The Nikon D100

By Moose Peterson / copyright 2006 I didnt want to like the D100 but thats not how its turned out! As soon as the D100 slipped into my hands and I looked through the viewfinder, I instantly grew fond of this little digital. While the D100 only weighs a mere 24.7oz, it is packed with goodies. I had to wonder with the 6MP CCD and the low price, what the compromise was in the D100 since Nikon doesnt give you more for less. The compromise is in the one place that makes the most sense, and thats write times, because it sure aint in image quality. The D100 delivers features you wont find in any other camera. Point blank, the D100 delivers image quality, no mistaking that! Big, Beautiful images!
Disclaimer The information that follows is based on a limited number of body/flash samples. There are simply too many manufacture changes (as warned in the IB) to state for certainly that every feature is going work the same way with every piece of equipment every time in every way. This is an unedited text.
Original Announcement TOKYO - Nikon Corporation is pleased to announce the introduction of the Nikon D100 digital SLR camera, on February 21, 2002. The Nikon D100 was developed to meet the growing demand for a superbly designed compact and lightweight digital SLR of exceptional value. The camera's target users are advanced amateurs and professionals who seek an approachable digital SLR camera that offers superb image quality and performance. The new Nikon D100 boasts sophisticated digital image control technology, including superb image quality with 6.1 effective megapixels, an improved image-processing algorithm, and an enhanced Auto White Balance system. It inherits exclusive, high-performance Nikon features such as 3D Matrix Metering, Five-Area Autofocus and a built-in Speedlight with D-TTL flash control capability. And of course, it provides full compatibility with more than 40 AF Nikkor lenses for professional optical quality, as well as numerous other accessories including a dedicated Multi Function Battery Pack and a new Nikon Capture 3 software which enables remote control of the camera body as well as reading/adjustment of Nikon NEF RAW image file for greater results. All of these features are packed in a stylish, compact and lightweight body for optimum portability. With so many innovations in such a practical design, the Nikon D100 is certain to attract countless new digital SLR users to the world of Nikon digital SLR photography.
Note: Specifications, design, product name and standard accessories may differ by country or area.
Nikon D100 Feature Highlights 6-megapixel high-definition images The excitement begins with the Nikon D100s new large CCD -- equal in size to that of Nikon D1-series professional cameras yet offering even higher definition. The camera features 6.1 million effective pixels which produce ultrahigh-definition 3,008 x 2,000-pixel images. Quality in fact that rivals film printing itself. In addition, the D100s new one-chip system LSI provides super-fast image processing in a compact and lightweight body capable of handling this rich, high-resolution data, while keeping power consumption to a minimum. Quality digital images automatically The Nikon D100 makes your introduction to Nikon digital SLR imaging quality easier than ever. The secret is Nikons 3D Digital Matrix Image Control that features a refined image-processing algorithm to ensure astonishingly faithful color reproduction with exceptionally smooth gradations. The three components of this highly effective image-control function are 3D Matrix Metering for precise exposure control, TTL White Balance for precise color temperature determination, and Tone Compensation for optimal contrast whatever the lighting situation. Moreover, the cameras built-in Speedlight features DTTL Flash operation to provide advanced flash control. The D100 handles it all automatically.

High-performance Nikon SLR features Those acquainted with Nikon SLRs will find the Nikon D100 controls and operation intuitive. The D100 features the same control system and advanced features of field-proven Nikon SLRs -- including the acclaimed Five-Area Autofocus system, 10-segment Matrix Metering sensor and TTL Multi Sensor. And as expected, the camera accepts the full range of AF Nikkor lenses, as well as a variety of Speedlights including the latest SB-80DX. Users will enjoy the same high level of performance and capability that they had expect from a Nikon SLR. Its the best of Nikon SLR advances made digital. Digital photography that completes your vision Users can fully explore the advantages of digital SLR photography with the Nikon D100 and exclusive Nikon software. Nikon View 5 software (supplied) enables easy transfer and viewing of images -- including those taken in Nikon NEF RAW file format -- on computer. The new optional Nikon Capture 3 software features versatile image manipulation tools that allow users to fine-tune images. It even lets users control the camera remotely from their computer. Nikon D100 Major Features

6.1 effective megapixels for 3,008 x 2,000-pixel images Compact and lightweight (weighs approx. 700g/24.7 oz.) New CCD sensor is the same size as that of D1-series SLRs (lens magnification factor x1.5) 3D Digital Matrix Image Control for precise exposure control, adaptive auto white balance, and optimal color accuracy High-performance built-in Speedlight with D-TTL flash control -- offers results equal to Nikons fieldproven 3D Multi-Sensor Balanced Fill-Flash Three color modes offered for different workflow environments Five-Area Autofocus with Dynamic AF operation High-speed image processing provided by new one-chip system LSI Top shutter speed of 1/4,000 sec. and flash sync speed up to 1/180 sec. Plug-and-play USB1.1interface for quick computer connection On-Demand Grid Lines can be displayed in viewfinder Custom Settings can be selected in the LCD monitor Compatible with CompactFlash cards Type I and Type II including 512MB/1GB IBM MicroDrive Nikon View 5 software (supplied) enables easy transfer and viewing of images on your computer Optional Nikon Capture 3 software for excellent image management and remote operation Optional Multi Function Battery Pack MB-D100 accepts six 1.5V LR6 (AA-size alkaline) batteries or one or two Li-ion batteries for extended shooting capability. Features voice memo recording/playback function, vertical shutter release button, Main and Sub Command Dials, AF start button and a 10-pin remote terminal.
Nikon D100 Specifications
Type of camera Lens-interchangeable digital SLR camera Nikon D100 Effective Pixels 6.1 million CCD 23.7 x 15.6mm RGB CCD; 6.31 million total pixels Image Size L (3,008 x 2,000); M (2,240 x 1,488), S (1,504 x 1,000) Sensitivity ISO equivalency 200 - 1600 (can be boosted to higher ISO equivalency) Storage System: EXIF file (uncompressed TIFF or compressed JPEG); uncompressed RAW (12-bit), Media: CompactFlash (CF) Card (Type I/II) and 512MB/1GB IBM Microdrive Shooting Modes 1) Single frame shooting (S) mode, 2) Continuous shooting (C) mode 3) Self-timer mode: time duration can be set White Balance 1) Auto (TTL control using image sensor), 2) Manual (6 settings with fine tuning), 3) Preset Color Setting 3 modes available Color Adjustment +3 to -3 step for each color setting

