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Nikon D100 Experience Report


Cat checking the viewfinder

A review diary by Uwe Steinmueller

Also photos by Bettina Steinmueller

 
Part 2
 
This review will be written again in the form of a diary. Most recent findings on top.
 
 
 
 
Please post all your comments and questions here in our News Group
 
7/15/2002
 

Just for your information:

All the Nikon cameras we ever reviewed were our own cameras. Why? We do not know where we are on Nikon's editorial delivery list (a search with Google "Nikon D1x Review" finds our review at #5).

 

For all RAW conversion we currently use Nikon Capture 3. Here you find our brief review.
 
 
7/14/2002
 
This morning we arrived at Mono Lake South Tufa about 45 minutes before sunrise. The clouds could have been more spectacular. Again we used the AF-S 80-200 with the D1x and the AF-S 28-70 with the D100.
 


Before sunrise


Sunrise cliche (but always nice)


30 minutes after sunrise

 

We did not plan to photograph that much wildlife this time at Mono Lake. But at our visit at Mono Lake County Park we had a very special encounter: Thousands of Wilson's Phalaropes.

" The Wilson's Phalarope approaches Mono Lake in a flock of several thousand tiny birds flying, diving, turning, and swooping in unison.

The flock lands and begins feeding on their main food source, the alkali fly. Not only do they pick flies off the ground, but they also jump and pluck them out of the air. Soon after the arrival of the Wilson's, the Red-necked Phalaropes join them at the lake. They mainly feed in the open water, often swimming in tight little circles, which create a vortex that brings the fly larva within range of their one inch beaks. Once the phalaropes have consumed enough fuel, about double their body weight, they will continue their migration. The Wilson's Phalaropes will fly to Bolivia and Argentina and the Red-necked Phalaropes to the southern oceans. This forms a non-stop flight over 3,000 miles long which requires about sixty hours of flying time."

 


Wilson's (D100)


Wilson's in Flight (D1x)

 

Shooting first with the D1x and later with the D100 (same lens: AF-S 300mm f/4 + TC-14E) showed the following differences:

  • D100 is much more silent
  • D1x has a bit more buffer size and slightly higher burst rate (but also not as much as one would like for these kind of pictures)
  • D1x can be used with compressed NEFs but also gets faster using uncompressed NEFs.

Otherwise the D100 handles well but the main actors were the Wilson's: Just amazing!

 
 
7/13/2002
 
Weather was again thunderstorms and then overcast. One nice shot though:
 


Near Mono Lake

 
One of our nicest shots at Mono Lake was a shot of grass near the beach. This time we found some at Navy Beach.
 


Grass at Mono Lake (D1x)

 

This photo was taken with the D1x but the D100 would do the job as well. The only difference would be that I could use a higher burst rate with the D1x than with the D100. This was necessary as there were some gusty winds.

We use now both the D1x and the D100 which allows to have two lenses mounted at any time. The D100 would be the clear choice for long time exposures.

Lenses used today:AF-S 28-70, 80-200 and 300 f/4 + TC-14E.

 
 
 
 
 
7/12/2002
 

Moose Peterson posted his D100 review. He likes the camera but does not think it works for his wildlife photography:

  • Far to slow write speed for action
  • Low 1/180 flash synch speed
  • Moose use JPG

We found the review by Moose very helpful. It also demonstrates that you first need to know what you want to do with a camera before you make a decision. Moose points to clear shortcomings of the D100 but they are just no big deal for our(!) style of photography. Find out what you think is yours.

 
Moose also made us aware of a nice D100 feature. With CSM function 19 you can turn on a grid in the viewfinder.
 
Tonight we made a short trip to Mono Lake (South Tufa). The overcast got us some flat light and prevented nice warm colors towards sunset. Still here are some impressions.
 


Easter Island meets Mono Lake


Osprey Nest

 
 
 
 
 
 
7/11/2002
 

The first dust spot and we would need a different power supply for cleaning than with the D1x.

We are now in the Mammoth (Eastern Sierra) and hope to get some nice photos the next days.

 
 
 

 

 

Compare prices for the Nikon D100 at Dealtime.
 
 
 
 
Further Reading
 
 

 

 
If you want to discuss this review post you comments in our forum.
 
 

Other reviews

 
Review methodology (or lack of :-)) here.
 
 

 

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