Nikon updates D70 firmware to 2.0
by Volker Weber
- Performance of the 5-area AF system has been improved (Dynamic area and Closest subject AF-area modes).
- Changes have been made to the design of menu displays.
- Page-size settings can now be applied from the camera with direct printing from a PictBridge-compatible printer.
- The number of exposures remaining, displayed in the control panel and viewfinder, when shooting at an image-quality setting of NEF (RAW) or NEF+JPEG Basic has been changed (the number is calculated based on the size of compressed RAW file).
Maximum number of exposures displayed when a 256-MB CompactFlash memory card is used:
Version 2.00: NEF (RAW):approx. 44 exposures; NEF+JPEG Basic:approx. 39 exposures
Version 1.03 or earlier: NEF (RAW):approx. 23 exposures; NEF+JPEG Basic:approx. 21 exposures
- The default setting for camera clock has been changed from 2004.01.01 to 2005.01.01. Now you cannot set the clock back to a date before 2004.12.31.
- A problem that sometimes caused communication between the camera and computer to be unexpectedly terminated when using Nikon Capture Camera Control has been corrected. (Windows)
After installing this update a D70 performs like a D70s.
Comments
Isn't this the firmware upgrade that adds D70s features to the D70? Or is this another (newer) update?
Yes, this is the "D70s" update. It was announced a couple of weeks ago but only published today.
... and who would like to publicly share his/her experience with this new Firmware? :-)
The upgrade seems to have worked without problems, at least it now says v2.0 on both A and B.
Can't say anything about the new features yet, probably won't have the time until the weekend.
Indeed. And the menus look different. ;-)
Would you advice to buy an old D70 (relatively cheap) and upgrade it with the new Firmware instead of buying an new D70s (relatively expensive)? Or is there a new killer-feature that legitimates the difference on the price?
If you can get the D70 for a reasonable discount, then go for it. Make sure you get the 18-70mm f3.5-4.5G ED-IF AF-S DX lens and not the 28-80mm f/3.3-5.6G AF .
The Canon 350D is now also worth a second look. I preferred the D70 over the 300D by a wide margin, but the 350D is much better and can stand up against the D70. Again, you need to upgrade to the better lens (EF-S 17-85 IS) there as well. Beware, the Canon is really tiny which is good when you need to carry it, but can be a boon if you have big hands.
