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PICTURE
QUALITY
I
am not going to deal with the quality of the unprocessed pictures
that come out of these three cameras. I see no big difference
between them after post processing. Despite that one could think
that the effective 2.7 megapixels of the D1H is too little,
practice shows that a sensor pixel is not just a sensor pixel.
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D70
image by Pete Wilson at the 4th ANPAT |
The
size of the pixel is also of great importance. You can see that
a 8MP point & shoot camera cannot live up to what a 3MP
DSLR performs, simply because the CCD/CMOS-chip in D-SLR is
so much bigger. I am not in the megapixel race any longer –
that’s for sure, and I doubt that the camera business will be
at it for much longer either. There are so many other important
factors.
White
balance is controlled very well automatically by both the D100
and the D70, and rather poorly by D1H. I generally have the
D1H set to Cloudy –3 because Auto simply doesn't work. This
of course really doesn't matter when shooting in the NEF format
(RAW).
I
always shoot everything in RAW format, but I don't doubt that
for images straight out of the camera the D70 makes the best
in-camera processing. The D1H always needs a lot of post processing,
but I don't suppose any D1H photographer wants to print directly
off the camera; right…?
FLASH
CONTROL
In
the flash area, the D70 is way way ahead of the other two. The
new i-TTL is absolutely fantastic and surpasses the D-TTL system,
basis of the flash control in both the D100 and the D1H. In
fact I personally find D-TTL rather frightening to use. I always
bring the D70 to assignments where I know that I am going to
use a lot of flash.
About flash synchronization, both the D70 and the D1H sync up
to 1/500 sec. The 1/180 in the D100 may not be enough under
several circumstances.
i-TTL,
introduced with the Nikon D2H in late 2003, was also implemented
in the D70 design. It gives perfectly lit images once you get
to know it. You actually only have to be careful with the BL-function
that secures that the background and foreground is balanced
in exposure. It can lead to underexposed photos until you get
to know it well.
Another
problem I discovered pretty quickly when using D70 and the SB-600
flash,
was that a lot of my “people shots” came out with sleepy looking
people or even
closed eyes. The short “measuring" pre flash very often
caused people to blink too early. In the beginning I had to
throw a lot of shots away because one or more people were in
the beginning of a blink. It takes some training and you learn
to shoot more that one shot of each motive. The way to make
it work quickly and avoid the blinking is to use the FV-lock
function, where you fire the measuring flash via the AE button.
FV-lock will measure, analyze and lock, so the exposure will
be the correct one when you fire the flash.
i-TTL
and 3D matrix measurement always, and I mean always, give correctly
exposed pictures. If it doesn't it is my own fault. You just
need to get to know it, and I recommend that you train yourself
and practice until you get there …
Another unique feature with the D70 and i-TTL, together with
a SB-600 or SB-800 flash, is the fantastic Commander mode, where
you get wireless remote control over the flash. On the D70 you
pop up the integrated flash, as it -via micro pre flashes- controls
the SB-600 or SB-800. The flash can be placed wherever you want
it, or handheld, or way out to a side when making people photos.
I
had a press photo assignment to shoot some kids who had
won a small “play house”.
Here
I placed a SB-600 inside the small house to light it,
while I was shooting from the outside through the door.
The story in the paper was that they were so happy with
their new house, that their parents had cleared the master
bedroom and installed the house there for the winter.
The kids actually slept there every night.
The
lighting created a special atmosphere that couldn't have
been made so easily with any of the two other cameras. |
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For example, the Canon 1D-series can have an infrared transmitter
mounted in the flash shoe. It can do the same kind of wireless
control, but with a completely different price tag. The D70,
together with SB-600 or SB-800 can do as standard gear without
having to buy any additional equipment. My D70 is always set
to Commander Mode.
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