D7100

BrainBeat

I have as yet not pulled the trigger and bought one yet but am getting very close to and may well buy a body tomorrow. I am going to try and read as many reviews from others as I can between now and hope no one has found any major faults that will get be to not buy it.

Below is my story of today's recon to see if I could buy it, if I could how much and to try and test it to see if I liked it. Feel free to skip it as I do tend to like telling stories and probably not well but I feel it is good to share experiences as others may also be looking to do the same.

I went around today to all of the retailers in my city (Adelaide Australia) that are likely to sell the D7100 and what surprised me is how few of them had even gotten shipments yet. It seems like only the top 2 photographic retailers received stock while the 3rd was expecting some any time but did not know when. As for the general electronics retailers one was not expecting any for at least 2 weeks and the other was not looking to stock if for some time but did offer to order it for $300 more than every other store (about the same price as with the kit).

I did in the end go to one of the 2 photographic retailers that I hoped might have one and it turned out they had 1 on display as well as 6 body only options. Thinking ahead I thought I should bring a memory card along in the hope I could get to test out the camera and look at the photos at home. The salesman was happy for me to play around with it for a good while as we chatted about it and I snapped a few photos to test the high iso noise for myself and when I compare it to photos taken by my D5000 it is far far cleaner at 6400 than the D5000 at 3200 if not 1600. Sure there is noise but it seems smoother and free from artifacts which my D5000 seems to produce (maybe as I have low high iso reduction on?). I could see it should be easily possible to use photos taken at 6400 at medium size (50% about the same resolution as my D5000 on L) and be happy with how smooth the pictures look. I did not think to try our noise reduction on it but that could be an interesting test to do.
I must also say how happy I was with the quality of the photos I took with the lens attached (18-55) and can only imagine how much better photos taken with my sigma 17-50 f2.8 will look or when I borrow a 70 or 80 -200 f2.8.

One comment the salesman said which does encourage me to buying it is his impressions of the camera. He said he is normally a Cannon shooter but in the limited time he has played around with it he liked it a lot. He did also feel when I ask if he thought that the mythical D400 would be released and he doubted that it would but you never know it may come all the same. In the time I was playing too it would seem to be a camera that should fill all of my current needs and a be the ideal step up until I get enough money to buy a real pro body like a D5 or D6 (it might take that long as I still need to get more good glass that is FF and assuming there will be replacements to the D4) or maybe an 800 or 600 replacement. If a D400 were to be released tomorrow I am not sure I would need to buy it as the pricing would have to be very close to the D600 (maybe higher?) and not likely offer extra features that I would use too much if at all and could buy most of another lens with the difference.

donaldejose

D7100 photos of test chart at high ISO

at 1600
http://www.magezinepublishing.com/equipment/images/equipment/D7100-5110/highres/Nikon-D7100-iso1600-DSC_0011_1363278254.jpg

at 3200
http://www.magezinepublishing.com/equipment/images/equipment/D7100-5110/highres/Nikon-D7100-iso3200-DSC_0012_1363278286.jpg

at 6400
http://www.magezinepublishing.com/equipment/images/equipment/D7100-5110/highres/Nikon-D7100-iso6400-DSC_0013_1363278321.jpg

at 12800
http://www.magezinepublishing.com/equipment/images/equipment/D7100-5110/highres/Nikon-D7100-iso12800-DSC_0014_1363278357.jpg

spraynpray

Just because one says, high ISO JPG is not very great? Then I'm a troll, too. But contrary to you, I saw my own JPGs out of my own D7100

I just wait with complaining because I think, RAWs will be great . At low ISO it's fantastic! Superb Whitebalance, very good exposure metering.

Er, no JJ. [-X

Because we who have been here years see this kind of post from time to time. One post, all negative and no replies to questions. In case you wondered about seagull posting? Flies in cr@ps all over the forum then flies away never to be seen again.

There is still time for him to respond, I could be wrong.

DaveyJ

We are looking at aperture control in video mode. This function seems to be either disabled or insensitive.
Let you know what we find out in awhile.

DaveyJ

Focus on our D7100 is excellent in every regard. Many advances with this camera. We are still testing ours. We do know this, the camera is NOT fool proof and mistakes can be still be made with this one.

