Great body for the jump to digital
Written: Mar 08 '04
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Pros: Excellent quality, good easy control, ap/shutter dials, ::Custom Tone Curves::, good response
Cons: Nikon capture (only CTCs), card door, Compressed RAW worthless, need self-cleaning sensor, pc-sync?, firewire?
The Bottom Line: Great quality and easy digial body for advanced shooters and pros. Recommend.
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| nomadphoto's Full Review: Nikon D100 Digital Camera |
Having used slrs and digital compacts before, I was looking for a good kit to get into. All I had on the slr front was a couple of old ae-1s that I was looking to upgrade. I figured on getting a new film slr and digital slr with some great lenses. I looked at the digital and film features and ergonomics. I wanted a fairly good film body and some great lenses to start, with an eye toward what was offered in digital image quality of the digial slrs. I really was only considering the nikon and canon systems. I settled in the end on getting a nikon N80 and D100, with three lenses, for a couple of reasons.
-I think the N80 is one of the best film values out there today, with it's feature set at its current price point. The D100 having the same control setup as the N80 was just icing on the cake.
-The control setup on these two cameras has it all over anything canon has in my opinion. The seperate dials for changing aperature and shutter are well thought and much more convenient than having to hold button x in while turning the single dial. And while the elan is faster than the N80 at focusing, the N80 is fast enough for me and the 3d matrix metering system and focusing is very accurate.
-I like the 'look' of images through nikon's optics. it's the intangible feel and color texture of it that I prefer.
-Reviewing the images of the 10D and D100, the D100's look better to me, maybe it's the lens difference, but I like the contrast and color the camera puts out, and sharpening the images in capture one DSLR pro, you get sharp, noise-free images (I would recommend against using nikon capture for raw processing)
-Custom Tone Curves, possibly my favorite killer feature of the D100. You can download your own processing curves into the camera. Some have even used these to create looks that somewhat mimic different types of film, like the Provia curve that's floating around out on the internet. Don't like the results? Shooting raw, you can change the curve processing after the fact in nikon capture to its normal look or something different. ( the only reason I use nikon capture, but this alone is worth having it for. Process the rest through C1DSLR.)
-(some people have complained that the d100 underexposes pics. It doesn't. It's the curve response that's flat, trying to retain maximum highlight detail for best images after post processing. This is not intended as much for straight from camera shots like consumer digicams. This is for advanced shooters who want as much end-result quality as possible. This is why I recommend shooting with custom curves above)
my end result is I am getting images I am VERY happy with, (which technical arguments aside should be the reason for getting any camera), I'm able to switch ISO settings 'mid-roll' and at higher ISO settings, the D100 gives me smoother 'grain' than film. I can shoot at iso1600 and get 8x10s I am very happy with.
I would recommend getting AF-S lenses or at least make sure you have ED glass. Don't skimp on the glass. If you can't afford to get good quality glass with your D100, wait. Get the lenses and an inexpensive film slr body (like the N80) and save up to get the digital body later. With the good digital slrs, the better lenses WILL make a difference. The only purchase I made that I regret is that I got a cheap 70-300 lens to save money. It's slow and lower contrast than what I'm getting out of my nikon 18-35 ED or 24-85 AF-S.
Tips: Shoot in raw mode (not compressed RAW), Use good glass (DON'T skimp on the lenses), get C1DSLR for best processing, get high-speed high-compacity cards, shoot in burst mode (you're not wasting film-why not.)
Bonus Tip: The Nomad Muvo2 MP3 player costs $200 and uses a $450 4GB hitachi microdrive. Buy one of these puppies, take it apart, format the microdrive and you've got 400 RAW shots or 1200 high-q JPEGS for only $200!
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 1499
This Camera is a Good Choice if You Want Something... Solid Enough for a Professional
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Epinions.com ID:
nomadphoto
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Reviews written: 1
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