[tooki]

P.S. I just discovered that there are third-party focussing screens available for the D70/D70s, which means you can replace the regular one with a split-circle screen for doing manual focus, which opens up the possibility of really using the whole smattering of old manual focus lenses out on the used market.

Replacement screens exist for the Digital Rebels, too, but since EOS cameras effectively can't use old non-EOS lenses, it doesn't really help much.

[art_director]

Originally Posted by tooki

P.S. I just discovered that there are third-party focussing screens available for the D70/D70s, which means you can replace the regular one with a split-circle screen for doing manual focus, which opens up the possibility of really using the whole smattering of old manual focus lenses out on the used market.

Replacement screens exist for the Digital Rebels, too, but since EOS cameras effectively can't use old non-EOS lenses, it doesn't really help much.

Have any links or manufacturere's sites for reference? Thx.

[production_coordinator]

http://www.dpreview.com/news/0601/06...minoltaout.asp

I found it interesting that Minolta has withdrawn from the camera market...

So professionals really DON'T buy Minolta's

[mbarton]

EOS cameras can accept manual, non-eos lenses with a simple adapter. I regularly use an old russian fisheye on my 1dmk2 quite effectively. Some pros even use Zeiss glass on thier 1ds cameras for extra sharpness. I'd say you could do the same with Nikon cameras but that 1.6 conversion factor really eats into the wide lenses.

[billy_d_goat]

Just my 2 cents...I use a Nikon D70, which I have found to be an excellent prosumer level DSLR. I orginally started in the Canon 35mm world, and while Canon has more "stuff" available for its cameras, I much prefer the quality provided by Nikon pro level products. I have used Nikon 35mm and digital products for several years without any major issues.

I haven't tried the D50 yet, though I have heard it is a good entry level DSLR. The major problem with digital SLR is the cleaning of the CCD. When I got my D70 is showed up with dirt on the CCD and it took me several cleanings to get it perfect. There are some good resources out there that describe the best ways to clean a CCD, though it isn't for the faint of heart.

Once you go DSLR, though, you never look back to 35mm or consumer grade digital!


+++++++++++++++++
http://www.redbugtech.com/tours/
http://www.walkdillsburg.com

[tooki]

Originally Posted by art_director

Have any links or manufacturere's sites for reference? Thx.

Just google "D70 focusing screen", that's how I found links and discussion.

Originally Posted by production_coordinator

http://www.dpreview.com/news/0601/06...minoltaout.asp

I found it interesting that Minolta has withdrawn from the camera market...

So professionals really DON'T buy Minolta's

But they "withdrew" by selling that segment of the company to Sony, which has been sorely lacking any real competition to DSLRs, whose sub-$1000 prices are now threatening Sony's high end digital cameras. It seems to me that the Minolta cameras will simply become Sony, and be marketed widely.

Originally Posted by mbarton

EOS cameras can accept manual, non-eos lenses with a simple adapter.

But many non-EF lenses can't work with the adapters. Nikon's got near-full backwards- and forwards- compatibility with respect to lenses (other than the IX and DX lenses, which are specifically for APS and DSLR cameras, respectively).

tooki

[mbarton]

But many non-EF lenses can't work with the adapters. Nikon's got near-full backwards- and forwards- compatibility

Tooki, we're veering a little off-course here but that statement is total garbage. Just because Nikon has kept the same antiquated lens mount for the last 60 years does not mean you can expect lens compatibility. Basically any Nikon lens made before 1977 is suspect and will damage your d70 if you try to mount it. Check out this chart http://www.aiconversions.com/compatibilitytable.htm

Also, why do you keep comparing the d70 to the digital rebel? It's in a totally different class. The Canon 20d vs the Nikon d70 would be a more accurate comparison.

The kid asked for advice on buying a basic D-SLR to get into photography. Does he even need the ability to use grandpa's lenses? I doubt it. He seemed more concerned with buying the right video card.

[foo2]

Originally Posted by mbarton

Tooki, we're veering a little off-course here but that statement is total garbage. Just because Nikon has kept the same antiquated lens mount for the last 60 years does not mean you can expect lens compatibility. Basically any Nikon lens made before 1977 is suspect and will damage your d70 if you try to mount it. Check out this chart http://www.aiconversions.com/compatibilitytable.htm

Hence "near-full", which I think is more than fair. For $35 it will mount, essentially. And that gives you most (but not all) of the functionality you'd expect, even with older lenses.

That's pretty amazing if you think about it. The cash-challenged can easily get something off of eBay or buy older stuff from full-frame cameras from their local Craigslist or my_city.forsale newsgroup forum.

[ChrisF]

Originally Posted by foo2

Hence "near-full", which I think is more than fair. For $35 it will mount, essentially. And that gives you most (but not all) of the functionality you'd expect, even with older lenses.

The D70 offers no light metering capability with non-AF Nikon lenses whatsoever.
Interestingly, most Nikon lenses with the proper adapter on any Canon EOS will offer stop-down metering capability.

[cory5412]

It is not true that older nikon lenses will damage a newer nikon dSLR if they are mounted... I regularly used my D50 with an old "Kireon" lens that I found on a Nikon F at school.

I had to do everything manually, but once you start guessing - and guessing properly - it's fine.

Just as a sidenote to that, the Nikon F was introduced in 1959, and produced well into the 60's, maybe early 70's, so "anything before 1977" is not suspect, and it will not damage your D50 or D70/D70s. <chop>

As an aside, here is my own experience with the D50, and a DigiRebel (300d)

I have a Nikon D50, it's a very nice camera. I recently borrowed a Canon digitalRebel (aka EOS 300d) and have to say... I am both highly impressed, and aghast and shocked at it. It is an amazingly slow camera... It takes probably 30 seconds or more to write an image to the card... With the D50, startup and usability is instant, with the digiRebel, it's another thirty seconds, if not longer, to start up.

Also... I'll admit, either I have big hands, or Nikon has been nice to me (between the F and the D50), but I find that the digiRebel actually hurts my hands, and I find the positioning of it's command wheel to be weird. Maybe it was meant to be held a bit differently than how I hold my Nikons.

The digiRebel, in my initial testing (I borrowed it today) is an excellent camera other than that. It should be fine even in "fast" shooting situations, since it seems to have a decent memory buffer. The other thing I really like about it is it's lens, from what I can tell, the kit lens (an EFS 18-55mm) is much better than the lens I have with my D50 (a Type G 28-80mm). Neither lens opens further than 3.3, and in "normal" lighting, it is *VERY* hard to coax the lens into opening further than 5.6, which is extremely aggravating, but other than that common trait, I think that the Canon lens is a bit better at focusing. (I focus manually, so I should say that it's easier to manually focus with the Canon, rather than that the lens is better at it.)

The digiRebel I'm using is a few years older than my D50, so it may be different with the digiRebelXT, and I haven't used any of Nikon's or Canon's bigger cameras (D2x vs. EOS1dMk2), but that's my observation so far.

[ChrisF]

Originally Posted by cory5412

Just as a sidenote to that, the Nikon F was introduced in 1959, and produced well into the 60's, maybe early 70's, so "anything before 1977" is not suspect, and it will not damage your D50 or D70/D70s.

That's not true. Non-AI lenses (those made prior to 1977 and not converted to AI metering) can damage the pin on the side of the D70's lens mount which is used to indicate to the camera that the lens is fully stopped down. That is the reason that Nikon lists those old lenses as being incompatible. Link.

[normdzn]

Hi Y'all,

I am actually a big fan of the Canon Powershots. I have a G2 and would like to upgrade to a G6.

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/spec...n/canon_g6.asp