Power Requirements Li-ion Battery Pack EN-EL3 (7.2V DC), AC Adapter EH-5 (100-240V AC) Tripod Socket 1/4 in. (ISO1222) Requirements Can be selected on LCD Dimensions (W x H x D) Approx. 144 x 116 x 80.5mm (5.7 x 4.6 x 3.2 in.) Weight (without battery) Approx. 700g (24.7oz.) Optional Accessories Multi Function Battery Pack MB-D100, Li-ion Battery Pack EN-EL3, Charger, MH-18/19, AC Adapter EH-5, CompactFlash Cards, Speedlight SB-80DX/SB-28DX/SB-50DX, Nikon Capture3 Control Software, Semi-Soft Case CF-D100
CompactFlash is a trademark of SanDisk Corporation. Products and brand names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies. Specifications and equipment are subject to change without any notice or obligation on the part of the manufacturer.
The D100 Package When the D100 is purchased in the US, it comes in a blue box with the following: D100 (with BF-1A body cap and BM-2 LCD Monitor cover) Quick Start Guide Nikon Guide to Digital Photography (the instruction book) Warranty & Important Information envelope DK-5 eyepiece AN-D100 Strap EN-EL3 battery MH-18 charger EG-D100 video cable UC-E4 USB cable Nikon View 5.1 CD-Rom Nikon View 5.1 CD-Rom reference manual D100 Serial Numbers Since the D100 has only been out a very short time, there is no serial number track record established as of yet. The lowest serial number Ive seen is 2000200, mine is 2000271. D100 Instruction Book The instruction book I received with my D100 had the serial number of 6MBA0111-01. There are very few omissions in the IB, what few there are will be noted. The D100 Body Nikon has never come out and said exactly the construction make up of the D100. It is definitely a combination of metal and polycarbonate, the top cover is metal and the prism and back polycarbonate as well as the base cover. With the camera being so light, Im assuming the chases is magnesium but wouldnt swear on it. Since I had a relatively short time to test drive the D100 prior to writing this, I was harder on the D100 than I normally am on my gear just to see what it can withstand. This little body does great, you dont have to worry about ruggedness no matter what the actual construction materials might be! Because of some physical attributes such as the prism with pop-up flash, conventional cable release socket, lens-metering limitations, some have assumed incorrectly the D100 is a digital N80. This is not the case. The D100 body is a unique design which must have cost Nikon a fortune to put into production! There is a weak point in the D100 construction I feel, one Ive not personally tested just observed. The CompactFlash door is polycarbonate attached with two, small hinges. Because of the angle you have to use to insert the CF card, I can easily see this door breaking off if youre wearing gloves, in a hurry, etc. There are no contacts in the door so if it does break off (not personally tested) you can still continue to shoot (you can shoot with the door open). The LCD monitor on the D100 is located in the dead center of the back of the camera. Originally announced as a 118,000-dot it ended up a 120,000-dot. While it does provide nice, bright images, like the D1 Family, you should not base your color and exposure by what you see on the LCD monitor (you need to

take advantage of Display Modes pg.xx). The image zoom feature of the D100 is outstanding though, big improvement over the D1 Family (pg.xx). And Nikon not only made it possible to use a monitor cover (unlike Canon) but finally produced a monitor cover that we can use! The BM-2 is a super clear plastic cover that fits snuggly over the monitor and that comes with the camera when brand new. And the nicest thing, the monitor is basically flush with the camera body! My question about the monitor was/is, is it 100% viewing of the image you capture? This is not stated in any of the specs but from testing it appears to be about 98% and not 100%. This is a bummer with the viewfinder at 95%! D100 Picture Angle The CCD of the D100 is like that of the D1 Family in that there is a net focal length gain of 50% (but the CCD in the D100 is totally new, not the same as I the D1 Family). The CCD is smaller physically than a 35mm image so it only is capturing the center portion of the image projected by the lens at the film plane. This means a 14mm lens on the D100 is equal to a 21mm lens on a 35mm body. This focal length increase has some saying that a fullsize CCD is required. I would like to pass on to you an old technique for getting wider shots. This technique started back in the days when either photographers didnt have available because of money or design, ultrawide lenses. This might help you until the day when a fullsize CCD shows up in a camera. Physically MOVE back! It is amazing how this old technique can be successfully employed shooting digital (unless youre against a cliff or wall)! D100 Layout The basic layout of the D100 though similar to other Nikon bodies, has some new twists and short falls to get use to. The viewfinder is a pleasant surprise! When you put the D100 up to your eye and you look through the viewfinder, it doesnt feel like youre viewing down a tunnel. While the viewfinder magnification for the D100 is the same as the D1 Family (.8x with a 50mm lens) the actual feel is quite different! This is true even though we only see approximately 95% of the image were capturing (in the D1 Family its 96%). The viewfinder is bright as well, coming with the B-type Bright View Clear Matte screen II. Whats cool is, like the N80, you can turn on grid lines (pg.xx). The Eyecup and Diopter of the D100 arent the greatest design. The eyepiec is the rectangle kind and slips over the viewfinder opening. It attaches by stretching over the viewfinder eyepiece and shrinking back into place. The eyepiece can be uncomfortable depending on your forehead. I personally find it uncomfortable so I switched to the DK-10 eyecup. The Diopter provides correction of -2 to +1. The problem I find is with the slider you use to adjust the Diopter. Ive accidentally hit the slider a couple of times now. The problem is there is no zero mark or detent to know where the zero correction is. The + side is at the top of the slider, the minus is at the bottom, but no idea where zero is technically. You are supposed to look through the viewfinder and adjust the Diopter until the lines or AF sensors become dark. Not the best of systems! The ON/OFF switch for the D100 is around the shutter release button. Its a simple pull/push to turn the D100 on or off. The shutter release itself is where you activate the meter and fire the camera. One of the short comings of the D100 is the play in the shutter release button. Comparing it to the D1 Family, youll find you have to push on the release harder and further, especially to actually fire the camera. The D100 in unique in that is has a built-in pop up flash. This flash has limited power and runs off the EN-EL3 battery in the D100. The flash has a guide number of only 56, so its works best in my opinion for fill flash. Built-in pop up flash is new to most digital shooters and they dont realize one major drawback in using them and thats the lens. Because the pop-up flash is not tall, it doesnt stand very far above the prism, longer lenses or lens shades literally blocks the light from the flash. When this happens, that lower portion of your photograph will be dark from the lens/shade shadow. This is simply a limitation of the flash. If you want to do real flash photography, you need to use a real flash like the SB-80DX and then you wont have this problem! Located to the left of the lens barrel and near the handle you will find the DoF button. You can depress this button closing down the aperture to the predetermined setting for viewing.

