wrote:
The focusing screen in that D70 was just a matte/Fresnel.
There was no split in the middle where you can focus
by lining up two lines together. And it's hard to tell
in the small viewfinder if the picture is in focus.

Bingo. Not just because it's digital - because it's auto-focus. You'll
find this with film AF cameras too. It's nearly impossible to manually
focus sharply with the current SLR focus screens.

They seem to have cut a corner here since "nobody would want to focus
manually with an AF camera". Sadly, there's not an after-market option
to add a split prism or other style of focusing screen. (If somebody
knows of one for the N80 or D70, please tell!)

This may help - it's a viewfinder magnifier for Nikons. It looks a
little goofy, but it's on my to-buy list anyway...
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/cont...=37321&is=GREY
and it needs this:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/cont...u=37445&is=REG


The other thing I noticed is that the viewfinder screen
is smaller. I'm older now, and it seems I need my glasses
to focus through there. And, in the catalog, there is
no diopter (?) correction for the D70. They have some
for other Nikons, but not the D70.

Interesting point. I hadn't noticed.

I would speculate that if the viewfinder screen is smaller, it's because
the image being cast onto the sensor / viewfinder is smaller. (Though
I'd think that should be correctable in the viewfinder regardless. Hmmm.)

If you search on "nikon diopter d70" at http://www.bhphotovideo.com, you
will see there is a full range of them. There is also a minor
adjustment built into the body. If you're fortunate not to have an
astigmatism, they will work OK; otherwise, you'll need to keep your
glasses on when shooting.


I could buy used Nikon autofocus lenses if I bought
the Nikon. But then I could just buy used Canon
lenses too if I bought a Canon.

Very true.

Ironically, some of Nikon's very good lenses are manual-focus only, such
as their 50mm f/1.2.


How does the Canon compare in any other area that
you think is significant? Advantages? Disadvantages?

Let the religious battles begin. :-)

After much debate, it's usually apparent that both are excellent
systems. Canon seems to lead in some areas, and Nikon in others.

Aside from the obvious things like lens selection available, look at
subtler things too like compression tech (number of images per MB),
battery life, continuous rate buffer sizes, etc.

Cheers,
Richard