10 Secret Nikon D70 Features

10 Secret Nikon D70 Features: Popular Photography’s October 2005 issue lays it on the line concerning Nikon’s D70. It’s no secret that to date the Nikon D70 is the best-selling single-lens reflex of all time. While the D70’s manual is well written and fairly easy to understand and follow here are 10 things that everybody should know about the D70. [via Popular Photography Magazine October 2005]

1. Centerweighted Tip: Custom setting 11 in the menu lets you select 6, 8, 10, or 12mm for center weighted metering.

2. Hollow Battery: Hey, the hollow tube sitting in the D70 is not a fake battery. It’s a battery holder that accepts three CR2 lithium cells, and then fits into the camera’s standard battery compartment.

3. Now you see them - now you don’t grids: Clearly one of Popular Photography magazines favorite features is the on-demand grid lines. You can activate grid lines in setting 8, Grid Display.

4. ISO Auto: In custom setting 5 ISO Option. If you are going to be shooting in a wide variety of light conditions and don’t ant to mess around with ISO settings the D70 will maintain the ISO you set when possible.

5. Pop the flash and all your setting change: In custom setting 5, ISO Option activate automatic ISO setting THEN go one menu deeper and select your slowest shutter-speed threshold - down to 30 sec if you want. Once programmed the D70 will go to the slowest threshold shutter BEFORE adjusting the ISO. Cool!

6. Hey, if I use secret #5, I’ll get ghosting: Nope! Nikon engineers are so smart they are way ahead of you. You see they added a second way to change the shutter-speed threshold with flash. Custom setting 21, Shutter Spd. Turn this baby on and the D70 will choose your pre-selected threshold shutter-speed - only in program or aperture-priority mode.

7. White Balance Copy: The D70 lets you duplicate the white balance setting of an existing picture on a CF card. Go to the shooting menu, select White Bal., then scroll to preset. Now, instead of making a measurement, scroll down one more item to Use Photo, and then Select Image.

8. Muzzle the Noise: Apply noise reduction in long exposures in the shooting menu, under Long Exp. NR. Well of course it’s going to add to image-processing time.

9. Auto Compensation: Change your exposure compensation a lot? Go to custom setting 10, Exp. Comp. and turn it on. Now all you do is turn the front command dial to vary exposure.

10. Light Speed Focus Trick: You can change the D70’s method of choosing auto-focus areas by going to custom-setting, option 3, AF-Area Mode.