Power The D100 is powered by a single EN-EL3 7.4V Li-ion Battery or by the optional MB-D100 Battery Pack powered by: 6 AA batteries or 1-2 EN-EL3). The instruction book says you should expect approximately 1600 captures on one charge. Sound a bit fantastic? To be honest with you, I got bored and stopped counting captures, the D100 battery lasts that long! When I first received the D100, I received it with a fully charged battery but no charger, yikes you might say. Well, I just went for it and shot, previewed and played and tested for four days before the charger arrived. The battery indicator after all of that still read charge sufficient for full operation. This, even after a whole lot of 30sec exposures testing out the Noise Reduction (CS#4 pg.xx) to boot! Needless to say, Im impressed! (Good thing since spare batteries are impossible to get!) The EN-EL3 is charged by the MH-18 charger (yes, new charger with new technology). The operation of this charger is basically the same as the MH-16 (pg.70 TDG) with a couple of changes. There is no refresh button on the MH-18. These means that whether it needs it or not, you cannot refresh the EN-ELtimes prior to use (like required for the EN-4). You still need to follow all other cautions outlined for the MH-16 which includes making sure the battery is cold to the touch and you leave the battery in the charger at least 15 minutes after the green light comes on. MH-19 Multi Charger is available for the D100. EH-5 is the AC charger for the D100. The socket in the D100 for the EH-5 is a different configuration than that for the D1 Family. If you were thinking your could use your Digital Camera Battery for the D1 Family for the D100, cant do it until a new cable is made just for the D100. The D100 battery indicator acts differently than that in the D1 Family. The actual indicator is located in the top left corner of the LCD panel. When fully charged, the battery symbol is solid black. At some point, the indicator is only 7/8 black (you have approximately of a charge left), the left most portion of the battery indicator going transparent. This signifies charge sufficient for full operation. The next change in the battery symbol is when only 1/3 of the battery is black. This means the battery is low (less than charge left). When this occurs, a battery symbol that is 2/3 blank appears in the viewfinder. When the battery is exhausted the battery symbol in both the LCD and viewfinder blink. There is a clock battery in the D100. It is charged by either the EN-EL3 or the EH-5 when attached. It states in the IB that 3 days of charging of the clock battery by the EN-EL3 is good for 5 months of operation. If the clock battery should go dead, the date/time resets to the factory default. Unlike the D1 Family clock battery which has a life and must go back to be replaced when dead, it appears this is not the case for the D100. Since I have no way of testing this, well have to have faith in the IB. Top Control/LCD Panel The layout and functions accessed via the Top Control LCD Panel is different in the D100 from the D1 Family. This is partly because there is no rear LCD panel as on the D1 Family to display info. Obviously, to see anything, youd think youd need the camera turned on. Well, when the D100 is turned off, the number of captures remaining on the CompactFlash card is displayed. If no card is inserted, an E is displayed in place of the numeral. Once the shutter release is depressed and stays on (default is 6sec) you can see and set the following: Aperture, Shutter Speed, Exposure Mode, White Balance, File Type and Size, Dynamic Focus, ISO, Exposure Compensation, Flash Exposure Compensation, Bracketing and Bracketing Process Indicator, Clock and K (memory overload). Aperture and Shutter Speed are set as they have been set on a Nikon for some time. The aperture is controlled by the sub-command dial (the dial in the front) and the shutter speeds by the command dial (the dial in the back). Depending on which exposure mode youre in depends on which you can change, aperture or shutter speed. (You have a shutter speed range of 30sec to 1/4000.) The D100 has the usual exposure mode cast, A (aperture priority), S (shutter priority), P (program mode) and M (manual). In aperture priority, you select the aperture (via sub-command dial) and the camera selects the correct shutter speed (which is stepless though it only reports stops). In shutter priority, you select the shutter speed (command dial) and the camera selects the aperture (which is stepless though it only reports stops). Program mode, the D100 selects the aperture and shutter speed for you. If you dont like the combo of shutter speed/aperture the camera has selected, you can simply rotate the command dial.

