Pros: Light yet rugged and robust, loads of features for serious amateurs & pros
Cons: After 2 yrs, I'm still trying to find a good one, worthy for mention.
The Bottom Line: If you want a camera that is loaded with useful features, those that let you grow photographically and creatively, the F100 is the one.
paulphoto's Full Review: Nikon F100 Body Only 35mm Film Camera
**First Impression on Features, Handling and Operations**
The Nikon F100 is an incredible camera! It is rugged, but light (about the same in weight as the N90s, yet thinner). It’s very comfortable to hold, much better than the N90s, in terms of ergonomics and feel. If you are considering of buying the Nikon N90s, think again. Or better yet, stop wasting time thinking, go out and buy the Nikon F100. I have used the N90s before the F100, and I have noticed considerable differences and major improvements on the F100. It has an incredibly quiet and smooth operation, such as film advance, AF operation, mirror bounce. You almost cannot hear or feel the mirror movement when firing, where the N90s has that annoying sound and feel of mirror slamming at the top. The F100 has a very comfortable electronic depth-of-field (DOF) preview button, less painful to your figure (than the N90s) when doing macro work where DOF button is used a lot to check your zone of focus. But be sure to have spare batteries with you, because it drains power very fast!
The five AF sensors (with corresponding spot meter), and each lights up in red when selected with your thumb at the back of the camera, are awesome. This is very helpful and useful in low light situation. The entire AF area of these five AF sensors is also large in the frame, making it a very useful and effective operation in predictive dynamic AF mode when tracking moving subjects. The placements of the control buttons and command dials are in the right place and logical, and very easy to access. You can virtually operate the camera single handedly.
For the sake of comparison between the N90s's operation buttons and those of the F100, let me point out a few things. Suppose you need to change metering mode in the middle of your composition (or your shooting), say, from center-weighted to 3D matrix. On your N90s, you need to use both your right and left hands, due to the placement of the metering mode button (located on the left side of N90s) and the command dial on the right. Here, I found that I had to take my eye off the viewfinder to perform this operation. With the F100, you do not need to take your eye off the viewfinder, and this operation is very quick. The metering mode is located on the right side of the prism, and you can change it with your right hand's fingers.
The convenience of the one-hand operation of the F100 is far superior to the N90s. Another one is the exposure mode. On the F100, the exposure mode is located near (and behind) the shutter release button. You can feel it with your index finger. There are but two buttons behind the shutter release button. From left to right is the exposure mode and the exposure compensation button. Press it with my index finger and rotate the main (rear) command dial, and look through the viewfinder to see the shift of the exposure mode. This operation is far better than that of the N90s.
Of course, if you master the N90s's operation buttons, you could perform that operation without taking your eye off the viewfinder. Nonetheless, it is still awkward with a two-hand operation, and with a heavy zoom lens, like the Nikon 80-200mm f/2.8, you may need a third hand to support the camera or the lens. With the F100's one-hand operation, I can still have my left hand support the weight of the lens or the camera. This is just one example, and there are more features in the F100's custom functions.
The camera is loaded in terms of features, operations, and custom functions. You can have it load film automatically when its back is closed (but the camera must be turned on before closing the back). It can rewind film automatically at the end of roll, and lots more. I particularly like its bracketing feature. You can have it bracket towards the overexposed side or underexposed side, a very clever and controllable way to save film. You can bracket in 1/3, 1/2, 2/3 or 1 full stop.
Its fast AF operation and accurate metering system are unheard of.
**Performance**
This camera really delivers! I mostly use it to photograph people, particularly very active small children. Its AF response is quite fast and its predictive AF tracking with lock-on is very accurate. All my slides came out sharp! This camera works wonderfully with the AF-S Nikkor 80-200mm f/2.8D ED-IF, a great duo for shooting stage performance when total silence and fast operation are the key concern. I have tried this combination several times on a stage performance and I loved it. With the non-AFS lenses, like the 80-200mm f/2.8D ED w/ tripod collar, you can feel a counter torque during AF operation. I find this a bit annoying but quite understandable, because of the mechanical linkage and movement of the large front glass elements, while focusing. This counter torque problem is partly due to the light weight of the F100, but with MB-15 it balances quite well. And for people with large hands, the F100 w/ MB-15 is more comfortable to hold. The MB-15 has a vertical shutter release button and the additional main command dial; it also has an AF button, all are very useful. With small hands like mine, I prefer the F100 w/o MB-15. Plus I don’t need the extra weight on the camera. Also with MB-15 you can only increase film advance mode from 4.5 frames per second (fps) to 5 fps, a feature I hardly use or need for my shooting style.
