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Home >> Photography >> Digital Nikon D100 Page 6 - D100 Executive Summary A moderately
priced D-SLR that purports to offer the same or at least very similar
quality as the much more expensive and more robustly built D1x. Moderately
priced has to be kept in perspective because this consumer-quality
D-SLR is priced the same if not more than the top of the line F5 film
camera. Additional accessories to keep the camera running and more
comfortable to use can push that price to $4000
When I say consumer-quality, I mean in relation to consumer-quality film cameras, the obvious example being the F80, given the similar styling and cosmetic look. However, Nikon states the camera as being built from the ground up as a D-SLR that merely uses similar parts and features borrowed from not only the F80 but also the F100 and as noted Nikon expert Thom Hogan states in his review, from the Coolpix digicams too. Hogan and other reviewers noted that there are indeed small differences between the ways the D100 and the F80 are styled. I am not so generous and still consider the D100 to be a digital F80 (my personal opinion only), but this is a minor point and not one that reflects badly on the D100 for its target market and price range. I admit to not being taken initially with the D100 given my personal biases for cameras built like tanks (whether I really need it or not) and really wanted to purchase the D1x, but alas, I must feed and clothe my children and at least put in an effort to save something for their future education at some heinously expensive post-secondary institution. The curse of being middle-class and being unable to buy that spiffy new Leica M7 on a whim for a mere $4000 without any lenses. Seriously though for those who have wondered and actually asked me why I did not just go ahead and buy a D1x, photography is a hobby and one that consumes me, my time and my money far more than my wife would prefer but I am not so taken nor am I so stupid, as to void my bank account in pursuit of serious equipment. During the course of my first couple of months using the D100 for as many applications I could find, from kids running amok to birthday parties to even actually trying my hand at somewhat serious photography, the D100 grew on me. For sure the D100 does not match the speed, heft, and confidence of my F100, which is merely Nikon’s number-two film camera (okay I’m being specious here for the F100 is an excellent camera that once, even a Canon user commented as much to me). I’m somewhat amazed at the comments of various reviews that state the D100 as having very fast auto focus. To that I must say in my best middle of the fence sitting position, it all depends on the lens. Silent Wave motor lenses and moderately sized screw-driven lenses will indeed focus with zip, however mounting a screw-driven 80-200mm f2.8 lens such as what I currently own, will take the zip right out and reveal the consumer-oriented AF motor in the D100 compared to the mighty motors in the F5 and F100 with same lens. This is with the most sensitive centre AF point being used but try using the big lens with one of the outer AF points on a subject without strong contrast and you’ll be better off in Manual focus mode. The D100 is lightweight thanks to the generous use of polycarbonate all over its exterior shell (read “plastic” for those of us who call it as they see it instead of using some flowery word and don’t tell me about how bulletproof polycarbonate is because I don’t think you’re going to fire a bullet at your expensive “plastic” camera). The build quality is another minor issue for the majority of D100 users. Those who do need something that may indeed stop a bullet should be able to easily justify the D1 series instead. For me, build quality is a subjective component of being a user of photographic equipment, one that means pride of ownership in something well built but in actual day to day use, not much of a factor. Even with its companion MB-D100 grip and dual EN-EL3 cells loaded, a fully featured D100 is still quite light. It has an ergonomic grip that is as good as the F100 and is very comfortable to hold and use. The controls on the D100 are slightly different than the F100, as in the AF-On and AF selector pad locations, but nothing that regular use would not make second nature. And the MB-D100 is the most featured vertical grip made by Nikon to date with dual command dials and a nifty manner to select an AF point because the regular pad would be too far away for your thumb to reach when shooting portrait mode shots. Add in the voice annotation and you’ve got an electronic memo pad in your hands that can also take excellent photos, of course, people may look at you funny when you start talking to your camera in hushed tones, especially if you’re reciting the groceries your wife just called to remind you buy on the way back home from a shoot. Quibbles aside, what matters most to people is not how well built the D100 is or how fast it operates, or whether the Fuji S2 is the true digital F80 (and how superior it may be), but how good the images are. It offers true 6 Megapixel resolution compared to the interpolated 6 MP output of the D1X and more than double that of the D1H. There have been many rumblings about the D100 images being soft compared to other D-SLRs whether from Nikon or competing brands. Thom Hogan indicates that this has more to do with a stronger anti-aliasing filter used in the D100 than in other cameras and this means stronger sharpening settings needed in editing the images in Photoshop or other software. I have no issue with this since sharpening should be done in editing and not in-camera but I can understand that this would be an issue for photographers who need good output straight from the camera (photojournalists and sports photographers among others). For them, the D100 may not be the most appropriate tool for their work, not only for sharp images but for speed and ruggedness too. One interesting aside about the image quality of the D100 compared to the D1x, Leica expert and commentator, Erwin Putz, tested the two cameras and stated quite clearly that the D1x is still superior in image quality, however, neither approaches the quality achieved by the best 35mm lenses (read, Leica) and the highest resolution B&W films, such as TMAX 100. After applying an appropriate amount of Un-sharp Masking (personal taste may vary) I have been satisfied with the images taken with the D100. I have printed to 12x18 inches at 166 dpi and found them quite good but using Genuine Fractals to increase the dpi to 360 and adding in some extra sharpening produces even better looking prints at such sizes. The 10x15 inch prints at 200 dpi are very good on their own and for me, do not require additional interpolation. This is where I think the sweet spot is for the D100 and its maximum print size while maintaining its quality, again personal preferences may vary. On its own merits, I have little to complain about the D100’s image quality, but one must ensure that one understands the nature of the product and work with it and not against it based upon assumptions or experiences with the output of other D-SLRs. There have been more comments than I can stand from various users of digital cameras of how they have obtained poster-sized prints from 6 MP or even lower resolution D-SLRs. Given my own comparisons of the D100 images to scanned film, I take those comments with a generous serving of salt. I am a satisfied user of the D100 and although it does not stop me from wanting to own a professional D1 (or future D2) series body, it helps to alleviate the photo-junkie addictions in me to a certain extent. For ultimate quality though, I would still need to use my medium format system for large print sizes but in the time since I've bought the D100, the F100 and Bronica cameras inhouse have only seen use when I shot a couple of weddings. Otherwise, everything I have been photographing for myself has been with the capable D100. |
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