Is the D7100 the camera I should get?

[bribrius]

sometimes, yes. tool for every job. you wouldn't use a 60 lb. jack hammer for chiseling wood.

You also wouldn't use scissors to cut your lawn.

This can go either way.

touché
tis is why most people have multiple cameras, i would guess, and they make so many types. i think for me to recommend the 7100 it would have to be someone asking for distance or in need of the autofocus motor and extra options the camera has. short of those two things it really doesn't have a lot going for it that most users would need or want and it wont provide the lowlight capability of a full frame so it is somewhat limited. Image quality isn't stellar is pretty much on par with the 5200 and 5300 and you could probably find as good or better in the sony line.

 

[Derrel]

sometimes, yes. tool for every job. you wouldn't use a 60 lb. jack hammer for chiseling wood.

You also wouldn't use scissors to cut your lawn.

This can go either way.

Years ago, I had an INCREDIBLY OCD neighbor...he was fastidious to the nnnth degree. After mowing and edging his lawn, he would get down on hands and knees and snip blades of grass along the edging he had just done...using scissors...not kidding.

Weird thing was, he owned a sanitation company, and drove a work truck with one of those small garbage truck "sorry we forgot your can" kind of mini-compactors in the bed...and the thing was soooooo clean, you could've had a picinic in the back of that truck!

 

[TWright33]

d it wont provide the lowlight capability of a full frame so it is somewhat limited.

You can't fairly compare a FX to DX at this point.

 

[Derrel]

This article might be of some interest to people wondering about updating/upgrading.
The Ultimate Camera Upgrade Guide | byThom | Thom Hogan

The very-newest 24-MP small Nikons are moving toward no anti-aliasing filters, which is moving their total sharpness potential (and it is only potential...it still needs technique and good optics to realize that 'potential'!) upward, while still keeping the camera sizes small.

I dunno...as I understand it the D5300 has better video capability and quality than the D7100 has...for 'some people', video is an issue.

I think the D7100 might be too expensive and just "too much camera" for "some buyers". A guy could shave $800 or so off the body price of a D7100, and end up buying something refurbished or on close-out, and still have a nice small Nikon. ANd then spend the $800 on a nice lens, or two, or maybe even THREE prime lenses...

 

[bribrius]

d it wont provide the lowlight capability of a full frame so it is somewhat limited.

You can't fairly compare a FX to DX at this point.

true. And i compare everything it seems. Usually i talk people out of buying a dslr unless i see some major factor requiring them to have one. Talked a friend of mine out of buying one the other day.

 

[bribrius]

This article might be of some interest to people wondering about updating/upgrading.
The Ultimate Camera Upgrade Guide | byThom | Thom Hogan

The very-newest 24-MP small Nikons are moving toward no anti-aliasing filters, which is moving their total sharpness potential (and it is only potential...it still needs technique and good optics to realize that 'potential'!) upward, while still keeping the camera sizes small.

I dunno...as I understand it the D5300 has better video capability and quality than the D7100 has...for 'some people', video is an issue.

I think the D7100 might be too expensive and just "too much camera" for "some buyers". A guy could shave $800 or so off the body price of a D7100, and end up buying something refurbished or on close-out, and still have a nice small Nikon. ANd then spend the $800 on a nice lens, or two, or maybe even THREE prime lenses...

totally agree. i keep saying the 7100 is overrated and not for most people but no one seems to listen. I didn't even want to buy the one i have, wasn't smiling when i opened the box more of a "wtf", but after looking everything over and options it was the one that fit that little niche.

 

[goodguy]

This article might be of some interest to people wondering about updating/upgrading.
The Ultimate Camera Upgrade Guide | byThom | Thom Hogan

The very-newest 24-MP small Nikons are moving toward no anti-aliasing filters, which is moving their total sharpness potential (and it is only potential...it still needs technique and good optics to realize that 'potential'!) upward, while still keeping the camera sizes small.

I dunno...as I understand it the D5300 has better video capability and quality than the D7100 has...for 'some people', video is an issue.

I think the D7100 might be too expensive and just "too much camera" for "some buyers". A guy could shave $800 or so off the body price of a D7100, and end up buying something refurbished or on close-out, and still have a nice small Nikon. ANd then spend the $800 on a nice lens, or two, or maybe even THREE prime lenses...

totally agree. i keep saying the 7100 is overrated and not for most people but no one seems to listen. I didn't even want to buy the one i have, wasn't smiling when i opened the box more of a "wtf", but after looking everything over and options it was the one that fit that little niche.

Everybody has the camera their name is writen on it.
For some it could be D3100 and for some D800.
I had a D7000 and the bloody camera never worked well for me and then I got the D7100 and the skies opened their gates to me and I am in heaven.
For some the D7100 might be too much or too little just like a D3100 is too much for those who just want a simple P&S and dont want to mess with a DSLR.
To each his /her own thats why we have such a big variety of cameras to match our indevidual needs and tastes.
All the way from novice to a pro.
All we need to do is know what we want/need and see to it that we can afford it

 

[alv]

It's possible that the D3100 is still entirely adequate for the kind of situations you find yourself in most of the time. The speed limit on American freeways is between 55 and 65 MPH, in most places...70 MPH in some...we do NOT NEED to go out and all buy 200 MPH-capable Ferraris...just to poke along at 55 MPH on urban freeways...

