Nikon D7100 In-Depth Review

i've been through buying and selling camera bodies that i regret doing, since it's more of a loss than gain profit though i get to test most nikon and canon bodies from 2010 to 2014. i've used and sold 5d mark 3, 6d, d610, d810, d750, d7000, d7100, 60d, 70d, most canon rebels, nikon 3k and 5k series up to 2014 and i came to realize that if one knows what he's doing, d7000 image quality can really go up there with shots made with 5d mark 3. yes autofocus are better with some bodies, dynamic range, noise and resolution, but with base iso, same equivalent prime lenses, shooting with external lights available, uploading on social media and printing album photos, all cameras from 2010 and beyond are capable. i kept d7100 and d7000 and i feel they're all i need. i might replace these with a 5d mark 4 someday, but for now im good. glass is more important to invest in

I own 2 D7000s and 1 D7100 and have shot more than 100,000 images with them. Great cameras all! I do think that the D7100 is a significantly better camera than its predecessor, however. More accurate focusing when shooting wldlife, especially birds in flight, is one of the greatest improvements I've experienced. I also love the new artificial horizon feature that allows you to see the hash marks whilelooking through the viewfinder! One thing that has proven troublesome for me is the decesion to delete the plastic LCD screen protector featured on the D7000 as the reduced height now allows my nose to constantly contact the white balance button resulting in bizzare changes to white balance when using the main command wheel while looking through the viewfinder. All in all a great camera!

I am delighted with this camera. I agree that great glass is needed to really extract the 7100's abilities. Best Nikon I have used. Almost bought the D7200, but pleased with the D7100, and saved quite a bit vs. D7200. A D500 might happen in a few years, but I am in no hurry.

I enjoy this camera every day for several years! just add lenses...

I would like some comments regarding the focus hunt in live view / video mode. I have a D3100 and have also used a D3300 with the 18-55VR, 55-200VR and 70-300VR. With those cameras and lenses, the hunting action is much more pronounced than what I see in the "focus hunt" video in this review. My question is, is the improvement here because of the D7100, or because of the 18-105VR lens? I suspect it is because of the D7100. I know Nikon is not the best in this area, but as a hobbyist I am fine with what I see in this video. If anyone else sees better performance on any other Nikon DSLR, I would like to hear about it. Thanks.

Thank you Michael 59! I thought I was going blind. Santa found a way to get me a Nikon d7100, put it on a tripod, hung 8 lbs from the center pole, tethered it to my Windows 10 box, used a new 35 mm prime, adjusted the diopter setting ala Thom Hogan's advice, did everything but single point focus, again, thank you!

I did have some focus issues at first, but after doing some test shots and using a little common sense I figured out what the problem. I was relying on the cameras ability to focus on what I wanted it to focus on. Big mistake! Altough the camera usually does a fair job at choosing the correct subject to focus on it will often miss. I have found that single point AF is best if you know and have a specific object or point you want in focus. If it's distant scenery or things of that nature Auto-Area AF or similar works modes are great for that. Qucik moving subjects are best handled with 3D Tracking. No one focus mode covers every situation as some will claim. Study your camera and what works best with what. My still images are tack sharp now thanks to single-point AF. Be sure you use a good quality lenses also. Preferably Nikon. The camera is only as good as the lenses.

I just recently purchased a refurbished D7100 and love it so far. I've had a D7000 for a few months now and like the solid feel these cameras have, plus the weather sealing. I upgraded from the D5200 to the D7100 for the above reason plus the D7000 and D7100 accept old manual focus lenses, which I have several of. I now have the D7100 and my D7000 as a back up. Both cameras take beautiful pictures and fun to use and actually have more features than most people will ever use, but it's nice to know they are there if needed. I think I'm where I want to be camera wise for a long time.

Gold award... cool... and the much improved D7200... Silver award... interesting... LOL!

Thinking about buying D7100 body. Have lenses from my d3000. Are they going to fit, or have a fit!!!! Will I suffer the improvements I hope to get unless I buy new lenses. Thanks folks.

Hi everyone,

I have a Nikon D7100 and I'm new to Nikon.
I have problem with this camera: when i turn it on the information display is off and I have to press the "i" button turn the display on, is this the Nikon cameras normal behavior?
Is there any way to have the display on at camera's start up.
thanks

Picked up a refurb from Nikon for $600, pretty sweet deal !! Jpeg, crop mode and 7fps perfect for birding !!!!!

It's time for an upgrade — sensor tech, better processing engine, lower noise at high ISO, 60p+4K video, focus peaking ..... Ok just a wish list.

