Nikon D100 camera review

Nikon D100

Nikon's D100 Digital SLR is lightweight, easy to use, 6 Megapixels strong, and has a street price under $1,500. It's hard to imagine that four or five years ago it took more than $20 Grand to buy a Nikon-bodied 6 Megapixel Digital SLR. Its OEM battery code is en-el3.

Nikon D100 hardware and software feature :

• 6.1-megapixel CCD delivering a maximum image resolution of 3,008 x 2,000 pixels.
  
• SLR design with true, TTL optical viewfinder.
  
• 1.8-inch TFT color LCD monitor.
  
• Interchangeable “F” mount lens design, accommodates a wide range of Nikkor lenses.
  
• Manual and automatic focus modes, with adjustable AF area selection.
  
• Program, Flexible Program, Shutter Priority, Aperture Priority, and Manual exposure modes.
  
• Shutter speeds from 1/4,000 to 30 seconds, with a Bulb setting for longer exposures.
  
• Depth of Field Preview mode.
  
• TTL exposure metering with three modes.
  
• Adjustable sensitivity from 200 to 1,600 ISO equivalents. (plus 3,200 and 6,400 as "ISO Boost" options)
  
• User-selectable white balance with eight modes and manual adjustment.
  
• Three Color modes, plus a color balance fine-tuning adjustment.
  
• Hue, Tone, and Sharpness adjustments.
  
• Built-in, pop-up flash with five operating modes.
  
• External flash hot shoe.
  
• Continuous Shooting, Auto Exposure Bracketing, and Self-Timer modes.
  
• JPEG, uncompressed TIFF, and RAW file formats.
  
• Image storage on CompactFlash Type I or II memory cards, or IBM Microdrive.
  
• USB cable for connection to a computer.
  
• Included CD-ROM loaded with Nikon View 5 software.
  
• NTSC video cable for playback on a television set (PAL for European models).
  


• Power from lithium-ion nikon en-el3 battery pack, optional AC adapter, or optional Nikon Multi-Function battery pack.
  


• Optional remote control accessory.
  

Compare to other nikon digital cameras, Nikon D100 dgital camera has its own advanced point as below :

• Picturequality: The consensus among experienced usersis that the D100 produces pictures equal to the"best of the best" pro digital cameras. In fact,many professional photographers actually preferthe output quality of the Nikon D100 over theNikon D1x.


• The battery:The small, lightweight rechargeable Lithium Ion en-el3 battery keeps on going, going, going. Typicalcomments from D100 owners... "500+ shots and thebattery meter still shows full..." "I took overa thousand pictures in two days and neverrecharged the battery..." "The camera sat idlein my camera bag for weeks, I took nikon en-el3 out &shot all day long... and never ran low onpower..."


• The batterycharger: Two or three hours for a full charge ona completely dead battery. No need to ever drain& refresh the battery. And the charger &power cord are small enough to put in one of theside pockets of a camera bag. That means thatI'll never get stuck high & dry if I'm on atrip, because I can easily recharge the batteryif I need to. I also carry a small 12v DC to110v AC power inverter with me, which simplyplugs into my truck's 12v accessory plug andeasily powers the charger.


• The weight.It's really lightweight. Which makes it apleasure to carry around, even one-handed.
• The size &shape: The grip fits my hand nicely (andsecurely). And it takes up less room in mycamera bag, which means I can carry one morelens.
• The built-inflash. It's right there for unexpected /unplanned flash situations. Sure, a dedicatedexternal speedlight is always better, but forthose quick candid flash shots or unexpectedtimes when a little fill flash boost is needed,it's right there, just a flip of a button away.Yes, I also have & use a 'real' speedlight(a Nikon SB-80DX), but it's not very quick tomount if I see an unexpected photo moment thatneeds a little fill flash.


• The placement of the LCD screen. It's dead center - whichmeans no nose prints. On the other hand, it'sright under your nose, so on a cold orvery humid day, breathing through your nose fogsup the inside of the included snap-on clear LCDscreen cover. The top corners of the clear LCDscreen cover have enough of an air gap to allowthis to happen. Solution? I took my LCD coveroff and put it back in the box. (And I think thecamera looks better without it.)


• The wide ISO range. ISO 200-1600 in 1/3rd stop increments,plus Hi-1 (ISO 3200) and Hi-2 (ISO6400).


• Nikon'ssoftware: The included Nikon View software(free) does a good job of viewing & basicprocessing of Raw files. Also included is atrial edition of Nikon Capture software,considered to be the best raw file processingsoftware in the industry. You can use Nikon Capture free for a 30 day trial, then it'saround $100 to buy a permanent registration codeif you decide to continue using it. I stronglysuggest buying Nikon Capture.