NikonD7100 24.1 MP DX-Format CMOS Digital SLR (Body Only)

I have only had this camera or a week now, but I have to put in a review because it is just that good!Nikon did an excellent job with this camera. I have shot about 500 pictures and different events over the last week and the image clarity and detail is superior to the D3100 and D5100 that I have had in the past. Outside photography is really easy with any camera, so I wanted to do a real comparison to indoor image quality with limited lighting so, I snapped on my 1.8G lens and went inside to shoot an event and I got outstanding results. The depth of color is amazing and the detail in the images were just amazing. Removing the low pass filter helps this camera excel in the low light environment excellent move on Nikon's part. The grain is smaller at identical ISO's compared to the D5100.The camera body is laid out well. They squared things off in comparison to the D5200 thats out now, and changed the LiveView switch over to a button which I like. Everything seems to be just in the right place for my hands. I don't have really large hands so it just works.I did get this camera with the kit lens, since it was immediately available versus the body alone. I must say that I'm impressed with the kit lens. it only goes down to 3.5G at 18mm which isn't bad but if you want to reach out and grab a shot at 105mm your aperture moves up to 5.5 which requires a shutter speed adjustment or ISO boost to get the shot. Fortunately adjustments in manual mode are quick and easy since you have 2 quick adjustment dials, and ISO adjustment is right there at your left finger. I didn't like that the default setting is to see the shot count on the viewfinder versus ISO, but its a quick change in the menu system to make the ISO your default display option.Another awesome feature that was added is the white balance adjustment. Now you can frame up your reference shot, shoot a gray card in that scene, select the gray card in live view and make the WB adjustment right there and save that as one of the presets for the shoot. No more batch editing in Lightroom. Totally awesome!!The only gripe I have on the camera right now, and its not on the camera itself is that Adobe Lightroom hasn't been updated yet to read the RAW files from this camera. I can read them in photoshop but thats a 1 by 1 process and I need to get them into Lightroom so I can do some batch processing. Knowing that shortcoming, I shot RAW+JPEG all week so I could still get them into LR and get the photos out to clients.If you are looking for an excellent camera for DSLR photography and don't want to make the plunge in FX format. This hands down is the best DX format camera on the market PERIOD. Don't look anywhere else.UPDATE: Used the camera to shoot some 1080P video. In manual mode you have full control over the ISO, fStop, and Shutter Speed. Having full control over your exposure for video is awesome. Haven't used a DSLR for video work before, but now I can see why its so popular. You have easier access and control over everything. Its even better than my pro HD camcorder that I own. Can't wait to get outside this spring and see the quality of video with lower ISO's. Had to shoot between 2000-4000 ISO to get good exposure at 4.5g inside with contrasting light and dark areas in the room I was shooting in.

I received my D7100 yesterday afternoon and shot some pictures that are posted here, "a picture is worth a thousand words." I had the Nikkor 28-300 mounted so I was getting a 35 mm equivalent of 42-600 mm with the 1.3 crop factor feature. Note this is an FX lens. I have never encountered this before, but Adobe Camera Raw and Lightroom have not caught up with being able to process the D7100 RAW files, so all my images posted here were converted in Nikon NX2. Using NX2, you can do some crude editing (adequate for some, perhaps) and can convert to jpegs or 8/16 bit tiffs. All were shot handheld at f/8, ISO 200 (except for the tulips, ISO 1600) at shutter speeds ranging from 1/500 to 1/1000 (sunset was shot at 1/60, tripod mounted). Original raw files are 24 megapixels and were quickly transferred via USB 3.0 reader from Kensington. Operation of the D7100 is essentially identical to the D7000, which I gave to my daughter. A few minor differences, but nothing significant. Using the "i" button on the back of the camera makes switching between DX and 1.3 crop mode VERY simple; this would be great for bird stalking if you need a little more reach or sports where the 51 focus points would essentially cover the FOV. In DX mode, you get 24mp, in 1.3 crop mode, something less than 16mp. I think the best aspect of this is the way the focus points cover the entire width of the image area.After shooting the quick "one offs" posted here, I would have to pronounce this camera "sweet." I like the DX format and the 1.3 crop factor. Expeed 3 processor seems comparable to my 800E. IQ seems terrific. Dynamic range is superb, but hard to completely tell at this point without proper software. Bottom line, while some may scoff at this model as merely evolutionary, to me, it continues the very strong reputation of the D7000, and "son of D7000" is not too shabby a moniker ;) I have encountered no QC issues with the images, sensor, or other bits, but I have only had the camera for less than a day. I will update this if things change. I loved my D7000; I can tell I am going to love the D7100 as well. I will use this camera primarily for bird and animal stalking, but may also take it when I don't want to risk my D800E (the D7100 IQ is terrific enough and the camera is weather sealed as well).PS A note about moire. The D7100 doesn't have an anti-aliasing filter, the 800E neutralizes the AA filter's effects. With my 800E, I have NEVER seen problems with moire (after a few thousand images) and I don't see why the D7100 would be a concern in this regard. Yes, I am aware of all the technical caveats. You can see more of my work at on my website if you want to see more (just click on "drdvde" above to see the link.)UPDATE 4/3/13: Just returned from a trip to Arches National Park. D7100 performed terrifically. Using the 1.3x crop factor, I can get an effective 600 mm from my Nikkor 28-300 mm zoom FX lens. Pictures were sharp, but two issues are important until Adobe provides compatible software. It is possible to "hack" the exiv data of the raw camera files using the exiftool program (google it!) so that ACR and Lightroom and Photoshop thing their dealing with a D5200 file. This works reasonably well with DX mode images (program works flawlessly, but the process is convoluted). In 1.3x crop mode, however, things come to a halt. You can view your images in Bridge, but you can't ge them to load into ACR and they cannot be converted to DNG format by Adobe DNG Converter. You'd be limited to converting to jpeg or tiff using Nikon ViewNX2, as shown in some of my images above.UPDATE later 4/3/13: Adobe DNG Converter v7.4 and Lightroom v4.4 now support the D7100