Nikon D7100 Pro Reviews

There are a few extra things we would have liked to have seen in the D7100, but its performance as a conventional stills camera is still really competitive. If you're interested only in regular stills photography, the cost-saving over the newer D7200 is undeniably tempting. But if you're interested in action photography, movies or wireless control and transfer, the D7200 is really the one to go for. For action fans the extra buffer capacity will be crucial, and videographers benefit from some useful new features. And while the WU-1a wireless adaptor works perfectly well with the D7100, it's much simpler to have it built in with the D7200.

The D7100 takes the well-respected D7000 and makes it even better. It's a no-brainer choice for those looking to step up from more consumer-oriented DSLRs. As for those considering upgrading from their D7000s, it's a more difficult choice. If you need a higher resolution image, more AF points and expanded HD video capabilities, then you should strongly consider this evolutionary upgrade. But be aware that though the D7000 is somewhat long in the tooth, it still holds up pretty well against the new breed of DSLRs. That said, no matter who's considering the D7100, we think it's a great camera geared for serious, almost pro-level photography and deserves a Dave's Pick.

A superbly conceived DSLR with very few weaknesses – an ideal choice for enthusiasts

If someone were to ask for a recommendation for an enthusiast DSLR in this price category, we wouldn’t hesitate a moment – the D7100 is it. For all the points detailed above, it’s a wonderful camera and really geared for someone who takes their photography seriously. We can almost guarantee the User’s Manual will soon become your new bedside companion as you delve into all the advanced features offered by this camera. Stills are a slam dunk, but we have our issues with shooting videos as it should be a simpler, smoother process. Even with this shortcoming – found on nearly every other DSLR – we dub the D7100 an Editor’s Choice.

If you're in the market for a serious D-SLR, but don't want to go full-frame, the Nikon D7100 is the way to go; it's our Editors' Choice camera in its category.

A well-rounded enthusiasts' SLR with exceptional image quality and ergonomics

The Nikon D7100 is perhaps one of the most complete enthusiast DSLRs we've seen to date, with an abundance of functionality packed into a reasonably compact body. It's certainly a more significant improvement than certain other recently updated DSLRs, and having such a rounded feature set means it's likely to appeal to a broader range of users than the average DSLR.The good news is that the Nikon D7100's sterling spec sheet is matched by a high standard of images. Thanks to the omission of the anti-aliasing filter images exhibit a certain crispness, particularly when used with a fine lens, and this is confirmed by lab testing which shows the camera continuing to resolve plenty of detail at higher sensitivities. The metering and Auto White Balance systems are difficult to fault too, meaning that images generally do well to resemble the scene as it appeared at the point of capture. The fact that the Nikon D7100 attempts to do so many things well – in the sense that it delivers high-resolution images, has a reasonably fast burst rate etc. – is perhaps the reason it comes unstuck from times to time, though. A sensor so saturated in pixels equates to noise far earlier in the ISO range than expected, while the Raw burst depth of just six frames at the highest quality settings is no doubt a consequence of having to process such massive files.

There isn't much that we can say is wrong with the D7100 except for a couple of minor quibbles. But in the end, this may just be the best darned ASP-C DSLR that we've seen in a while. The fast fps shooting abilities will appeal to birding shooters, the dad photographing their kid's basketball game (and this is probably the perfect camera for it, and for the weekend landscaper. The sensor performance is top notch and that images yielded from the camera are super crisp due to the lack of a Low Pass filter. As far as autofocusing performance goes, everyone will be happy with just how fast the D7100 can keep up with whatever subject matter you choose to photograph. Granted, it will suffer in low light, but it will still be overall quite good. While we don't really recommend this camera for video capture, the quality overall can be very good but you'll want to use a cinema prime to take the most advantage of what's capable of this camera. In the end, Canon, Sony and Pentax will have to create quite a killer camera to combat this new flagship from Nikon--and Nikon's large selection of lenses won't make it easier.

So by not beating the D5200 on quality, not becoming a D400, and not significantly out-doing the D7000, it's easy to become a little blasé about the D7100. But this would be doing it a huge disservice. It really is an excellent DSLR with a broad feature-set and great image quality, and as such is easy to Highly Recommend. There's no doubt it will sell very well, but I also believe it'll drive sales of the D5200 for those who desire the D7100's quality in a simpler and more affordable package, not to mention the earlier D7000 for those who want much of the D7100's feature-set and handling again at a cheaper price. Now it only remains to be seen what, if anything, Canon has up its sleeve for a possible 60D and 7D successor.

