D100 vs D70

[hpinternikon]

Dear All,

I have put together a list of points as to why a professional/ semi professional photographer should buy a D100 over a D70. Straight spec on the brochure combined with price is leading to I believe customers buying the wrong product for the job.

Are there any points below you disagree with or could add to to help?

D100 captures True colour rather than memory colour therefore the D100 colours are less saturated

D100 has less processing on the picture therfore the end result is better to work on. However the D70 gives you immediately pleasing results. eg D100 for wedding photographers will make the whites whiter than the D70.

D100 has uncompressed RAW files comparedto the D70 which does not.

D100 is built for professional use and has a metal body and a better shutter.

D100 you can use AA batteries with the MB-D100 Multi funtion battery grip.

MB-D100 also gives you a side shutter release and controls. The grip also balances the camera better for using bigger AF-S lenses.

D100 supports DX Speedlights with TTL. D70 only supports the new SB800 and SB600.

D100 viewfinder has more eye relief and a full reflex prism as opposed to a mirror, thereby giving a broader field of view.

On the D100 it's also possible to turn off the flash assist light.

D100 associates Tiff files.

[Photo-John]

hpinternikon-
That's a great list and a very useful post. Personally, I would be more inclined to buy the D70, if only because of the 1/500th sec flash sync. For shooting sports and outdoor portraits, that's an incredible feature to have.

I also believe that the newer sensor in the D70 has to better than the sensor in the D100. I don't have any evidence to base this on. But it makes sense. Of course, you mention the D100 processing in your post and that's an important consideration. Even if the D70 sensor is the best ever, if the processing doesn't deliver the results you need, it's no good.

There was one point in your post which I didn't understand:

"D100 captures True colour rather than memory colour therefore the D100 colours are less saturated"

Can you explain this to me?

Thanks for the great post, and thanks in advance for answering my question about True Color vs. Memory Color.

[hpinternikon]

About true colour this allows the photographer to get a better end result on the computer. Than memory colour which gives an immeditately pleasing result and is used in the Coolpix cameras.

[Sebastian]

D100 captures True colour rather than memory colour therefore the D100 colours are less saturated

That makes absoultely no sense. They both process the files in a similar manner, and both output to JPEG, using the same methods. There is no such thing as "true color" and "memory color."

D100 has less processing on the picture therfore the end result is better to work on. However the D70 gives you immediately pleasing results. eg D100 for wedding photographers will make the whites whiter than the D70.

Once again, where are you getting this from? How can one cameras whites be whiter than anothers? What are you basing this on? This relates to white balance and expsoure settings, both of which are in complete control of the shooter, on BOTH cameras. One will not give you different results than the other. None of this makes ANY sense.

D100 has uncompressed RAW files comparedto the D70 which does not.

No big deal. There is a slight loss in highlight detail, but onthe verge of being highly debatable. Read this for more info: http://www.majid.info/mylos/weblog/2004/05/02-1.html

D100 is built for professional use and has a metal body and a better shutter.

The D100 is built for pro use? No more than the N80 or Elan 7. One of the biggest complaints when the camera came out was it sbuild quality. The D100 and D70 are not built to withstand the beatings their higher-end siblings are meant to take. They are both built well overall, both require the same sort of care. This shouldn't even be mentioned due to how little differnce there is betweent he two.

As for better shutter, the mechanical shutter is similar to the one in the D100, but it is made much better by the activation of the electronic shutter on the sensor. 1/500 flash sync and 1/8000 top shutter will be much more important to people than you imply. And the meter is the same as the F5/D1/D2 series. These features at this price point are great. Once again, the D70 is superior.

D100 you can use AA batteries with the MB-D100 Multi funtion battery grip.

The D70 comes with a CR2 adapter. But to answer your point, the D100 sucks the AAs dry so fast the adapter is almost useless.

MB-D100 also gives you a side shutter release and controls. The grip also balances the camera better for using bigger AF-S lenses.

That's YOUR opinion. Many people don't care one way or the other, but the option is worth mentioning for those who have a preference.

D100 supports DX Speedlights with TTL. D70 only supports the new SB800 and SB600.

So the D70 supports a much better flash system, that's not a drawback. The fact that a flash upgrade is required to benefit is nothing new to owners of Nikon gear.

D100 viewfinder has more eye relief and a full reflex prism as opposed to a mirror, thereby giving a broader field of view.

Minor point, but might be important to eyeglass wearers or those really picky about brightness.

On the D100 it's also possible to turn off the flash assist light.

You didn't do your homework. Custom Function number 4 on the D70 lets you turn the AF assist light on or off.

D100 associates Tiff files.

When's the last time you ever head of someone shooting TIFF files? The fact they left it off the D70 is a step in the right direction. Before RAW became mainstream TIFF was the only way to get uncompressed quality, at a huge costs in performance. So few people use TIFF it's probably not worth even including anymore. RAW conversion does the same, but you convert the image later on then waiting for the file to be written, as well as dealing with the huge amount of space it takes up.

Any semi or pro will realize that overall the D70 is a superior camera to the D100. Except for a few minor interface differences, the D100 has nothing going for it. Better resolution, faster speed, variable buffer all work in its favor. however, the true benefits come from three factors. The meter, the shutter, and the price.

That being said, which camera would I WANT? The D100, because it is established, gives me a few extra options, and has the vertical grip. But NONE of the things I list are legitimate reasons to say the D100 is better. It's just a matter of preffering something that fits me better. Overall, the D70 is technologically better, and is much more bang for your buck.

[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?