Possibly D7100?

[darkblue-x]

Would I experience an instantly noticeable improvement in my photography if I were to trade in my D3300 for a D7100?

I've read the specs multiple times, obviously one of the major improvements would be 40 more AF points.

Would this be worth my while?

Thanks.

 

[SquarePeg]

I went from the 5100 to the 7100. The major benefits for me were:

No more menu diving to change key settings
Better AF tracking
Dual sd slots
Better cropability

Did any of these improve my photos noticeably on their own? I don't think so but they all made me more enthusiastic about shooting so I used my camera more and improved because of practice which is really the only thing that can give you noticeable improvement, IMO.

 

[snowbear]

What do you predominately shoot? If you're doing landscapes, more AF points probably won't make much of a difference.

 

[darkblue-x]

What do you predominately shoot? If you're doing landscapes, more AF points probably won't make much of a difference.

I've kind of just been a "just go shoot" type of person.
General points of interest. Usually not very vast photos.

 

[Derrel]

I THINK the answer is "it depends". For example, if you miss focus on things, the better AF system in the 7100 might help. If you shoot action, with off-center subjects, the greater number of AF points might help. The two-wheel cameras (with both a dedicated front command dial, and a dedicated rear command dial) are easier and more-convenient for shooting in Manual exposure mode, or in Aperture or Shutter priority modes, since each wheel has its own function, and you get to know them after a while, less "thinking", ands more "reacting" with a dual-wheel body (I've used a LOT of dual-wheel Nikons, and also the D40 with its single-wheel setup).

Another difference, a HUGE on for me: the larger, clearer pentaprism viewfinder bodies are much easier for me to literally see through, and to compose with, and to evaluate the shot as I am in-process of shooting; for me, the tiny, pentamirror type finders of the D3xxx series have always been an issue; this is the one feature Nikon has been improving in the 3xxx-series cameras: high magnification finder image, but at the same time, it is still a lower-cost pentamirror system, which is inferior to a heavier, much more-costly pentaprism. Maybe you shoot in LiveView mode? SOme newer shooters do, so, maybe not an issue.

I dunno...I think beginners and intermediate shooters are the ones who benefit the most from using the mid- and high-end camera bodies...to them, the MACHINE's capabilities and performance can really help compensate for their lack of experience, and newness to the photo game...I've been shooting pics for 40-plus years, and started with utter CRAP cameras, and shot with junky rigs for a long,long time...and I have shot with eight of Nikon's top, pro flagship cameras that span the 1960's-2010's era...and also with several "serious enthusiast" Nikons (FM,FE,FE-3,EL,FM-2n,N90s,D70), and a few beginner Nikons (N60,D40,FG-20,EM)...personally, I realllllllly like the serious enthusiast class cameras, like...the D7100, or D7200... I think that I got the gretest benefit when I moved from beginner-level gear to the serious enthusiast-lvele FE-2 in the mid-1980's, and to the pro-level F3HP.

If you wear eyeglasses, as I do, then the bigger, longer eye-relief camereas, like the F3HP or D2 or D3-sereies bodies, are really helpful to literally SEE what the picture being composed looks like. To me, that is **the** biggest weakness of the 3xxx and 5xxx-level Nikons: the viewfinder image is substandard. Period. To me, I want more than almost anything, a camera I can SEE through well.

 

[darkblue-x]

I THINK the answer is "it depends". For example, if you miss focus on things, the better AF system in the 7100 might help. If you shoot action, with off-center subjects, the greater number of AF points might help. The two-wheel cameras (with both a dedicated front command dial, and a dedicated rear command dial) are easier and more-convenient for shooting in Manual exposure mode, or in Aperture or Shutter priority modes, since each wheel has its own function, and you get to know them after a while, less "thinking", ands more "reacting" with a dual-wheel body (I've used a LOT of dual-wheel Nikons, and also the D40 with its single-wheel setup).

