Nikon D7100 DSLR test: overall, definitely liked and respected the camera

On February 20, 2013, Nikon announced a new DSLR digital camera model, the Nikon D7100. The new model, which replaces the well-deservedly popular Nikon D7000, which for two and a half years served faithfully to enthusiastic amateur photographers, is the third model of the company equipped with an image sensor format APS-C DX with a resolution of 24 million pixels after D3200 and D5200, released on the market in 2012 .

Introduction

If in the segment of entry-level cameras competition is primarily based on price, the closer to professional models, the more important are technical specifications, controllability and ergonomics of models, the presence of original technical solutions. Nikon has not disappointed fans and adepts of the brand by releasing not a slightly tweaked version of a popular model, but a camera with an impressive list of technical innovations and features. Among the distinguishing features of the Nikon D7100:

• 24.1 Megapixel CMOS image sensor without optical low-pass filter OLPF
• Multi-CAM 3500DX autofocus module with 51 focus points, 15 of which are cross-type, and the central point works with lenses with a maximum aperture of f/8. According to the company, the autofocus algorithms of the new model are similar to those used in the professional Nikon D4, and the system is capable of focusing in light levels down to – 2 steps
• Autofocus module interfaced with 2016-pixel RGB exposure metering sensor 3D Color Matrix Metering II with scene recognition system.
• EXPEED 3 processor for continuous shooting at up to 6 frames per second
• Two compartments for memory cards that work with high-speed cards UHS-1 and SDXC.
• Built-in 1.3x cropping function for photo and video mode: continuous frame rate of 15.4 megapixels increases to 7 frames per second, equivalent focal length to 2x, and coverage of 51 AF points takes up most of the frame.
• High-quality 3-diagonal LCD display.2 inches 8 centimeters and a resolution of 1,228,800 dots
• Optical viewfinder with 100% coverage and magnification of 0.94x, equipped with a bright and contrast OLED information display
• Spot White Balance” function – in LiveView mode, simply point to an area on the screen to set a custom white balance
• Magnesium alloy body with top and back panels, with dust and moisture protection that, according to the manufacturer, is as good as the Nikon D600 and D800
• Shutter that has passed a failure test of up to 150,000 operations
• Full HD 1920*1080 video shooting at 30 frames per second, and 50/60i frames per second in 1.3x cropping mode

The specifications of the model allows the company to say that “Nikon D7100 – the best offer in the segment of cameras with sensor size APS-C”, but make confusion in ranking the line of models: D7100 can hardly be considered as a replacement for Nikon D 300s – camera rather amateur and, despite the outstanding ability and impressive capabilities, to “semiprofessional” it is difficult to carry. It’s still unclear whether Nikon will release a replacement for the D300s or whether “semi-professional” is henceforth relegated to full-frame models with 36x24mm image sensors.

Package Contents and Software

The package is standard for Nikon DSLRs and differs from the usual set only in the absence of a protective plastic screen for the camera’s main display. A Nikon D7100 kit kit lens with a Nikkor AF-S DX 18-105/3.5-5.6G IF-ED VR included:

Nikon D7100

Nikon EN-EL15 battery with a protective cover

Nikon DK-23 eyepiece cap

Nikon MH-25 battery charger

Nikon lens mount cover BF-1B

Nikon BS-1 hot shoe cover

UC-E6 USB cable

Nikon DK-5 eyepiece cover

Nikon AN-DC1 shoulder strap

Software CD-ROM

Nikkor AF-S DX 18-105/3 lens.5-5.6G IF-ED VR

Nikon HB-32 hood

Front and back lens caps

Owner’s Manual

Warranty card

The Nikon D7100 comes with Nikon View NX2 software, a program for importing, organizing and editing stills and movies. It is complemented by Nikon Transfer utility for automatic downloading of images from the camera or memory card. The lack of a complete Nikon DSLR digital camera set graphics editor has long been criticized by fans of the brand: the need to purchase Nikon Capture NX 2 does not inspire enthusiasm, and often serves as a substitute for a comparable price Adobe Lightroom.

