seriously considering it. Means I can get a few filters and case with it as well. Grab a decent CF card to boot. What I'm after is an opinion, what would you guys take? A D3000 of the D70s?

Obviously I'm aware that the D70s is an old model, superseded by the D80 then D90, but the latter is WAAY out my budget, and the D80, I couldn't find one where I live.

A few little possible issues:
- It's used, looks in good condition, no marks at all. just curious about life expectancy.
- It has a 1" screen. But, I suppose if I'm just looking at what I've taken briefly it won't be too much of a problem.

That's it really, I already have a tri-pod and a separate flash. May fit the camera, if not it's not an issue. It's a flash my mum has which didn't fit her old camera, so is still sat in the box unused.

So, opinions, thoughts, advice?

Go get 'em

Ta,

mars

Personally, I'd go for the D5000.
It just has a lot more advantages than the D70s to me. Almost double the resolution, twice the highest ISO …
I just think the D3000 is a much better camera overall.
If you do go for the D70s, make sure you get an accurate shutter count for actuations - here is a good page for referencing the lifetime of the mechanism.
If the D3000 doesn't feel that comfortable think about a battery grip. I've said this before in another thread and been almost shouted down for it but if the camera does feel a little small try getting your hands on one with a grip so you can make an informed decision.
Whatever you decide good luck and let us know which you get in the end. (8+)

Mark

Glad you replied

I'm considering the D70s more though, even after your advice, I'm not disregarding at all. As for the resolution? I'm not going to be blowing any images up to A1+ size, max would be A3 tbh, even then I doubt I would. I'm looking at this as my door into better photography. And I'm aware that the camera isn't going to make me world class, but I feel I'll learn more by getting a DSLR.

And with the battery grip? Does seem like a sound idea to me! I'll have a look, and see if I can get one maybe thrown in or at least discounted.

I'll ask about the shutter count as well, thanks for the link. I'll post back Monday when I get one. Gotta love early birthday presents!

The D90 has been out for two years and is due a replacement if Nikon stick to normal tactics. That may help to push down prices a little for preceeding models even if you do decide to go for the D70.

Got any more info on the lens. An 18-50 isn't something I recall Nikon making and their 18-55 although quite capable is a kit lens, and not worth 250. If the lens is worth that much then it could be a good buy as you can sell on the body later if you want to upgrade later on.

My bad, it was an 18-70mm lens, and my memory is shot today. After 9 hours working then another 2 in a stuffy office cashing up tills, it does 'wonders' for your memory. And you pretty much said what the salesman said, sell the body at a later date, keep the lens.

As for more info on the lens? Sorry mate, I can't remember a thing about it atm. I may look at a newer Dxx series body at the end of Uni (2011), toss up between a car and a camera!

A look at current and previous listings of that lens on eBay suggest that it isn't worth much more than 100. Might be an idea to read a couple of reviews on it too as it has apparently been updated a couple of times since it first came out.

So would you recommend against the D70, like Timark?

Thing is, I don't want to go too crazy on the spending, I would love a D5000, but neither myself nor my gf can afford it, which is a shame, and the D3000 is more than the D70s. I'll just need to talk to her before tomorrow >.< She's going to buy one on her lunch break, and I originally said the D70 over the phone.

*Edit*

I've decided to stop being such a idiot. I think I got stuck thinking that the D70 was the D90 equivalent a few years ago it was going to be 'teh uber l33t pwning' camera that isn't, well not by todays standard anyway.

I've been looking on the Jessops site, and I've decided on the D3000, which I feel will be more than enough for me right now. I just now have a dilemma. Which D3000?

Nikon D3000 + 18-55mm VR lens
Or
Nikon D3000 + 18-55mm lens

Well, what on earth does a VR lens give me that the standard lens won't? Also, I'll be buying it in-store, that way if something goes wrong they can't pass it off to the website to deal with. But yeah, what is the (if there is any) upside of a VR lens? Really confused now.

One of the things I really liked about the D5000 when I looked at it was the way that the live view screen swivels, allowing you to take pictures from angles which might otherwise be uncomfortable.

I am glad I spent the extra and bought the D90 though, as the money I have saved using my old lenses, and the lens that I was given with the F60, (none of which would have worked on the D5000) has saved me an absolute packet.

Having said that there's nothing wrng with the D3000 either. All of the cameras you mentioned are very nice.

I got my D90 a year ago and compared it to the D5000 and D300(s maybe). It was sort of like a Goldilocks moment, with the D90 being perfectly in the middle for almost everything I considered such as size, cost, speed etc. I was initially interested in the swivel display of the D5000 but at a much lower resolution didn't consider it for long. In fact I can't recall more than two shots I've taken with the D90 that wasn't through the viewfinder so it would have been a gimmick for me. Also as the D5000 didn't have a built-in AF motor it restricted me to modern lenses and I didn't want that.

As for VR, it claims to let you use up to two stops less than normal, and more I think with some VRII lenses. Best thing is to have a play around or read a few reviews on it, specifically for that lens.

Think I'm just going to go for the D3000 with the normal 18-55mm lens. This is my gateway into photography. So I'll start simple. And as for the swivel lens, I don't often take photos from weird angles that would need it. If I'm taking a shot over a crown I'll just take a few shots.

Unfortunately we can't afford a D90, maybe the body at a push, but what's the point just getting a body? >.<

I'll post back Monday when I get it. Thanks for all the help guys. Haven't been on the forums in ages, yet you still help one out

Thanks

I would do exactly the same.
Looking at the images for each of those two links you posted they are exactly the same lens aperture. At a maximum focal length of 55mm I really don't see that you'll require the VR very much.
I'd use this lens and then see how you get on with it before thinking about getting a different one. See what it can do and what it can't do that you would like it to, then decide from there which way you want to go.
Just to go back to something you said about the D70s about resolution and printing … it's not just about the final image size as a print, but the higher resolution also gives you better options when it comes to cropping the image.
My longest lens is only 120mm, but having a 12 megapixel camera means that I can crop the image tighter if I can't quite get close enough to my subject.
So many times I've found myself composing the image knowing that I'll have to crop in post processing because I haven't had the focal distance I would like.
It's just something for you to bear in mind.
Having done that for the best part of three years, I now know that I require a longer focal length lens.
It all comes back to knowing what you can and can't do with the gear you have, as well as knowing what it is you would like to do.

Mark

http://www.camerapricebuster.co.uk/prod1167.html

The currys price looks good, with a 5% discount code too!
[edit] Think the price already includes the 5%