Another difference, a HUGE on for me: the larger, clearer pentaprism viewfinder bodies are much easier for me to literally see through, and to compose with, and to evaluate the shot as I am in-process of shooting; for me, the tiny, pentamirror type finders of the D3xxx series have always been an issue; this is the one feature Nikon has been improving in the 3xxx-series cameras: high magnification finder image, but at the same time, it is still a lower-cost pentamirror system, which is inferior to a heavier, much more-costly pentaprism. Maybe you shoot in LiveView mode? SOme newer shooters do, so, maybe not an issue.

I dunno...I think beginners and intermediate shooters are the ones who benefit the most from using the mid- and high-end camera bodies...to them, the MACHINE's capabilities and performance can really help compensate for their lack of experience, and newness to the photo game...I've been shooting pics for 40-plus years, and started with utter CRAP cameras, and shot with junky rigs for a long,long time...and I have shot with eight of Nikon's top, pro flagship cameras that span the 1960's-2010's era...and also with several "serious enthusiast" Nikons (FM,FE,FE-3,EL,FM-2n,N90s,D70), and a few beginner Nikons (N60,D40,FG-20,EM)...personally, I realllllllly like the serious enthusiast class cameras, like...the D7100, or D7200... I think that I got the gretest benefit when I moved from beginner-level gear to the serious enthusiast-lvele FE-2 in the mid-1980's, and to the pro-level F3HP.

If you wear eyeglasses, as I do, then the bigger, longer eye-relief camereas, like the F3HP or D2 or D3-sereies bodies, are really helpful to literally SEE what the picture being composed looks like. To me, that is **the** biggest weakness of the 3xxx and 5xxx-level Nikons: the viewfinder image is substandard. Period. To me, I want more than almost anything, a camera I can SEE through well.

Thanks Derrel, that's a good bit of information. I looked through the VF of the 7100 in a store the other week and indeed, I felt a different looking in. Almost made me feel like there should be an immediate difference in image quality, but those two aren't exact correlated are they?

The "beginner functions" on the wheel of my d3300 are not at all ones I use.
I believe the d7100 has some that I can set up for common scenarios that I encounter, isn't that correct?
I believe the extra AF points will help me with action shots, I do have a 70-300mm ED VR lens, I guess I'll have to switch the AF setting to continuous? But yes the AF points will sure help a lot on this.

I think I will indeed make the switch if I can...

What can you tell me about color depth and dynamic range on the D7100 in comparison to my D3300.
I'm not even really sure I completely understand what those are and if the difference will be noticeable...

 

[Derrel]

Here's a screen capture I just made, comparing the D3300 against the D7100...not much difference in color depth or dynamic range. But the viewfinder differences, AF system differences, camera size, and overall fit, feel, and targeted end-user are all different. And does the viewfinder make much difference? To me YES....the F3HP had the High Eyepoint viewfinder--perhaps the best-ever viewfinder for the eyglass wearer...for me, that was reason enough to keep and shoot the F3HP from '84 until 2001...It simply made me shoot BETTER photos than the FE-2, on which I could never see the corners of the frame without delibearately scanning, and re-adjusting my eye's field of view, on every shot. So YES, the better viewfinder things CAN be an issue, for some people.

 

[fmw]

Would I experience an instantly noticeable improvement in my photography if I were to trade in my D3300 for a D7100?

I've read the specs multiple times, obviously one of the major improvements would be 40 more AF points.

Would this be worth my while?

Thanks.

No. Better photography is in the photographer, not the camera he uses. The specs don't change the quality of photography, the eye of the photographer does. If you want a new camera help yourself. But don't expect it to be the road to better photography. Practice. Shoot pictures. Work at it.

 

[benhasajeep]

The D7100 is a step up in build quality, faster shutter (1/8k vs 1/4k), 14 bit vs 12 bit, 6 frames per second vs 5, slightly larger monitor, 25% more monitor pixels, just a slightly larger sensor, 2 SD card slots.

And it can AF with just about any Nikon AF lens since it has the body af drive.