Nikon View NX2 hard to recommend as a replacement for paid applications: it lacks even a hint of noise reduction tools, and the conversion algorithms have some complaints – I thought that at the default setting the result is too similar to the in-camera JPEG-transmission color and contrast, and use Adobe Camera RAW subjectively gives a sharper picture with distinct fine details.

The functionality of the program, if we shut our eyes to the absence of noise correction, is not bad: it converts RAW NEF files into JPEG, allowing you to frame images and make adjustments to the exposure and white balance, provides tools to work on sharpness, geometry and color images. There is an adjustment of shadows/lights, D-Lighting level, chromatic aberration correction, not bad and popular video editing functions.

The interface of the Nikon View NX2 is clear and user-friendly, with one caveat: it seemed a bit cluttered.

I like the function of geo-caching images with Google maps and integration with Nikon Image Space, it is convenient to download many frequently used operations in camera memory through the utility Picture Control, the program copes much better than ACR with moire control, but can not recommend it cut functionality.

Workmanship, controls and ergonomics

The Nikon D7100 is virtually the same size and appearance as its predecessor. The construction and the materials used don’t cause any complaints or regrets: the camera looks and feels like a high quality product, thought out and made with love. The plastic is of high quality, the assembling is strong, there are no tolerances and raspiness, the body is covered with non-slip rubber coating at the grip points, the grip is articulated and comfortable.

The company managed to fit an impressive set of features and capabilities in a very compact body: with dimensions of 136x107x76 mm camera weighs only 675 grams. The compactness is commendable and theoretically allows you to expand the range of potential users of the model: a massive body is not always suitable and convenient, but the desire to “please everyone at once” leaves a double impression.

The ability to hold a Nikon D7100 in a small bag is attractive, and the weight of the kit in most cases is friendly and does not make you feel remorse after a long walk, but directly in the work imposes certain restrictions: you have to find a comfortable grip and often want to change the hand position, and weighing a set with a bulky lens is not quite comfortable.

This duality is also evident in the design of the body: entry-level models have a chassis made of magnesium alloy entry-level models have a chassis made of polycarbonate. The Nikon D7100 is compromised: two of its body walls are made of magnesium alloy, the rest are made of polycarbonate.

Perhaps the criticism is unfair and stems from trying to assess the novelty not as a development of the amateur Nikon D7000, but as a replacement for the D300s, but the culprit is the positioning of the model as a “top DX” Nikon camera.

If you don’t try to rank and label, everything is very, very good, and the number of controls and their customizability will definitely appeal to users of the model.

Top panel

The set and location of controls on the top panel of the Nikon D7100 is not much different from the D7000, adding only the video recording button above the secondary display. Almost in the center of the top wall, flush with the axis of the lens is the built-in flash and a hot shoe connector covered with a removable cover. Holes for a stereo microphone are in front of the connector.

To the left of the flash are the combined mode dials and frame shift dials. Both dials are lockable and to rotate the dial you need to press the corresponding button simultaneously: located in the center of the dial to rotate the shooting mode dial, in the lower left corner of the top wall to rotate the frame translation mode dial.

The shooting modes offered are familiar, the only thing new is the EFFECTS position offering a choice of 7 special effects modes high and low key, night vision, color sketch, miniature, selective color, silhouette .

Frame mode dial Single, Low-speed, High-speed has options for self-timer, Mirror Mirror Pre-Lift and Shutter Quiet Mode.

The camera’s auxiliary display is to the right of the built-in flash. Exposure metering, movie recording and exposure compensation buttons in front of the display. Shutter button and power switch are on the forward facing handle.

Front Panel

The metal lens mount takes up most of the front panel. Nikon D7100 is equipped with a built-in autofocus motor, the AF actuator, the so-called “screwdriver”, is visible at the bottom of the mount. This makes the model compatible with Nikon NIKKOR autofocus lenses manufactured after 1986. What’s more, a metering linkage lever is also present, allowing exposure metering and aperture priority mode operation with all Nikon AI lenses produced since 1977.

There is a sub-command dial to the left of the forward grip and an AF-assist illuminator to the right. Adjustable depth-of-field preview and “Fn” buttons below the AF-assist illuminator. The function of each of these can be adjusted through a menu of 25 different settings.

