Hi--

>I am a Coroner in the province of BC up here in Canada. I have just read
>your 'rant' on AF, and am now questioning an upcoming camera purchase.
>
>My history with photography an old Pentax with a very crisp normal lens;
>no auto features whatever; handheld incident/reflected Gossen light
>meter. Took pretty damn good pictures.
>
>I am now ready to move on to a forensic setup, and am being steered (by
>Vancouver Police Ident squad's photo-guru) toward a Nikon 100 with nikkor
>28-205mm f3.5-4.5d, and sb28 speedlight. (and a 11 lens when budget
>permits)
>
>Flexibility for personal use is important, as are bright, sharp slides.
>Fast manoeuvering in tight quarters is an asset, obviously. Your review
>of the lens seemed fairly good, but your AF rant struck a chord with me;
>reminds me of electric car windows - turning the knob was fast, reliable,
>and non-taxing aerobically. Auto metering is another matter, of course.
>
>I can afford the above setup at this point in my life. Do you think I'll
>be disappointed with either the setup or the AF feature?
>
>These queries must be annoying - I know you're not a consultant for the
>likes of me. Anything you can tell me would be greatly appreciated, and
>I fully understand the subjective nature of anything you say.
>
>Thank you so much...
>
>Bill inkster

You're welcome, and the following IS subjective...! ;-)
I do like the F100, since it has an excellent viewfinder,
unlike the N70 and N90 - and the AF is fast and quiet, and
appears fairly accurate, as such things go...;-) In other
words, except for the cost, it is an excellent choice for
auto or manual use. I should add a rant about mid-range
and short FL zooms, though - I really do not like these,
and the 28-105 was not one of Nikon's better efforts
(except around 28mm). Almost any Nikkor non-zoom will
outperform most of these zooms at f5.6, and most non-zoom,
non-WA's are also pretty good around f2, which the zooms
don't have. A lens that must be used at f11 for good
performance is not very "convenient", I think... A pair
of non-zooms chosen from the best in my Nikkor list would
serve better for almost anyone but maybe journalists with
fixed shooting locations. The 28mm f2.8 *AIS* and 85mm f2/f1.8
is an excellent pairing, or if you want to jump into a good
macro, the 28mm f2.8 *AIS* and 105mm f2.8 manual-focus
macro is a good pair, with any 50mm Nikkor for the middle,
if you miss it... The 28mm f2.8 AF-D isn't too bad, if you
must go with AF lenses...;-) Prolly enough of the rant, but
I suspect a lot of people using these "convenient" zooms
are unaware of how good 35mm quality can be... (and how nice
it can be to use a lens at a wide stop and still get a sharp
picture...;-).