Taking the Nikon D70 for a spin in 2021

While my Olympus OM-D E-M1 is away getting repaired (see earlier post), and my E-M10 is packed up for its new owner (yay), I thought I'd take the opportunity to use an old friend. The Nikon D70.

Who, me? Nikon D70 with Nikkor 18-55mm. f/5.6 @ 1/800th, ISO 200

The Nikon D70 was my first ever DSLR - back in 2004 I do believe? That makes this a 17 year old digital camera (in 2021). It's a 6.1 megapixel beast with a 'massive' (kidding) 1.8" 130,000 dot lcd screen. It takes the somewhat outdated Compact Flash cards, has 5-area focusing, and shoots at a blistering 3 frames per second. Not flash specifications by today's standards I guess?

Cobden Beach High Tide. Nikon D70 with Nikkor 18-55mm. f/5.6 @ 1/5000th, ISO 200

And yet, this is the camera I used for my first year as a wedding photographer. With excellent results. Because it is a damn fine Nikon camera, with excellent ergonomics, and excellent IQ. So what if it's only 6 megapixels? So what if the lcd screen is only really an indication? As long as it shows the histogram overlay (and it does), do you really need to 'chimp' your images after each shot!? (That would be a 'No' by-the-way).

When I first purchased the D70, it was streets ahead of the all-plastic Canon offering (the 300D?) - with better handling, superior specifications, and just an all-around better user experience. And really, that's still the case all these years ago. As a photographic tool, the D70 handles like a dream.

Swan River. Nikon D70. f/8 @ 1/400th, ISO 200

I don't need to go into great detail about the D70. I've written about using it on and off in this blog over the years. And I've championed using 'older' cameras and not upgrading 'just because' you want to have the latest and greatest.

But hey, I'm also not here to tell you that the D70 is going to be my main digital camera going forward. Because it's not. Although it could. But it's not.

Because I'm also not going to deny that advances in technology are helpful. and useful, and also sometimes just plain fun. I'm very much looking forward to getting my Olympus OM-D E-M1 back from repair. I love that thing, and it's full of crazy-good tech! But it's also not the latest and the greatest in the OM-D line either.

Flax reflection. Nikon D70. f/8 @ 1/13th, ISO 200

I've said it before (and I'll say it again), nobody really makes bad cameras. Probably haven't for a very long time. We consumers (fueled by marketing hype) get hooked up on X, Y and Z. But at the end of the day, it really doesn't matter much what you use to take a photograph. And that goes for film as well as digital.

We are, as a species, quite tribal - sometimes in the extreme. We like to cheer for our team. Unfortunately, sometimes this gets out of hand, and we loose perspective. Can anyone say dual card slots?!

YouTube is rife with 'Is 'X' camera still good in 2021' type videos, and I have to say that they 'do my head in'. The answer, in ALL cases, is YES! Every camera is still good in 2021 - depending, of course, on your use-case. The D70 will be no good for a sports shooter in 2021. But it was also no good for one in 2004. There were better choices then, and there are better choices now. Just use some common sense people! Please!!!