This permits you to change the shutter speed and accordingly the aperture. When youre in Flexible Program mode, a P* appears in the LCD panel. The only way to deactivate Flexible Program is to either let the camera turn itself of or you turn it off or change exposure modes. (The exposure mode you have selected is only indicated by the dial or representing letter for the mode in the viewfinder.) To select one of the four available exposure modes, you simply rotate the dial on the top left of the viewfinder. There is no button to push to rotate the dial, just turn it until the mode you desire is opposite the white line on the viewfinder. Besides the exposure modes, four other functions are accessed by rotating the dial: White Balance (WB), ISO, File Type & Size (QUAL) and Dynamic Focus ([+]). White Balance on the D100 is little different from the D1 Family.
WB Setting Sunlight Shade Cloudy Incandescent Fluorescent Flash -3 +400k +1200k +600k +300k +3000k +600k -2 +200k +800k +400k +200k +2300k +400k -1 +100k +400k +200k +100k 0 5200k 8000k 6000k 3000k +1 -200k -500k -200k -100k -500k -200k +2 -300k -900k -400k -200k -1200k -400k +3 -400k -1300k -600k -300k -1500k -600k

+800k 4200k +200k 5400k

The defaults for the D100 run down the middle of the chart above. The numbers on the left and right are the degrees in Kelvin you can fine tune a particular setting. For example, my favorite is Cloudy -3 which is the equivalent to 6600 degrees Kelvin. To make this all happen, rotate the dial to the left of the viewfinder to WB. When this is accomplished, youll see a white balance symbol appear in the LCD panel. By rotating the command dial, you can change the white balance. By rotating the sub-command dial, you can fine tune the white balance by + or 3 (as per the chart above). If you set a + or to a certain white balance, it remains in place until you program it out. Ive not mention the A, automatic white balance setting yet. In the D1 Family, this white balance setting is useless so I didnt try it out on the D100 until my partner asked about it. Since the D100 calculates white balance different than the D1 Family and the A has a range of 4200-8000k (greater than the D1 Family), I decided to give it a spin. This is what I found. The D100 in A performs better than in the D1 Family. I provides reasonable color for most situations. I found though for my personal shooting, I still preferred the Cloudy-3 setting. Shooting Menu. The D100 has Preset white balance. You can select PRE using the dial, but you must set the exposure mode you want to use in the Shooting Menu first (see pg.xx). The procedure for setting the Preset is outlined on pg.xx. To set the ISO in the D100, rotate the dial to the left of the prism until ISO is opposite the white line. The D100 has the ISO range of in 1/3 stop increments. You change the ISO by rotating the command dial and unlike the D1 Family, you must go through all the ISOs to reach one, you cant cycle through them. Once past 1600 ISO, you come up to HI-1 and HI-2 (this can also be set using the Shooting Menu, pg.#). HI-1 gives you the approximate ISO of 3200 and HI-2 the approximate ISO of 6400. (The noise at these higher ISOs is ) Custom Setting #3 is a real cool ISO Auto. (HI cannot be used when CS#3 is ON). By rotating the dial to the left of the viewfinder so the QUAL is opposite the white line, you access the fourteen different file types / sizes available in the D100. You see all of your options but one displayed along the left side of the LCD (cannot change RAW from compressed to uncompressed via this method). Heres your options: Raw (NEF), RGB-TIFF, Jpeg-Fine, Normal and Basic. You have two options with Raw, Compressed and Uncompressed (there is no message on the LCD informing you which has been selected, you must look at the Shooting Menu). With all other file formats, you have the option of Large (3008x2000), Medium (2240x1488) and Small (1504x1000). The corresponding file sizes for each are as follows:

What cool about the D100 is the Bracketing Process Indicator. When activated, right above the capture counter can appear any combination of +- depending where you are in the shooting/bracketing process. For example, if youve set the camera to bracket 3F 0.5, youll see +- in the LCD panel and after the first exposure youll see + - and after the next + youll see and after the last youll see nothing. The chart on pg.92 of the IB shows you all the symbol / bracketing combos that are possible with the D100. White balance bracketing is a whole new ballgame in bracketing. You access white balance bracketing as described above. You have the options of 2 or 3 frames and a limited WB adjustment range (as per pg.93 of the IB). Unlike exposure bracketing where you take one frame for each bracketed amount, you only take one capture in white balance bracketing. The camera creates from that one capture the additional bracketed captures. The D100 doesnt bracket from Auto to Cloudy to Shade but rather from -3 to -2 to -1 for a given WB setting. This means you need to make sure that with some bracketing programs, youre not already at -3 and you ask the camera to bracket beyond that. The bracketing process indicator +- appears and operates for WB bracketing just like it does for exposure bracketing. One word of caution in using WB bracketing. The very subtle changes made in the white balance using WB bracketing cannot be observed on the D100s monitor! To see the effect of your bracketing, youre going to need to use your computer monitor. When you have any custom settings set in the D100, CSM appears in the LCD above the frame counter. Finally, be forewarned that this dial can easily rotate when rubbed up against something like yourself. In this case, some things will naturally not work correctly. If you try to access certain items in the menus and cant, its more than like this dial has been rotated. You must have the dial set to one of the exposure modes in order to access all menu items. You might, might, sometime see the p symbol appear in the LCD panel (see battery pg.xx). If this happens, the clock and calendar in the D100 reset to the default date / time of 2002.01.01 00:00:00. If this happens, recharge the EL-EN3 and reset the date / time via the Set Up Menu. The last symbol in the LCD panel is a very small k that appears above the capture counter. This appears when you have more than 1000 captures remaining in the CompactFlash card. A small k appears in the viewfinder as well, to the right of the capture counter. Shooting Mode Dial The Shooting Mode Dial is the dial at the base of the Function Dial. By depressing the button at the eleven oclock position, you can rotate the Shooting Mode dial to select one of its three options, Single Frame, Continuous and Self-timer. When in Single Frame, you take one picture each time you depress the shutter release. When the camera is in Continuous mode, the camera continues to fire as long you depress the shutter release. You can capture the maximum of 6 frames (4 RAW) in one burst at 3fps. Self-timer is your basic self-timer and you can regulate the self-timer duration via CS#8. One of my biggest bug-a-boos with the D100 is its shooting speed which is a combination of fps and write times. Being use to the D1Hs 5fps / 40frame buffer, the D100 feels like its crawling along. When it comes to capturing action, the D100 just doesnt cut it for my photography. Custom Settings The D100 has in many ways your typical D1 Family custom settings. With few exceptions, they function the same as in the D1 Family. Rather then listing the similarities to the D1 Family or unique settings, Im going to just go through all of them. Where appropriate, Ill mention what Ive used, how and if it worked for my applications. You access the Custom Setting Menu by depressing first the MENU button located on the back to the left of the monitor. Depending on where the last menu was left (the D100 remembers the last menu/setting you used even if you turned off the camera or removed the battery), you will or will not have to use the Thumbpad to access Custom Settings. Once you access the CSM MENU (there are four main directories to select from CSM MENU being one, the highlighted feature must be on the left to thumb through the four directories and then you right Thumbpad to access the CSM MENU), you can thumb up and down the custom settings. You have the following available to you:

