When the D70 came to market, it was a winning assembly of technologies and attributes that dominated its place in the DSLR market. But time moves on and Nikon added a few things to the D70, creating the D70s.

Questions we get asked a lot:

• How much difference is there between the D70 and D70s?
• Are we going to write a new eBook on the D70s?
• If I have a D70s will the D70 eBook help me?

Here are some answers:

The D70s has the entire D70 inside of it, along with a few distinct improvements:

• The monitor is 2" (50mm) in diagonal, up from 1.8" (46mm) and while that doesn't sound like much of a change, it is a bit brighter, wider in view angle and easier to read.
• Menu presentation uses a new color scheme and more easily scanned fonts for greater readability under difficult viewing conditions.
• The 5-area Auto-Focus system has improvements to its predictive auto-focus when using any of the Dynamic AF modes.
• In Continuous fps mode, you can capture up to 144 JPEG Large/Normal images in a single string.
• The built-in Speedlight is slightly wider to better accommodate 18mm zoom settings.
• An added socket accepts the MC-DC1 Nikon remote cord for wired remote releasing of the shutter.
• The enclosed battery is the newer EN-EL3a type with greater power.

All the great features from the D70 have been retained. Shutter speeds to 1/8000 sec, flash sync at 1/500 sec. Use of the wireless infrared Remote Control ML-L3, i-TTL flash system with Commander mode, 3 fps continuous shooting, fast power-on, multiple color modes and seven situational exposure modes (Nikon calls them Digital Vari-Program modes).

Now that you've read the above, everything else in the D70 eBook is about your D70s.

Just to recap, here are the things you will find in the eBook:

Interactive Images:

Many of the images are interactive. Roll your mouse over a picture and it animates instantly. Sometimes an A/B comparison is best when the image changes in place. Sometimes you need to directly compare A, B and C. And the interactive images are just as high quality as all the rest. Captions guide you to compare image states.

Take a test: Some images challenge you to tell the differences between image A and image B. The answer can only be read by blowing up the page until tiny type becomes large enough to read.

Big Printable Pages:

These eBook pages are big. Each one fills a letter page with solid information, facts, tips, techniques and illustrations. All pages can be printed out in laser B&W or ink-jet full color occupying a full letter sheet per page of eBook. This is what they look like:

Bonus Volume:

Included is a second volume, a RAW image processing eBook, RAW Materials by Uwe Steinmueller featuring Nikon Capture, Photoshop CS and Capture One work methods, tips, techniques and .NEF lore. Uwe is today's leading expert in RAW format images.

Plus:

Original D70 image files for direct inspection and manipulation. Tutorials for exotic Photoshop manipulations use D70 images on your own computer screen.

And then there are the InfoBites:

Like a thousand concise essays on what to look for, how to get better results, what to avoid, clues to better images and points to keep in mind, the InfoBites flow throughout the text, gently guiding and reminding you that digital photography is filled with cool ideas.

Last count: Over 420 InfoBites in the camera system operation chapter alone! Hundreds more are sprinkled throughout the other eBook chapters.

For those who missed InfoBite class, these are facts, factoids, tips, techniques, pitfalls, work arounds, clues, cues and truths that every D70 owner should be aware of.

You won't memorize them all, but when the time comes, you'll be able to say, "I seem to remember that if you do this instead of that--yes, that did it. Now everything is better."

Each InfoBite is identified with the purple i-dot seen here at the beginning of a paragraph. It helps you find them on the page and makes your brain hang on to them longer.

InfoBites covering:

• How to make the camera invisible to you.*
• How to make better pictures.
• How to make your pictures better.
• How to know the difference.
• How to keep your color straight.
• How this feature works at a nitty-gritty level.
• How to fix things when you err.
• How to fix things when the camera errs.
• How to shoot infrared.
• How to make optics perform better.
• How to avoid flash blinkers.*
• How to make the camera do things it wasn't designed to do.*
• How to make your printer do things it wasn't designed to do.*
• When to push those two buttons at the same time.
• When not to push those two buttons at the same time.
• When to throw this switch before you do that operation.
• Things they never told you in the manual.*
• Things they didn't want to explain in that sort of document.*
• ...and 400+ other things, too.*

There's even a special sub-chapter on the workings and operation of the SB-800/600 flash units. It has its own InfoBites.

Techniques in Abundance:

Not everything is InfoBites. Spread throughout the text are concepts, shooting techniques, digital darkrooming techniques, uniquely digital photographic opportunities, comparisons to film photography and novel ways to make more interesting images. Here are just a few:

• How to make double exposures with greater control than making them in-camera with a D2X. (Nikon's D2X is their much more expensive camera with in-camera double exposure)*
• How to shoot with low cost slave flash units that trigger off a single flash pulse.*
• How to get the most out of the IR wireless remote (optional accessory).
• How to shoot time-lapse.*
• How to read Histograms.
• How to shoot off TV screens.
• How to stretch your memory.
• How to print on papers you'd probably never think to use.*
• How to make panoramic perfection.*
• How to get 4x5 camera swings and tilts.
• How to straighten out a Fisheye Nikkor 10.5mm lens.*
• How to replace blue skies with dramatic skies.
• How to compute D70 DOF.*
• How to engage photo editors.
• How to shoot candids that tell stories.*
• How to print stories in storyboard format.*
• How to practice photography to "make perfect."