A refurb D5200 for $470? Huh...now THAT sounds like a good deal if all a guy is wanting is a new camera to play around with, and satisfy the camera bug for a while.

yes 470+50mm g lens it gives me price and upgrade to play [cameta]oldfatman

 

[bigal1000]

This article might be of some interest to people wondering about updating/upgrading.
The Ultimate Camera Upgrade Guide | byThom | Thom Hogan

The very-newest 24-MP small Nikons are moving toward no anti-aliasing filters, which is moving their total sharpness potential (and it is only potential...it still needs technique and good optics to realize that 'potential'!) upward, while still keeping the camera sizes small.

I dunno...as I understand it the D5300 has better video capability and quality than the D7100 has...for 'some people', video is an issue.

I think the D7100 might be too expensive and just "too much camera" for "some buyers". A guy could shave $800 or so off the body price of a D7100, and end up buying something refurbished or on close-out, and still have a nice small Nikon. ANd then spend the $800 on a nice lens, or two, or maybe even THREE prime lenses...

totally agree. i keep saying the 7100 is overrated and not for most people but no one seems to listen. I didn't even want to buy the one i have, wasn't smiling when i opened the box more of a "wtf", but after looking everything over and options it was the one that fit that little niche.

Could be the source of the info !!!!!!!!

 

[astroNikon]

One of the hardest things in photography is improving your own abilities, this includes:
The ability to see the differences in camera abilities in situations,
the ability of seeing issues in photos
the ability of understandings one's lack of understanding

it's incredible the detail in which experienced photographers have in all areas of photography.
As a newbie, one simply doesn't see those things
so everything looks the same, and works the same.

I'd say stick with your 3100
until you start needing other features that make the camera difficult to use
or start seeing issues with your photos.

it all depends upon how you teach yourself photography, and not just snapshot photos.

 

[robbins.photo]

Well if the D3100 is doing the job you need it to do no harm in sticking with it. The one thing I found about having a 24 mp sensor is it does make a very big difference when you go to crop a photo, it gives you a lot more detail to work with initially so you can crop a lot more and still end up with great results.

If your pretty happy with your current D3100 maybe a D3200 or a D5200 might be a better investment for you overall, and keep the D3100 as a backup camera. If you don't think you'll be needing the more advanced features of the D7100 enough to warrant the cost there are some other options available that will give you the 24 mp sensor without hitting your wallet quite as hard.

Me I'm a huge fan of the D5200, and really though a 7100 would be nice to have I found it pretty hard to justify for the cost when compared to my 5200. Yes, it has some great advantages, but it's almost twice what I can get a second D5200 for so I had to weigh the benefits vrs the additional cost. In the end I wound up deciding on getting a second D5200 instead. But you know for other folks that equation might be completely different - they might get a lot more use out of the some of the features the 7100 offers that the 5200 doesn't.

So really the trick is to take a look at what you'd like to have and what you think would really benefit you in the types of shooting situations you find yourself in, and then decide if that particular model would be worth it for you. For a lot of people it really is, and understandably so - for me the D5200 turned out to be the better deal because it offered me the features I really wanted at the price point that worked best for me.

 

[Derrel]

One of the hardest things in photography is improving your own abilities, this includes:
The ability to see the differences in camera abilities in situations,
the ability of seeing issues in photos
the ability of understandings one's lack of understanding

it's incredible the detail in which experienced photographers have in all areas of photography.
As a newbie, one simply doesn't see those things
so everything looks the same, and works the same.

I'd say stick with your 3100
until you start needing other features that make the camera difficult to use
or start seeing issues with your photos.

it all depends upon how you teach yourself photography, and not just snapshot photos.

WOW, what an insightful post astroNikon.

 

[astroNikon]

One of the hardest things in photography is improving your own abilities, this includes:
The ability to see the differences in camera abilities in situations,
the ability of seeing issues in photos
the ability of understandings one's lack of understanding

it's incredible the detail in which experienced photographers have in all areas of photography.
As a newbie, one simply doesn't see those things
so everything looks the same, and works the same.

I'd say stick with your 3100
until you start needing other features that make the camera difficult to use
or start seeing issues with your photos.

it all depends upon how you teach yourself photography, and not just snapshot photos.

WOW, what an insightful post astroNikon.

I've learned alot in the past year and a half thanks to TPF

now i have so much info in my head it's a jumbled mess and I'm only scratching the surface of technical, technique, composition, etc

 

[sonicbuffalo]

i think it is going to fit a certain niche in my photography. wont be a regular use camera though, spend most of its time put away.

Yeah man totally.

Why use my 7100 if I can just take the same picture with my iPhone 5?

sometimes, yes. tool for every job. you wouldn't use a 60 lb. jack hammer for chiseling wood.

I don't know about that but I saw and watched a man chisel logs with a chain saw at the fair one year and his designs were awesome!

 

[JacaRanda]

Ditto what astroNikon wrote and what Derrel wrote about what astroNikon wrote.

Bribrius, let me take that mean a**hole D7100 off your hands. I will put it in it's place for you. I got five on it.