Nikon D100 SLR Review

The Main Command Dial is easily activated with your thumb and works in conjunction with many of the other control buttons to quickly change camera options. The AE-L / AF-L button lock the exposure and focus settings when desired. Around it is the metering selection dial with positions for center-weighted (meters entire frame but assigns greatest weight to the center 8mm), 3D matrix (ten-segment matrix sensor sets exposure based on all areas of the frame) and spot (only the center 4mm of the frame is metered.)

Located on the front below the shutter release is the sub command dial, it's used to select various camera options. Around the shutter release is the power on/off switch. Behind are the flash mode and exposure compensation buttons.

Note in the previous picture that the shutter release button is tapped for a standard cable release. There's no better cable release then the one that's attached to the classic Nikon Pistol Grip for the old model "F" 35mm SLR. This answers the needs of those who have emailed me asking if there was any camera that could be used by "lefties." The pistol grip makes this a very ambidextrous camera.

The rear controls and color LCD display.

• The Monitor button turns on the color LCD and brings up the last image captured. This is the equivalent to a Play button on other cameras.
• The "MENU" button calls up the onscreen menu system.
• The "THUMB" (checkerboard) button brings up the thumbnail index mode and is used with the Main Command and sub-Command dial to change the zoomed playback size.
• The "KEY" button lets you protect images from accidental erasure.
• The "ENTER" button accepts menu selections and in playback it enables the zoomed (magnified) playback option.
• The 4-way selector is used to select images, display image data and change the active focus area.
• The switch below the 4-way selector locks it against accidental changes.
• The "trash can" button is used for deleting images during playback.

The D100 is equipped with a CompactFlash Type II slot and is compatible with any capacity CompactFlash Type I or II solid state card or IBM/Hitachi Microdrive. With the v2.0 firmware upgrade the D100 is compatible with FAT16 and FAT32 file systems with capacities over 2GB.

The D100's 6-megapixel images consume a lot of memory space. Large/Fine JPEG images average between 2.5-3.2 megabytes, uncompressed NEF files are 9.5 megabytes and TIFF images are a whopping 17.5 megabytes each!  

Behind a large rubber cover are the I/O ports. On top is the DC-IN port for the optional AC Adapter EH-5 (100-240V AC). The V-OUT port has a user-selectable video (NTSC or PAL) signal for a TV or video monitor. On the bottom is a USB 1.1 port for transferring image data to the host computer.

The D100 uses a Nikon 7.4V 1400mAh EN-EL3 lithium rechargeable battery pack and comes with the MH-18 Quick Charger. This battery pack is almost identical to the Canon BP511 and the one that Panasonic uses in the LC5 and LC40. This is a very powerful battery pack and it's no wonder so many different manufacturers are making use of it. Note that although similar, none of these battery packs are interchangeable.