...and a whole lot more

* Denotes items we've never even seen in any other photographic texts.

FX Galore:

And how about those exclusive, entirely original high tech iNovaFX Photoshop Actions that come with the eBook? These are Photoshop Actions designed for use with your D70. All are original and cannot be acquired anywhere else. Many have over 100 steps and they all are designed to make your photographic results better.

Others sell Photoshop Actions of similar quality for $10 per group. There are 58 groups of them here. You do the math.

iNovaFX do five basic things for you:

• FIX. Some correct image "errors" such as white balance mistakes or barrel distortion. As an example, one series removes so much barrel distorion it absolutely flattens Nikon's Fisheye images! Not kidding!
• TRANSCEND. Others improve image limitations like making ISO 3200 work quite decently for D70 exposures, for instance. Others reduce noise in shadow areas only.
• FILTER. A whole category adds artistic enhancements such as cross star filters, grad filters, diffusion filters, B&W conversions with color filter augmentation and even post-production polarizing filtration for blue skies. Some in this group produce gradations over existing images that function like physical grad filters.
• EFFECTS. Another category produces special effects using unique combinations of Photoshop's native plug-ins. These are Photoshop's own techniques seen from a fresh point of view. Many are performed combining two or more PS plug-ins in a single stroke.
• TRANSFORM. Yet another group prepares images for custom printing with operations like duotones, multi-image layouts, complex darkroom enhancements and special frames. Included here is a large array of Actions that turn photos into graphics and artistic interpretations. Meaning that when you get down, making an infrared oil painting is not out of the question.

Here is an example from that last category. It's a precision "35mm frame" that is wrapped around a full size D70 image making a finished file 3138 x 2905 pixels large (88 times the surface area seen here).

The image is identified as a "D70 Digital Image" and while the default text identifies the "film" type as iNovaChrome, the text can be changed at will, for a copyright notice perhaps.

Note the subtle digitographer point that this is frame 37. Other frames in this particular folder of Actions create roll film and 4X5 sheet film borders.

The amazing iNovaFX Action called the iBCFish10.5-Hyper isn't exactly "fixing" an image that's broke, per se, it really opens up that lens to a different form of use. Click on the name to read the report.

Some of the Actions are tutorial in nature, teaching and showing how to stitch precision panoramics or how to make view camera perspective corrections using Photoshop's built-in features. And for those, image files are provided.

dSLR: Nikon D70 eBook FAQs:

Q: Is this Version 7 of the Nikon eBook?
A: No, this is a new book. It's not the next in the Nikon Compact Digital Camera series.

In dSLR: Nikon D70, some of the material is basically the same since many of the disciplines of solving photographic issues, printing or implementing effects are universal. But every bit of it has been re-written, updated or is outright new for the D70.

Q: What does it contain?
A: You get a novel historical perspective on digital photography that goes back to cave times right up to the future. Cave times? Yep, people have been ready for digital photography longer than they have realized. Digital photographic science (if you're curious) is lavishly illustrated. Basic and Next Level Photoshop instruction is provided.

A HUGE (and we mean bigger than super size) D70 Camera System Operation chapter picks apart every nook, cranny, technology and button on the camera exploring when to use it and when to keep your fingers off it. This isn't a simple run-down on how the feature works, but takes the attitude that you need to know what your options are with every button, switch, dial, control, menu item and setting. After you study this 104 page chapter you will rarely go, "Now what the heck does this do?" or, "I wish there was a way to..."

Then there are chapters on photographic and D70 problem solving, a 22-page course that sends you out on photo assignments, a chapter on digital printing, a chapter on special effects, a chapter on advanced techniques and a chapter on the unique iNovaFX Photoshop Actions.

Q: Are the enclosed iNovaFX Photoshop Actions the same as from prior iNova eBooks?
A: Some are, but many are brand new, and all have been tested with D70 images. All iNovaFX Photoshop Actions that work on D70 lenses, file sizes and images are, of course, new. The incredible Fisheye-Nikkor 10.5mm unbending Action is a good case in point. Other Actions are adapted from previous versions. The 35mm film frame is a good example. Still others are greatly improved and now perform better or more flexibly. The new Grad filters and Crosstar filters are examples of that.

At last count, over 460 iNovaFX Actions have been included in the eBook with around 140 of them exclusively designed for D70 use.

Q: Can I upgrade from my previous Nikon or Sony eBook?
A: Not exactly. But for being such a nice person and having supported us in the past, you will get a tidy discount. Upgrades from ANY past iNova eBook must be handled by telephone or FAX through the publisher directly. Voice: (310) 475 2988 (M-F 9-5 Pacific Time) FAX (310) 475 9486. Have the original disk handy when you call. The imbedded serial number from your original CD or proof of purchase will be required. Upgrades are $39.95 US.

Q: I hear that Uwe Steinmueller is involved?
A: Right. Uwe is the emperor of RAW file manipulation. His contribution brings advanced Photoshop techniques and a stand-alone eBook, RAW Materials, which is all about using Nikon NEF files (their RAW format) with Adobe, Nikon and Capture One software. He also has added to the chapter on Photoshop, expanding beyond the basics and teaching more advanced concepts step by step.

Q: How much is it going to cost?
A: The marketing department likes to spin their answer into something like, "Less than any other custom accessory for your D70" or $49.95 US plus shipping anywhere in the world.

More FAQ here.

Order here.