Nikon is said to be releasing the D100 this summer. The D100 is Nikon’s first Digital SLR camera for the “prosumer” market. This is good and bad news. While I was slightly upset that I was going to have to “settle” for the non-SLR Coolpix 995, they just dropped the price by $300 on that unit. Now that I know the D100 is coming out I have to wait until the summer to consider purchasing one, and therefore must continue using my horrible Olympus in the meantime. Additionally, the cost of the D100 will probably be pretty steep when it first comes out, to take advantage of people like me who “have to have it”. I have found no indication of the price tag on this unit, but hopefully it will truly be geared for the “prosumer” (less than $1000) and not anywhere near the price of the D1/D1x/D1h (around $4000).
A demo model of the D100 is said to be compatible with the Nikkor lens mount, and has basically the same body and feature set as the N80. It boasts 6.1 megapixels of resolution and 10 segment Matrix metering. It also has a speedlight mount, accepting many older strobes and the new SB-80DX. It has 5 auto focus areas, and a top shutter speed of 1/4,000 sec. It can output a 3008×2000 pixel image (A3 size).
At first I thought it looked like it might accept the MB-10 vertical grip that attached to the N90 series, but it appears that it takes its own vertical grip, the MB-D100. This is a bit disappointing, but acceptable, as the boosted battery power and vertical grip are well worth whatever it might cost.
it also features Depth of Field preview, a much needed feature, and auto-bracketing. Additionally, because of the presence of an actual pentaprism viewfinder, battery life is extended because the LCD doesn’t have to run for most purposes.
If anyone can find any more information on this camera, when it will be available, its feature set, and its price point… I would appreciate it.
Update: Some online camera stores are pre-selling it for $2200. Body only, of course. FUCK!