Nikon F70

This is a review of the Nikon F70. This is the second F70 that managed to find it's way to my camera collection, I bought the previous one in 2015 and used it for a couple of years before selling it. Back then I was only interested in Pro models so any other camera was buy-to-sell to further enable my camera collection. This one came up as a suggestion online, no-one bid for it so I got it for £9.99 plus £3 delivery (!). It seems people do not love these cameras, we'll try to speculate some reasons for that.

In order to write this review I had to go through some Nikon brochures, the March 1995 issue of Praktical Photography, the Popular Photography review of 1995 and preview of 1994 and the review of the Greek magazine "Φωτογραφος". I also shot a couple of films over the last 3 months.


* A bit of historical context

The Nikon F70 production started in 1994 with the first samples appearing on the shelves in early 1995. The overall press reception was quite positive with this model, Popular Photography initially saw the F70 as the F801s replacement. Practical Photography magazine saw it as Nikon's answer to the Dynax 700si or Canon's EOS-5. Actually I find both these statements to be confusing as the F70 did not have the features offered by those  models. At introduction of the F70 (April 1995), it was retailing for £644, quite expensive considering the competition (the EOS5 was selling for £680 and the 700si for £700). 

Practical Photography Apr 1995

In terms of its position within the Nikon family, initially the F70 was below the F4, F90 and the F801s but by mid-1996 it played the bridging role between the F90x and the basic F50. Nikon officials described it as a "entry level advanced amateur" camera. Later on, the photographic press labels the F70 as the competitor for the EOS-50 and the Dynax 600si which is more realistic in terms of features.

Popular Photography magazine

Both the F50 and F70 had a different way of laying out things which didn't go down very well with the (mostly very) conservative photographic crowd Nikon had at that time.

By the late 1990's, the Nikon F70 had relegated in Nikon's pecking order. In early 2000 the F5 was the top dog followed by the F100, F90x and the F80. Nikon's pricing policy was also rather damaging for the F70 sales as you could get the F50 for almost half the money (£280 vs £450 for the F70) in the mid-to-late 90s. Also newer Nikon models were offering multiple focusing points and the F70 started feeling rather dated. By the beginning of 2000s, the F70 started sliding into oblivion. 

The photographic press of that time was overall very positive about the F70. All of them praised the AF and metering capabilities, the build quality and downplayed the user interface of the camera. Nikon's advertising campaign revolved around the so call "simplicity" of the camera and how everything was easily visible due to the new LCD display. In general, the magazines liked the camera more than the Nikonians of that time did.

* Initial impressions

The moment I picked up the F70 I noticed how dense it feels. It is a good sized  camera, slightly smaller and lighter than the F90x but bigger than the F801s - especially the hand grip is much chunkier. It also feels slightly heavy for its size. All buttons on the right side of the camera fall naturally under my fingers and it gives the impression of good quality plastic (maybe not up to the F801s standard but pretty close).

The LCD on the right looks odd initially until you figure out what it shows. A big drawback of it is that is not illuminated - you can see it well at good light (as opposed to the F801s that need to put my glasses on to check the metering mode) but in low light it is a problem.

Looking through the viewfinder feels like a mixed bag - the focusing screen is quite bright and the LCD on the bottom is nicely illuminated. Actually, all Nikons of that time use the same B-type BriteView screen like the F4. Looking at magnification, the F70 offers only slightly less (0.77x compared to 0.78x of the F90x) with slightly less eyepoint distance (18mm compared to 19mm for the F90x). Although these differences do not seem to be major, the viewfinder feels smaller, especially if you are used to the F90x/F801s (or even worse the F4) like I am. For anyone else it will feel fine but manual focusing is getting a bit difficult for my aging eyes.  

Top view of the Nikon F70

Unfortunately the rubber coating of the camera back has deteriorated and is so sticky and horrible that needs to come off. To do that, I used pre-injection swabs, just a couple of them and all the stickiness went away.

