Is there a new Nikon D70?

[jason.mullins]

I was getting a quote for a D70 and insight.com has it
http://www.insight.com/site/search/i...search=1&K=d70
for $1565. He said there was an older one for $1299, but the newer one cost more. Best Buy has it for $1299 and RitzCamera.com has it for $1299 as well. They are all the same package with the 18-70 lens. Even Nikon.com has "NEW" next to the camera http://www.nikonusa.com/template.php?cat=1&grp=2. Is there a new D70 out? Are all of these the same and Insight.com is just way over priced? Also, anyone know of any great books on how to use the D70?

Jason

[dave]

No there is no new "$1500 D70." It cost $1300 at every reputable dealer (with the lens). The "NEW" label on the Nikon site is there because the D70 is a new model and recently released (last 6 months or so). To those of us who've been hearing about it since before it was released for sale, I'm sure it doesn't seam quite so "new", but there is no D70 version 2.0 out (the software/firmware has been updated to versions 1.01 and 1.02, but no hardware changes).

I bought mine through Ritz since they have a nice customer protection plan you can purchase that covers accidental and intentional breakage (i.e. after a year, smash your camera on the sidewalk and you get full replacement value for your camera in credit on a new camera).

[adame]

I've been reading a lot about the D70 over on the forums at www.dpreview.com. This link is directly to the D70 forum: http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/forum.asp?forum=1034
Lots of good stuff there.

It's on those forums that I heard about this user's guide specifically for the D70:
http://www.bythom.com/d70guide.htm

I've also seen some "kits" on eBay which include all sorts of goodies like bags, tripods, filters, cards, etc. However, I don't know how reputable any of those places are.

[DaCrema]

I took the time to read through the specs. Looks the same as the camera (D-70) I purchased back in April before the Dragon trip. I looked to see if they threw in anything extra like a different glass, tripod, flash card or even the optional remote. I did not find anything. I guess they just cost more than everyone else. The price is more than Nikon's suggested price. Kinda like buying a MINI in CA (Markup for something that is moving out the door as fast as they can stock it).