Nikon D7100 Review

Nikon D7100 Review: Conclusion

The Nikon D7100 is an amazing value. For $1200 you get a 24-megapixel camera with the best image quality of any available APS-C sensor camera and a lot of features from Nikon’s flagship full-frame DSLR, the D4. It does not, however, offer the same performance as the D4. That shouldn’t be a surprise since the D4 costs about 5x as much as the D7100. Still, I was hoping for much better auto focus performance. My 70% keeper rate with the D7100 doesn’t compare to my D3s, which delivers closer to 95%. But the D7100 seems about even with the D300s and maybe even the Canon EOS 7D. And the image quality compares very well to its full-frame brother, the D600. The small buffer is really a problem in RAW mode. Sports shooters will find this frustrating in some situations – especially if they’re coming from a D300s, D700 or any other upper-end Nikon that has a larger buffer. This takes a little getting used to but it is not a deal breaker. I would also have appreciated a faster burst rate – 6 frames per second is just ok for serious sports photography. It would have been nice to be able to boost it to 9 FPS with a battery grip like some other Nikon DSLRs.

But the D7100 is a $1200 camera! It isn’t fair to compare it to the $6000 D4 or the $4900 D3s. Even the D300s cost $1600 when it was introduced, back in 2009. The Nikon D7100 has serious performance for the price. It has a lot to offer someone who wants to upgrade from a D300, D90 or any of Nikon’s entry-level digital SLRs. Or even non-Nikon APS-C digital SLRs, for that matter. The size and weight combined with the image quality and price make it a fantastic backup camera for a pro, too. It’s not the D400 I was personally hoping for, but it’s pretty close. Landscape, wildlife, and macro photographers will love the D7100. If you’re a sports photographer on a budget, the D7100 is probably the best digital SLR on the market right now – as long as you have a computer system that can handle the 24-megapixel files. For me, the detail and image quality from the 24-megapixel sensor and the new video options are worth giving the D7100 a chance. I was on the fence for a while but the radishes pushed me over the edge. I think I am going to keep it.

- end -

Rob Norbutt is a Salt Lake City based professional action sports photographer. His company, The Infinity Machine, covers combat sports and motorcycle events in Utah and the Mountain West. When not shooting, Rob can be found working on his cauliflower ears at Absolute MMA or exploring Utah on mountain bikes, dirt bikes or his splitboard.