SLR-Camera Reviews

I bought this camera brand new and I have to that it is a great camera. I needed a new 35mm fully manual but didn't feel like spending a fortune. I read the specs on the camera and bought it. It is one hell of a work horse. Anyone who bashes this camera has not used it.

The FM series of cameras from Nikon has a long and distinguished history. The FM10 is a totally manual camera with through the lens center weighted metering. The beauty of the manual system is that you have a complete range of shutter speeds if the batteries fail. Additionally, you get to set the camera settings how you want to without trying to out think and out smart the auto programming that most cameras have now. In other words, you get to take the picture; not the camera. The FM10 is a sturdy camera that has one of the widest ranges of lenses available to it. There is not a lens that you can think of that can not be found for this camera. Beginners or professionals: anyone that wants to be a photographer and not just a button pusher should get this camera.

Most of the reviews I've read about this camera say it's cheap, not up to Nikon's standards, and made out of horrible plastic.

They're very wrong. The camera's lighter than most manual cameras I've held, but it feels very sturdy. The lens it comes with is just fine for students and beginners, and I'll hold on to it even though I plan on getting a fixed 50mm Nikon lens very soon. Still, for the price, you can't beat it!

If you've read other reviews about how cheap this camera feels and you're weary, all I can say is go to a camera store and hold it. If you want something much more rugged you'll pay a lot more money. If you want something to start shooting with then get this camera. It'll also help you start building a good Nikon kit so if you decide to upgrade bodies later you won't have to repurchase all your lenses.

Great clarity, great quality

I take better pictures with the F5, let me clarify, at an air show, while whale watching and of course all the people shots I would have missed if it were not for the speed of the auto focus and the wonderful metering system. I think it is one of the attributes of this camera the ability to get the shot, quickly and accurately.

Battery Consumption: Battery consumption has not been a problem for me. My purchase is a late model production camera and I am aware that the earlier models did have a battery consumption issue.

Weight: The F5 is a heavy camera but I like the weight and feel of the camera. I think because of the weight the camera balances nicely in your hands and the F5 is a dream to hold. I am able to hand held this camera at a lower shutter speed than I could with other cameras. The craftsmanship is superb and I enjoy how well the F5 is made.

Familiar Controls: I like the ability to go from one Nikon to another and most of the controls seemed familiar.

Weather Sealing: I have taken the F5 while on a sailboat in Kauai in 15 foot swells hanging on to the boat with one hand and just pointing the camera with the other (program mode) and guess what I got some good shots. I don't hesitate using this camera in adverse weather conditions and just wipe and clean it.

Some comments lead to believe that some people have walked in from the street and purchased a two thousand dollar camera. That the person never picked the camera up and realized how heavy the camera is. Not that the F5 is that heavy look at some medium format cameras. If you are looking at this camera I'm sure you already are aware of peoples comments good and bad. It would hard for me to believe that someone will purchase the F5 as a first Nikon camera. I would assume that the person who made this purchase has an assortment of Nikon products and knows what they are doing.

The F5 was introduced in 1996 and was a top of the line 35mm camera and in 2004 it still is the top of the line. I know other manufactures make great cameras but eight years later this camera is still at the top of the list.
This camera will be that last film camera that I own. It is not because I'm going digital, because I'm not at the moment. It is because this is simply the best film camera you can purchase from Nikon and it just might be the best film camera you can own.

Negatives: I wish the focus area brackets in the viewfinder illuminated in red similar to the N80 and F100

This great camera makes photography easier. If you want to improve your skill level, this camera won't hold you back. However, you can't blame the camera anymore for your bad photos. The only bad mark I can give it is it is rather heavy, and not made for backpacking. I carry my FM2n then. Otherwise, I am very happy with it.

I purchased the F5 a year ago and this is what I think. I take better pictures with the F5, let me clarify, at an air show, while whale watching and of course all the people shots I would have missed if it were not for the speed of the auto focus and the wonderful metering system. If it sounds like I use the camera as point and shoot camera sometimes I do exactly that. I think it is one of the attributes of this camera the ability to get the shot, quickly and accurately.

Weigh:The F5 is a heavy camera but I like the weight and feel of the camera. I think because of the weight the camera balances nicely in your hands and the F5 is a dream to hold. I am able to hand held this camera at a lower shutter speed than I could with other cameras. The craftsmanship is superb and I enjoy how well the F5 is made.

Familiar Controls: I like the ability to go from one Nikon to another and most of the controls seemed familiar.

Weather Sealing: I have taken the F5 while on a sailboat in Kauai in 15 foot swells hanging on to the boat with one hand and just pointing the camera with the other (program mode) and guess what I got some good shots. I don't hesitate using this camera in adverse weather conditions and just wipe and clean it.

