Nikon D7100

I have been using the Nikon D7100 for the last couple of months for my macro trips but have not been able to fully look at the files. This was because I use Apple Aperture and Apple had not released a RAW convertor for the D7100 files, until a couple of days ago.

I am finally getting to see the files.

The camera itself was an easy adoption for me because I was already using the Nikon D7000 for macro. For macro shooting there is no great difference between the cameras, the control dial has changed slightly and theres an increase in file size - other than that, for me, theres no real difference for what I do. I wanted to upgrade from the D7000 for one reason - 24 MPx versus 16 Mpx. It would allow me greater cropping flexibility in post, while still being able to retain a large file size.

I had also hoped that Nikon would increase the buffer size (i.e. the amount of pics you can take in a short time). Unfortunately, Nikon chose to not do anything about this and it is still a royal pain in the a***. Its infuriating, you have a great bug in your view finder, you are clicking away and then.....nothing. The buffer is full and you have to sit and wait till it clears before you can take any more pictures. For this reason alone I am convinced that Nikon will release another APC-S sensor camera "above" the D7100 in the future. The rumoured Nikon D400.

The autofocus on the D7100 is slightly better and I felt it was more accurate when I used it. Which is not very often. It could autofocus quite well in low light, definitely better than the D7000 but not earth shatteringly so.

All that aside, what are the photos like? Well I have to say that I am happy with the results. There is no visible difference in file quality to my eye over the D7000 but the additional Mpx gives you that extra "reach", that extra bit of stand off distance when it is needed. Worth the upgrade? Good question. Financially no. But its a hobby so if it gives me an additional keeper or two I will be happy.

Some of the "keepers" so far......................

The beautiful Papilio demoleus demoleus.....



Jonathan's Creobroter elongata...



An unknown Damselfly...



Wolf spider, Lycosidae....

A Megachilidae bee....



I am particulary happy with this, its a wolf spider and its only about 8 mm long, shot at 400mm macro. DOF is about 2 mm. You can see the grains of sand in the picture....



Sphenomorphus maculatus....



Atrophaneura adamsoni adamsoni......



Phalanta alcippe alcippoides.....

First of all, great pics!

Regarding the buffering, are you shooting in 12 or 14 bit? I've noticed om my cameras (I don't own a D7100, nor a D7000) that it makes a huge difference in speed. And to be honest I don't see much advantage in shooting at 14bit.
Maybe it's not the problem, but if it makes a difference it's worth considering. Rather not miss a shot when shooting at 12bit, then shooting higher quality at 14bit but not getting the shot at all...

I'm quite interested in the D7100, though I'm using a D700 at the moment, so batteries and memory cards are not exchangable. It would be nice to have a DX sensor next to the full-frame, but the extra, non-exchangable accessoiries are putting me off.
If I'm correct having a D7100 next to a D800 or D600 would be better. But my budget certainly won't allow buying 2 new cameras.

Sadly, I own a D300, but it has some serious problems, draining the batteries in less than an hour (the same batteries work perfectly fine in de D700). I guess it did not like me bringing him into the wet forests of Thailand...
Not sure if it can be 'saved'.