Ode to the Nikon D70
I recently made a YouTube video celebrating my ancient Nikon D70 - the first camera I bought and what got me into photography.
The D70 was Nikon's first entry level DSLR - it was their first DSLR that wasn't aimed at professional photographers, and was released in early 2004.
I bought mine around 2010 and never looked back. It cost me about £250 back then but you can pick them up for around £50 on eBay nowadays, although my specific camera is worth less as the top LCD screen got smashed at some point.
Back when it was released it was something of a technological marvel and boasted great features such as:
A 6 Megapixel sensor;
1.8 inch screen;
5 selectable autofocus points;
3 frames per second.
This was cutting edge stuff at the time - how things have come on since then!
I was hoping to be able to show you the first shot I ever took with it but I couldn't find it unfortunately. Here's a couple of shots from within the first 100 I took on it, judging by the file names.
I had no idea what I was doing when I started using the camera and had to teach myself everything as I went along. I didn't know about the exposure metre or anything and would just adjust the shutter speed and aperture and hope for the best - I'm lucky anything came out well exposed really!
These shots are just random photographs from the following few years:
One of the great things about it that still holds up well today is the D70's battery-life: I've always been able to get hundreds of shots of a single charge.
I loved this camera, and do still have a soft spot for it. It does get dusted off every once in a while and used as a backup camera.
Infant one of my favourite shots from the last couple of years is this one:
Not perfect, but considering what it was taken with, it's awesome, I think.
I'd still recommend a D70 as a first DSLR for anyone wanting to get into photography - especially given the price you can snap one up for nowadays. I learned so much form this camera, and there's no reason anyone else wouldn't be able to do the same in 2017.
Mine's been everywhere with me; on rooftops, in sewers, up mountains, and a few different countries, and it never let me down. It's a great performing, solid camera.
D70 - You're old, you're clunky, but you're still awesome.