The F5 was introduced in 1996 and was a top of the line 35mm camera and in 2004 it still is the top of the line. I know other manufactures make great cameras but eight years later this camera is still at the top of the list. This camera will be that last film camera that I own. It is not because I'm going digital, because I'm not at the moment. It is because this is simply the best film camera you can purchase from Nikon and it just might be the best film camera you can own.

My experience with this camera has been so totally positive that I can find no way to write a "balanced sounding" review with all sorts of "tut-tutting" about the lack of mirror lock-up or the plastic back. I'm in love and the pictures are great. This camera gets used more than my F5 due to my hard to define feel for it. A Rolls- Royce!

This is a truly masterpiece!! I've had the Nikon FE, FE2, F-601, F90s and now I have the F100 and it's the top of the line!!
What can I say more.. The only bad thing is that the camera back is made of plastic, why not metal, Nikon??
Greetings to all Nikonians around the world!!
The Best picture is waiting to be taken of You!! With the F100!!

I still shoot a lot of film, being a bit of a purist and throwback - I like the satisfaction and anticipation of waiting for prints. I've used a lot of Nikon SLRs to include the FM, FM2, N2002, N5005, N8008s, and this is my current workhorse. It performs extremely well for everything I shoot from macro to 600mm zoom. I think this will be the last film camera Nikon makes in this range and I've been looking hard at the fantastic new D2H and upcoming D70 with excitement, but I think I will always have a film camera.

I have one comment to make about the doofus who posted in an earlier review that the camera has a critical mirror defect in that the mirror does not lock up and the camera may break accordingly. Hogwash. I've traveled with mine all over the world and it hasn't even flinched in the travel and varying conditions. I packed it in a Pelican case with all of my lenses and didn't have a single problem. I've dropped it once and it didn't even dent.

Great SLR - the best I've ever used.

Had mine since March 23. The wait was worth it!

After initial battery charge shot over 2,000 pix and recharged the battery once due to transferring pix to PC directly from the camera. Take Nikon's advice ... use the optional power adapter during transfer directly from camera or use a card reader. Transferring pix from camera drains battery FAST!

The D70 is ready to take pictures before your finger leaves the ON button, seriously. No delay between shots. Nice focusing system ... can choose focus area in viewfinder or let camera choose for you ... one of its the many nice features.

Good price (~$1299 for D70 outfit with 18-70 lens) for an excellent prosumer DSLR. If you get this camera, spend the extra to get the "D70 Outfit" with the new 18-70 Nikon lens. Its worth it and saves you $100+ over buying the lens later. The lens is worth over $400 by itself.

What I did not like: wish the LCD monitor could fold and hide or that the plastic protector could be made to stay on more securely. It just seems like the protector was an after thought in development. It falls off easily. Rubber viewfinder eyepiece cup falls off easily too. Already lost mine.

I'm a very satisfied customer ... Go Nikon!!

I just received my camera last week and so far I love it. I haven't found any negative things yet. I bought the kit with the 18-70 lens. The Nikon is better than the Canon Rebel I had a month ago. I also bought the SB-800 flash and it's great. I love the flash sync of 1/500 second. It will take me a few weeks to learn the new features but I'm loving every photo I take.

Simply an amazing piece of work. I'm an advanced amateur who felt somewhat dejected that Nikon had let Canon outdo them with the 10D vs. D100 comparison. Thankfully, that was a short reign for Canon as this camera blows the doors off of both the 10D and D100. It has everything, and everything done well that all be the professional photojournalist would want in a dSLR.

If you are considering a 300D, please, please reconsider. This is a far superior camera. It is better than the 300D's big brother the 10D and is untouched by any of the other <$2k range cameras out there.

If you have no interest learning how to use the flexibility the D70 will provide you, consider asking yourself why you are spending over a thousand dollars on a camera.

I'd strongly recommend getting a 512M CF card of the faster type (min speed maybe 12x). Why? because one of the neater things about he D70 is the ability to shoot very, very fast. With a normal speed card, like the standard Sandisk 512, you slow down and wait for the card. In most digitals, it is the camera that is slower, not the card.

The kit lens is quite nice. It isn't a drop dead top of the line Nikon, but it is better than most, and is a great standard every day lens. Given the crop factor of the CCD, it is equivalent to a 27-105mm lens on a 35mm camera. You may want to get a 70-200mm Nikkor to go with it, or to save money one from Sigma or Tamron. I also use a Tamron 28-200mm, which works well for this camera since its one major flaw, vignetting at large apertures, goes away completely for the same reason, the crop factor. Note that a 70-200 acts like a 105-300, and the 28-200 behaves like a 42-300.

A final note, shoot in raw format, not jpeg. One of the nicest things is that you can really, really see a significant improvement in picture quality by doing some quick touch up of the 12 bit image before saving to jpeg for printing or emailing. Also, for reference, the 512 Meg card holds 95 raw images even though the camera indicates half that when powered up. That is the one bug in the firmware I've found, but it is a very minor issue.

