I bought my D-100 over three years ago; I am selling it and all the
gear this week. I am upgrading to the D2X. My D-100 paid for itself
the first week I owned it. I’m not nearly so optimistic about the
D2X…But business is good and why do I work so hard if not to
occasionally be stupid with the moola.
One issue that seems to have been understated in this thread is the
importance of glass. The D-70, D-100 or their Canon counterparts
are all great cameras. What will make the difference is when you
decide what lens to put on it. Presumably this is for close-up/ macro
work of jewelry.
I have the micro-nikkor 60mm f2.8 which I am selling I also have the
micro-nikkor 85mm PC f2.8 which is the best lens in my bag period,
While third party manufacturers make good value based products the
image quality in digital that is becoming the norm will exceed these
lenses capability. You will see the difference in high end digital
where you would likely not in a film based system. In fact there are
numerous Canon and Nikon lenses that can’t keep up with there digital
cameras.
The PC 85 is not easy to work with. But the overall image quality is
amazing, plus as it is a tilt shift lens with enormous depth of
field, it was the first lens that allowed me to bring a mineral
specimen into full focus front to back, same with jewelry. (There is
also the issue of retained value, go to http://keh.com and compare
the retained value of Nikon and Canon vs. Sigma, Tamron or Tokina)
Canon has a similar lens to the PC85.
For a complete discussion of Nikon lenses have a look at:
http://www.naturfotograf.com
I have no knowledge of a similar independent Canon site but I am
certain there must be one.
Of course there are other issues in the process, lights,
backgrounds, image processing software etc. but it all starts IMHO
with having the best glass on the front of the box you can afford.
Christopher L. Johnston
PO Box 354
Omaruru Namibia
@Christopher_L_Johnst