D7100 to D7200 or D500

Pistnbroke

I have two D7100 which I use for my limited time bird photography ..no problems with buffer etc.
Should I get a D7200 or D500 for better image quality with my 200-500 ?
D500..dont like 20mp don't like XQD ,don't like pro controls, don't like the price.
D7200. two SD , U1 U2 24 mp half the price..
BUT WHICH GIVES BEST IQ AND IS IT BETTER THAN THE 7100 ??

Ton14

My 2 cents. Changed my D300 for the D7200 a couple of month ago and the D7200 can easy compete with my FF D600 due to image quality. Rented the D500 for a weekend and was disappointed by the kind of noise it produced, but it is not fair to compare the 20mp DX with the 24mp FF. The D7200 at ISO 1600 is good and 3200 is also good, depending on the circumstances. I can only compare it with the 24mp sensor and the FF is better then DX of course.

I shoot mostly in RAW, but the JPG's are also very good. Use the D7200 crop sensor mostly for bird photography. I have the 70-200mm f/4 now, same IQ as the f/2.8, wanted a 300mm lens and decided to buy the D7200 instead of the € 2000.-, D300mm f/4 lens. No regrets at all and have even more zoom when I set it to 1.3 DX, fun.

I like the D7200 with the 70-200mm f/4 combo very much, super fast focus. Have it on my belt with the peak design clip, easy to carry.

My subjective opinion is that the IQ of the D7200 is better then the D500, but nowadays we can make top photo's with every camera.

Pistnbroke

Thanks tony very helpful as you compare the 7200 with the 500 and find the 7200 better.
Now we want someone who upgraded from a 7100 to a 7200 !!

Ton14

Yep, I'am curious too, because the D7100 still is a top camera.

spraynpray

I think you should be concentrating on the AF because a blurred 24mp picture is useless but a sharp 20mp isn't. That's the big gain and bird photography is the only circumstance I think my choice would be D500 over D7200. The D500/200-500 is the business.

If the D500 gives you good sharp shots (even if you can't blow them up as huge), you will soon forget trivialites like price and controls.

mhedges

May also want to consider the 70-300 AF-P. I'm not sure if it's long enough but the AF is near instant.

WestEndFoto

Use your D850 in DX crop mode. I seem to recall that you have one.

Ton14

@spraynpray Oh yes, the D500 gives sharp shots only. I took 20 shots continuous, all sharp, but I do not need this, that's also a reason why I decided for the D7200, beside the price difference of course. For BIF the D500 is the best I think. For "limited time bird photography" the D7200 will do the job very well.

But the question is, is there an IQ advantaged of the D7200 and the D500 over the D7100. My cousin is still very happy with his 10 year old D7100, but he is a professional Photoshop editor

Sports

The D7500 has the same sensor as the D500, is a much faster camera than the D7100, and has non-pro controls.....

spraynpray

I loved my D7100 and I understand there is a small improvement in IQ over the D7100. I think the D7200 has a slightly better AF module and higher native ISO but not big differences.

retread

I have a D7200 and a D500. Love them both in their place. I am sure the D7500 is a good camera too but I want a vertical grip.

tc88

There is minimum difference between the sensors on all 3. I'm even of the opinion that there is a slight degrade on the D500 sensor.

So if you don't need the buffer, there is no need to upgrade to D7200 from D7100. On the D500, if you don't need AF, there is no need to upgrade either. When I shoot birds, I find it best to just use single point. I'm not sure how much improvement you are going to see between those AFs on a single point. Besides, 200-500 focuses pretty slow anyway.

So I say hold your money. Neither of the upgrade is big enough to be worthwhile.

Pistnbroke

So I say hold your money. Neither of the upgrade is big enough to be worthwhile.

I like holding on to my money...think I will stick with what I got until I find a point of dissatisfaction to prompt a change...
I think the 500 degrade is because they have moved the minimum noise point up from 100 iso to about 1600 ....this means they can claim better high iso performance.
I will try the D810 but see no point in crop mode ...the wider view makes it faster to find birds in the viewfinder but 15 not 24 mp ...ooo don't know
Thanks as always for your constructive help

KnockKnock

I'd go D500! Reading Thom Hogan's thoughts on the matter, if you're shooting BiF at high telephoto, you're going to be up in the action shutter speeds which demand ISO go over 100. I think reviews show the D500 (and 7500) start to outshine the 7200 after ISO 400-800, and be ahead after that. The viewfinder's bigger, the AF is better, and now I'm talking myself into it :-P

Pistnbroke

Sticking with the D7100 at present..remember my first post

D500..dont like 20mp don't like XQD ,don't like pro controls, don't like the price.

