@moonrose: I have returned all the D70's...and am back to shooting film slr's for the time being. The dust issues appear to be similar with all Dslr brands and as a result I am still waiting on the sidelines for either a somewhat more dust free sensor system...or an easier/reliable cleaning method. I will say that if you only shoot f5.6 or less with a non uniform backround the dust does not show up as much....it is when you are at f16 and a nice blue sky when the dust bunnies make their appearance. I also know many folks here probably think I am making a big deal about the dust...but for me $1500+ is a lot of money... and I had expected to get a CLEAN high quality product from the factory. The thought of wiping a sensor at my own risk every month or so did not appeal to me.... For more info on this and to help you decide, you can go to dpreview and punch in your favorite camera brand and search for "dust".

1. 3dguy has illustrated it perfectly...you can only use the screen for menu items and review of pictures already taken. 2) The screen IS hard to see in bright light (certainly was on my D70)...I suspect it will be the same regardless of brand name. Do some more research on sensor dust issues for all DSLR cameras (See my threads below)....if you are not prepared to live with it (or clean it), it may not be the camera for you. That is why I returned five D70's to Nikon.

Ok...I guess i'll wade into this after my D70 experience... Since I returned my five d70's to Nikon I have done tons more research with respect to "dust" issues on DSLR's. It appears that despite what some folks say, ALL DSLR's will eventually be affected by dust getting on the ccd sensor...doesn't matter whether it's Nikon, Canon, Pentax etc... As an example, just check the forums at Dpreview for your favorite camera...search for "dust" Many say it's not a big deal...well if I spend $1500+ for image quality, I think it is... Bad news; 1) Most come with dust brand new in the box 2) Dust will be attracted to the sensor even if you don't change lenses (zoom lenses tend to suck air into the chamber) Good news; 1) Most dust specks only show up at high apertures with uniform light backgounds 2) Yes, the sensors can be cleaned...(do so at your own peril) 3) You can clone out the spots with your image editing program In response to Lostpatrol's comment that Canons tend to collect less dust than Nikons...it's possible, but many owners seem to feel that it's more a function of the distance between the filter and the sensor...Canon's is apparently further away, hence the dust doesn't show up quite as much. I'm not knocking DSLR's...or any particular brand...just be aware that if you are not prepared to live with dust issues then maybe they aren't for you. Personally, I am still disappointed and undecided.... PS...if you are stuck on Nikon because of your lenses...apparently they will have an 8mp (20D competitor) out this spring....it may be worth the wait.... PS# 2 Also note that not all of your older lenses will give you full digital capability/features. my 2 cents....

Very neat....I have a few of those myself. What has always amazed me though is the fantastic quality of the images for that time. Another thing that would be interesting is if there would be some info on each image....who the people are and what became of them....as I'm sure that each image has an interesting story to tell.

@Misha....thanks for providing some humor....still LOL! But, your idea of a larger charge might be a good one....although it might tend to frizz your hair a bit! Software processing is already available...Nikon sells it for some more $...but you would have to re-reference the dust spots frequently for it to be effective....also, think it only works for RAW images? @MichelleA...I tend to agree with LostPatrol...I have only noticed the spots around F8 and up...think they would have to be pretty big to see at F4.5. And, yes they only show up with a uniform light background....like sky, white walls, etc. Have to agree that other than the dust issue...it's a darn nice camera...although it tends to underexpose a bit and images are a tad soft. Yeah, all of mine looked pristine out of the box too....would love to hear what happens with your test shots...have fun and keep us posted. As for me, I think I'll have to let my disappointment subside somewhat....something just tells me I don't think camera #6 will be the lucky one.

Yes, perhaps you are correct...maybe the guy didn't know what he was doing. BUT... a thought just ocurred to me...Maybe, just maybe the problem lies in the fact that the sensor remains charged at all times when the cam is powered up? If I recall correctly, all that happens is the mirror locks up to allow for access to the sensor. If the sensor remains charged during lock up, it will happily attract all the dust it can. Again, just a thought... Anyway, great discussion...and, I can understand (and live with) dust maintenance but still my disappointment with 5 brand new D70's remains....

