The D70 has a very extensive menu system, but it's cleanly organized as a set
of tabbed screens, as on the D100 before it. There are four menus on the D70:
Playback, Shooting, CSM (Custom Settings Menu) and Set Up. All menu entries
are selected via the 4-way Arrow Pad. The menus themselves are chosen via a
"tabbed" interface, with icons on the left of the screen corresponding
to the four menus. All screens can be reached whether the camera is in playback
or record mode. Apart from specific functional changes from the D100, the D70's
menu system uses a slightly larger, smoother font and a new color scheme for
enhanced readability. There's also a very nice "help" function that
provides plain-English descriptions of the various Custom Settings Menu (CSM)
options.
In the section below, rather than reproduce every menu screen in the main body
of the review, I've shown screenshots for only the top level of each menu, with
clickable links in the descriptive text leading to the individual screens.
Images captured in "portrait"
orientation are rotated onscreen to display in their original orientation.
(The camera can even tell whether you had the grip side up or down.)
When you first turn it on, the D70 displays only the "Simple" Custom
Settings Menu (CSM) options, which are the first nine options listed below.
You can enable the "Detailed" CSM via an option on the setup menu.
The configurability offered by the CSM is another advantage the D70 offers over
its primary competitor, the Canon Digital Rebel. A nice addition to the D70
relative to previous Nikon d-SLRs is the new "help" function, which
provides a more detailed/plain English description of each CSM option. For those
interested, I've provided links below to view each of the help screens. Also,
for menu items, I've highlighted the default option with boldface type.
Boosts ISO automatically if aperture and/or
shutter speed selection wouldn't provide sufficient light for a good exposure.
If enabled, the P, A, DVP mode option lets you specify the shutter speed
below which the camera will begin boosting the ISO value in Program, Auto,
and the Scene modes. Options range from 1/125 to 30 seconds.
Controls the (too) subtle backlighting of the
active AF point when the AF system actuates. In Auto mode, the backlight
doesn't activate when you're shooting a bright subject.
Sets flash mode. Manual option leads to screen
to set power level, from Full down to 1/16. Commander mode leads to screen
to select mode for remote flash. Manual mode there leads to a screen to
set power level for remote flash, from Full down to 1/128.
Length of time the meter displays the exposure
setting after it's been activated. (By either a shutter half-press or a
press of the AE-L/AF-L button.) Unless the AE-Lock hold option is selected,
the meter will continuously update as the scene or camera settings change.
Sets the length of time the camera will wait
for a signal from the remote control before reverting to single-shot or
continuous mode, whichever was last in effect.
The camera defaults to showing only the "Simple"
Custom Settings Menu, consisting of just the first 9 out of 26 total menu
screens. Selecting "Detailed" here enables display of the full
CSM.
The camera displays a gray scale on its LCD
as an aid to setting the LCD brightness.
Mirror lock-up
- Yes
- No (no view)
For sensor cleaning, locks mirror up and shutter
open. Turn off camera to reset. AC adapter not required.
NOTE: Don't confuse this with a mirror lockup mode that locks the mirror
pre-exposure, to minimize camera shake from mirror bounce. (The D70 doesn't
have that feature.)
The D70 has an orientation sensor that records
the position of the camera in the file headers, allowing the images to display
in their correct orientation on the camera's LCD or in Nikon's software.
This option disables this, useful if you're going to be using in an orientation
(straight up or straight down) that would result in incorrect orientation
data being recorded.