To the right of the mount, the built-in flash/exposure compensation buttons for flash photography, IR sensor window, lens bracketing, lens release, and AF mode/area selection buttons with focus mode switch lever.

Left and right panels

On the left side is a slot for 2 memory cards, on the right side are rubber-covered interface ports.

Lower panel

Metal tripod socket positioned on the axis of the lens. In the protruding handle is the battery compartment below it is the battery connector covered with a blank cover.

Rear Panel

The back of the Nikon D7100 is dominated by the camera’s 3.2-inch main display, with a viewfinder eyepiece above it with a diopter adjustment wheel and the usual set of buttons to the left:

– Viewing

– Deleting

– Menu entry

– White balance/help call/angle protection

– Image quality format and compression level selection enlargement during playback

– ISO sensitivity/reduction selector when viewing

– Calling out information when shooting and reviewing

– On the top right of the display is the AE-L/AF-L exposure and AF-lock button and the main control dial.

On the right of the display is the multi selector with an “OK” confirmation button in the center and the AF point/area lock lever. Slightly to the side, a memory card access indicator. Below is the LiveView button with photo/video toggle lever. To the right of the viewfinder is the information sensor window and at the very bottom are the holes in the built-in speaker and the Info button.

The set of controls and their location on the camera body almost completely correspond to the Nikon D600: the manufacturer decided not to deviate from the successful and well-thought-out layout. The control of all necessary functions is placed on the camera body, the user can conveniently customize the functions of most controls, the location and ease of use of the controls are most convenient, subject to the small size of the model body.

The ergonomics of the Nikon D7100 is very good, the camera fits comfortably in your hand, your grip is stable, the size of the controls is sufficient for comfortable operation, but buying a battery pack is definitely not superfluous: using the battery pack will solve the proverbial “right pinky finger problem”, familiar to users of most APS-C SLR cameras.

Viewfinder

Nikon D7100 is equipped with an excellent for this class of cameras optical SLR viewfinder with pentaprism, with 100% coverage and magnification of 0.94x. The model comes with a Type B BriteView Clear Matte Mark II focusing screen similar to the one used in the D7000 and D300s, but instead of the conventional LED display, the newer model uses a new OLED display to display auxiliary information in the viewfinder.

The innovation deserves the highest estimate: in combination with the bright viewfinder with 100% coverage, a clear and contrast display of shooting information, AF points, electronic level and other auxiliary information makes the work comfortable even for people with impaired vision. Nikon D7100 viewfinder provides a high level of comfort when using the viewfinder.

The fly in the ointment is diopter correction: for reasons that are unclear, the D7100 viewfinder only allows correction from -2 to +1 diopter versus -3/+1 on the Nikon D7000 .

Built-in flash

Nikon D7100 equipped with i-TTL built-in flash, similar to those used in Nikon D600 and D800: with a guide number of 12 meters at ISO 100, shutter speed 1/250 seconds 1/320 in high-speed sync mode , the ability to wirelessly control two groups of external flashes Nikon Speedlight and coverage angle corresponding to a lens with a focal length of 16 mm. The flash is fully automatic in compatible modes, forcing the flash up by pressing the button on the right front of the camera body.

Do not expect much power from the built-in flash: when using the complete lens AF-S DX 18-105/3.5-5.6G IF-ED VR at 18 mm focal length and ISO 100, the flash coverage area is limited to 4 meters.

control and adjustment of the flash is easy: when the button is pressed to raise the flash, rotating the front auxiliary control dial sets the amount of exposure compensation range -3 EV to +1 EV , rotating the main control dial – select the mode of flash.

The built-in flash performs as advertised confidently and reliably. By the white balance when shooting with a flash no complaints, exposure metering is not often wrong, occasionally giving slightly underexposed pictures – probably in an attempt to avoid possible gaps in the light. In such cases, it helps to make a small exposure correction when shooting with flash. Worth noting the successful work of the built-in flash in fill mode.

Battery

The Nikon D7100 uses the EN-EL15 lithium-ion battery, familiar from the D7000, D800 and D600. The rated capacity of the battery is 1900 mA/h, it matches the power consumption of the camera and is quite enough for a busy day of shooting: I could not get 950 shots and it was not a target, but it is more than enough for 500 RAW + JPEG shots in the best quality, which more than compensates a one-day “non-reportage” use of the camera.

