Canon will not discontinue original dRebel

you mean at this time... Nothing is forever.

I note that Canon is introducing new EF-S lenses to obsolete their film
cameras. The new EF-S 60mm f:2.8 macro is nice, but being EF-S one can't pop
it on their Elan, or EOS-1/3 bodies. It also shows that a full-frame
consumer camera isn't on Canon's drawing boards either.

 

Mind you the AF-Micro Nikkor 60mm f:2.8 would be a good match too.

 

http://www.imaging-resource.com/NEWS/1108638359.html

The original dRebel will remain in the EOS lineup at a reduced price.

 

.... at $799 list price for the kit, we may be seeing new $500 bodies
soon. I was almost sold on the Nikon D70, but now ... the plot
thickens. Hope to see a substantial price drop on the D70 soon.

Some sample pics from the Rebel XT (350D):

http://web.canon.jp/Imaging/eosdigital2/html/eosdigital2_sample_1e.html

 

It seems to me that Nikon has always received a premium for their products,
and the D70 has always been more than the Rebel. If you make your choice
simply on price you are probably starting out from scratch. If you have a
bag full of Nikon lenses (and Nikon has seen to it that virtually all of
their lenses fit their new digital cameras) a couple hundred dollars won't
make a difference to a diehard Nikon user, and there are a lot of them out
there.

It will also be interesting to see how the cameras stack up against each
other, and that the reviewers don't use them like point and shoot cameras
and base the results on those images. I've heard that an extra 2 megapixels
may not be worth it (depends on the camera), and it's not uncommon for the
lesser camera to take better images. I hope we're not in a megapixel war
here, especially if the extra pixels are unusable, and people are just
buying based on pixel count.

I will say that the new Rebel does look like a hell of a deal, and I like
the additional battery/portrait handle that's available for it. Looks like
a lot of bang for the buck.

 

Is that true? I thought the Nikon DSLRs required lenses with onboard
chips, which rules out quite a lot of the older Nikon lenses.

 

Without that, the lens will still fit and work, it just won't meter.

 

Thank you for the clarification.

I was under the impression that some of the Nikon DSLRs wouldn't even trip
the shutter if a non-chipped lens was mounted, but it seems I was mistaken.

 

Is that true? I thought the Nikon DSLRs required lenses with onboard

So what lenses will work on the D70? I would need a portrait (anything from their 85 mm to their 135 mm
equivalent fixed focus), and a 28 mm to 35 mm wide angle equivalent. I definitely need something that
will meter.

 

Some sample pics from the Rebel XT (350D):

That's some astounding detail!

 

So what lenses will work on the D70? I would need a portrait (anything

Type G lenses and type D lenses are recommended for use with the D70.

Jan

 

If you don't demand autofocus or the ability to use the camera's
built-in metering, then any AI lens will work as long as it does not
project far enough back into the body as to hit the meter.

The way to tell an AI lens from those which preceded it is that
the aperture ring is the part closest to the body (on all of them, AI
and non-AI), but the skirt of the aperture ring has been machined
(before painting) to leave only two projections which reach close to the
camera body. One (fairly wide), near the lens release button engages a
lever on some cameras (e.g. the N90s) but *not* on the D70, to tell the
camera body how many stops you are below the wide-open setting for that
lens. The other tab, close to 180 degrees from that pont, is much
narrower, and actuates a second lever (which *is* on the D70 body) to
tell the body that the aperture ring is currently set at the smallest
aperture available. This is needed to allow the camera to control the
aperture throughout its range. If this tab does not engage the lever,
the camera will complain unless it is switched to the manual mode.

If the lens has an intact skirt on the aperture ring, then it
will interfere with the sensor for the fully-stopped-down condition, and
might damage the lever.

The manual has a listing of lenses which can be used, and which
cannot. The Medical Nikor (which does not have the tabs on the aperture
ring, but which has a shorter skirt on the aperture ring, so it works in
manual mode) is among those listed.

Obviously, if any lens has a projection which would hit the
contacts inside the lens-mount ring and possibly damage them, it should
not be used.

Check the manual to find the list of which can and cannot be
used. (And perhaps you can find that on Nikon's web site. I'm not sure
at the moment about that.)

Good Luck,
DoN.

 

It won't, and will display an error code, until you switch to
manual mode. After you have done that, it will fire happily away.

Enjoy,
DoN.

 

Just about anything will "work", but unless you like the pain of no metering
and manually setting the aperture, just stick with the autofocus lenses.
Any Nikon AF lenses made since the '80s will work just fine; some of them
will not work with "3D Matrix Metering", but I can't see any difference in
that anyhow (possibly it makes a difference when using on-camera flash, but
whatever).

Personally, while I have no pre-AF non-chip Nikon lenses, I do have an AF
lens from the late '80s (70-210 f/4) and it works perfectly with the D70.

Certainly any Nikon lens you can buy new right now will work, with
metering.

 

I would recommend the 50MM f1.8, would be 75MM equiv. It's probably one of
the sharpest, lowest distortion lenses Nikon makes.. The worst shots I've
taken with it blow the kit lens outta the water. And it's less than $100
*brand new*. I've not used the 1.4, but people rave about it as well. But
it's also over 3 times the money.

from their 85 mm to their 135 mm