Ask Me Help Desk - Nikon upgrade, from D70s to what?

I really need to upgrade my body camera. The thing is I don't know what it would best to get. There's many nikon options out there. I don't have the money to spend in something like d700, I just want a better body cam that gives me more decent quality pics than this I have, that's it. I've had this d70s for a little over 3 years now so IT IS TIME to get a new one. I was looking at the D5000 and D90, but I don't know "which one is better", I need some expert's opinion! THANK YOU!

First off, just because of the age doesn't mean it isn't a good camera. I've had my camera since 2007 and it is still going strong, giving me great photos too. (when I work for them... lol)... You might consider just getting a new lens. Are you using the original kit lens? Kit lenses are okay, but only that...

What you can do is take your camera to a camera shop and ask to test out some of the lenses on your camera. Take your lens and set it to a given focal length, say 55mm. Take a picture of something. Switch to a test lens and set to 55mm. Take another picture of the same thing... Say goodbye for the day or see if they will let you view your pictures side by side in the store on a computer... If you tested a good quality lens then you should see a difference right off the bat. Better lenses actually let the camera focus more sharply and background blur from aperture may look different... Better lenses can even improve color reproduction...

Keep in mind that getting a good quality lens can be about as much as a new entry level dSLR, and some are even more expensive. The trade off is that you will have a better lens that will work with your next higher quality camera body.

To put it simply, if you are using the kit lens then you are holding your camera back from it's full potential.
Also, in general the better lenses will be have a max aperture of at least F/2.8 (The smaller the number, the faster and "better" the lens)

Give it some thought and don't let anyone talk you into buying a whole new body unless it is what you want. You may just need a better lens...

Good luck. :)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joaquina

I really need to upgrade my body camera. The thing is I don't know what it would best to get. There's many nikon options out there. I don't have the money to spend in something like d700, I just want a better body cam that gives me more decent quality pics than this I have, that's it. I've had this d70s for a little over 3 years now so IT IS TIME to get a new one. I was looking at the D5000 and D90, but I don't know "which one is better", I need some expert's opinion! THANK YOU!

The previous answer gave you some great advice about the lens. But you may also just need to learn more about photography. Are you shooting in RAW? Are you good at using software to post-process (develop) your images? Are you shooting in manual exposure modes? Cameras don't take "great photos" when you put them in automatic and just point and shoot. You need to know what you want out of the photo and take control, choose the settings that will produce the image you want, and know what you can do in post to bring out the best in your images.

Hi Solidzane, thank you for your response. I'm not shooting with the kit lens only. I also shoot wit the nikon 50mm 1.8 which it's my favorite! And yes I could notice immedately since the first time I tried the difference from the images I could produce with only the kit lens. Thank you for the suggestion... Now I really want a body camera hehe..

JcDill, thank you for your reply. I've shoot in RAW a few times. Yes, I use photoshop. Yes I shoot in manual exposure modes. And I'm pretty aware great photos don't depend on a body camera only... I never shoot in automatic, what's would be the point of getting an slr then, right? Thank you for your time :)

The thing is now I'm looking for faster shutter speed, higher ISO's, etc... all that, from what I know, a new body will be the option.

If photography is your career then I would suggest taking the time and saving for what you really want... New models should be coming out soon as well.. So keep saving and find out what is really what you want...