Main Display

Nikon D7100 boasts a 3.2-inch 8 cm. diagonal LCD display with 1,228,800 dots. The display uses RGBW technology where each pixel in the image is formed not by 3 red, green, blue but by 4 pixels – white is added to the RGB color gamut. These displays were developed by Sony in 2011 and outperform the conventional displays with reduced power consumption only one white subpixel is used for white transmission, not the other three and increased brightness.

It’s hard to evaluate the power efficiency of the new display, but the increase in brightness compared to competitive models is evident and deserves all praise: on a sunny day, the Nikon D7100 display remains readable in conditions where the displays of other cameras are no longer readable.

The new display not only provides a high level of comfort in LiveView mode, but also encourages frequent use of Nikon’s familiar “info” button and the new “i” button that appeared on the D7100. While the former brings up information on the main display about the main shooting parameters set, the latter gives direct access to some settings.

The selection of settings available through the “i” button is ambiguous, but perfectly complements the controls present on the body: turning on 1.3-frame mode, noise reduction at slow shutter speeds, selecting Picture Control style, selecting noise reduction and D-lighting levels, HDR mode, and changing the function of some buttons on the body of the camera.

The brightness of the display is adjustable from +5 to -5, but a setting of “0” is comfortable for most situations.

Operation of the main display when viewing footage does not cause complaints color and contrast images, the user can view the 11 levels of zoom, allowing detailed examination of the image, and switching between single-frame viewing and display 4, 9 or 72 previews, as well as settings displayed during viewing information.

Menu system

The Nikon D7100’s menu system has not changed much from the D7000’s: settings are spread across 6 sub-menus, entry is made by a dedicated button on the back of the camera, default navigation is on the multi selector. Nikon D7100 menu categories:

• Viewing menu
• Shooting Menu
• User Settings Menu
• Settings menu
• Processing Menu
• My Menu or Recent Settings

Information is arranged logically and sequentially, making it easy to find the necessary setting even for a user unfamiliar with Nikon cameras. The custom settings menu is the only thing that can be confusing: the D7100 gives you a wide range of options to tweak to suit your needs and at first it can be difficult to make sense of the 50 existing settings.

Nikon has taken care of user convenience: the user menu is divided into 7 groups, separated by color and letters from a to g, groups with changed settings are marked with an “asterisk”, and the first item in the menu of user settings is “Reset User Settings”, which returns values to “default.

Making your work with the Nikon D7100 even easier and faster is My Menu, which allows you to combine the most frequently changed settings into one menu.

Live view mode

The implementation of Live View mode Nikon D7100 and its functionality is similar to the Nikon D600: instead of the mode lever with the video recording button in its center, as in the D7000, on the back of the camera there is a dedicated LiveView button with a lever to switch between photo and video modes, and the video recording button moved to the top wall of the camera.

The bright main display of the model facilitates the work in LiveView mode, even more comfort is added by a button “i”, pressing which gives direct access to 7 frequent settings: enabling 1.3X cropping mode, selecting the file recording format, image size and quality, choosing Picture Control Picture Style and D-Lighting level, enabling remote control operation and adjusting the brightness of the main display.

Criticize the illogical preview mode: the D7100 displays the image obtained at the aperture value set on the lens when LiveView is turned on, without changing it when the aperture changes. To view a scene taken with a different aperture value, exit and reenter LiveView.

Contrast AF in LiveView mode is accurate, but traditionally loses out to phase AF. Focus point can be positioned anywhere in the frame and selected with the multi selector. Single and tracking autofocus modes available. The autofocus speed is comparable to that of competing models.

Manual focus is relatively comfortable with 6 levels of zoom available, but the process isn’t fast at all if you intend to shoot at a restricted aperture. For confident pointing you need to keep in mind the peculiarities of the scene display: accurate pointing involves turning on LiveView mode when the aperture is maximally open, focusing, turning off LiveView, setting the desired aperture value, returning to mode and pressing the shutter button.

The dimensional shooting in LiveView mode contributes to the Nikon D7100’s hesitancy when recording a photo to the memory card: the display turns off for 2-3 seconds even when recording a single RAW+JPEG image.

