Nikon D70s preview

With the D70s, Nikon makes some incremental improvements to its popular consumer digital SLR, the D70. Although it retains the 6-megapixel resolution of its predecessor, the Nikon D70s is better equipped to compete with the new consumer dSLR heavyweight, Canon's 8-megapixel EOS 350D. It also takes on Olympus's Evolt E-300 and Pentax's *ist D.

Upside: The original D70 remains an excellent camera that got high marks from us. Nikon has updated it with a larger 51mm (2-inch) LCD and an improved menu system, as well as more custom settings, a remote control, and compatibility with the PictBridge direct-printing standard. Nikon also claims performance improvements in its autofocus system as well as its continuous-shooting speeds. With a high-speed CompactFlash card, you can capture a burst of 144 JPEG images at a rate that Nikon clocks at 3fps.

Downside: This is not a major upgrade, and the D70s's resolution isn't the highest in its class. Advanced photographers will have to purchase Nikon's Capture 4.0 raw-file processing software separately, although the company does include PictureProject, a more mainstream image-editing, organising, and sharing program.

Outlook: The D70s has recently become available in the UK. You can purchase various camera packages. The £850 bundle includes the camera body, a rechargeable battery and charger Digital Vari-Program software, and Nikon's new AF-S DX Nikkor 18-to-70mm f/3.5-to-f/4.5G IF-ED lens.

Additional editing by Tom Espiner