I have been a Nikon user for over 20 years, and owned at least six different bodies and lots of lenses. My all time favorite is the FM2N. Why Nikon? It's the lenses! Nikon seems to understand this is the main selling point of their system. SO they have never changed the F lens mount. You can use older manual focus AI and AIS lenses on the D70. The bad news: The meter won't work. However on a digital SLR, the LCD confirmation mitigates this since you can check your exposures. You could also use a handheld light light meter. More good news: depth of field preview works with AI and AIS lenses! So I've been having a great time using my manual lenses on the D70. This camera is really a winner and costs no more than some of the ridiculous "prosumer" digicams out there. It's far more versatile.

It's easy to use-if you've used another digicam or even a recent Nikon 35mm SLR. The fact that I've been able to figure out most settings necessary without even cracking the manual is impressive.
The flash syncs at 1/500! This makes for some really creative fill flash outdoors or in the studio. All necessary settings are within easy reach, and no stupid five click deep menus for stuff like ISO. All the important stuff like ISO, Metering pattern, Exposure modes, White Balance, etc. have a dedicated button right on the body. No fumbling to change stuff while shooting.

Shutterlag is virtually non-existent. It's almost as good as my FM2N. But face it, if you want zero shutter lag then get a manual 35mm camera! However with the D70, you will not notice it.

The Lens-the kit lens is a 18-70mm (27 to 105mm). It's pretty good, and the color has that gorgeous Nikon hue. It's bright for a zoom. A lot of people are criticizing this lens unjustly. It does have a lot of barrel distortion on the wide end, but for landscapes you'd never know. It's got a very good wide angle range for a digital lens. It's a great value, and way better than any junk Sigma puts out.

ViewFinder-Some have slammed the viewfinder. It does take a little getting used to, like looking down a long dark corridor at first. But it's just as bright as any AF SLR once you get used to it. I think Nikon designed it this way to get people used to the CCD aspect ratio. It's kind of like watching a DVD in letterbox format. Good news: the viewfinder has a diopter for eyeglass wearers.

Picture Quality-This is where the rubber meets the road. At all ISO settings, the images are superb. Colors are saturated and lifelike, with the "Nikon Pop". They remind me of a good ISO 100 slide film like Kodak E100G, or Fujichrome Velvia 100. Best of all, the grain is very low, even ISO 1600 is not bad when printed to 8 x10. This is a huge advance over my older Canon G2 digital. Like I said, think ISO 100 slide film.

This is destined to be one of Nikon's legends, like the N8008, N90, FM2N, etc. You get a lot of value for your money, much more than the Canon Digital Rebel. A lot of pros are buying D70s for backup, and the Press Photographers Association of Japan just picked the D70 as new camera of the year! What else could you ask for? This is a top drawer camera with a great lens.

Simply put, the Nikon D70 is the finest camera I have ever used. As an amateur photographer I have owned a variety of Nikon SLRs during the age of film photography. That is until the digital bug hit me with the introduction of the Olympus C2020 (a superb camera in its own right). I have anxiously awaited the day when I could return to the SLR and do it digitally. The D70 has made my day! This camera is incredibly easy to use and intuitive right out of the box. You can easily operate exposure controls, flash, and etc. without going through menus. All the settings can be seen in the viewfinder and the control dials are in the right places so you don't have to take your eye off the subject. It felt like coming home again to use an SLR, shoot through a viewfinder, and quickly and easily adjust exposures. Since there is no shutter-lag with this camera, and image writing to the card is fast, you don't have to anticipate your shots. Image quality is phenomenal and the 6 megapixel count assures you of excellent "darkroom" control. There are so many image capture options available in its menu that it pays to test the camera for settings that satisfy your needs (e.g. regulating sharpness, contrast, and tonal distributions). But even the default automatic settings provide photographs that can be beautifully printed right out-of-the-box. The 18-70mm DX lense that comes with the kit (equivalent to 27-105mm for 35mm film) is a great buy and delivers excellent image quality. I only wish its filter size (67mm) matched any of the filters that I had acquired for my old lenses. For the serious amateur who wants the level of control and image quality that only an SLR can provide, the Nikon D70 is definitely it. The affordable digital SLR has arrived! Sorry, Kodak, the era of film photography has truly come to an end.

Lets get to the main point of buying a DSLR - I wanted fast & sharp results with versatility included. This is what I wanted and this is what I got! The price couldn't get much cheaper or it'd be an absolute steal (not that it already isn't). I feel like a real professional just HOLDING the D70. Truth is, I wouldn't give up this baby for the world. Digital SLR's are so much better than some cheap point and shoot restraintive camera. Break free and buy a D70! Look at the flawless reviews, try it out, and see for yourself. YOU WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED!

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