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Nikon D100 Nikon ups the ante with 6 million pixels, superb color and resolution, at a 'bargain' price! Select a topic Reference: Datasheet D100 Sample Images --------------------------------- 1. Intro and Highlights 2. Executive Overview 3. Design 4. Viewfinder 5. Optics 6. Exposure & Flash 7. Shutter Lag & Cycle Time Tests 8. Operation & User Interface 9. Camera Modes & Menus 10. Image Storage & Interface 11. Video, Power, Software 12. Test Results & Conclusion --------------------------------- Print-Friendly Review Version Additional Resources and Other Links Reader Comments on D100 Review --------------------------------- Digital Camera Comparometer (TM) --------------------------------- <-- Digital Cameras (Home) <-- Digital Camera Reviews Index <<Optics :(Previous) | (Next): Shutter Lag & Cycle Time Tests>> Page 6:Exposure & Flash Review First Posted: 5/31/2002

Exposure

Confused by White Balance? Visit our free Photo Lessons area and click on the lessons "White Balance Indoors" and "White Balance Outdoors!"

Just like the original D1 and D1x models, the D100 gives you a tremendous amount of exposure control and multiple options that can get quite involved. Available exposure modes include Program AE, Manual, Aperture Priority, and Shutter Priority modes with shutter speeds from 1/4,000 to 30 seconds available, as well as a Bulb setting for longer exposures. A very nice touch is that, while in Program AE mode, you can rotate the Main Command dial to select different combinations of aperture and shutter speed settings than those normally chosen by the autoexposure system. (That is, if the automatic program would have chosen 1/125 second and f/5.6, you could instead direct the camera to use 1/60 at f/8 or 1/30 at f/11, to get greater depth of field.) This is a very handy option for those times when you need some measure of increased control, but still want the camera to do most of the work for you.

An interesting feature when using Manual exposure mode is the electronic analog exposure display visible in the optical viewfinder data readout. This shows the amount an image will be over- or underexposed, based on the settings you have selected, and helps you find the best exposure for the subject.

ISO sensitivity ranges from 200 to 6,400, adjustable by setting the Mode dial on “ISO” and turning the Main Command dial to change the setting. The 3,200 and 6,400 values appear as “Hi-1” and “Hi-2” in the display. A Noise Reduction mode in the settings menu reduces fixed-pattern image noise when shooting at the higher sensitivity settings at longer exposure times. White balance modes include Auto (useful from 4,200K to 7,000K), Incandescent (set to about 3,000K), Fluorescent (4,200K), Direct Sunlight (5,200K), Flash (5,400K), Cloudy (6,000K), Shade (8,000K), and Preset (which allows you to manually adjust the white value by using a white card or object as a reference point). All white balance settings are adjustable from -3 to +3 units on an arbitrary scale by turning the Sub-Command dial (on the front of the hand grip) with the Mode dial set to the White Balance option (with the exception of the Preset option, which is not adjustable). Higher values correspond to a decrease in the camera's white point, in degrees Kelvin (meaning the images become "cooler" in appearance). This is a very nice feature, as I often wish I could use one of a camera's standard white-balance settings, but tweak it to be just a bit warmer or cooler than the default. To be sure, some experimentation would be required to familiarize yourself with the impact of these "tweaked" white balance settings, but having them available is a definite plus. The table below shows approximate white point temperatures in degrees Kelvin for the various adjustments in each of the major white balance settings.

Camera Display-->	-3	-2	-1	0	1	2	3
Direct Sunlight	5600	5400	5300	5200	5000	4900	4800
Shade	9200	8800	8400	8000	7500	7100	6700
Overcast	6600	6400	6200	6000	5800	5600	5400
Incandescent	3300	3200	3100	3000	2900	2800	2700
Fluorescent	7200	6500	5000	4200	3700	3000	2700
Flash	6000	5800	5600	5400	5200	5000	4800

 

The D100 has three metering options: 3D Matrix, Center-Weighted, and Spot. The 3D Matrix setting integrates exposure information from a large number of areas across the frame (useful when brightly colored or very dark subjects occupy a significant portion of the frame) with distance information from the microchip in D- and G-series lenses. The result is much more accurate metering response than more conventional center-weighted. Center-Weighted metering measures light from the entire frame but places the greatest emphasis on a circular area in the center. Spot metering is pretty self-explanatory, taking a reading from the dead center of the image (best when using the AE Lock function).

In my testing, I found the D100's metering to be very accurate, although it significantly underexposed some of my outdoor test shots when I was shooting contrasty subjects with strong highlights under direct sun. This may have been a prototype issue, or may have been a result of my own lack of familiarity with the camera. I'll recheck this aspect of the D100's performance when I receive a production model to test.

The D100's Exposure Compensation adjustment lightens or darkens the overall exposure from -5 to +5 exposure equivalents (EV) in one-third step increments, in all exposure modes. An Auto Bracketing feature takes three shots of the same subject with varying exposure values determined by either the photographer in Manual mode or by the camera in all other modes. Exposure settings for bracketing can vary from -2 to +2 EV (values are added to the already chosen exposure compensation value), with step sizes of one-third, one-half, or one EV unit, and the bracketing biased toward either underexposure, overexposure, or centered around the main exposure value. Through the Custom Settings menu, the Bracketing function can also be set to adjust white balance or flash exposures only. (By default, both ambient and flash exposures are bracketed.) On a more mundane level, the D100 has a self-timer feature that allows you to set the time interval anywhere from two to 20 seconds, and is activated by fully pressing the Shutter button.