The first surprise comes when you switch it on and take a picture. The AF is swift and sensitive and the overall noise and vibration levels are quite low. Such a pleasant surprise especially if you are used to the F90x or the F801s. It even comes with a silent rewind mode with rewinds a 36 frame film in 20 sec (a bit less than 1.5fps) and indeed is very quiet. 

One of the disappointments came with batteries, gone are the readily available AA batteries, now you need two CR123. The rational behind it was to shrink the dimension of the hand grip.

Overall, the initial impressions that the F70 gives are those of a well build camera with fit and finish above the average.

 

 * The AF system.

The F70 was the first mid-range Nikon with a cross-type CCD sensor. There is a bit of confusion regarding the AF module used in the F70 with a lot of reviewers claiming that it is the same as the one used in the Nikon F90x -  it is not. The F70 uses the newer CAM 274 module while the F90x uses the CAM 246 - both of them have 37 pairs of cross-type CCD but they are not the same. I think what confused things were that both AF modules cover the same 7mm by 3mm area with no dead spots between zones.

With the same lenses and under the same conditions, the F90x seems to be faster - possibly due to a bigger AF motor. I also noticed that the F70 is searching more for focus with wide zone selected. The F90x is snappy and releases the shutter without hesitation.

The AF of the F70 comes with the same caveat as the one in the F90x - the wider AF zone is vertical contrast only meaning that if your subject is placed outside the central AF area and has horizontal lines, the camera will struggle to hit focus.  Overall, I found the AF of the F70 to be  good with the central AF spot selected but can be hesitant with the wider AF zone selected. 

With high contrast scenes like this, i found the AF to be rather
jumpy, hunting around for focus

 

* The light metering system

The F70 offers a comprehensive range of metering modes. Again, just like the AF module, the photographic press stated that the F70 inherited the same matrix system like the F90x. By 1994 lenses were upgraded to the "D" standard which communicated distance to the camera's CPU. If the subject was close, the central zones of the matrix metering were assigned extra priority, the furthest away, the more of a classic multi-zone system it became. Also, all Nikon metering systems became clever enough to recognise when you have recomposed the picture and if the main subject is off centre.

The centre weighted metering mode assigned 75% of the sensitivity on the centre of the frame with the rest area contributing up to 25% of the exposure. In real life I find this to be more accurate than the F4's 60/40 system.

Spot metering corresponds to the central 3% of the viewfinder but sensitivity is not great (minimum light levels 3EV).

I did not manage to find any information about whether the F70 is equipped with a hydrolic switch.

The comparison review from Popular Photography May 1994

 
[Edit: going a bit off track now]

There was a criticism in the photographic press of that time regarding the effectiveness of Nikon's early matrix system when compared to the newer generation of multi-focusing points matrix systems offered by Canon (EOS5 or EOS10) or the Minoltas (7xi or 9xi). Popular Photography did a comprehensive test of 17 AF SLRs and indeed the Nikons tested (F4, F401, F601, F801s) did not perform well when compared to competition. The F90 didn't do that much better with "D" lenses either but appeared to be more consistent and with more pictures within print film latitude. The F4 was good too but when it messed up, it messed up big towards overexposure.

I am preparing a test of my one, similar to the one conducted by Popular Photography. So far my experience is that the F70 and the F90x have different metering systems. Stay tuned.

Big surprise of the PopPhoto test: Sigma SA-300 outperformed many pro models !

[Edit: off]

* The user interface

This camera is dominated by the large and colourful LCD panel at the right side of the camera. The LCD panel seems so confusing at first but actually it does not display any more or any less information than any other camera. It just projects it on that colorful background. 

The new interface

 The main issue with the interface is that Nikon has abandoned the dedicated buttons for functions and instead they replaced it with two buttons that do pretty much everything. For example, if you want to change from Programme to Aperture priority you need to: Press the "Function" button, rotate the dial until you select the "Mode" on the LCD panel and then press the "Set" button and rotate the dial until you change mode. This is how you change all settings. So Nikon has actually added an extra step when changing any mode in the camera and that was something that didn't go down very well with the users. It is not that big deal really, you get used to it.