I Have A D 5200 and a D7100 the cameras are great but new to and trying to learn more about them . Taking some classes with a local camera shop soon

I want to buy the D7100 as a second body to use near my D800E. It will be interesting to use the best lenses mounted on a DX camera. The DX sensor "uses" only the center part(the best part) of the lens which are built for the FX format.

I'm in the process of choosing a second camera body .I already have to Nikon D5100. Have been reviewing the Nikon D5300 and the Nikon D7100. The processor in the D5300 is slightly faster. These two cameras are very similar. I like landscape, wildlife and macro photography.I have a 3oomm f4 prime lens which I love using. Can anyone out there shed a bit more light on helping me decide which one to buy ? many thanks.

I got a question. Im thinking about buying this camera for Landscape Photography and im having trouble choosing lenses. Is the Nikon 18-200mm VR II compatible with the D7100 and is it good for landscape photography?

I know this review has been out there for some time now but I don't see any evidence of "banding" in the samples provided above when increasing the exposure or increasing the brightness in LR. That really puzzles me, because I can create the "banding" issue in almost every one of my D7100 images when increasing the exposure or increasing the brightness. Don't get me wrong, it's not my attention to find fault w/the D7100 but I have a lot of good pics where the "banding" is evident w/out pushing the exposure. And like others, it's now really bugging me to the point where I feel the D7100 is a faulty piece of equipment... much like the D600 was. My D7000 produces no such issues when the exposure or brightness is increased. I read where the sample images of the D7100 at The Imaging Resource do not display banding either. So here's the question... did DPReview and the The Imaging Resource get D7100s w/an improved sensor over production models or are many D7100 faulty and need service.

I'm confused. In this review, the 100% coverage viewfinder is mentioned as a prod, but in the K-3 review it is not mentioned. In this review, "6 fps burst rate (7 fps in 1.3x crop mode) is mentioned as a pro". The K-3 review says "Good buffer depth and continuous shooting rate" for a pro. It's over 8 fps. There are other disparities of this type as well.

With Canon not admitting that the 70d has Auto focus problems I started to look at the D7100 and found that after a while it gets oil and spots problems on the sensor? Apparently when I starts it keeps on coming back? I really just want a good and reliable camera

To be perfect for class the D7100 needs three things:
* Tiltable touch screen (ala D5300, EOS 70D, EM1, XT1, et al)
* Onboard WiFi
* Onboard GPS
Will we see D7200 at Photokina 2014? Got fingers crossed...

I had focus problems on my D7000 for 2 years. Sometimes perfect, often not, The auto focus fine tune adjustments would disappear whenever the camera shut down. It was finally replaced a month ago under warranty with a D7100. What a difference. The sharpness is already well covered here so I'll comment on dynamic range. I shot an event recently and didn't compensate for back-light on some quick shots of the participants. Those color photos looked like silhouettes ...black on white. When I processed them in LR5 though, they actually turned out fine. Even though shot at ISO800 the images had enough range and contained enough data to generate good skin tone and eyes and even fine peach fuzz on arms and cheeks turned out. I could not have saved those from the D7000 even in RAW, because it clipped too hard at both ends ...highlights and shadows. It would also have 'hunted' focus in that situation. So to me the D7100 is excellent and shows what 2 years of technological improvements can do.

I am ready to buy Nikon d7100. Just one question, I have old D200 and sets of lenses. Are those lenses compatible with D7100?

Actions speak louder than words..... Just ordered a second body :)
Sigma 18-35 F1.8 on one body and the Sigma 50-150 F2.8 on the other !
Also ordered the 18-140 as a walkabout for when I am not in the mood for carrying a lot of weight :)
Still waiting for the D400 though... grrrrrr Please wake up NIKON !!!!!!!

Just upgraded to the D7100 from the D7000. I'm finding it a very capable camera, so far. Could someone tell me if there is somewhere to increase the sharpness in camera? I was sure the D7000 had that option somewhere.

My D7100, bought last May, is fantastic. Together with the 16-85, it is incredible. The dynamic range compared with my D300 is a major upgrade. Photos of a play with spotlights and much dark areas, were wonderful in edited RAW. Used exposure with center weighted aimed at bright area. Unedited, the dark was very dark, but in PS the shadows opened up perfectly. This increased dynamic range is clearly a remarkable advance. This is also shown on page 14 of the review. The 16-85 lens is extremely sharp. In case you didn't get it, I'm very happy with this setup.