Attached Link: http://www.pbase.com/copperhill/ccd_cleaning

For what it'a worth...a quote from the attached link...some pics with spotting as well.... "The major D-SLR manufacturers are notorious for selling brand spanking new cameras, pre-loaded with dust. You must try to relax and calm down, though, because if you send it back and get a second one, the odds are overwhelming that it too will be just as dusty. OK, so let's go to the user manuals. The recommended procedures in the Nikon user's guide are actually humorous in how ineffective they are. After doing exactly what was specified, including the oh-so-elegant-and-ever-so-dainty "POOF" from a bulb blower, I still had spots in my images. So I waved the white flag and sent it back to Nikon for cleaning. When it returned, it had the exact same number of dust specks as before, 28, to be precise, but they were nice enough to have rearranged all 28 for me. Hearing from others who had the same results with Nikon, Canon, et. al., I realized that this would get me nowhere fast, so I set out to find a good working method of self-cleaning the sensor. I started with manual blowers, like the herculean-sounding "Rocket". As far as dust removal goes, the Rocket landed with a thud; it moved the loose particles around the chamber very well though (more on this in the next page). With frustration mounting day by day, I ratcheted it up a couple of notches and went for more power with canned air and then compressed air. All of these blowers stirred up the loose dust particles - some of the dust escaped the chamber, but MOST of it just moved around on the sensor. All of them were no match for the stuck specks. I tried several types of vacuums, including various computer-vacs and a 2.25 horsepower Shop-Vac (yes, I was a wee bit desperate at that point). They performed as poorly as the blowers. Not until later did I find out how risky it is using any of the high-powered blowers and vacuums (more on this in the next page). I was very lucky I didn't ruin my camera. Anyone who promises you fantastic results from either a vacuum or a blower, cannot possibly own and clean a D-SLR"

@Michelle A: Good luck with your purchase...hope your experience will be more positive than mine was. Please let me know how things work out for you. I am still hopeful that I can get a satisfactory explanation to my experience from the Nikon people. I suspect the reason there haven't been many complaints is that for many D70 purchasers, the dial never leaves auto mode....and I also suspect that most don't test the sensor out prior to or just after purchase. Again, unless the background is light and uniform, the spotting is not noticeable.....although in reality it is still there. @misha883...the dust does stay behind the mirror....unfortunately that's where the sensor hides...lol.

Thanks for all your replies. I did ultimately receive a refund for the purchase price of the camera from the store...NOT Nikon. I am however still out of pocket for some peripherals I bought that are specific to this camera/lens. So, in the meantime I will wait for the "dust" to settle so to speak...and go back to film for the time being. BTW: It has now been a week with no response from Nikon, so I called again....apparently the rep will be contacting me.... @MGD: Thanks for the cleaning article.....you are right, I don't think I want to be going in there...LOL! Regarding yours and Thom Hogan's service experience...it sure dosen't give me a lot of confidence. Funny thing is that many shops in my area can not keep the D70's in stock and even have purchase waiting lists. That to me means one of 2 things...1)Folks here have way too much spare cash...or...2)All the D70's keep going back for repairs. I will let you know if I ever hear back from Nikon.

If it is dust, that is understandable....but...on a brand new out of the box unit...or should I say 5 of them? On all five cameras I tested....NONE of them had the lens removed after the first time the lens was put on out of the box ( all lenses initially installed with NO battery in the cam). So, again if it is dust...the dust is on the sensor right out of the factory...that to me just shows poor quality control. @LostPatrol...yes, you are correct the spots are more apparent at higher f stops...but I have seen them at f8...so if I have to keeping shooting at f8 or less, I am unable to use the upper 70% of my aperture range. @zhounder...friend of mine has the D100, it's a year old now...he checked his last night...he too has some spotting although minor. Still haven't heard back from Nikon...I doubt that I ever will.

Like Longrider, I too have been away from fractals for some time...(spending it on the Terragen side)...but I just commented on a fractal image I saw in the overall gallery and noticed it was submitted into MM. It sounds like the new fractal forum rules will exclude all of Longriders images and, I suspect all of mine as well....I know the "amount of postwork" issue has been beaten to death many times...and, not only in this forum. In the truest sense, there should only be one gallery...MM....because I suspect that almost every image posted here at Rendo has been "modified" in some way.... Anyway, just my thoughts.....not a problem, but I think this gallery will be losing many of it's best artists.

1st place: #13 2nd place: #10 3rd place: #3

Yes....that's them!...lol

Judging from the mailing list emails (over 70+ emails today), it looks like v16 may have many more bugs than v15. I too have lost functionality of v15....but I think I may stay on the sidelines till a more stable version comes out.... Oh well....back to Terragen.

Congrats to lulu18 and the other winners! It was nice to see the great participation, both in number of entries and voting!