Nikon D100 Digital Camera [6.1MP] – Body Only proves that far from being a flash in the pan, Digital SLRs really can make a valuable contribution.
Styled around the more traditional F80, the D100 has a full-featured body, is nicely weighted and considerably lighter then you might expect given the amount of technology that’s packed into it. The controls are nicely situated and navigating through the settings using the provided four-way movement pad becomes second nature very quickly. Picture preview comes courtesy of the built-in 1.8 inch LCD screen allowing a cursory check to be applied to any pictures taken. Unlike earlier Nikon products, it’s not possible to use the screen on the D100 as an alternate viewfinder, restricting it’s use in tight situations, but truth be told the results through the “traditional” viewfinder are perfectly adequate.
As you would expect from a six-megapixel camera, the image quality is superb at all levels from the highest resolution (a mighty 3008 x 2000 pixels) down to less intense 1504 x 1000 pixels. At any resolution, the output images are really very good, colour saturation is well up to par and overall the results stand up well. On the downside, perfectionists may well find there’s a tiny amount less definition, but there’s nothing here to raise anything approaching serious issues.
Power is provided from a supplied rechargeable battery pack which is both light and long lasting–up to a maximum of two hours depending on flash usage. To recharge from empty takes around two hours so it would be worth investing in a second pack. The D100 takes Type I and II CompactFlash as well as MicroDrive units which are invaluable for users looking to take any more than a handful of pictures in a single session–our tests showed a 256 MB CF card could handle around 40 hi-res uncompressed TIFF images, suddenly making a 1 GB Microdrive look extremely attractive.
The built-in flash unit, which pops up above the lens is powerful and efficient, proving effective in a variety of conditions. Unlike many digital cams it only ever fires off a single flash, effectively reducing red-eye without sacrificing performance.
Helpful consumer’s review
This is a superb piece of kit – but at an enormous price if it isn’t important in your paid job.
Essentially this is a smaller, lighter successor to the D1, which is a well known press workhorse. By smaller and lighter, I don’t mean that this camera is small or light — just that the D1 is enormous.
This is a camera for people who _need_ the speed of digital and _require_ the flexibility and accuracy of a ‘proper’ SLR. If you can do without either of these, then you should really be looking at a film SLR (the equivalent spec in Nikon is available for less than half the price), or at a high-end digital like the top of the range from Kodak, Olympus etc. These weigh in at less than a third of the price, and you don’t have to buy the lens as extra.
Sorry, did I not mention that? Like most professional kit, this camera is a ‘body only’. You buy the lens separately (think around £400), and you’ll probably need to add the dedicated flash (about £300). You’ll also need a USB equipped Mac or PC.
So what does this camera offer you that makes it worth the money? In a word, everything. Nikon have for a long time been considered the brand of the professional. This camera offers you the choice of their top notch lens systems, all the usual auto-focus and auto-exposure functions, but with the instant power of 6 mega-pixel digital.
Perhaps this doesn’t sell it quite enough.
So, if you’re coming from digital cameras, this might help:
If you take a picture through, say, a Kodak DC4000, which is a good 4 mega-pixel camera with a built in zoom and flash, then it will give pretty good results if you look at the picture as a whole. At the pixel level, though, the image is blotchy and uneven. Nothing against Kodak here, this is simply a result of the lens quality you get for a digital camera at that price point. With the D100, assuming you’re using a Nikkor lens, you find that the image is crystal clear at the pixel level. What’s more, you’ll find that the colours are true, and, additionally, the camera has it’s own white point balancing. The camera works well in automatic ‘idiot’ mode, despite the plethora of dials and buttons. If you want to go further, though, you can fully unleash the power of an interchangeable lens SLR. See below.
If you’re coming from film SLR cameras, then consider this:
You get a shot which is one and a half times as big as the Reuters standard for digital press images. You can shoot three shots a second without an additional motor drive. You can vary the ASA speed from 200 to 1600 or beyond on the fly, or even get the camera to do it for you automatically. It will auto bracket for exposure, flash or white balance. Concerning white balance, you can set for sunlight, shadow, tungsten bulb, flourescent, flash or your own preset white balance. You can preview all your stuff instantly. Finally, it weighs about the same as a serious Nikon SLR autofocus. For the manic, you can add an extra battery pack for that ‘big motordrive’ feel, which also gives you voice recording.
I love it.
