Input needed

Thinking of buying the D100 but will it soon be upgraded.What about

the new Sigma 10 million pixels.The nikon 5700 is 5 million, suffice

for 35m quality, cost a lot less than the others.Lost in the digital

jungle cannot see the woods for the trees.Any directions would help.

<<Thinking of buying the D100 but will it soon be upgraded.>>

 

Question mark key broken, is it. Has it been like that for long. The Nikon D100 hit dealers' shelves about 5 months ago, so it's not due for a significant upgrade for a couple of years.

 

<<What about the new Sigma 10 million pixels.>>

 

That would be more than the D100's 6 megapixels, wouldn't it. You might be able to buy one from Sigma soon. No one has used one yet, as far as I know, so it's hard to give you advice on that one.

 

<<The nikon 5700 is 5 million, suffice for 35m quality, cost a lot less than the others.>>

 

There are other compromises inherent in buying a fixed-lens camera, but it will give you fine prints at 4x6 or 5x7 and probably at 8x10 as well. Depends upon your own definition of "35mm quality" but a lot of folks find 5 megapixels to be very nice resolution for personal pictures.

 

<<Lost in the digital jungle cannot see the woods for the trees. Any directions would help. >>

 

The technology is evolving so rapidly that one cannot buy in to digital cameras without accepting, in advance, the rapid and inevitable pace at which manufacturers will offer more resolution and more features for less money. In other words, it's a rapidly depreciating investment, whereas a film camera usually is a slowly depreciating investment.

 

Given that, what the heck, buy a digital camera whenever the current model(s) offer the performance you need at a price you find reasonable.

 

Have fun,

What do you NEED in a camera? Do you need interchangeable lenses, fast autofocus, and low shutter lag? If so, then go for one of the DSLRs (D100, S2, D60, etc). If not, then a high-end point-and-shoot is a great camera (e.g. 5700, Olympus E20, Sony F717, Minolta Dimage 7, etc).

 

How large are you going to print? If it's 8x10 or smaller, any camera with over 3Mpixels should be fine. Don't fall prey to the Sigma SD9/Foveon hype. IMHO, the SD9 is not an option since you will be stuck with only Sigma mount lenses.

 

What's your budget? With DSLRs you will have to buy lenses also. And putting a $100 lens on a $2000 camera body is sort of a waste...

 

The D100 will not be upgraded soon. It just came out over the summer. Nikon's next set of DSLRs will be upgrades to their pro cameras (D1x and D1h).

A lot depends on your shooting style and expectations. For me, I think 2-3 MP is plenty, if they're 'good pixels'. If I were to jump to a DSLR soon, I'd probably pick the D1H. Solid image quality, good shutter lag / burst capability, well-built, works well with MF lenses like your 35/1.4 AIS (unlike the D100 and other N80-based cameras).

 

For educational purposes, you might consider picking up a digital P&S like my Nikon Coolpix 2500. For $250 - 300, it's a pocketable 2MP camera that will really open your eyes to what a good quality 2MP camera can do (and it's a dandy 'note-taker' / web camera to boot).

 

Just one vote that there's more to it than 'chasing pixel count'.

If you have no older lenses, you might as well get the D100 in my opinion. If you're worried about it being outdated, what will you do when the next model comes out? Surely it will be replaced too. Forget chasing the technology, pick a camera that fits your every needs. If you don't like something about the Nikon, check out the Canon, there are not too many options in the SLRs, but you have a lot of point and shoots available.

 

As a side point, I wouldn't personally recommend a CP5700.

What kind of camera do you have now. Why not just buy more film and lenses for that, and wait for the digital dust to settle before changing.

Such as an Olympus E-20. The fact is, the lenses are more efficient, since they were designed for the sensor in the camera, rather than a much larger image of 35mm film.

 

You will get the same quality for 1/2 the price.

You've probably gone and made the decision by now...here's my .02 if you're still on the fence.

 

I bought a 5700 some time back as a P&S for the family. Was neat little toy until I got terminally tired of wading through menus and missing great pictures because of the shutter lag, or waiting for the camera to write files out to the CF card. Sold the 5700 on ebay and bought a D100, MBD100 grip, and a used 24x120 Nikkor. I'll never go back to digicams. Sure - they're smaller and lighter - but the D100 catches virtually everything I point at it - never hesitates - and makes much cleaner images.

 

Keep in mind too - the 5mp CCD on the 5700 is *much* smaller than the CCD on a digital SLR like the D100 or D1H. The 2.7mp D1H will tromp the guts out of a 5700Cpix in every conceivable area...(but I guess when you're paying 3600.00 for a D1H - it darn well should.)

 

The D100 is a far better camera than the CP 5700 in every way I can think of. I carry mine virtually everywhere - it weighs very little - and is ultimately a much more flexable purchase than the 5700 (which you'll likely outgrow pretty quick...)