Custom Settings R Menu Reset 0 Bank Select 1 Image Review 2 No CF Card? 3 ISO Auto 4 Long Exp. NR 5 File No. Seq. 6 Monitor Off 7 Auto Meter-Off 8 Self-timer 9 EV Step 10 Exposure Comp. 11 BKT Set 12 BKT Order 13 Command Dial 14 AE-L/AF-L 15 AE Lock 16 Illumination 17 Focus Area 18 AF Area Illum 19 Grid Display 20 Dyn. AF AF-S 21 DYN. AF AF-C 22 AF Assist 23 Flash Mode 24 Anit-shock 25 Batt PK AF Btn 26 Batt PK Volume
(default settings are on pg. 145 of the D100 instruction book)
Custom Setting R Menu Reset This custom setting permits you to reset all the custom settings to their default. To activate, select R Menu Reset and then depress the right arrow on the Thumbpad. You have two options OFF OFF and ON ON. If you want to preserve your custom settings, exit by having the OFF OFF highlighted. If you want to reset all your custom settings, highlight the ON ON and then depress the right arrow on the Thumbpad. Only the custom settings in the active bank (CS#0 or Shooting Menu) will be set back to their default. Custom Setting #0 Bank Select You can store two separate banks or sets of custom settings in the D100, this custom setting permits you to select either bank. The standard bank is A, the second is B, you can select either but only use one at a time. Many ask why is there this custom setting and why are their numerous banks? You might have a diverse shooting schedule where you shoot sports during the day and school dances at night. You might have one set of custom settings for the day stuff and another for night. Instead of having to go back and reset all of your custom settings each time, you can have two separate banks and you activate the set of custom settings you want by just changing banks. Custom Setting #1 Image Review This custom setting determines whether you automatically see an image right after you take the picture or not. If you have CS#1 set to OFF, then youll see no image once you make the capture. If you have it set to ON (making selection via the Thumbpad) youll see nearly instantly the image on the monitor. Nikon worked a little magic here because the preview is seen faster than the actual file is written. Custom Setting #2 No CF Card When set this custom setting permits you to shoot when there is no CompactFlash card inserted into the camera, or, prevents you from shooting when no CompactFlash card is inserted. Using the Thumbpad, if you activate ON, the shutter release locks when no CompactFlash card is inserted. When OFF is selected, you can fire the camera when no CompactFlash card is inserted. If youre tethered directly to a computer using Nikon Capture 3, the shutter is enabled no matter how you set this custom setting. Custom Setting #3 ISO Auto This is a kind of cool fail safe for some shooters! The theory is, when you have CS#3 activated, the D100 will automatically raise the ISO if the light level is too low for the exposure setting youve set. Not only will it do this, but the ISO is stepless! For example, when I shot test shots the D100 selected ISO 900 which is an ISO you cannot manually set. Obviously this custom setting will not go into effect on a bright sunny day. Raising ISOs is for lower light levels, so thats when it goes into effect. I found to make it come on for testing, I had to basically be shooting at 30sec+. If you have ON selected, you cannot select HI-1 or HI-2 (either via the Shooting Mode Dial or Shooting Menu). If you have already selected manually HI-1 or HI-2, then CS#3 is deactivated and you cannot set it (CS#3 is not available in the CS MENU when in HI-1/HI-2). Custom Setting #4 Long Exp NR To me, this is one of the highlights of the D100! With this custom setting activated, when you have exposures longer than second, the D100 automatically takes a second subtractive image along with the original capture. The D100 then does the work of processing the two images to produce one, gorgeous nearly noise free image! It works really great! Just be aware that it slows down the image processing time and that you will not hear the camera fire off a second frame. The LCD will have the message Job nr when the second subtractive capture is being made. Watch the green lamp on the back of the camera to determine when the camera is finished. To activate simply go to the custom setting menu, select CS#4 and select ON (using the Thumbpad). Keep in mind that when using this custom setting you reduce the maximum number of captures the D100s buffer will hold to 3, 2 in RAW mode. Custom Setting #5 File No. Seq. File number sequencing is important to me, it makes working with images in the computer after the fact easier, less mental! When File No. Sep. is activated (using the Thumbpad) the D100 retains folder and

