NIKON D70S REVIEW

I bought this Nikon D70S digital SLR camera 2 months ago after much soul searching. Having done a ton of research, I\'d been convinced this was well worth buying, but when I had a look at one in the shop I was initially disappointed by the bulky size of it and the relatively small viewfinder compared to my 35mm Nikon. I thought about it for a while and took the plunge a couple of weeks later, and I\'m so glad I did.

Compared to a compact digital camera, yes this is pretty big, but the downsides end there. This camera takes your photo exactly when you want it to, no pressing the button and counting to 3 before it decides it is good and ready. With a true SLR viewfinder, there\'s no squinting at a little screen, you see the shot exactly as it will be and all you need to do is press the button.

If you\'re feeling creative you can explore the varying degrees of over-ride available, including a variety of pre-set modes for specific photo-types.

The feature I like best is the continuous shoot mode. Basically you can hold the button down and it will fire away at 3 frames per second until you get bored. They claim something like 140 shots in succession, but I don\'t think there is an actual limit. This can give you some super little sequences like a mini-movie and works well with action shots or with children.

I put a 1Gb card in it (doesn\'t need to be a high-speed card as the camera has a superb buffer memory) and I get nearly 600 good quality pictures on that. The battery life is awesome - many hundreds of shots per charge. Hunt around for cheap spare batteries to be safe, but the one you get is a truly remarkable performer.

This is my 4th digital camera. It\'s nice to have a tiny one to carry around for snap shots, but if the things you are photographing matter to you, you want the timing, composition and quality to be bang on. This is just an incredible camera for the price (and an excellent price it is on Amazon), the lens is very impressive and a useful range, the performance of the camera is fantastic, and the quality of the photos makes it absolutely worth trading up from those horrid little compacts so many of us have been putting up with until now. If I lost mine I\'d buy another Nikon D70S digital SLR camera tomorrow. Just great. Love it. Totally recommend it.