PB_PM

We are looking at aperture control in video mode. This function seems to be either disabled or insensitive.
Let you know what we find out in awhile.

All the previewers said it acts like the D7000 and D600 before it, no aperture control in Video mode.

JJ_SO

That's also my observation. But it's just a switch from video liveview to photo liveview to change aperture. Anyway, I don't get the reason for this unnecessarily complicated use - but with the new stereo mikes on top of the prism you don't hear only one channel of focussing noise. You hear two! Wow, if that's not improvement, I dont know what else 8->

JJ_SO

Okayokay, I join the train with jubilating high ISO lovers. It's really great if it's a developed RAW. And I guess, it's just my small experience with JPG out of Cam what made me sceptical.
ISO 6400


In large
ISO 5000


In large

All with Sigma 35/1.4, handheld

Golf007sd

@JJ_SO: Very nice. Can you give more details on the picture setting beside the ISO?

JJ_SO

Sure. The bridge was 1/30, f/1.4 the stairs were 1/40, f/2 with exposure correction of -1.0, all were matrix-metering. I also tried 10.000 ISO - grainy, but usable if I'm with my back against the wall (no tripod, no flash and I want to get the shot)

Next task for this lovely thing will be low light with AF-C as soon as I get my 85/1.4 back from service.

Nice cam. Last Friday it just so happened that I was doing some snow shots in the morning, when I heard two approaching swans flying by, so I just snapped with the very same Sigma, but no expectation at all. I just wanted to see how it would doing. Could 've been worse



That came out of this:



In the evening, I managed to capture the last sunbeams of the day:



Larger

Meanwhile, I'm looking forward to a decent RAW converter. ViewNX2 is not bad, but sloooow and I'm not used to it. So I really can't compare with my "normal workflow", but so far I could catch a lot of highlight and shadow dynamics and the sharpness of the sensor at low ISO is quite yummy.

BrainBeat

Your high iso images look great at least at that size and are certainly very usable, in my opinion and any noise in them I feel adds to the picture adding more texture.

JJ_SO

@BrainBeat: Thank you. The bigger size you get by clicking on "In large" under the picture, which is a link to a 3 times bigger one. And the 15 MB original size you can find in my gallery when clicking on the sidebar on "original".

heartyfisher

In Scott Kelby's review he said that the D7100 will be replacing his D3S Because the High ISO capability(6400) of the D7100 is very good! I am a bit skeptical that that is what he means ie the D7100 at 6400 is better than the D3S at 6400. I think he means that over all the D7100 is better than the D3S and the ISO6400 capability of the D7100 is good enough. What do you think ?

donaldejose

A DX D7100 better than an FX D3s? Now that would be very impressive indeed! In the video I saw he actually said it would replace a D300s in a heartbeat, not a D3s. When Imaging Resources testing of the D7100 is out we should be able to use their compare images tool to see D3s and D7100 photos of the same scene at the same ISO side by side.

Msmoto

My guess is Scott Kelby is shooting D4's and the D3s is a back up camera. And, he most likely has a bunch of cameras.

Interestingly enough, he makes errors like the rest of us. And readily admits this. For sure a sign of a good photographer IMO.

JJ_SO

I heard him say something like "D300S" should I review the video?

Msmoto

Yes, you are correct in he said he was replacing his D300s with the D7100. He also stated this was the best DX camera Nikon has made.

JJ_SO

Which makes me believe, the D400 will be outstanding. Higher fps, higher ISO, tougher body - but that one I'll leave to the pros who can wait until end of summer / early autumn. There are customers for such a machine, even if their patience has to be endless. But at the end, they will be happy.

And - each camera was some kind of "best they ever made" at least in some aspects. That's what my colleague always states: Nikon needs a lot of time to prepare their stuff but when they lift off, it's great! And in general - even with the flaws - it's true.

TriShooter

I said earlier in this thread that the buffer is the real killer for most of us that shoot birds and sports. I have played with some of the images and very impressed with the D7100. The D4 still blow it away in terms of sharpness to my eye, but the improvement in noise content is impressive up to 3200 ISO to my eye.

