D70 sensor failure?

desmobob

Senior Member
I pulled out my trusty D70 to take a few shots last week and the results were not good... vastly underexposed, purplish, noisy images. I checked all settings, swapped batteries, etc. Same. I then did a total reset using the small button on the bottom of the body. Same results.

I'm assuming the sensor has failed. On a very positive note, I immediately purchased a new D750 (which has impressed me even more than the F4s did when I picked up one of those way back when).

Anyway, is there anything else I should check before putting the poor old girl in the trash?

Thanks for any ideas,
Bob
 

Bikerbrent

Senior Member
Welcome aboard. Enjoy the ride.
We look forward to seeing more posts and samples of your work.

Sorry to hear about your D70 issue. Yes it may be time to retire the old girl. Congrates on your D750. Hope you have some FX lenses to use.
 

hark

Administrator
Staff member
Super Mod
Contributor
I pulled out my trusty D70 to take a few shots last week and the results were not good... vastly underexposed, purplish, noisy images. I checked all settings, swapped batteries, etc. Same. I then did a total reset using the small button on the bottom of the body. Same results.

I'm assuming the sensor has failed. On a very positive note, I immediately purchased a new D750 (which has impressed me even more than the F4s did when I picked up one of those way back when).

Anyway, is there anything else I should check before putting the poor old girl in the trash?

Thanks for any ideas,
Bob

Look on ebay to see if any are sold for parts. You might be able to get a few bucks for it.
 

desmobob

Senior Member
Welcome aboard. Enjoy the ride.
We look forward to seeing more posts and samples of your work.

Sorry to hear about your D70 issue. Yes it may be time to retire the old girl. Congrates on your D750. Hope you have some FX lenses to use.

Thanks for the welcome!

I just ran through the drill again with the D70: reset the menus, checked for compensation settings, etc., and shot in every mode with a fresh battery with and without the flash. All results the same.

I guess I'm just worried I might be tossing a good camera. And then there's the sentimental angle... the D70 was my first DSLR, and I enjoyed it immensely.

Stay sharp,
Bob
 

desmobob

Senior Member
Look on ebay to see if any are sold for parts. You might be able to get a few bucks for it.

I had the same thought initially. I was shocked to find place like KEH selling working used D70s for as little as fifty bucks! (Maybe I'll buy one for back-up!)

Bikerbrent, I forgot to mention in my reply to your post that I do have a nice selection of FX Nikkors that I have accumulated over the years, including some excellent AIS MF specimens as well as a range of AF primes and zooms.

Nikon's commitment to backwards compatibility means a lot to me.

Stay sharp,
Bob
 

Bikerbrent

Senior Member
Bikerbrent, I forgot to mention in my reply to your post that I do have a nice selection of FX Nikkors that I have accumulated over the years, including some excellent AIS MF specimens as well as a range of AF primes and zooms.

Nikon's commitment to backwards compatibility means a lot to me.

Stay sharp,
Bob

My bad, I should have looked at your profile. You do have some nice FX lenses. I have seen far too many DX users jump into a new FX body with nothing but DX lenses.
 

desmobob

Senior Member
My bad, I should have looked at your profile. You do have some nice FX lenses. I have seen far too many DX users jump into a new FX body with nothing but DX lenses.

Don't worry about that! I would never think to look at someone's profile to find out if they owned any nice lenses...

I bought a lot of nice Nikon primes back in the film days. When I bought an F4s, I started buying some AF Nikkors primes when I could; my budget kept me away from the really fast stuff, but I did manage to pick up a couple of nice ones.

When I finally broke down and accepted the digital revolution, I bought the D70 and started picking up a few AF Nikkor zooms. I couldn't really afford the nice fast ones. I ended up getting an 18-28 f/3.5-4.5, a 28-85 f/3.5-4.5 and the 70-300 f/4-5.6 D. I liked them, but I always had it in the back of my mind that they were "second rate" because of my old-school ideas that primes were far superior to zooms, and because the zooms I could afford were all Nikon's "second string" players.

Now, with my D750's excellent sensor, I can shoot at higher ISOs if necessary with few worries and keep my slow zooms stopped down a bit where I know they can perform better.

The death of my D70 helped me take another step forward and see what the newer cameras have to offer. I dearly love my new D750 but since I found out how little a used D70 body is these days, I'm sure I'll pick up a replacement for my dead one; I like the camera and it would make a good DSLR body for "going in harm's way" like out in the canoe or kayak, to the ocean side, etc.

Stay sharp,
Bob
 

DaveC

Senior Member
I've actually taken advantage of the low D70s prices and picked up a LN- body from KEH for a little over $100. More of a sentimental purchase as this was my first DSLR. When I received the body it was literally new with only 17 clicks on it! I've been using it with my old 17-55 and have been pleased with the results!
 

desmobob

Senior Member
I've actually taken advantage of the low D70s prices and picked up a LN- body from KEH for a little over $100. More of a sentimental purchase as this was my first DSLR.

