[Gandhi]

Right, this is how it is.......

I love my panasonic but somebody is trying to tempt me over to the darkside.

I've just been offered a second-hand D70 with kit lens, cos he needs the money, not the camera anymore. He has 35mm gear and a rather good neg scanner. Now, the question is, how much should I be looking at paying for this? I can sell the Panny for slightly more than I paid for it (got it from HK) and it's in showroom condition, it also has a 1gb Sd card with it, plus some filters, flashgun etc.

I'm currently of two schools of thought.

1) Desires.... I really want a dslr cos I'm fed up with the lack of wide-angle availability; most of my stuff I shot on film was at wider than 35mm. I need something with less noise for numerous reasons, I can live without the extreme 420mm reach of my current cam.

Balanced with....

2) worries/issues...... I don't want to have to lug loads of gear around, I currently have IS, am I gonna miss it cos I can't afford fancy nikon VR lenses? how cheaply can I get lenses that are gonna match to the rather excellent leica one on the panny. I don't want to get caught up in the whole 'search for sharpness' gig.

So what I want to is.....

How much is a fair price for the Nikon? It's not the 's' model.

Should I do it anyway? Please allay my fears!

each camera has its own merrits,

my only real advice is to use the Nikon for a week or two to see how u get on with it in the hand,

its the only real way,

as for price.....well, thats upto you, and him, for a used D70 with kit lens go to ebay to see what they are selling for,
does it come with all the original bits n bobs ?

the only real advantage to the ' s ' version was a larger screen on the back , the rest of the tweeks can be applied to the non-s version with a firmware upgrade

the kit lens is an 18mm zoom so is quite wide to start with , and its a DX lens so its formated to use with the sensor size on the DSLR , so no 1.5X conversion is needed....

my father in law has just bought the panasonic, but he dont come back from Oz till next week, so i aint played wiv it yet,

hope this helps

MyPix

[Warspite]

Fact is you want an SLR for the obvious benefits, sooner or later - if you trust the gear hes selling (to have been looked after I mean, and not abused), and you can afford it of course I would buy it. Simple as.

Lugging stuff around is not to relevant as you have already stated you want an SLR, also you have accessories for your Panasonic (so you cant travel too light as it is).

Easier said than done I know - but thats my take on it, as for quotes you really need a Nikonette to give you a realistic price there.

[Dave]

Well I paid £520 for my D70 with 18-70 lens when it was about 6 weeks old, going back nearly a year now. I would say £400 ?

I don't think you need VR until past 200mm in normal conditions......I've shot 300mm fine with normal lens. The 18-70 lens is very good & keep you going for a while. You could also sell on for about £150 on EBAY ....sold mine for around that a month ago...which would take D70 body down to £250 if you got it for £400.

Lenses going forward. If you don't want to drag tons of lenses around what about stretching yourself to the 18-200 VR lens....with the knowledge you can always sell again for near what you paid.

For minimal spend I would say keep 18-70.....buy the cheap Nikon 70-300 (£68 I last saw) until you can afford better. Then if you want best quality glass get a 50mm f1.8 from onestop for around £70.

Go for it ......with the talent you've already shown with your curent gear you'll excel with the D70.....really is a gorgeous bit of kit

[Rick1486]

what's the web address for onestop mate?
Cheers
Rick

[CT]

Don't buy it Spencer - your work is far too good as it is!

Reality check mate. You're a photographer, and a DSLR is the most flexible photographic tool devised to date. Sooner or later you'll get one, so you might as well bite the bullet and do it now. Sure, you'll want lenses and other bits for it, but as you well know, you add those as funds and your personal picture taking requirements dictate.

No-one wants to carry a bag full of gear round with them, and with carefiul planning and anticipation on any given day, you really don't have to unless you want to be belted and bracered all the while, but at least the choice is yours, and ultimately a DSLR is superior to any little camera that slips conveniently into your pocket - it's a bummer I know, but it's true or we'd all be using one.

[Dave]

Originally Posted by Rick1486

what's the web address for onestop mate?
Cheers
Rick

http://www.onestop-digital.com/catalog/

[Gandhi]

Thanks for the opinions guys. I think I'd already made the decision in my heart. Now just got to haggle my friend down to around 400 notes and prep the g/f for the fact that i'm gonna sell my xmas pressie about 6 months down the line!

As for lenses....... I'm liking the look and price of the 18-200mm nikon VR jobbie, would like to know about it's sharpness, can't be too great at that price surely? I realise it's a bit slow compared to what I'm used to (f3.7@420mm) but the VR should help compensate for that.

Other lens being the 10-20mm sigma. I've only heard and seen good things about this one so it's a definate buy for me as wideangle is really what I want the d70 for.

and then there's the more stable tripod, the memory cards, new bags, new filters, the hernia operation

But I'm excited!

On a lighter note, I may just have scored myself a job/opportunity to sell my photos in a mates picture framing shop. So hopefully I'll soon be able to provide wideformat printing and framing for all of you too!

Thanks again!

[Dave]

Glad you've made a decision. The Sigma is a cracker of a lens & I'm amazed every time I open a hot at full res at the level of detail in a shot. As for the 18-200 I have the same concerns re compromises, but all the reviews from owners to date seem very impressive.....if I didn't have to wait (I hate waiting) I would have one tomorrow....give it a go over a month & if no good , sell back on fleabay for minimal loss.

Good luck with the buy.