I agree with Msmotto about, and hope she is right, that Nikon is going to have to make a move to mirrorless because the mechanical shutter is getting to be a more serious limitation on these new higher density sensors given the aperture limitations on DX, and FX. The electronic shutter is the future. If you look at the distortion in the Nikon Rumors link to IT it shows at F16 the D7100 looks a lot like Kodak throw away camera.

I am still confounded by the small buffer in the D7100, but saw one post where a new D7100 owner had bought the 90MB Sandisk Extreme, and he said he got 68 fps, but think he was likely only shooting jpgs. I am still hanging in there for a D400, but tempted to get a D7100 to use as a backup. lol. I am, as they say, torn betwix and between.

PB_PM

The mechanical shutter isn't so much a problem as the mirror. Shutters in cameras like the D4 and other semi-pro models are opening at 1/8000s, more than fast enough. The mirror on the other hand is reaching reaching the limit, it simply cannot swing open and closed fast enough to allow for shutter speeds faster than 10-11FPS. The cameras that shoot faster than that either have to lock the mirror up (1DX) or they use a fixed semi-transparent mirror (Sony SLT cameras).

JJ_SO

Each has his/her own "killer". A colleague bought his D7100 3 hours after I did, also ordering it without any test before. He IS shooting birds and his reply on my question "what do you do when D400 comes out?" was "then I gonna buy it, too".

For him, the shutter noise of the pro bodies (even in Quiet mode) is the "killer". He favored D7000, D600 and now D7100 because they are much more quiet - birds seem to like that. And he never complaints about low burst or buffer.

I think, it depends - shooting flying or breeding birds with high burst rate is complete nonsense in a forrest and can only be done in a free area - when uncovered, birds have to fly faster, therefore a faster cam is needed, too. He's selling his bird pics pretty well - and one of the guys who rather go in the forrest to sit endless hours waiting for a nice shot instead in front of a computer waiting for an opportunity to post in a forum. Actually, he seems to be a bit allergic and says, some people always find the downsides and never enjoy the well-done features.

TriShooter

PB_PM, thank you for correcting my comment which was misleading. I agree.

JJ_SO, most of my bird shooting is on large ponds, and along river banks. Your friend makes a good point, in that a large number of shots even in areas like I shoot in do not a large memory buffer. Reasonably fps is a a useful feature in a dense forest, but the buffer size is almost insignificant, because moving animals, and birds in flight, appear and disappear very fast.

Shutter noise is a legitimate concern, but a mirrorless camera gives us the option of an electronic shutter, which is very quiet. In addition a higher fps in a mirrorless camera makes tracking birds in flight much easier while shooting a rapid burst from my experience, which is limited to the V1, and Sony.

Your friend makes an excellent point on enjoying the good features, instead of dwelling on the downsides of a camera. Almost everyone I know with a D300/S has a D7000 because reason, and the enjoyment of the wanted new features prevails.

My comments are coloured by the amount of time it is taking Nikon to clearly announce a D300 replacement, or drop it. I do not mind waiting, as much as being left in the dark with a clearer road map from Nikon on their plans which in turn affect my planning for camera and lens purchases.

I do not expect, or want, Nikon to leak their plans to us on future innovations for a specific model. However, I feel Nikon has an obligation, as a courtesy to their end users, to be clearer going forward about their road map for market segments like the D300/S.

JJ_SO

@TriShooter: Yes, I also miss a roadmap for one year or 18 months in advance. Apple is doing the same way, so I wonder if that's not kind of marketing strategy? If I had known there will be a 85/1.8 nearly as good as 85/1.4, would I've bought the triple expensive one? Anyway, I did and except two times without the feeling I "lost money" - it's worth it. My friend the bird (and wedding) shooter has the 300s as well. Bodies are for him the rear end of excellent glass and most of the times he warned me to buy a certain product, he was right.

Msmoto

Well, Andy did not answer my question and I agree the comment was simply a slam and of no merit.....and is now gone.

KnockKnock

This is such a civil forum. Most others would have devolved into name-calling mudslinging within an hour of that first taunting post. Thank you all for the positive experience here.