* Other useful features

There is something very interesting with this camera though. The Nikon F70 allows you to customise the camera and store up to three different settings. This useful idea was first implemented with the Minolta 700si and was taken a step forward with the 800si. In this Nikon it is done via the "In" and "Out" buttons on the right. Here it is how it works. Pressing "Out" and rotating the dial it goes through 0,1,2,3 on the side of the LCD panel that reads "QR" (Quick Recall). Setting "0" is the factory reset. If you enjoy using Programme mode, with spot AF and AF-C, then you select these, press "In" and rotate the dial to "1". This is now stored. It also allow you to alter the standard programmes. This is how i have saved mine:

Setting 0: Factory default

Setting 1: Programme, Spot AF, Single frame advance

Setting 2: Portrait Mode, Spot AF, Single advance frame

Setting 3: Landscape Mode, Wide AF, Single frame advance, exposure compensation +0.3

All I need to do is press "Out" and rotate the dial to swap between different modes. Easy and very useful, no need to go through the complicated interface to change modes in the camera, you set your 3 favorites and off you go. This is something that the more expensive F90x does not offer. It also makes the various programme modes more useful as they can be integrated within a setting.  

Advertising campaign stressing how simple it is to use

At last with the introduction of the F90x and F70, Nikon put a battery power indicator, it was desperately needed. In all fairness, in good temperature and without using the integrated flash, the Nikon F70 offers a very respectable 115 films with one set of batteries. If you use the flash it plummets down to 25 (!).

Oh, yes - the F70 has also an integrated flash - i never use it so I don't care. What I do notice is the lack of depth-of-field preview button. Not that I use it often with other cameras but it is nice then you have it.

The new generation of Nikons eventually addressed the lack of meter mode indication in the viewfinder. From the F90 onwards, all Nikons would display it. Not a big omission for many but there was that criticism back then.

Another great feature of this camera is, as I stated earlier on, the silent operation. Popular Photography argued that noise levels are just below average for the F70 but I disagree - it is quieter than the Dynax 700si or any Nikon of that time - maybe not down to F80 or EOS-5 levels but quite close. Overall, it is a very nice surprise and such a shame that the F90x doesn't handle this way.

Some other specs include a 2fps and 3.7fps wonder and also auto-bracketing mode. I don't find these very interesting but some might do. Also, there is a bit of an issue when it comes to selecting the drive modes but more on these later on.

What Popular Photography thought back then

 * Some hiccups to consider

While the 3 user customizable settings are a great idea, they are poorly executed. Just like the case of the Minolta 700si, you can easily select a user setting but there is no way of exiting it ! The only way out is to select "Mode 0" which is the camera reset. But that resets everything - AF mode, metering mode, drive mode, exposure compensation, etc... You should be able to exit the user setting just by selecting "-". Daft.

Another thing that I found quite misleading are the drive modes. Continuous Low (2 fps) and Continuous High (3.7 fps) are only available in manual mode or manual focus with speeds higher than 1/250sec. In every other occasion is 1 frame per second, single or continuous. Popular Photography reviewer wrote that he switched to these drive modes on a few occasions which I cannot figure out how he did it (If he actually did it....) - If someone has found a way of switching these on, please leave a comment.

I took a couple of accidental shots just by touching the button

One last thing, the F70 does not offer focus lock in Continuous Focus mode. That small and inconvenient button at the front of the F801s is now gone for good. If you want AF-lock, you need to switch to AF-single.

I found the shutter button to be way too sensitive - a couple of shots where taken whilst trying to wake up the meter.


* The Nikon F70 and the competition

This is where things get difficult for the F70. Overall I prefer the way the Minolta 700si handles but I know that the F70 is going to outlast it. That applies to pretty much every Dynax. I also prefer using the EOS-5 which is just as quiet, has just as good AF, is more straightforward and -this is great- links AF points with spot metering. The EOS5 is much more feature packed camera and in many ways outshines the F70.

Size comparison with other Nikons

 The F70 was not a camera to compete with either the Canon EOS5 or the Minolta 700si. Even the shutter specifications are different. The F70 is more of a competitor to the Dynax 5 or Canon EOS-50 which have similar specs.

