Nikon D range

[jamieZ740]

hi all, was just having a look around the web at other D's (i have the 50) and it was saying a D70 uses compact flash, a D80 uses SD and a D100 uses compact flash, and a D50 uses an SD? is thhis true, if so, why all the chop n change?

confused.com

jamie

[Canis Vulpes]

Its true

D100 - CF
D70 - CF
D50 - SD
D80 - SD

I dont think there is so much chopping and changing but more SD for low end models and CF for the midrange and pro gear. I don't think there is much difference between CF and SD but SD being the newer format.

[jamieZ740]

so also a D70 is a higher model than the D80? the only thing is, when you have purchased a fair few SD cards you dont wana go buy a fair few CF cards! cheers, jamie

[Don Hoey]

I think release dates relative to advances in SD technology may also be a factor. Stevies first digital was Nikon 5700 released May 02 and that was CF. Coolpix 995 was also CF.

Announced dates
D100 : CF : Announced Feb 02
D70 : CF : Announced Jan 04
D50 : SD : Announced Apr 05
D70s : CF : Announced Apr 05 as an upgrade of D70
D200 : CF : Announced Nov 05 - D100 replacement
D80 : SD : Announced Aug 06 - D70s replacement
D40 : SD : Announced Nov 06

A quick trawl through for a bit of history shows development of CF card capacities ahead of SD.
2000 / June : IBM announce 512MB and 1GB microdrives ( CF format )
2002 / January : Lexar announce 1GB CF 16x while SanDisk announces 256mb SD card
2003 / March : SanDisk announce 2 & 4GB CF cards & 1GB SD card also the launch of Extreme range up to 1GB in CF and 512MB in SD
2004 / January : SanDisk announce 1GB SD card
2004 / February : Lexar announce 4 & 8GB CF cards
2004 / September : SanDisk announce quadrupling of capacity of Ultra II cards CF now up to 8GB and SD up to 2GB

As for the D70 relacement the D80 going SD I think that allowed the design of a smaller camera body. The D80 being smaller than the D70 or newer D200. From a marketing viewpoint I think D70/70s users were more likely to upgrade to D200 whereas D50 users would opt for the D80. The D40 is a whole new ball game as it only takes AFS lenses.

The D200 as a backup for D2 users would need to retain CF.

Don

[jamieZ740]

cheers for the extreme help again Don! i will look into an upgrade in the near future i thinks

[Don Hoey]

Originally Posted by jamieZ740

cheers for the extreme help again Don! i will look into an upgrade in the near future i thinks

A thing to consider if funds permit is that D200 will allow metering on all the old manual focus AIS lenses. Although manual focus, there are some really quality lenses out there for lots less than they origionally sold for.

Don