Nikon F100
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Nikon F100 was a 35mm film-based single-lens reflex camera body introduced in 1999. It was often thought of as a scaled-down version of the Nikon F5, and later as a precursor to the Nikon F6. The F100 was discontinued, along with most other Nikon film cameras, in 2006.
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[edit] Design and construction
When the F100 was introduced in 1999, it took the place of the Nikon F90x as the second most expensive film SLR in their lineup. Although many photographers initially saw the F100 as simply an upgrade to the F90x, Nikon was eager to have them evaluate the camera on its own merits.
The F100 is an outstanding and highly ergonomic camera built on a solid magnesium alloy chassis wrapped in a rubberized non-skid grip. It bears a significant resemblance to the Giorgetto Giugiaro designed F5 introduced a few years earlier. The F100's control layout is also very similar to that of the F5, so users of the F5 should find the F100 familiar.
The body styling of the F100 was considered so successful that Nikon continues to use it, with minor functional changes, on their professional and prosumer Digital SLR bodies. The D1 series of digital SLR cameras was developed on the F100 platform and used many subsystems from the F100 and F5, and both the D200, and newly announced D300 bear a striking resemblance to their film-based predecessor.
[edit] Features
The F100 uses Nikon's multi-CAM1300 auto focus system. This system, shared with the F5, provides five focus points which can be selected automatically by the camera or individually by the photographer using a joystick on the back of the camera. The active focus point is briefly illuminated in the viewfinder by a red LED.
The F100's metering system is a development of Nikon's matrix metering technology introduced in 1983 on the Nikon FA. The meter in the F100 utilizes a 10 segment light sensor and uses distance information from Nikon D-type lenses for more accurate exposure calculations. In addition to matrix metering, the F100 also offers standard center-weighted and spot metering modes.
Also incorporated into the camera is a 4.5 frame per second motor drive with automatic rewind. The top motor drive speed can be boosted to 5 frames per second with the addition of the Nikon MB-15 battery pack.
The F100 also provides many features which are common among high-end 35mm SLR cameras, such as automatic bracketing modes, DX film speed sensing, and custom functions which allow the photographer to tailor certain aspects of the camera's operation to the way he or she works.
[edit] In popular culture
This camera is featured in CSI: Miami.
