D100 vs D70

[Photo-John]

Sebastian-
I'm not going to reply to your whole e-mail, just the processing issue. Even though you're right about both cameras giving you full control, I understand what hpinternikon is saying about processing, and I see his point. Having control is nice - if you want it. But there are lots of people who would rather have a camera that takes care of all the processing for them. That's been the best argument for film that I've heard from pros who haven't switched to digital. Some of them don't want to deal with white balance, color, contrast, sharpening, etc. They're used to choosing a film type and that's that. And that's a solid argument. Similarly, there are enthusiasts who want the build, exposure control, and flexibility of an SLR, but don't want to have to spend a bunch of time on the computer setting up their images. For them, the Coolpix processing would be best. If that's available for them in the D70, that's great.

[Sebastian]

Sebastian-
I'm not going to reply to your whole e-mail, just the processing issue. Even though you're right about both cameras giving you full control, I understand what hpinternikon is saying about processing, and I see his point. Having control is nice - if you want it. But there are lots of people who would rather have a camera that takes care of all the processing for them. That's been the best argument for film that I've heard from pros who haven't switched to digital. Some of them don't want to deal with white balance, color, contrast, sharpening, etc. They're used to choosing a film type and that's that. And that's a solid argument. Similarly, there are enthusiasts who want the build, exposure control, and flexibility of an SLR, but don't want to have to spend a bunch of time on the computer setting up their images. For them, the Coolpix processing would be best. If that's available for them in the D70, that's great.

PJ,

I don't see it, at all. Nothing I have read about the camera, from users or from pro reviews, says anything about differences in rendering. The D70 samples compared to D100 samples are very close when it comes to color, they are not CoolPix-like at all. They retain the SLR look, but are a bit more saturated. The saturation is not a bad thing, as the D2h shows a similar increae in saturation. Seems like Nikon is trying to change its color rendition in their algorithms. I know many pros who have the D70 as a backup to the D100 and actualy prefer the image quality due to the weaker AA filter.

I agree with you that there are people out there who would prefer the coolpix-like image rendering, but from all acounts I've read they would be disappointed in the D70. None of this seems like anything more than speculation that goes against everything shown by reviews and user input.

Please understand, I take no issue with someone thinking the D100 is better than the D70 or vice versa, I just find this thread to be full of mis-information and speculation based on no credible evidence. Someone who doesn't know better might read this and think it as truth, when much of it doesn't seem to be, and in fact goes against almost everything that has been published about the camera. If he likes the D100 better, then fine, but coming out with an empirical list that is largely nonsensical and saying it's proof that one is better than the other does nothing for anyone. Seems to me like there's something else going on behind the scenes. That's why I'm challenging his statements, I want to know where he got his info, not just for myself, but for everyone who reads this thread. I am confident in what I say simply because of the huge amount of stuff that's out there, none of it sounds anything like what this thread suggests.

Basically, I am taking up hpinternikon's invitation to post disagreement. I find most of his points weak, and would like info that supports his stance.

I hope I'm making myself clear, but just in case anyone's still confused, I am NOT taking issue with the D100 vs. D70 debate, or the D100 vs. any other camera for that matter. I take issue with the arguments presented in the original thread and am looking to develop some sort of discussion on this subject, as I think many people are confused as to what choice to make due to how close the cameras are to each other in performance, and something like this could benefit them.

[Photo-John]

I don't know enough about the two cameras to judge. My comments were only about what different types of users want. I could understand Nikon taking more of a "Coolpix approach" to processiing with a camera like the D70. But I don't know if they have. For that reason, hpinternikon's post made me curious. I guess now I'm going to have to do some research to find out for myself, right?