Sensitivity, Auto ISO, Noise and Noise Reduction

The Nikon D7100 has a sensitivity range of ISO 100 to ISO 6400, expandable to Hi-1 ISO 12,800 and Hi-2 ISO 25,600 . Actual sensitivity corresponds to the selected value. The sensitivity step is adjustable in the user menu – 1/3 or 1/2 step.

But the Nikon D7100 is equipped with a reliable and flexibly adjustable “Auto ISO” mode, allowing you to set the upper limit of the allowed ISO range and minimum shutter speed in “Auto” mode, the camera itself selects the shutter speed corresponding to the focal length of the lens and remember to set the sensitivity only in adverse lighting conditions.

Increasing the resolution of digital camera image sensors without changing their physical size often results in higher noise levels and aggressive noise reduction that goes along with it. The Nikon D7100 isn’t the company’s first model with 24 megapixels squeezed into the APS-C size, but the wariness before getting to know the model was there. Let me start with the conclusion: the company was able to keep noise at a comparable level to the D7000, which, given the increase in resolution by half, can be considered an excellent result.

Properly exposed JPEG picture taken with disabled in-camera noise reduction does not cause any complaints until ISO 800, pictures at ISO 1600 are acceptable, the value of ISO 3200 should be used in urgent cases, ISO 6400 – avoid. Note that at ISO 1250 and above, the camera will apply slight noise reduction even with the function turned off. The Nikon D7100 offers 4 levels of in-camera noise reduction:

– Off

– Moderate

– Normal

– Reinforced

The “Moderate” setting works surprisingly accurately, preserving image detail even at high ISO settings, and can be set to “default. No complaints and level “Normal” – the noise at high ISO is visible, but there is no “blurring” associated with aggressive noise reduction, and pictures taken at ISO 3200 can be used in most cases. Amplified mode should be used with caution and in extreme cases: the noise is reduced effectively, but with a major loss of detail.

Noise in RAW-pictures is not encouraging, but remains within the usual and acceptable limits: slightly visible at ISO 200, visible at ISO 800, marked at ISO 1600 and above. To its credit, it’s worth noting that it does an excellent job of handling noise in underexposed RAW images, allowing for good results in post-processing.

White balance and color reproduction

The Nikon D7100’s automatic white balance works to its utmost credit: mistakes are rare, even in difficult lighting conditions. Auto white balance works well with fluorescent lighting and not bad with incandescent lamps, but for best results it is recommended to turn on the appropriate presets.

Color reproduction is commendably neutral in “Normal Auto White Balance” mode, you can turn on “Auto White Balance Retaining Warm Colors of Lighting” if you want, but it’s better to stick to neutrality and achieve the desired effects using custom Picture Control Styles, of which the D7100 has as many as 6:

– Standard

– Neutral

– Saturated

– Monochrome

– Portrait

– Landscape

One of the innovations of the Nikon D7100 is the ability to quickly set Spot White Balance in LiveView mode, simply by selecting a small area of the scene and pointing it to the camera – a great and convenient option for fine-tuning color reproduction.

Autofocus

The Nikon D 7100 is equipped with the Multi-CAM 3500DX autofocus system module with 51 focus points, 15 of which are cross-type, and the center point works with lenses with a maximum aperture of f/8. It’s hard to call the module new – it’s been used in the Nikon D300s since 2009, but according to the company, the D7100’s autofocus algorithms are similar to those used in the professional Nikon D4, and the system is capable of focusing in light up to -2 stops versus -1EV in the D300s .

A one-step increase in AF sensitivity ensures confident focusing even in difficult lighting conditions and subjectively reduces the difference in sharpness between the AF center and the AF sidelines.

Autofocus operates in three modes:

– Single-frame autofocus AF-S

– Continuous AF-C AF-C

– Auto Tracking AF AF-A

The first mode is for still photography, the second for focusing on moving objects, and the third focuses on the subject as in single-frame autofocus, but switches to tracking mode when the subject begins to move.

The user is offered a choice of 4 AF zones:

Automatic the camera independently selects the subject and one of 51 focus points

Spot autofocus on one of the 51 points selected by the user

Dynamic 9, 21 or 51-point tracking AF

3D-tracking the camera tracks a subject that has left the selected AF point .

