David Zaninovic wrote on 19.11.04 16:18: > D70 body is $899 at the Wolf Camera. > I wonder how does D70 compare to the DS considering that it is at the same > price. D70 has much more advanced photographer-oriented features than Ds. Other main differencies below.
> Are the Nikon autofocus lenses really that much > more expensive than Pentax ? I don't think so, especially better ones. For instance you can have used Nikkor 80-200/2.8 for about 400 USD. SMC-FA* will be at least 2x more expensive used :-( > What about third party lenses, is there a > difference in price between third party lens for Nikon and > for Pentax ?, No, they should be priced the same, just in case of some of better Sigma lenses you'll get HSM (ultrasonic) AF drive in Nikon mount for the same price as in Pentax mount. > The only problem with D70 is small viewfinder, can this be fixed somehow ? I don't think so. VF in D70 is noticably smaller than the one in *istD (and Ds) but on the other hand it is much brighter and allows displaying of grid lines on demand without need for buying separate focusing screen. Both are good choice depending on what you expect from the camera. If you have a lot of Pentax glass - it makes sense to buy *istDs. If you need big VF - then get *istDs. If you want very small body - get *istDs. In all other instances I would suggest D70 as the one having more advanced photographic features, bigger choice of quality lenses (with optional ultrasonic AF drive and image stabilisation - VR), nicely dumped and quieter mirror, direct and much easier access to many settings (like ISO, WB and quality) and better AF. The last feature was the reason that pushed me to change to dark side and buy D70 instead of *istD that I owned for 8 months. I don't regret it at all. Image quality from both is quite similar - D70 delivers sharper images straight from camera due to quite weak AA filter, but it is prone to moire effect (in my praktice it happens once for about 500 photos). HTH. -- Best Regards Sylwek