In summary the new Nikon D7100 further improves on the already excellent D7000 in several key ways and many minor ones, all adding up to make this the best DX-format DSLR to date. Nikon may be focusing on a full-frame future, but the D7100 clearly shows that they haven't forgotten the cropped sensor market. It may look almost identical to its predecessor, but the Nikon D7100 certainly proves that first impressions can be very deceiving...

The D7100 is a well-built enthusiast DSLR that offers impressive image quality and easy access to shooting parameters along with a high degree of customization options. Video output is a bit disappointing and a very small image buffer limits sports shooters to JPEG-only mode.

Like the Canon 60D and T4i when they were young, the Nikon D7100's advantage over its lower-cost sibling, the D5200, isn't photo quality; it's speed and build quality. But for a lot of folks the D5200 is fast enough, and if you don't need the extra speed or weather sealing, you're better off putting the money you save toward a really good lens. The D7100 is a great camera for still photography, but doesn't feel like a must-have upgrade unless you've got a significant investment in good Nikon-mount lenses and need speed and durability on a budget -- right now. But if you're not in a rush to buy, I'd wait and see if a D300s replacement is nigh and what it might have to offer.

The Nikon D7100 offers a compelling set of features, in a well built weather sealed body with a great looking 3.2inch screen. An updated 51 point focus system ensures focus is rapid and reliable, with the camera responding quickly. The camera features 6fps shooting in JPEG for 99 shots, which can be increased to 7fps when using 1.3x crop mode, although this isn't as quick as the Canon EOS 7D, or the Sony Alpha A77 with 12fps shooting. The Nikon D7100 is one of very few crop (APS-C) sensor Digital SLRs without the OLPF, with the only other similar price Digital SLR, the Pentax K-5 IIs, featuring a lower resolution 16 megapixel sensor. This means the Nikon D7100, with 24 megapixel sensor, is capable of producing some of the sharpest images we've seen from an APS-C Digital SLR. As we found with the Nikon D800E, without OLPF, correct technique and attention to detail is important to achieve the sharpest results, but for those that are looking to get the best image quality possible, the additional effort is well worth the time. The Nikon D7100 is an impressive update to the D7000, providing a higher resolution 24 megapixel APS-C sensor, but not only that, it also provides the ability to take the sharpest possible images thanks to the lack of optical low pass filter (OLPF). Although for optimum performance and for best results care should be paid to the quality of lenses used. The Nikon D7100 is introduced at a competitive price point, and it certainly makes this camera highly recommended.

The Nikon D7100 isn't just an upgrade in terms of additional megapixels crammed into the sensor, but the removal of the optical low pass filter means that with the correct technique, you should be able to take the sharpest and most detailed images possible from an APS-C Nikon camera. As we found out in our Nikon D800 vs Nikon D800E review, with increased detail possible, correct technique becomes even more important. For some it would have been nice to see an increased continuous shooting speed, however there are enough upgrades included in the D7100 to make it worth serious thought, even if you do have a D7000 currently. Updates including an increased number of focus points, an improved screen, full HD video at 30/25/24fps and stereo sound recording, as well as improved design, make the D7100 an impressive Digital SLR and one that's well worth investing money and time in, particularly as the Nikon D7100 could take you to your next level of photography.

There's a lot to love about the D7100: comprehensive 51-point autofocus - despite the occasional non-focus glitch - is great to use through the large, 100 per cent optical viewfinder and we're big fans of the new 1.3x crop mode too. Image quality is also good in the main, but this is the same sensor as found in the D5200 - despite its "new developments" - and, therefore, comes with the same banding in shadow areas issue as we found in that other Nikon model. It tends to only be an issue when pushing images in post-production, but that can still be a problem. To get the most out of images and, indeed, the fact that the low-pass filter has been removed from the design, we'd definitely suggest working on the raw files as the D7100's JPEG shots soften images at all sensitivities by their comparison. As the lower ISO sensitivities don't suffer from much image noise at all this is the way to get the most out of this DSLR - and that's when the D7100's images really shine. All in all we're impressed with the D7100 - it delivers great images, has an extensive autofocus system with 1.3x crop option, a long-lasting battery life and both the viewfinder and LCD screen are decent.What we'd like to see is yet more sensor improvements and a more capable buffer for burst shooting in the future - that would elevate this series to the next level. As it stands those two points hold backs the camera from perfection, alongside one or two other niggles, but - and as we've listed at length - what this DSLR does do right it does oh so well.