The performance of the autofocus system clearly exceeds the price point of the model, but the specifications on paper do not always match reality. In the case of the Nikon D7100, the autofocus performance is as advertised: the camera focuses quickly, confidently and accurately in single-frame autofocus mode, even with the non-luminous Nikkor AF-S DX 18-105/3 Kit lens.5-5.6G IF-ED VR, does not cause complaints and the work of tracking autofocus – the percentage of misses is extremely low and allows you to not hesitate to shoot moving objects.

Snap, fast, reliable and accurate focusing, along with the excellent 24 megapixel image sensor is without a doubt one of the greatest strengths of the model.

Performance

The Nikon D7100’s speed is unassuming in everyday use: the camera is responsive, with almost instant on and ready to go, limited only by the autofocus time. The time from startup to the first shot takes less than a second and is limited by the user and the lens rather than the camera. Use of the built-in flash lengthens the period from on to the first shot to 1 second, which can also be attributed to excellent results. Enjoy smooth image browsing, menu navigation and setting changes.

The model has no complaints about the speed and responsiveness before burst shooting, which can cause some frustration with the fast memory buffer filling and the reduced claimed burst shooting speed of 6 frames per second.

To start with, the D7100 is demanding on the speed of the memory cards used: a fast card provides a continuous burst of up to 25 JPEGs in the best quality at the claimed speed of 6 frames per second a slow card makes the camera hesitate for almost two seconds already on the fifth JPEG. But even fast memory cards will not save you when shooting RAW-files: after the first 6 frames the speed drops to 2-3 frames per second. Switching to 1.3 AF improves the situation, but very little.

I do not think that the speed of continuous shooting will be critical for the vast majority of users of Nikon D7100, the more so that the model when shooting in RAW honestly works out the claimed 6 frames per second for a full second, and otherwise the speed of the camera is not only as good as rival models, but in many ways exceeds them.

Spot metering, HDR and dynamic range

The Nikon D7100 uses the RGB exposure metering sensor with 2016 pixels, well known from the D7000 and D5200. It offers the user a choice of three metering modes Spot, Center-weighted and Matrix with a wide range of exposure compensation from -5 to +5 stops.

Active D-Lighting a program for preserving details in light and shade helps the camera to handle high-contrast scenes. A choice of 6 settings is available:

– Off

– Moderate

– Normal

– Enhanced

– Overpowered

– Auto

D-Lighting intervention is most noticeable in photos taken with matrix exposure metering. Automation doesn’t always make the right decisions, but more often turning on Active D-Lighting does more good than harm. What’s more, three weeks spent with the Nikon D7100 convinced me that the D-Lighting algorithms of the D-Lighting model suggest using it by default: shooting with D-Lighting turned off very often results in overexposed photos in high contrast scenes and often in underexposed photos in low contrast.

Struggle with automatics by introducing exposure compensation is not always helpful, to understand the logic of the matrix exposure metering Nikon D7100 I failed, and after many fruitless attempts, I began to use a point and center-weighted exposure metering, abandoning the use of the matrix. No complaints about the spot and center-weighted methods: the camera in most cases correctly exposes the scene, errors are not frequent and their number does not exceed the usual.

The dynamic range is the same as in the usual APS-C models, which can be attributed to the obvious pluses of the image sensor used.

Resolution

Nikon D7100 with its 24.1-megapixel image sensor not so much, moreover, the D7100 is the first model of the company in which there is no low-pass optical filter in front of the image sensor. Low-pass filters are used to avoid moiré patterns in areas with repeating minor details. Not having a filter theoretically gives a boost in image sensor resolution and lately there have been some models on the market where it is absent Pentax K-5 IIs or its effect is evened out Nikon D800e .

I couldn’t compare the Nikon D7100 “head-on” with other 24-megapixel models, but I found no obvious moiré problems: if the model is more prone to the effect than its competitors, not by much at all. I assume one of the reasons is the extremely high pixel density on the sensor, resulting in only the smallest details causing moiré: a full-frame image sensor with a similar pixel density would have about 56 megapixels – much more than the currently leading Nikon D800 with 36 effective megapixels.