D7500 one card no thanks.

Ton14

Shooting BiF needs practise, a lens with fast and good autofocus, learning the habits from the birds you want to photograph and how to come close to them. 6 fps will do already.

Or.., read reviews, buy the D500, D850 etc. and $10.000.- +, big lenses, point, press the shutter, hear rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr and hope for the best, ok it is a technique nowadays, all sports journalists on big events do it this way. Keep in mind that these guys have fast WiFi and editors. But the reviews are very helpfull for what to choose.

When you come home you need a lot of time behind your computer to select what you want, the bright site is that these photo's are then all new to you and that's fun too.

Hiker

Check out the D7500. It seems to be coming into it's own now. Newer sensor than the D7200, and 3 mp's not a big issue.

HankB

Depending on ALL of the role(s) you need the specific camera for, whether or not it has onboard popup flash could be at least as important as the much debated 20 vs 24 MP issue.

Interestingly, going through all the pros and cons to popup flash, there doesn’t seem to be a credible downside to just having one onboard even if you never (or think you never will) use it.

Pistnbroke

Hiker you say 20 mp not an issue but check out angry photographer pics of the moon at 24 and 20 mp.
Hank yes the built in flash ..for me its just a spare but as I carry two cameras with flashes attached (SB400) I can always do a swop. In fact its a pain when the built in flash pops up for no reason.

retread

I have printed 16 x 20 with 16 mp, 24 x 36 with 20 mp and 30 x 48 with 24 mp. They all looked fine to me.

WestEndFoto

HankB said:

Depending on ALL of the role(s) you need the specific camera for, whether or not it has onboard popup flash could be at least as important as the much debated 20 vs 24 MP issue.

Interestingly, going through all the pros and cons to popup flash, there doesn’t seem to be a credible downside to just having one onboard even if you never (or think you never will) use it.

Weather sealing. No flash improves this.

Takes up space is another. You don't realize that until you upgrade from a D800 to a D850 and benefit from the bigger viewfinder that they used the "flash space" for. This is not a game changer, but it is nice.

And of the 400,000 or so shots I took with my D800, numerous with flash, I doubt that I used the built in flash once for an intentional picture, except as a commander for CLS - but even then I just used one of my SB-910s because I want to use the flash's commander mode, not the camera's.

sport

I will second what WestEndFoto wrote. I carry an sb400 and sb600 if I need a flash.

Hiker

Pistnbroke said:

Hiker you say 20 mp not an issue but check out angry photographer pics of the moon at 24 and 20 mp.
Hank yes the built in flash ..for me its just a spare but as I carry two cameras with flashes attached (SB400) I can always do a swop. In fact its a pain when the built in flash pops up for no reason.

Is he ever happy??

Hiker

HankB said:

Depending on ALL of the role(s) you need the specific camera for, whether or not it has onboard popup flash could be at least as important as the much debated 20 vs 24 MP issue.

Interestingly, going through all the pros and cons to popup flash, there doesn’t seem to be a credible downside to just having one onboard even if you never (or think you never will) use it.

With the ISO performance of the A7iii is a flash really needed in some cases?

PB_PM

Hiker said:

A7iii is a flash really needed in some cases?

Natural light is good for many things, but high ISO does not replace the need for a flash when you want the light to look a particular way. Not a fan of using built in flashes myself, but they can be nice in a pinch.

HankB

WestEndFoto said:

Weather sealing. No flash improves this.

Takes up space is another. You don't realize that until you upgrade from a D800 to a D850 and benefit from the bigger viewfinder that they used the "flash space" for. This is not a game changer, but it is nice.

Good point about the space available to maximize viewfinder size. Of course, this really just applies pro level, not the D7xxx level.

As for sealing, I don’t see why all the popup mechanicals can’t be 100% outside the body’s weather sealed envelope. A pair of wires passing through the shell would hardly be a DSLR’s weak point for weather sealing.

Pistnbroke said:

In fact its a pain when the built in flash pops up for no reason.

This may be a bit crude, but if you never ever use the flash, try this: wrap a length of black vinyl electrical tape, slit lengthwise to abut 1/2 normal width, wrapped around the front edge of the popup and the adjacent stationary protrusion of the body shell.

There is something to be said for walking around with just one camera with one lens, plus at most a filter or two in your pocket. You still have an effective fill flash. Just like "the best camera is the one you have with you", the best flash is the one you have with you! So focusing on the name of this thread, "D7100 to D7200 or D500", popup flash is a point of consideration for some.