When it comes to other Nikon models, the earlier F801s is a great camera to use although AF and noise levels are much improved in the F70. I would prefer the F70 over the F50/F55/F60/F65/F75 cameras - better AF, more features that are easier accessible, better build quality and more quiet operation. When comparing it to the F80, they are both very silent cameras with the F70 having a faster AF when it comes to using old screwdriver lenses (the F80 has a weaker motor although I suspect is faster with G lenses). The user interface of the F80 is beyond compare though although the F70 is more solidly built.

The F90x is a bigger and heavier camera, better build, with better viewfinder and has  faster AF. Between the two I prefer the F90x.

Having had a bit of free time I tested the F70, F90x, EOS5, Dynax 700si and the Nikon F5 with this simple set up to see how they achieve focus with all AF sensors on.

Picture of the setup

The F70 and the Dynax 700si were the more hesitant cameras, both searched for focus back and forth before focusing on the central peg with their cross-type sensor. The EOS5 and the F90x grabbed focus instantly of the central peg without any hesitation. The F5 focused instantly on the peg closest to me. It's interesting to see how different cameras are programmed to respond in different ways.


* Using the Nikon F70

After you have read the manual and mastered the new way of working, the camera turns into a tool without any unpleasant surprises. It works well, quietly and efficiently and produces good pictures. If you have only Nikons in your stable, switching to this one can be cumbersome, it requires you to depart from the tried and tested classic interface and might leave you at times scratching your head. If you are used to different cameras with different interfaces, the Nikon F70 is a straightforward camera to use.

Despite the challenging light, the F70 pulled out a great exposure

 I found the AF performance to be a mixed bag. In good light it is good and efficient, no matter if you are using spot AF or the wider zone. Where it really struggled was taking it out one foggy morning when contrast was low. Most of the time it would refuse to confirm focus and take a picture. When the sun came out and everything became exceedingly bright, the camera would focus well in areas of adequate contrast but other times I just had to switch to manual focus.

A word of caution: there are a few Nikon F70 showing up for sale with broken back latch (similar to the issue the F100 has). Be gentle with how you open or close the back.

 

* Summary

So, is this a Nikon to hate? Not me - the positives outweigh the negatives in this case. So what that the LCD is green instead of grey, or has a semi-circular pattern instead of squares? It displays the same amount of information. True, you have to learn the new way of selecting modes but it is not as difficult as people portray it to be. Nothing is hidden away behind compartment doors and if you add the silent operation, the very good AF and meter and finally the three user programmable modes (despite being poorly executed), the Nikon F70 becomes a good camera to use. Overall, I think the photographic press of that time *did* get it right.

Personally, I am keeping this one. I might add another one now that the prices remain ridiculously low.

Recommended! 

 

[Update April 2025]

I took the F70 with me on a two weeks holidays to Poland and shot a film with it. It was the backup camera to the F90x and I have to say that at times I liked the F70 more. It is very quiet and this was a big bonus when I was shooting inside a church. Also, the exposure metering is just as good as the F90x, it coped remarkably well with strong backlight and although there is only one AF point, it did a decent job with off-centre subjects.

There were some hiccups though too. The shutter button is way too sensitive, it cost me a frame just by touching it to get some focus. There is no clear point as to where the focusing stops and tripping the shutter begins.  

Nikon F70 - AF Nikkor 50f/1.4
ilford Pan400 in HC110

The other issue revolved around the user interface. Although you can get used to it, switching from a "classic" Nikon to the F70 can be an issue - especially if you are trying to access a function that you don't use often. For example, exposure compensation can be set via a dedicated button in the F90x but whilst I was trying to get a picture and was in a hurry, I just couldn't figure out how to do it with the F70. Its just that thing that is not where you would expect to find it.

And the AF is definitely not up to the F90x speed - with the AF 85f/1.8D I got a couple of out of focus pictures of moving subjects. But in general, I would say that the AF is good for most things except the ones moving fast towards you. With the 35f/2, the AF is fast and sure and worked well with all moving subjects.

Overall, I will be using the F70 more in the future. It is a reliable Nikon that delivers the goods