The resolution of the Nikon D7100 is admirable, but makes the model very demanding on the lenses used: the included quite good Nikkor AF-S DX 18-105/3.5-5.6G IF-ED VR is clearly a limiting factor and the full potential of the camera can only be appreciated with high quality constant focal length lenses. Shooting in RAW format is recommended for maximum detail, but I find it hard to imagine

Resolution is enough already in JPEG, and if the choice of RAW-format is often due to the desire to preserve as much detail as possible, the conservative approach Nikon to algorithms in-camera processing JPEG files provides excellent detail without accompanying this mode traces and artifacts processing in most cases. It’s hard for me to imagine a situation where an amateur could lack the resolution of a high quality JPEG image.

Video

The Nikon D7100 has impressive video recording features, including Full HD recording at 30 frames per second and uncompressed video recording through the HDMI port.

The length of the high quality video is limited to 20 minutes 30 minutes – in standard quality , the sound is recorded with a built-in stereo microphone with adjustable sensitivity, it is possible to connect an external microphone and headphones.

Shutter speed, aperture and ISO speed in movie recording are set automatically in all modes except Manual M , where the owner can set the ISO sensitivity and shutter speed. In other modes you can intervene only through compensations. Exposures in the +/- 3-stop range.

Recording on and off with the dedicated button on top of the camera – justified and convenient. The autofocus is very slow and it tends to wobble when shooting moving objects. It is not possible to change the aperture value during recording.

The quality of video recording is satisfactory and sufficient for most users, color rendering is neutral, the work of automatic white balance does not cause complaints. Exposure metering is confident and without embarrassing mistakes. Turning on the 1,3-frame mode gives the opportunity to shoot Full HD video at 50/60i frames per second, but the image quality sharpness starts to show some cracks and the presence of this mode looks more like a marketing ploy.

Conclusion

Three weeks spent with the Nikon D7100 went by quickly. My introduction to this camera was not uneventful and my subjective evaluation changed several times during this time. This model definitely raises the bar for amateur DSLRs, but despite its impressive specifications and many features you’re used to from higher class cameras, it’s still hard to classify it as semi-professional.

The model has some amazing advantages:

– Low-noise, high-resolution image sensor without a low-noise low-pass filter,

– Auto white balance works great,

– dust and waterproof,

– Two memory card slots,

– A logical menu system and an excellent set of controls that allow each owner to configure the camera just for yourself.

– The bright, 100% coverage viewfinder features a new OLED auxiliary information display

Disadvantages:

– Great autofocus performance is partly offset by the small buffer volume that limits the possible continuous shooting speed

– the beautiful display encourages LiveView, but the implementation of the preview makes it difficult.

– The D7100’s video capabilities are impressive, but you can’t change the aperture value while shooting and there is no “live histogram” mode

– Diopter correction limited to -2/+1 diopter.

Picture Tests

Outstanding auto white balance in artificial light. 18-105/3 Lens.5-5.6G VR, ISO 3200, 1/160 s, f/5.6, noise reduction off.

An example of how HDR on-camera mode works. 18-105/3.5-5.6G VR.

Resolution. Thought I had dust on the sensor. A portrait of a mosquito is visible under 200% magnification. The 18-105/3.5-5.6G VR, ISO 200, 1/640s, f/9, Noise Reduction turned off.

The built-in flash works correctly in fill mode, and the D7100’s highest resolution sensor allows you to achieve the detail inherent in macro lenses when shooting with the included Nikon 18-105/.5-5.6G VR, 105mm focal length, ISO 100, 1/100sec, f/8.

Often negative exposure compensation is needed to get a balanced result with matrix metering. 18-105/3 lens.5-5.6G VR, 18mm focal length, ISO 200, 1/1000sec, f/8, exposure compensation -0.7 EV.

Comfortable focal lengths of the 18-105/3 lens.5-5.6G VR allows it to be used in most shooting situations. 105mm focal length, ISO 200, 1/250s, f/8.

No noise even in underexposed areas at low ISO settings. 18-105/3 Lens.5-5.6G VR, ISO 280, 1/160s, f/5.6.