selection). By using the Thumbpad you can select ON which reassigns the command dial to aperture control and the sub-command dial to shutter speeds (remember the ON effect CS#10). Custom Setting #14 AE-L/AF-L This custom setting effects the AE-L/AF-L button located at the right rear of the camera near the viewfinder by reassigning its functions. You have five options: AE-L/AF-L Lock (default), AE Lock Only, AF Lock Only, AE Lock Hold and AF-On. Once youve made your selection you implement it by depressing the AE-L/AF-L button. When AE-L/AF-L Lock is selected, you can lock both the focus and exposure. When AE Lock Only is selected (using the Thumbpad) when you depress the AE-L/AF-L Lock button the exposure is locked. When AF Lock is selected, you lock just the focus (not effecting exposure). With AE Lock Hold selected, when you depress the AE-L/AF-L Lock button you lock the exposure until you depress the AE-L/AF-L Lock button again. When you select AF-On, the camera will focus every time you depress the AE-L/AF-L Lock button. There is a problem implementing this custom setting. A biggie to me is just depressing the AE-L/AFL Lock button. It has to do with hand size and face structure, but just getting my finger up to that button to depress it and then to keep depressing it is a major pain! Its near impossible for me to shoot using proper handholding technique using this button. The other problem I have with this custom setting is, there is not always a indication in the viewfinder youre actually depressing the button! Depending on how you set CS#15, the same EL appears when you depress the AE-L/AF-L Lock button as when you depress and hold down the shutter release. With no documentation, how do you know if the EL in the viewfinder is for depressing the AE-L/AF-L Lock button or just the EL that shows up? This is just too confusing for this old photographer! Custom Setting #15 AE Lock I like this custom setting, it makes sense! The default is OFF which assigns exposure lock to just the AE-L/AF-L button. When you select ON using the Thumbpad, exposure lock occurs automatically when you depress the shutter release and hold it down. When using this option, EL appears in the viewfinder when youre depressing the shutter release. You just have to be careful you dont shoot yourself in the foot when you have this custom setting set to ON, and lock the wrong exposure. Custom Setting #16 Illumination This custom setting permits you to light up your life! When the default OFF is selected, the LCD illuminator only lights up when you depress the illuminator button located top far right by the shutter release. When you select ON by using the Thumbpad, the LCD lights when you touch any button. Custom Setting #17 Focus Area When it comes to following and capturing action, I think this is a very important custom setting to take advantage of. This setting determines how you can select the active AF sensor. The default of OFF, means you are bound by the four outer focus area sensors. Thats to say that if youve selected the far left AF sensor and you want to select the far right sensor, you have to hit the right arrow on the Thumbpad twice to get there. I prefer and use the ON or Wrap option, When this option is activated, if you are using the left AF sensor and you want to change to the right AF sensor, you just hit the left arrow of the Thumbpad once and youre there. Verbally describing this doesnt really do justice to the action. I would highly recommend you just try it and see for yourself. Custom Setting #18 AF Area Illumination This is a pretty cool custom setting that I like. You have three options, Auto (default), OFF and ON, you select the desired setting using the Thumbpad. Auto is my preference. In auto, the active AF sensor is either black or red depending on the ambient light level. In normal daylight its black and in lower levels it goes red. If working is a nocturnal situation where the red might make it hard for you to see the subject, you can select OFF and turn this feature off. If you want red AF sensors all the time, you can select ON. Does this also effect the grids? If you activate the grid lines (CS#19) then they too will go red or black according on how you set this custom setting. Personally, I really like the Auto in conjunction with CS#19. Custom Setting #19 Grid Display (On-Demand Grid Lines) This is one of the coolest features that originated in the N80! When you activate this custom setting (via the Thumbpad) grid lines appear in the viewfinder. The lines start at the outside of the frame and head

This option permits you to alter the folder numbering and assignments in the D100. This helps you organize and view your images in the camera. The D100 names folders xxxND100 where the xxx would be a three digit number like 100ND100 (not to be confused with file number DSC_xxxx). You can use Folder Designate to create your own folder if so desired. You select Folder Designate from the Playback Menu using the Thumbpad and then depressing the right arrow on the Thumbpad you get to New or Folder Select. When you highlight and select New a screen comes up with a three digit number. You can change the current file number; the next number to assign to a folder automatically appears on the screen. Once you create a new folder, all subsequent images will be stored in that folder. You can only go as high as 999. Your other option is Folder Select which offers you three options when you depress the right arrow of the Thumbpad, ND100, All or Current. When ND100 is selected, images created and saved will all be visible in playback from this folder. When All is selected, images created by any camera conforming to DCF can be viewed. When Current is selected only the images in the current folder can be previewed (folders created before you select Current cannot be previewed). If you depress o when you turn on the camera on, a new folder will be created if no empty folders are already present. This is correct unless youre already at file number 999 in which case the error message CHR appears. Slide Show Automated Playback You can use this option to create and play your own slideshow of images. Keep in mind that you can only view images from the folder you have selected in Folder Designate. You start by going to the Playback Menu and selecting Slide Show on the menu using the Thumbpad. Depress the right arrow on the Thumbpad and when Start is highlighted all the images in the Folder Designate will appear one by one on the monitor. The images will change as per the Frame Intvl that is set. You have the options of 2s, 3s, 5s and 10s intervals that you can select and start with the right arrow of the Thumbpad. While the slide show is being displayed, you can perform the following operations. If you hit the top arrow on the Thumbpad you can return to the previous image in the slide show. If you depress the bottom arrow, you can skip to the next frame. By depressing either the right or left arrow, you can change the information menu that is or is not being displayed. By depressing the ENTER button you can pause the slide show. Depressing the MENU button ends the slide show on the image being displayed. The || button stops the slide show and returns you to the Playback menu. And finally, depress the shutter release halfway ends the slide show, turns off the monitor and returns you to shooting. If you depress the ENTER button or the show comes to an end, a menu appears giving you the option to Restart the slide show or change the Frame Intvl and restart the show. One of the neat things about this feature is you can with the EG-D1 cable, do your slide show on the monitor like a TV. This can be a real fun and great way of sharing your images with friends and family! Hide Image Hiding images from Playback You can select images and tag them so they wont be displayed during a slide show. This does not delete a file, merely prevents them from appearing during a slide show. Select Hide Image from the Playback Menu using the Thumbpad. When this is done images appear on the monitor in a 2x3 pattern. You move through the images with the left / right arrow of the Thumbpad (the file number appears in the lower right corner of each image). You select the images you want to hide by depressing the up/down arrow. You can unhide an image in the same way you hide it. When an image is tagged to be hidden, a box with a slash through it appears in the upper right corner of the image. Once youve hidden all the images desired, depress the ENTER button to finish. Print Set Making prints directly from the CompactFlash card This option is for those who want to take their CompactFlash card directly from the camera and insert it into a DPOF device for direct prints. Certain personal printers and camera stores offer stations where this option would come in handy. If you want to take advantage of this option, you must shoot in either Color Mode I or III (pg.xx). The D100 uses EXIF 2.2 which tags the file with information to provide the best possible color when using this option.