A carryover from the D1 series, the Anti-Mirror-Shock Mode delays the exposure until after the mirror shock subsides (intended times when the camera is on a tripod). Set through the Custom Settings Menu, the default setting exposes the image as soon as the shutter is released. Activating Anti-Mirror-Shock exposes the image a fraction of a second after the shutter is released, giving time for vibrations from the mirror actuation to damp out before the shutter opens.

The D100 also offers Sharpness, Tone Compensation (Contrast), and Hue adjustments, accessed through the Shooting menu. I was impressed with the Tone Compensation option's Custom setting, which accepts downloaded tone curves from a computer, although as of this writing I haven't had a chance to experiment with it personally yet. (If no curve is downloaded, the Custom setting defaults to the Normal setting.) I'm particularly interested in the custom tone compensation option because I felt the D100's default tone curve was rather too contrasty for my taste, and didn't have a long enough "tail" on it in the highlight areas. (I preferred to leave the camera set to use its built-in "low contrast" tone setting most of the time.) By creating and loading a custom tone curve, I could adapt the camera to more closely match my personal preferences.

The Hue adjustment offers arbitrary adjustments from –9 to +9 in increments of three, with zero being the default setting. Raising the Hue setting above three results in a stronger yellow cast in the image, causing reds to become orange. Alternatively, lowering the Hue setting below three introduces a blue cast, which consequently changes red to purple. A Color Mode setting in the Shooting menu lets you capture images in sRGB or Adobe RGB color.

When reviewing images on the LCD monitor, you can call up a histogram and a highlight function to give you a complete readout on the exposure. This is a useful tool to examine your exposure in the camera instead of waiting to download images and then deciding to reshoot. As I noted in my discussion of these features in the Viewfinder section of this review, I'd like to see the Highlight function be a little more restrained in its reporting of overly-strong highlights.

Continuous Shooting Mode
The D100's Continuous Shooting mode supposedly captures 2.5 frames per second (as many as nine consecutive shots), depending on the amount of image information and available CompactFlash space. In practice, I clocked it at 2.88 fps, a respectable clip. Once the nine frame limit is reached, the camera is unable to record any more photographs until at least one of the images is transferred from the buffer memory to the memory card. As the photos transfer, the number of available consecutive photographs displays in the viewfinder and on the status display panel when the Shutter button is halfway pressed.

What's up with RAW?

Like many high-end digicams, the Nikon D100 has a "RAW" file format as an option. If you're new to the world of high-end digital cameras, you may not be familiar with the concept of the "RAW" file format. Basically, a RAW file just captures the "raw" image data, exactly as it comes from the camera's CCD or CMOS image sensor. So why would you care about that? - RAW files let you manipulate your images post-exposure without nearly as much loss of image quality as you'd get with JPEG files. A full discussion of RAW file formats is way beyond the scope of this article, but Charlotte Lowrie of MSN Photo has written an excellent article describing the benefits of the RAW format, titled A Second Chance to Get It Right. Check it out, it's one of the clearest tutorials on RAW formats I've seen yet.

 

Flash
Built into the D100 is a pop-up flash unit, which operates in one of five modes: Front-Curtain Sync, Red-Eye Reduction, Red-Eye Reduction with Slow Sync, Slow Sync, and Rear-Curtain Sync. Front-Curtain Sync fires the flash at the beginning of the exposure, with every shot. Red-Eye Reduction mode fires flashes the (very bright) autofocus assist lamp before the main flash exposure, to reduce the Red-Eye Effect in shots of people. Red-Eye Reduction with Slow Sync works in a similar fashion, but combines the flash with a slower shutter speed for night portraits. (This reduces the harsh effect of nighttime flash shots, allowing more of the ambient illumination into the picture.) Slow Sync mode works with shutter speeds as slow as 30 seconds to preserve color in night shots. Finally, Rear-Curtain Sync fires the flash at the end of the exposure, producing light trails behind moving subjects. In all flash modes, the flash fires with every exposure. Closing the flash disables it completely. A Flash Compensation button on the camera's back panel adjusts the overall brightness of the flash from –3 to +1 EV in one-third-step increments.

The D100's internal flash is fairly powerful, with a guide number of 11 meters or 36 feet at ISO 100. - That's a bit of an odd (albeit standard) rating, given that the minimum ISO on the D100 is 200. At ISO 200, the corresponding guide number would be 15.5 meters or 51 feet. (!) This means that an f/2.8 lens will give you an effective range of 18.2 feet, an impressive distance for an on-camera flash. At the same time, the angular coverage of the flash is enough to cover the field of view of a 28mm lens on a 35mm film camera. - Applying the D100's focal length multiplier ratio of 1.5, that translates to a coverage area adequate to handle a 19mm lens.

Also included on the D100 is an external flash hot shoe, just behind the pop-up flash compartment. The hot shoe accommodates Nikon accessory flash units, as well as a wide range of third party flashes. The range of flash sync modes remains available for compatible flash units. Different Nikon speedlights offer different features when used on the D100. The table below (again use by courtesy of Nikon USA, Inc.) shows the features available when using various Nikon speedlights with the D100.