[M_Six]

Someone here on campus is selling a D70 body and possibly an 18-70 lens. The body is going for $200 with a 2GB CF card and the lens is a negotiable extra. I'm thinking of grabbing it to send to my sister as a starter DSLR. $200 seems to be a fair price for the body. I was thinking of offering $100 for the lens, but then I saw that the new 18-55mm kit lens is only $179.

Opinions? Anyone ever own a D70? And which lens would be the better deal?

[E90SoFlo]

Try to get him to sell the body/lens together for $200.

[rodi]

i wouldn't spend more than $25 for the lens. just get the body and get a cheap old manual focus 50mm.

[ShopVac]

I think it would be a decent starter camera. I'm not sure if it was the D70 or the new 7000 that has an issue with oil spots. You may want to look into that...

If the lens isn't that great, I'd see if he'd go 200 to 250 for the package...as I doubt he'd get much for it anywhere else.

[M_Six]

Yeah, I've been reading about intermittent CF card problems with older D70s. Not sure I want to buy someone else's problem. The issue seems to come and go, too, so it could check out fine in my office and die the next week. Might be better off just getting her a bridge P&S like a Panny FZ40.

[TL]

i have used the D70 for work with mathonfoto/grad images...they're alrite (don't like the small screens) but i would much rather work with D3000/D3100 as a starter DSLR or even a D40/D60. The 18-55 kit or a 35mm f/1.8 are good lens.

It would be a deal if you can get body & lens for $150....just tell him you're taking a gamble on buying something that old.

[Andy M]

I've had my D70 for years and I even won a photo award for one of my shots using a cheap $300 lens (as opposed to my more expensive $2000 lenses).

It's been with me around the world for work and travel: in forests, in jungles, etc. Never had a problem with the CF cards and it works in extreme weather. (I've shot photos from a helicopter for work as an engineer and it's never failed me once).

It's a good deal and as a starter SLR, the original D70 is built more solid than the current lineups of starter DSLR's. In all honesty, I've never found the need to upgrade the body at all since it's the lenses and flashes that really make the difference in terms of equipment.