Upgrade advise from D70s to D200

[Lordjim]

Greetings

I would appreciate some advise on this topic ...

I currently own a D70s for about 8 months now ... and a bit gian to upgrade to D200 ... I am not a market savvy person but just want to know what are my options.

Just a few questions ...

1. How to tell shutter-count ?
2. How much can I expect to get for my D70s ?
3. Is it a real upgrade ? i.e. can I expect to use the D200 for the next few years based on current price of about SGD 2200 for body only ?

Any real and practical advise would be much appreciated.

Thanks in anticipation

Lordjim

[Wowee]

Originally Posted by Lordjim Greetings I would appreciate some advise on this topic ... I currently own a D70s for about 8 months now ... and a bit gian to upgrade to D200 ... I am not a market savvy person but just want to know what are my options. Just a few questions ... 1. How to tell shutter-count ? 2. How much can I expect to get for my D70s ? 3. Is it a real upgrade ? i.e. can I expect to use the D200 for the next few years based on current price of about SGD 2200 for body only ? Any real and practical advise would be much appreciated. Thanks in anticipation Lordjim

I think the most important question you need to ask yourself is whether the D70s is SUFFICIENT in helping you take the kind of pics you are satisfied with.

D200 is definitely an upgrade from D70s but if you have not even master D70s to take pics that you want then I would suggest just hold back 1st...

Heard that Nikon coming out D200's successor next year.

[ExplorerZ]

Originally Posted by Wowee I think the most important question you need to ask yourself is whether the D70s is SUFFICIENT in helping you take the kind of pics you are satisfied with. D200 is definitely an upgrade from D70s but if you have not even master D70s to take pics that you want then I would suggest just hold back 1st... Heard that Nikon coming out D200's successor next year.

AGREE!!! the word is SUFFICIENT...

[Lordjim]

Originally Posted by ExplorerZ AGREE!!! the word is SUFFICIENT...

Greetings

Thanks guys, appreciate the good advise ... will hold onto my $$$ & wait ... Merry Xmas!

[Lordjim]

Originally Posted by Wowee I think the most important question you need to ask yourself is whether the D70s is SUFFICIENT in helping you take the kind of pics you are satisfied with. D200 is definitely an upgrade from D70s but if you have not even master D70s to take pics that you want then I would suggest just hold back 1st... Heard that Nikon coming out D200's successor next year.

Greetings

Sorry to ask again .. but how to tell shutter count anyway ?

Regards

Lordjim

[erictan8888]

the D200 is indeed a great improvement over the D70.....
you have a lot more features over the D70....

if you have not seen the D200, you do not know what you are missing....
a number of things are not impt, a number of things are impt for me...
as to whether they are impt to you and worth the upgrade, only you can tell....

try and borrow a D200 and play with it.... and compare it with the D70...
then you will know if you want to or need to upgrade....

[erictan8888]

use software, like the Opanda...... they can tell you the shutter count

[Timeye]

I've used D70s for 4 months. Overall it meets my expectation but shooting in low light always gives me noise problems, even at ISO640. I'm thinking of upgrading it in Jan2007 and need some advice too. How does D200 handle noise when shooting in low light?

[Andry]

Never own a D200 but imho noise handling won't be much much better
auto wb much better though

Yet, before anything, ever thought of upgrading lens first? the price diff of D70s to D200 can buy a decent lens i think

[Timeye]

Looking at a similar range of zoom, the 17-55 is a very expensive upgrade from my kit lens 18-70. Do you have an advice for alternative?

[optimage]

Don't sell the D70s. Keep it as a spare camera. I sold mine and regretted so I bought a brand new one from Japan. That way, I can switch between a prime wide and zoom without having to change lens.

D200 batt life really sucks compared to the D70s which seems to go on and on. Best thing about D200 is that the white balance and colors are so accurate. You will spend much less time doing color corrections compared to d70s. BTW, I have both cameras so this is from personal experience.

[Timeye]

Originally Posted by optimage Don't sell the D70s. Keep it as a spare camera. I sold mine and regretted so I bought a brand new one from Japan. That way, I can switch between a prime wide and zoom without having to change lens. D200 batt life really sucks compared to the D70s which seems to go on and on. Best thing about D200 is that the white balance and colors are so accurate. You will spend much less time doing color corrections compared to d70s. BTW, I have both cameras so this is from personal experience.

Good idea but you may need a big backpack to accomodate two bodies with lenses attached.

[babaman]

How bout getting a cheap 2nd hand D50 for cleaner high ISO shots? Should be quite cheap right?...

[jeffreyk]

Originally Posted by Timeye Looking at a similar range of zoom, the 17-55 is a very expensive upgrade from my kit lens 18-70. Do you have an advice for alternative?

The $$ spent on upgrading the body from D70s to D200 and kit lens to 17-55 is probably equal.

IMO, upgrade your lens 1st before the body. The fast aperture allows u to lower the ISO by 1-2 stops (noise problems solved??). And by the time u really need to upgrade the body, the price would have fallen by a fair bit.

[entropy_h]

Well, if you're looking for someone to sell your D70s to in case you want to upgrade, you have a buyer here!

[Artosoft]

Originally Posted by Lordjim Greetings Sorry to ask again .. but how to tell shutter count anyway ? Regards Lordjim

http://drchung.new21.net/previewextractor/

Regards,
Arto.

[ExplorerZ]

Originally Posted by Timeye Looking at a similar range of zoom, the 17-55 is a very expensive upgrade from my kit lens 18-70. Do you have an advice for alternative?

theres a tokina 16-50(yet to arrive), tamron 17-50, sigma 18-50.. the latter 2 have some very decent review. they cost about 1/4 to 1/3 of the nikon.

[lsisaxon]

Originally Posted by ExplorerZ theres a tokina 16-50(yet to arrive), tamron 17-50, sigma 18-50.. the latter 2 have some very decent review. they cost about 1/4 to 1/3 of the nikon.

You can forget about the Sigma 18-50/2.8. The image quality is no better than the 18-70. Although a stop faster, the image is quite soft at f/2.8. I can't comment on the rest because I haven't used them.

[ExplorerZ]

Originally Posted by lsisaxon You can forget about the Sigma 18-50/2.8. The image quality is no better than the 18-70. Although a stop faster, the image is quite soft at f/2.8. I can't comment on the rest because I haven't used them.

not very sure maybe it could be a bad copy. i got a 3 friend using the 18-50, two using canon and one using nikon, both said their the image is sharp even wide open.

[lsisaxon]

Originally Posted by ExplorerZ not very sure maybe it could be a bad copy. i got a 3 friend using the 18-50, two using canon and one using nikon, both said their the image is sharp even wide open.

It's sharp but it's a bit soft at 100% crop from a 10mp image. There is also some spherical aberration present but then again, it's much cheaper than the 17-55DX so I guess I shouldn't expect too much. I would put it as passable.