ken_mai

To be fair to Nikon, the flash metering system that the S2 uses is basically a Nikon design from the N80 with some tweaks by Fuji. As for whether or not the D-TTL flash system is an improvement, many people don't think so. It seems more like a hack to get some kind of TTL flash metering, because Nikon couldn't get normal TTL metering to work on the ir digital cameras. Hopefully, they'll take a page from Fuji's book and work out how to meter off of the sensor surface during the exposure.

For a normal zoom range the 28-105 or 24-85 AFS are good. For something in the 70-120 range (a strange range to want) you could go for the new 70-200 AFS VR. It's pricey, but very sharp.

The S2 is capable of metering the flash exposure off of the CCD surface (really the anti-aliasing filter) during the actual exposure. This is what all Nikon film SLRs do. The D100 (and D1-series) are unable to do this and must rely on pre-flash pulses off of the closed shutter to gauge the flash power output needed. Thus the D100 needs one of the newer DX flashes. The S2 operates just like Nikon film SLRs and thus can use any flash that the film SLRs can use.

3. The macro/normal switch allows you to switch the lens into a mode where it is used to take macro photos (focus very close so that the object is magnified a lot). Note that on the focus ring and zoom ring there are certain ranges that are allowed for macro mode (marked with an orange line). Sometimes the lens will not allow you to switch into macro mode (or back in to normal mode) if the rings are not in the right range.

 

For example, if the lens is set to 28mm, you cannot switch into macro mode. Or if the lens is in the orange marked focus ring range, you wil not be allowed to switch back into normal mode.

Hoodman LCD covers are quite nice. They are clear and attach firmly to the camera. Note that I have only used the Hoodman made for the D1-series. They make one for the S2 also.

To get from the raw CCD data to the saved JPEG, there are a number of processing steps the camera applies to the data. There is the Bayer de-mosaic, white-balancing, tone adjustment, color saturation adjustment, sharpeing, and JPEG compression. If you shoot in raw mode, the camera simply saves the raw CCD data without doing any of the above steps.

 

When you open the file in the raw converter, you can choose the settings for the steps. You can change the white balance settings or the tone settings or the sharpening settings etc. So you don't have to get the camera settings 100% right at the time of the shot. This is a huge advantage (especially the white balance).

I would recommend: dynamic area mode, continuous servo, CSP off

The D100 (and most other DSLRs) take compact flash memory cards. They have the footprint of approximately a small matchbox, but are about 1/2 as thick. They range in storage capacity from very low (8MB) to very high (2GB). Most people are currently using cards in the 128MB to 1GB range. A full resolution, low-compression JPEG from the D100 is about 3MB. A RAW file is about 10MB. Very few people shoot in uncompressed TIFF since the files are huge. They eat up the in-camera buffer space and take forever to save to the compact flash card.

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So a 512MB card can hold approximately 170 JPEGs or 50 RAW files (sometimes called NEFs). See this link for more file sizes <a href="http:// www.dpreview.com/reviews/nikond100/page10.asp">link</a> . If you have a 1GB card those numbers will obviously double. The price sweetspot is around the 512MB card, so most people just buy multiple of those.

To add my voice to the chorus, Royal Camera is a scam. It is unfotunate (for B&H) that they were rude to you on the phone. An explanation (but not an excuse) may be that they get many calls every day with people trying to price match to scammers. Some of these people may know that Royal Camera et al. are scammers, but still try to get B&H to pricematch.

 

As for other companies to deal with, try Adorama, KEH, Penn Camera, Arlington Camera, or Norman Camera. All are legit and will sell you a D100 for approximately $1700.

Not everyone can afford the $7000 price of the Canon 1Ds. Or some people may need the capabilities of the 1D (e.g. 8fps) but would still like a wide angle. The existence of the 1Ds doesn't make all of the D30, D60, 10D, and 1D users disappear.

Nikon regularly has rebates on bodies and lenses. It's not necessarily indicative of anything. No official announcements have been made about any new bodies. If you're in the market for a new body and one of the existing ones does what you need, just get it.

A lot of people seem to be using this lens to shoot surfing due to the extreme reach at the far end. HSM motor, so it should be pretty fast focusing. Never used it myself...

As others have said, the PMA show is in March, so wait a few weeks to see what Nikon has up its sleeve. It is unlikely that Nikon will release a back for the F5, since they're making so much darned money getting people to buy new D-series bodies (and also it would be fairly technically challenging).

 

If you want to get one of the current crop of DSLRs also consider the Fuji S2.

In general, D100 shots need some post-processing. Using custom tone curves, some people are happy with the out-of-camera results. Consider the Fuji S2, which tends to produce much nicer out-of-cam shots. After post-processing, shots from the D100 and S2 are about equivalent, but the S2 shots generally need less post-processing.

There was a change in the way that the Nikon Capture software handles the RAW output of the D1x. The D1x has a weird CCD with rectangular photo sites. The CCD is 4028 x 1324 (horz x vert). NC3.5 interpolates the vertical dimension, boosting it to 2648. Thus, a 10Mpixel image is generated. Previously, the image was interpolate/downsampled to a 3000 x 2000 image. Now, all of the horizontal information is kept, and the vertical dimension is upsampled.

 

As for rumors, it's nearly certain that Nikon will announce their new pro DSLR in early March at PMA. The D1x and D1h are about to have a rebate announced (see KEH website). So if you're about to buy a D1x or D1h, at least wait a few days for the rebate to kick in. Also, Kodak has a nice new full frame sensor (11000CM) that's not being used in any of their own cameras (the 14n uses a sensor from Fill Factory). A Kodak employee that posts on lots of boards (dpreview, robgalbraith) has hinted strongly that it will appear in somebody's new DSLR. Could be Nikon's...

The D1x is a hybrid of F5 and F100 parts (plus all of the digital imaging parts). It has the F5 color matrix meter and the CAM1300 AF module used by both the F5 and F100. The camera top-deck looks like it was taken from a F100. And the viewfinder screen is the same as the F100. The body itself looks similar to an F5. I don't know whether the D1x got the slightly more powerful F5 AF motors or the ones from the F100.

The fastest writing card are the new Lexar cards with write acceleration. Look at Rob Galbraith's comparison <a href="http://www.robgalbraith.com/diginews/2002-11/2002_11_07_lexar_wa.html">link</a>.

I've bought parts from Nikon Parts listed above recently. It was fast and easy. I called, told them what I needed (Coolpix shutter/mode switch), gave them my credit card #, and received the part a few days later.

Cameta Camera sells the D100 for $1900. That's the lowest legitimate price I've seen. I have personally never bought from them, but some dpreview forum people have. You can check photo.net users' opinions on them in the user opinion section.

 

I seriously doubt that you will be able to find a lower price from a reputable dealer. It's not worth the headaches to save a little money. I'd say buy from B&H, Adorama, or KEH. $100 (480 shekels?) isn't much money when you're buying a $2000 camera.

Are you buying used or new? Is the seller an individual or a store? If a store, are they an authorized Nikon dealer?

 

I read on another forum that a person purchased a used D1x from a store (non-authorized dealer) and sent the camera to Nikon for a firmware/buffer upgrade. It turns out that the camera was _stolen_. Nikon seized the camera. It's now a huge mess, and the person does not have a camera. I believe that authorized Nikon dealers are under strict rules about checking serial numbers of cameras before they buy/sell them. See if you can check the serial number of the camera with Nikon before you purchase.

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).