Reading mode: Light Dark

D800E vs. D7100 for warblers?

Go to last post
JimPearce

JimPearce

Veteran Member
Messages
9,272
Solutions
2
Reaction score
3,513
Location
CA
I have a difficult decision to make between these two cameras for this specific purpose. I'm shooting with a 500 f4 AF-S & TC-14E with fill flash (SB-800, quantum battery, flash extender) in aperture priority mode, high speed sync, std. TTL. Speed and buffer don't count as the recycle time for the flash sets the pace. Resolution - in terms of file size for printing - is off the table as well as I would shoot the D800E in 1.2x crop mode. Cost is not really relevant, as I can easily afford either.

My assumption is that I would shoot the D7100 much as I do my D300: largely ISO 400 (and above), f7.1. The D800E with the 1.2x crop I would shoot at f9, ISO 640 and above. This should establish equivalence. I'm assuming that the D800E will have about a 1-1/3 stop advantage in DR and noise at a given ISO in the relevant range - up to 1600 on the D7100 and 2500 on the D800.

My take on the advantages/disadvantages of the cameras is this:

D800E advantages:
  • Pro body: more rugged, more familiar controls (coming from D2X, D300/s).
  • Proven technology: thoroughly tested at this point.
D7100 advantages:
  • Reach: 1050mm vs. 840mm (35mm equivalent).
  • Viewfinder: slightly more magnification.
I'm in a genuine quandary here. Any insights?
 
I think the only way you're going to know for sure is to rent both cameras on the same day and have a little shootout. That's what I'm going to do when the D7100 is available. In the meantime, the D800e is the greatest piece of of camera gear I've ever owned by a country mile.
 
large.jpg


The D800 works well (picture taken from about 10 meters), the high resolution makes for easy cropping; the d800e is not much different, Peter


--
www.pbase.com

Galleries by gardener

www.pbase.com
 
Yes, I think it is too close to call without actually doing it. I think due to time constraints I'll buy the D7100 and borrow a D800 from a friend. I can always give the D7100 to my daughter if I don't like it.
 
Just wait to make sure Nikon has 'cleaned up' their act as it comes to dust or oil on sensor. It would be nice to know if there is something protecting the surface of the sensor before trying to clean it. I'll wait until late summer to make sure there isn't going to be a D400 this year. I like the thought a Crop on the DX to get 2X POV with my lenses.
 
Heres a couple shots I took the other day, one of a bushtit and one of a yellow rumpled warbler. The bushtit was taken with a Nikon 500 f4.0 vr lens with a tc 1.4EII mounted on a d4. The warbler was shot with the Nikon 500 with a tc 1.7EII. The warbler had a small limb on part of his body, but other than that both images are extremely sharp. A little crop on both images, but not a lot.

Larry

bushtit
bushtit

yellow rumped warbler
yellow rumped warbler
 
You might find that it comes down to other considerations.

For example "quiet mode" on the D800/800e is not really at all quiet and doesn't reduce mirror-slap very much. On the other hand on the D7000 (and I expect/hope(!) also the D7100) "quiet" mode is very quiet and very effective in reducing mirror slap (although the D7000 has less mirror-slap to start with).

The larger field of viewfinder view with the D800 and other FX cameras is a double-edged sword with bird photography. On the one hand you don't get quite as much image magnification in the viewfinder however on the other hand the wider field of view is often very helpful when trying to track fast moving birds. Personally I prefer to have the wider field in most situations but there is a case for both. The ideal would be to have a switchable built-in viewfindwer magnifier!

Frank
 
We have them all year here but in late spring I photograph them on a mountain side with a garry oak meadow, makes for great perches and great bokeh. On D800 vs D7100 as much as the flash will determine max fps in many shooting conditions the D800 has a much larger buffer, and for me the CF always seem to be faster then SD but may not be the case in the newer cameras
 
Other question do you ever where camo clothing, i wear full camo, tripod and pack included makes a huge difference for getting close especially using the 300mm f4 like i do.
 
Reilly Diefenbach said:
Reilly Diefenbach wrote:

I think the only way you're going to know for sure is to rent both cameras on the same day and have a little shootout. That's what I'm going to do when the D7100 is available. In the meantime, the D800e is the greatest piece of of camera gear I've ever owned by a country mile.
Click to expand...
I agree, the D800E is truly amazing camera, and also the best I have ever owned. I am also looking to pickup the D7100 as a second body for the D800E for my wife and kids to use. I was going to go with D5200, but because the D7100 has no filter, I would take it in a heart beat. I am glad Nikon is going this direction with no filter. After you own a camera with no filter, I can't imagine owning one with it. It is that good.!!!
 
Hi Jim,

I have asked myself the same question. You only talk about the TC14. I found to my amazement that with the D800/E I can use the TC17 and even the TC20 with great results. Shooting at 1/1000s, f10 VR on with the 500mm, handheld. The AF capability of the D800/E is amzaing with these converters. The D300 of D7000 did not even come close. Furthermore the insufficient buffer of the D7100 is unacceptable. I will wait for the D400. In the meantime I am getting the best results ever with the D800/E.
 
Yes, the TC-17E would be an option with the D800E, likely at f10 and ISO 800 to 3200. As I indicated above, the buffer limitation of the D7100 is of no concern to me for warblers and spring songbirds since I do all of it with fill flash. Obviously it rules out the D7100 as my principle wildlife camera.
 
Jim,

Do not forget that the reach advantage of a DX sensor is not a true "reach". The magnification from the same distance remains the same, just that it will fill more on the DX sensor than on the 35mm sensor.

I personally use the D800 and I am very happy with it. I seldom shoot in DX mode though. I just crop my images as needed. The D800 is very forgiving when cropping some of the image. For birding I use a 300mm f2.8 VR II with extenders. I use the Kenko TelePlus 1.4 300 Pro and the new Nikkor AF-S TC-20E III converters. Both are excellent. In my experience the Kenko rivals the Nikon 1.4x easily.

Although as mentioned above I very seldom use the DX format on the D800 I often use the 1.2 crop mode. It just seem to be a good crop option for me.

I personally vote for the D800/D800E.

Best, AIK
 
Nothing matches the D800E. It is in my opinion the king of DSLRs at present. D7100 sounds nice but hey - 36.3 mp and high sensitivity low noise and great dynamic range? Wow, what's not to love?

ISO6400 is clean by the way so ISO2500 is way within its comfort zone.

Greg.
 
Some reviews are likely by the end of the month. As the MP is different I would expect DR and noise differences to be no more than one stop at high ISO's, and maybe less at the lower end of your preferred ISO range.

I assume that you intend to crop the D800 image a little in addition to 1.2x mode rather than to use any more powerful converter than the TC14e.

In low light in the D7000 viewfinder brightness is one stop better than the D800. I will be comparing the D7000 viewfinder brightness to the D7100 on Monday to see if the 51 point autofocus makes a brightness difference.

If you might occasionally use a 2x converter the D800 has more cross type sensors at effective f8.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Keyboard shortcuts

f
Forum
m
My threads
Mobile site
About
Editorial content
Cameras & Lenses
Community
All content, design, and layout are Copyright © 1998–2025 Digital Photography Review All Rights Reserved.
Reproduction in whole or part in any form or medium without specific written permission is prohibited.
When you use DPReview links to buy products, the site may earn a commission.
©GPS Media - Guides, Products, Services.
Back
Top