Nikon D100 - Somkiet Phaloprakarn

       Some Experiences in Using
      Nikon D100 Digital Camera
            by Somkiet Phaloprakarn

Digital Pictures Gallery
E-mail somkiet@cscoms.com

1. Introduction
I am a serious amateur in photographing and have been
using 3 digital cameras, the first one with 3 megapixels
and the second with 5 megapixels, and Nikon D100
is the third one with 6 megapixels resolutions.

Why I purchased a new Nikon D100 digital camera?
May be these are the reasons :

1) As an old fan of Nikon since F301 (17 years ago),
then I owned Nikon F80S, and F90X with 4 AF lens and
three Speedlights and many filters. These are too much
to keep when I changed to digital. The Nikon equipments
were left unused for over a year.

2) When I started with SLR cameras, it is very enjoyable
to use different lens and filter to get good pictures with
the required effects. The SLR zoom lens can produce
beautiful pictures when properly used. The filters, e.g.
polarizing filter is very effective with film camera but not
always with digital cameras.

3) The pictures obtained from many digital cameras are
sharp, vivid and sometimes are better than expensive
film cameras. However, more artistic looks, the professional
quality and the impressions are still required.

4) The picture capturing speed is very important so that
I will not miss the action. The speed of 3 frames/sec is
acceptable.

5) One of the most important thing when taking pictures
indoor without using the flash, or flash not allowed, is
the use of higher ISO (if no tripod available). The ISO
sensitivities of 1,000 or more is very useful.

6) With some digital cameras the white balance settings
produce different colors and almost none of them is
true or perfect. Taking picture of landscape can also
show a flat sky or low contrast and in many cases the
sky looks dirty or muddy. This should be solved with
SLR with the appropriate use of filter and EV adjustment.
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Nikon D100

Click for a large picture (105 kbytes).

Nikon D100 with 28-200 mm. zoom lens.

2. Nikon D100 - Basic
The preparation for using any camera, especially
digital, is necessary. Eventhough there is the
"Quick Start Up" manual but time is required to
get use to the camera funtions, and to make several experiments before you get good pictures.

.

Articles on Experiences in Using Nikon D100
1) White Balance Setting 1 (August 23, 2002)
2) Polarizing Filter 1 (September 23, 2002)
3) Picture Adjustment 1 (September 26, 2002)
4) Lens Applications (September 26, 2002)
5) Macro/Closed Up Picture (October 21, 2002)
6) Testing NEF Files for Web Site (April 7, 2003)
7) Shooting Menu and EV Setting (April 12, 2003)
8) Printed Pictures Comparison (April 30, 2003)

2. Nikon D100 - Basic
The preparation for using any camera, especially
digital, is necessary. Eventhough there is the
"Quick Start Up" manual but time is required to
get use to the camera funtions, and to make several experiments before you get good pictures.

Click here to see Details of Functional Buttons.

The followings are general guidelines for amateurs :
1) Buy a compact flash reader and install it with
your computer. This will help read and write
pictures without worrying about the digital camera.

2) Take several pictures using different settings
and compare results. Pictures appear on the LCD
are mostly beautiful and sharp but when you
load it into the computer using PhotoShop software
the pictures are different. For example, the colors
are mostly darker or underexposed. The grasses
may not be light green but rather dark green, the
sky may be rather pale blue and when contrast
and brightness are adjusted the colors are not
what we expected. These undesirable things are
to be studied and solved with many experiments.

3) The use of filters such as Skylight, UV, and
the Polarizing filter are recommended.

Click at the picture for a large picture.
Click here to see Details of Functional Buttons.

4) Some useful settings included :

ISO - Normally ISO 200 is used. For indoor
photography ISO is set at higher value.
Exposure Value - EV setting at +0.7 is
sufficient for many cases. If Polarizing filter
is attached the EV setting should be +1.
White Balance - Normally for direct sunlight
outdoor, landscape photo the white balance
+0 or +1 is used.
Color Mode - Normally Color Mode I is used.
But if the color in the shade (especially trees)
is too dark it is recommended to use Color
Mode III.

5) Built-In Flash
The built-in pop up flash is normally used as
filled flash. It is very useful for taking pictures
within few meters distance. Picture below
shows how simple it is to get good picture.

Click at the picture to see
large picture. The colors
are very natural.

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Since : September 3, 2002