To set Tone Comp, highlight Tone Comp. in the Shooting Menu and right thumb. This calls up the Tone Comp. menu and your five options of: Auto, Normal, Less Contrast, More Contrast and Custom. Auto will automatically set the tone curve for you for optimal results for the scene at hand. Normal is the setting the camera will use 90% of the time. Less Contrast is for when you want less contrast because youre photographing a high contrast scene. More contrast is for when you want more contrast because youre shooting a low contrast scene. Custom is for using curves you create yourself in NC3. Color Mode Setting Colors Based on Workflow The D100 has thrown a new curve (get it, color, curve) at us when it comes to color management. We now have three options for Color Mode, I, II and III. And in case it isnt confusing enough, #I and #III are both called the same, sRGB! To select the desired Color Mode, highlight Color Mode in the Shooting Menu and then right thumb, this brings up the menu with the three options. Select the Color Mode you desire by highlighting it and then right thumb to set it. The three options are sRGB, AdobeRGB and sRGB. What are the differences? Mode I and III are similar only in that they have less color compared to AdobeRGB for reproduction. Mode II is my preferred color mode because it is capturing and recording as much color as possible. The difference between Mode I and Mode III is that Mode III is biased in that its colors are slanted towards capturing the Velvia look. For more on this, be sure to check out Davids section pg.xx. Hue Adjustment Controlling Color This is an adjustment that I personally rarely play with, simply because I forget its an option. The principle behind hue is to combine two colors to create one, the example in the D100 instruction is a good one. Red combined with an amount of yellow produces orange. In the case of Hue Adjustment, if youre starting with red as the color youre photographing and you raise the Hue above the default of 0, the images will become more orange. In practice, you might be able to use this to improve the color of a sunset (keep in mind you cannot go by the monitor as the color youre capturing). To select, highlight Hue Adjustment in the Shooting Menu and then right thumb. This brings up the menu where you can adjust the hue by 9 in increment of 3. You thumb the up or down to make you setting and then right thumb to set it. I highly recommend you play with this setting. But make tests and check your results on your computer. Hue can really make things pop or really mess them up, so only use when you know what your results are going to be. Back Controls Unlike the D1 Family, the D100 has a number of its feature buttons right out in the open on the back. Even though a number of these are repeats from the above text, they are worth going through so there is no confusion. Diopter Correction (previously covered but I feel its important to go over again) The D100 provides diopter correction of -2 to +1. The plus is at the top and the minus is at the bottom. The problem is, there is no indication, no line to tell you where zero might be. There is also no lock or detent to keep the diopter set once you make your selection. To make things even worse, its easy to knock the diopter out of whack. This is not a good system! To first set the diopter, look through the viewfinder, looking at the lines on the screen (activate CS#19). You want to slide the diopter up and down slowly, looking at the lines. Youre looking to make the lines dark, as dark as possible. You will probably will have to slide the control up and down a few times to find the right spot. Once you do, make note of what notch on the diopter slider lines up with the Matrix symbol to the right. Thats your only way remembering where to set the diopter when it gets knocked. Metering Pattern Selector The D100 has three metering systems, 3D Matrix, Center-weighted and Spot (range of -1 to 19). You select the desired metering pattern by rotating the collar around the AE-L/AF-L button and aligning the white line to the metering symbol around the collar. The 3D Matrix is my preferred metering system. This ten segment meter does a marvelous job metering for the vast majority of the lighting situations youll run into. The one short coming of matrix metering is photographing white subjects in low light. The matrix meter tends to underexpose.