The F100 has outstanding metering system! It has a 10-segment matrix metering (an improved metering system over the N90s' 8-segments), which I often rely on when faced with split second decision in most situations. It never fails me. It also has 5 small spot metering areas corresponding to the five AF sensors that prove very useful. With these, I rarely need to recompose my frame. Of course, the F100 also has a traditional center-weighted metering mode which I often use. Honestly, I use C-W because I consciously feel I don’t want my F100 to get all the credit for my photographs; but the F100’s 3D 10-segment matrix metering mode will do just fine.
The F100 has a front (sub-) command dial, which is very useful for controlling the precise aperture setting in 1/3 step. I personally prefer to use the old style, where you adjust the aperture via the ring. I feel it’s a bit slower to change the aperture via the sub-command dial. But this dial is needed when you use custom function controls.
With SB-28, the F100 does wondrous! You could almost set everything on auto-pilot and just concentrate on the composition.
**Cost and Comparison**
This camera, in every respect, is better than the N90s, and right now it costs considerably less too, and just a bit higher than the N90s. But to have the most useful features of F100, like the auto bracketing or multiple exposure feature, you must get an MF-26 for the N90s. The combined items would cost almost about the same as the F100. The F100 is very robust and rugged compared to the N90s. Another considerably excellent feature of the F100 over the N90s is the F100’s five AF areas; the N90s has only one dead at the center of the frame.
Most people say the F100 is the F5-lite. May be it is, but I think it is a camera in its own style. Of course, it has almost all the good features of the F5 and looks “like” the F5, and is priced at almost less than half of the F5, which makes it a very good buy. What sets the F100 and the F5 apart, I think, is the metering system. The F5 has the breathtaking 3D color matrix metering with 1005 RGB sensors, while the F100 has a 3D matrix with 10 segments. But the 10-segment pattern is already good enough for 99% of the time.
In my opinion, the F100 is almost a perfect camera, with a few short-comings, although these do not contribute to my cons. These are:
1. It has only 96% viewfinder, which is already better compared to the 92% view of N90s.
2. It has only a basic data back MF-29; so it is limited to other advanced features like freeze focus, interval-exposures, data imprints (beside calendar or time information) etc.
3. It does not have a mirror lock-up feature, like the F5 or the F4.
4. It does not have a manual rewind crank, like the F5 or the F4. I value this feature tremendously.
5. It would be nice to have a custom function that rewinds film to leave its leader out (but Nikon can program to have this feature permanently on the camera, which I don’t want).
6. Lastly there is an annoying DK-8 that you use to cover the eyepiece when the camera is on auto exposure mode when your eye is not behind the eyepiece. Though, I never used it (and I don’t care), I don’t understand why Nikon left this feature out; the N90s has its built-in eyepiece cover.
**Conclusion**
Currently, the F100 is about $1000. Its well-built and impressive cosmetic body, its features, its capability, reliability and dependability are worth every dollar of this 1 grand. The bottom line, the F100 is a very versatile and highly capable camera. This is the type of camera that will let you grow photographically and creatively. If you want a light but durable camera with easy operation (well, you need to carry the custom function sheet to take advantage of its advanced features) and with features that let you grow, the F100 is the one. I believe it will be a wise choice and good investment. I am very pleased with this camera; I have never looked back to the N90s.
An evolution of the N90s with many of the F5s traits, the F100 is a lightweight professional alternative to the big F5. The list of features is not li...More at Buy.com
The F100 a 35mm SLR body geared to the professional and is situated beyond the N90 and behind the F5 as the #2 top camera in the Nikon line With its s...More at Amazon Marketplace
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