I was going to do the same thing but decided at the last second to pick up a D200 instead. $100, looks in beautiful shape, but I didn't ask about the shutter count. It's due to arrive tomorrow and I have my fingers crossed.

I was hoping I could use my D70's batteries in the D200 but I found out that's not possible. At least I have some CF cards from my D70 days to use.

Enjoy your nostalgic purchase!

Stay sharp,
Bob
 

Marcel

Happily retired
Staff member
Super Mod
Are the pics bad only on your D70's LCD or even when you try to upload them to your computer through a card reader or a usb connection?

Maybe someone could have a look at it and/or you could have it converted to Infra Red... ?
 

DaveC

Senior Member
I was going to do the same thing but decided at the last second to pick up a D200 instead. $100, looks in beautiful shape, but I didn't ask about the shutter count. It's due to arrive tomorrow and I have my fingers crossed.

I was hoping I could use my D70's batteries in the D200 but I found out that's not possible. At least I have some CF cards from my D70 days to use.

Enjoy your nostalgic purchase!

Stay sharp,
Bob

The D200 was the one I wanted when I got my original D70s, but it was a bit out of reach for me at the time. Good luck with it! I hope you get a good one. I am quite re-impressed with the 6.1MP sensor on the D70s.
 

desmobob

Senior Member
Are the pics bad only on your D70's LCD or even when you try to upload them to your computer through a card reader or a usb connection?

Maybe someone could have a look at it and/or you could have it converted to Infra Red... ?

The sensor is bad; even photos on the card are a dark, streaky violet/blue noisy tint. IR conversion is something I hadn't thought about... might not be a bad idea!

Stay sharp,
Bob
 

desmobob

Senior Member
The D200 was the one I wanted when I got my original D70s, but it was a bit out of reach for me at the time. Good luck with it! I hope you get a good one. I am quite re-impressed with the 6.1MP sensor on the D70s.

Thanks. I was always happy with the D70 images for casual/web use. A D200 is only a little more money than another D70 and offers better image quality, features, and a much better build. I hope the one on the way is in good operating order. The seller claims it is...

Stay sharp,
Bob
 

Bikerbrent

Senior Member
If the D200 is in good working order, I am sure you will love it. I went from a D70 to a D200 and was very pleased with the upgrade. Kept the D200 for many years waiting for the D400 (didn't think the D300 was enough of an upgrade to warrant the expense of upgrading). When the D500 was announced, I was not happy with what I saw, so upgraded my D200 to a D7200 and could not be happier.
 

desmobob

Senior Member
If the D200 is in good working order, I am sure you will love it.

I think I'll be very happy with a good D200. I have a D750 and love it but, like most hobbyists, I'm a little leery of exposing it to hard use, bad weather, etc. At the very least, having the D200 will allow me to have a good camera with me more often and with less worry.

Stay sharp,
Bob
 

DaveC

Senior Member
I have a D750 and love it but, like most hobbyists, I'm a little leery of exposing it to hard use, bad weather, etc.

Stay sharp,
Bob

I also have a D750 and I think it was within the first month I had it that I was taking photos of my son's high school marching band in a downpour. My thoughts at the time were flipping back and forth between "this will destroy my new camera" and "this is supposed to be well weather sealed". Luckily the experience proved that "well weather sealed" was correct. My son is graduating from college this year and the D750 has been flawless in the 4 intervening years. It did go in for the shutter replacement that was offered, not that I saw any evidence of a problem, but I thought it was better to be safe than sorry.

- Dave
 

desmobob

Senior Member
Just an update...

The D200 arrived today and seems to function perfectly. I gave it a firmware update from A v1.01 and B v1.00 to A v2.01 and B v2.01. I think I need to get a pair of new batteries as the two off-brand units that came with it are quite weak.

The best part: I checked the shutter count and it was 4353. Nice! That made my day. I'll get a chance to do some thorough testing soon.

I have downloaded a copy of the instruction manual and have lots of reading to do. Its operation seems similar enough to my D750 and my old D70 that I shouldn't have too much trouble getting the knack of it.

Now, I don't miss my little D70 so much...

Stay sharp,
Bob
 

Bikerbrent

Senior Member
Congratulations! Sounds like you got a great deal. Unfortunately, it seems that Third party batteries do not function as well as the overpriced Nikon batteries. And yes, my transition from the D70 to the D200 was pretty smooth and trouble free. I might also suggest the D200 manual by Thom Hogan and/or David Busch if they are still available.
 

Texas

Senior Member
I never did master all the D200 'banks' and focus options. I did find several settings worked very well. It was a major jump from my D50.
 

desmobob

Senior Member
It seems there is a lot of good info out there regarding the operation of the D200.

Coincidentally, I just finished reading a wonderful explanation of the autofocus functions and I also downloaded a great spreadsheet with suggested settings for the banks... which really made me smile when I came back here and saw Brent and Texas' posts!

Stay sharp,
Bob
 
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