ILL (seen in the lower right corner of the LCD). If the message says NO AF-ILL, youve disabled the function. (To get the AF illuminator to come on, youve got set the camera firing mode and AF mode to S and have the center AF sensor selected.) When the SB-80DX is connected to a D1 Family camera or the D100, when you first depress the SEL button for two seconds, the first screen youll see is the AF-ILL or NO AF-ILL. To complete your setting and lock it into memory, depress the SEL button for two seconds until the shooting display on the LCD appears. The default from the factory is AF-ILL. The forth option is really cool and one of my favorite new custom settings. The forth is Standby Function. You have six options for how long you want the flash to stay on once you are no longer depressing the shutter release. You have 40sec (appears as 40), 80Sec (appears as 80), 160sec (appears as 160), 300sec (appears as 300), No Standby (appears as - - - -) and my favorite Auto (appears as Auto). Youll see SEL in the top left corner, the option of Standby time in the center and STBY in the lower right corner when youre programming. You select the desired Standby time by cycling through the options depressing either the 3Tree or 1Tree symbol until the desired option appears. The 40, 80, 160 and 300 options are pretty obvious, this is the time the flash will remain on and capacitor charged after the shutter release is no longer depressed. The No Standy is obvious, the flash goes off right away saving some battery power. My favorite, Auto, set the flash to go off when the camera goes off (which you set via CS#15, pg.21/94/158 TDG). Why do I like this? This maximizes battery power in the flash while syncing with my shooting habits since the flash goes off when the camera goes off. To complete your setting and lock it into memory, depress the SEL button for two seconds until the shooting display on the LCD appears. The default from the factory is 40sec. The fifth setting is Distance Unit. You can select the SB-80DX to read out the effective distance of the flash in either meters or feet. This is accomplished by bringing up the screen which when brand new out of the box, appears as SEL in the top left corner and, lower case m, in the lower right corner. You change from one setting to the other by depressing the 3Tree or 1Tree symbol until either ft or m appears. To complete your setting and lock it into memory, depress the SEL button for two seconds until the shooting display on the LCD appears. The default from the factory is m (meters). The sixth custom setting option is Power Zoom Function. The Power Zoom function when activated permits the flash head to zoom back and forth to match the focal length being used. You can see this when you have a zoom lens attached To complete your setting and lock it into memory, depress the SEL button for two seconds until the shooting display on the LCD appears. The seventh setting is Emergency Mode. I have to admit when I first saw this title, I was wondering what was built into the SB-80DX? This mode is to prevent flash coverage problems if the Wide Angle Adapter should be broken off the flash. If you break off the Wide Angle Adapter, youd go to this custom setting and turn ON to prevent possible problems. Sorry, Ive not personally tried this custom setting so I dont have any firsthand knowledge to pass along. To complete your setting and lock it into memory, depress the SEL button for two seconds until the shooting display on the LCD appears. The eight and last custom setting is LCD Panel Illumination. This custom setting makes it so anytime you want the LCD panel on the SB-80DX (and the camera as well) to light up, all you have to do is depress any button on the back of the flash. This is the factory default. When selecting your option, toggle the + or sign until SEL appears in the top left corner and a light bulb on the right, center. You then depress the 3Tree or 1Tree to turn this option on or off. Keep in mind that if you have this option turned off but you want the LCD panel to light up, you can simply rotate the On/Off on the camera body to illumination to make everything light up. If you have this option set to ON, the light bulb symbol will be present in the shooting LCD display to remind you have activated it. To complete your setting and lock it into memory, depress the SEL button for two seconds until the shooting display on the LCD appears. The factory default is ON (I have mine set to OFF). Shooting Mode

When you have the SB-80DX in regular shooting mode, the thumb pad effects operation of certain features. To make these changes, you must be sure youre in shooting mode and not custom setting mode. You can manually change the zoom position of the flash head. By depressing the 3Tree or 1Tree you can cycle through 24, 28, 35, 50, 70, and 105mm (if the wide angle adapter is deployed, you only have the option of 14 or 17mm). As you cycle through these options, youll see a M appear above the word ZOOM in the lower left corner. This M will disappear at one zoom head setting, the one appropriate for the lens attached. Once you manually set the zoom head and the M is present, the zoom head will no longer automatically adjust its coverage to match your lens. Automatic zooming will only occur when the M does not appear above the word ZOOM. By depressing the + or symbols on the thumb pad, you access the exposure compensation. The SB80DX is the first Nikon flash to provide the ability of going + 3 stops of compensation! Why is this such a hot deal, be sure to read In Camera Dodge further down. The SB-80DX has a range of +/- three stops which is creatively really cool. You access these by depressing either the + or symbols and then watching the compensation in the top right corner. Unlike other flash units, the SB-80DX when attached to a digital body, cycles through both traditionally thought of 1/3 and stop increments simultaneously, or 1/6 stops. For example you start at nothing appearing in the top right corner signifying no compensation. You then can proceed to 0.2 (1/6), 0.3 (1/3), 0.5 (1/2), 0.7(2/3), 0.8 (5/6), 1.0, 1.2 (1 1/6), 1.3 (1 1/3) and so on, either + or - ! This is a big improvement especially for digital where we have so much film latitude to start with, we can fine tune flash exposure even better now! The SB-80DX on the D1does it solve the problem? The short answer, no. The CYA answer is, its a tad batter but thats not saying much. You might be able to use the SB-80DX a little more on the TTL mode rather than the AA mode, especially with dark backgrounds, but Im not sure an extra 15% of usability is worth jumping up and down about. Obviously the pre-monitor flash in the SB-80DX is improved but it doesnt appear this improvement is enough to make up for the shortcomings in the D1 flash software. If you want consistent flash photography with the D1, you still need to learn what is on pg.42 of TDG. The SB-80DX and D100 Simply said, it all works just like it should! What do I mean by this? TTL, wireless, exposure comp, the whole enchilada works on the D100 just like on a conventional body! In other words, the SB-80DX works much better on the D100 then on the D1 Family, that sucks! The only thing thats new by using the SB-80DX on the D100 that Ive not touched on is the wireless feature, so let me explain just how neat that is! The Wireless Custom Setting on the SB-80DX is a no-brainer to use. Depress the thumb pad for 2 seconds to call up the settings. As you thumb through the options, youll see a small curved arrow appear in the lower left corner with the word OFF in the center of the LCD. Depress either the 1Tree or 3Tree to change the function to ON. Thats it, its activated (this is for the slave flash, not the one attached to the camera). You have two options in wireless mode, A (auto) or M (manual) which you can determine by the A or M next to the wireless curved arrow in the lower left corner of the LCD. You switch modes by first being in wireless and then depressing the MODE button on the flash (Ive only used the A mode). In A mode, the slaved, wireless flash works up to approximately 23 feet from the subject. You can use the M mode to create flash ratios. The next screen on the custom settings youll see SEL in the top left corner and a sound symbol right below it. You can now either turn off the wireless sound Okie Dokie sound or turn it on. In the beginning when testing, you might want this on. When the wireless is working correctly (which it does unless too close or too far from the subject), youll hear two beeps if the flash fired correctly and continual beeps for 3sec if incorrect. This system works pretty seamlessly. When in the wireless mode, the modeling light does not function. If you want to use the modeling light to check out your lighting prior to shooting, you simply