What Digital SLR do I buy

[harry_sinniah]

I currenly own a Nikon F100 and 3 lenses (18-35,28-70 & 80-200 2.8

lenses). I am considering switching to one of the Nikon D-SLR. Howver

I do not see one that is comparable to the F100. The D100 is not the

bext choice as I hate the white light focusing it has when its dark.

 

The D1H,D1X & D2H are astronomically priced.

 

Is there a plan to soup up the D100?

 

Why do they take away the infra red focus....?

[ecarter]

Nothing in life is perfect, alas, and this is true with Nikon's more affordable digital camera bodies. Most of the time, I just turn off the focus lamp and not worry about it - one good thing I found about my D70 is that under most circumstances that I shoot in, it'll still focus without the lamp even when it thinks it needs it.

 

Also, if flash is really important I have an SB800 or SB600 on the camera rather than rely on the popup flash - this automatically disables the white-light focus assist lamp and uses a much better red-light focus lamp on the flash unit itself.

 

I'm sure Nikon will eventually replace the D100, but when that will happen and what they'll replace it with - who knows? Nikon maybe, but they aren't saying anything... yet.

[dan_brown4]

B&H has the D100 on "Special" for $999. I'd call that a bargain. I doubt it will last,

probably a close-out price.

[michaelbrochstein]

I have both a D70 and a D100 and am quite ready to replace my D100. If you want to go digital today then a D70 is probably the best value IMHO. It has a multiple of improvements over a D100 and very few disadvantages relative to the D100. Unless the D100 has a unique feature that the D70 does not have then the D70 would be what I would recommend. If a pro-level build and the speed of a pro level camera is important then a used D2H or a D1X might be affordable alternatives. This of course assumes that you do not wish to spend $5,000 on a D2X (which probably has everything you want but at a much higher price). If what you really want/need is what is likely to be the D100 replacement then you can either wait for it (up to 10 months???) or buy something in the interim (a D70 or a used pro-level model). Good luck!

 

Anyway, just my two cents,....

[fourfa]

put some black tape over the white focus assist light. that way you don't have to search throught the menus to reactivate the feature each time you want to use a flash with the much-nicer dim red focus grid...

[michaelkh]

I feel the need to help arrange a sophisticated deal here, using my in-depth understanding

of

business:

 

Harry, buy Michael's D100 off him. I'll only charge 10% commission. Though that will be a

bit more than his two cents. :)

[eric_m4]

Harry,

 

You just have to accept the fact that D-SLR equivelants are just plain more expensive. The F100 was part of the 35mm film "pro" line of cameras. The D70 and D100 are not "pro level" but I'm sure many pros use them all the time.

 

Eric

[jorgen_udvang]

Many people have been waiting for the follow-up to the D100 for a long time, and some are both surprised and annoyed having to wait this long, but let's look at it from Nikon's point of view:

 

The D2X is a complicated camera and must have taken a lot of effort to develop. The long time from it was launched until it hit the shelves makes me believe that it was more complicated and took longer than Nikon planned for.

 

What they could have done, was to introduce what is probably a much simpler camera (the D90 or 200 or whatever) before the D2X. The result however, would be that many professionals would buy the cheaper camera instead of waiting for the D2X. If I should guess, I would say that it would reduce the sales of D2X with at least 50%.

 

Now the D2X is here, but still they have to wait for a while until the sales of that model is slowing down. I wouldn't be surprised if the "D200" has been more or less ready for introduction for a while already. If we look at what it is going to replace (F100 and D100), this will not be a revolutionary camera, but rather a down-to-earth, solid camera for every day use by professionals and advanced amateurs.

 

Nikon is not, and will never be, Canon. They have mostly had a conservative approach to product development which is probably one of the reasons why they are so trusted. If we buy a current Nikon-model, we know that it will probably be the current model, and create first rate results, for a couple of years to come, even in these digital times. That can certainly not be said for some of the other camera brands around.

 

The D70 is rather cheap now, and a very good camera. Why not buy one now, and sell it or use it as backup when the Dx00 arrives?

[lex_jenkins]

Harry, those pro bodies you mentioned are really pretty good deals right now, relatively speaking. Sure, that's still a lot of money. But it's also a lot of camera for the money.

 

As for focus assist, I tend to agree. I'd like to see at least the pro Nikon bodies incorporate some form of focus assist for really dim lighting conditions. OTOH, the D2H focuses quickly and positively even in very dim lighting, something lower priced SLRs tend not to do as well, which is why they have focus assist lights. I suspect the reason for the indiscrete bright white light is because red focus assist lights have a very limited range and the projected pattern of vertical and horizontal bars is still easily fooled on some surfaces.

[harry_sinniah]

Thanx to eveyone for their responses.

What would be great is that introduce something which is semi pro between D1H/D2X and a D70/D100

 

Maybe I just have to get on the waiting line....

[ivan_verschoote1]

Buy a D70 - you'll be surprised! Since I've bought my D70 my F100 is gathering dust for a year now.

[ShunCheung]

Within the last 7 months, Nikon has introduced the F6 and 4 new DSLRs: D2X, D2Hs, and now D50 and D70s. Even though 2 of the 4 are the "second" S version of existing DSLRs, 3 new SLRs is a lot in such a short period. As Thom Hogan points out, this is unusually aggressive for Nikon. But now they have a second major factory in Thailand to manufacture low-end DSLRs, Nikon's overall capacity is higher.

 

It is simply unrealistic to expect Nikon to add yet another brand new prosumer DSLR any time soon. As it has been pointed out, any D200 will siphon sales away from the D2X. It is unlikely that Nikon would make such as stupid move until the demand for the D2X is leveled off.

 

I think Fall 2005 is the earliest we'll see any prosumer D200.

[larry n.]

You should have gotten the D2H when it was selling for $1995. THAT was a bargain.

 

Dan Brown: why do you consider the D100 a good deal when it is more than the D70, which has many many more features? Is the vertical extension thing really worth that much to you?

[dan_brown4]

The viewfinder. D70 is useless for me.

 

I had the vertical grip for the D100, but sold it.

[larry n.]

I wasn't aware the D100 has a better viewfinder than the D70. That IS a big deal. If you've tried both, can you describe what's better about the D100?

[dan_brown4]

The D100 doesn't have a very good viewfinder either, it's small and dim. BUT, it has a

24mm eyepoint and with my eyeglasses on, I can see the entire focusing screen AND the

meter/display. This is critical for composition and quick managment of camera settings

while shooting. OTOH, the D70 has about an 18mm eyepoint, it's also small and even

dimmer (mirror-type prism). With my glasses, I cannot see the entire focusing screen

ever, and worse, I can't see the meter/display while shooting without repositioning my eye

in the finder.

 

Here's to hoping a D90 will be released with a finder like my N90s or better still, my F3hp.

[william_symington]

Harry,

 

I couldn?t see that anybody mentioned this, but you can disable the focus lamp. Switching the stupid thing off was the first thing I did when I got my D100 home 15 months ago. I can?t say that focus performance was obviously impaired, escept maybe in really really dim conditions. I guess that you can disable the lamp on the D70 as well - but am not sure on that.