Who is upgrading to Nikon D7100 and why?

mosswings wrote:

I doubt that I will, even though my D90 looks ancient in comparison. Many things about the D7100 look attractive, including the better AF system and image processing, but the real decision for me is whether to continue with DX DSLRs at all any more given that u4/3 systems are offering near-equivalent IQ in a smaller package better suited for travel photography. The big thing that stops me is AF responsiveness and tracking; with the exception of the Series 1, it ain't there yet, and it definitely ain't there yet at light levels below EV8.

If you put a gun to my head and told me I had to replace my D90 with another DSLR, I would have to say that the D5200 would give me pretty much everything I regularly use or want at this point. No AF fine-tuning, but a pass through Nikon service fixes that for years of use. No 51 pt AF, but 39 pts is a huge improvement over 11. No 100% pentaprism, but the 78% pentamirror is OK. A flippy LCD for those low angle shots, and a body that doesn't get ever-bigger with each iteration.

My preference would be to wait for a Nikon DX mirrorless camera. I suspect that one will show up this Christmas at about the time the D3200 will be refreshed and a higher end model will appear at the D5200 refresh. The main reason I want to wait is to preserve my investment in Nikon glass. However, if I thought about it a minute I'd realize that doesn't make the greatest sense; much of the bulk of a DX system is in the lenses in the first place. And if I were to be honest, the first thing I'd look at were I to stay with DX are my lenses.

Sony is still building the best sensors with the smoothest noise characteristics. But now they aren't letting Nikon use their present generation. We don't know yet if the D7100 will exhibit the same pattern noise issues as the D5200. For all the cool new subsystems in this camera, this current generation's IQ hasn't really changed that much and may even be a step slightly backwards for some purposes.

If Sony had better walkaround zooms and nailed hybrid AF, I might be tempted to pack an NEX.

But not quite yet.

And the D90 still takes great pictures.