Time to say farewell to my D7100

Hi all,

My time with the D7100 is coming to an end, as on Saturday I’ll be making the leap to FX with the Nikon D810. I thought I’d chime in here with my final thoughts on this superb DX camera.

I’ve owned the D7100 for over a year, used it to shoot all sorts of things. Mostly landscape, but a lot of portraiture, and interior shots too (even dabbled in a bit of wedding photography), and it’s handled them all very well indeed. The lenses I’ve used are as follows (all Nikon):

70-200mm, 10-24mm (my favourite), 50mm, 24-70, and the kit lens (18-105).

The only criticism I have of the D7100 is the noise levels at relatively low ISO. But I understand that this is simply because it’s a DX camera, and there’s only so much that you can achieve with that sensor.

Overall image quality, detail and functionality of the camera is without fault. A truly fantastic DX DSLR.

Why the change? Well my love of photography has increased enormously over the past year, and I feel now is the right time to take a leap forward with my equipment and enter the realm of FX. This is mostly because of the overwhelmingly positive reviews of the D810. Now seems like the perfect time to jump ship. But it’s not jumping ship for the sake of it, as I’ve recently began taking photography far more seriously and hope to even make some money out of it. So the optimum quality and versatility of the D810 will give me a boost in confidence to push myself further.

If I were to grade the D7100 out of 10 I’d give it 8/10. Easy to use, superb quality, not great for low-light photography, but in all other areas it’s very good indeed.

Well there's no doubt that you'll enjoy the D810 and probably find it to be a bit like the big brother of the D7100, as they're both fast handling sort of cameras and both feel like you're using an advanced piece of equipment. I was close to getting rid of my D7100, but have kept it as there are some advantageous of owning a DX. For example, the cheap Rokinon fisheye lens I recently purchased. I would imagine it to be hard to find a full frame fisheye at such a budget price that gives such sharp results! Loving DX & FX these days

Nothing against the 810 but have you thought about buying a 750 and keeping the 7100 as a backup? It's nice to have 2 bodies that have similar layouts. Also nice to have 2 kits so you don't have to change lenses. Shooting professionally means being ready for the worst to happen. My D600 took a fall last year and I'm glad I had my 7000 to use while I waited 3 weeks for Nikon to get my D600 back to me.

I’d considered the D750 very briefly, but to be honest, considering its cost, I decided to go that little bit further in price and get the D810. I think the extra 12 megapixels swayed it there!

Also, I’m not in the financial position to be able to buy one DSLR without selling the other. I know accidents happen, but I’ve never dropped or damaged any of my cameras (and I’ve taken them up many mountains). And I’m not an event/wedding photographer so will never be in a position to need a back-up camera in an instant (thankfully).

D12345678 said:

Well there's no doubt that you'll enjoy the D810 and probably find it to be a bit like the big brother of the D7100, as they're both fast handling sort of cameras and both feel like you're using an advanced piece of equipment. I was close to getting rid of my D7100, but have kept it as there are some advantageous of owning a DX. For example, the cheap Rokinon fisheye lens I recently purchased. I would imagine it to be hard to find a full frame fisheye at such a budget price that gives such sharp results! Loving DX & FX these days

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That's a lens I've never shot with (Fisheye), and it's way down in my ‘want’ list. In fact I doubt I’ll ever buy one!

I once thought I had forever forsaken DX, but then the Tamzooka came along and I got a D7100 and 'went back' to DX.

i had to google for what #tamzooka meant =D

Alistair said:

I’d considered the D750 very briefly, but to be honest, considering its cost, I decided to go that little bit further in price and get the D810. I think the extra 12 megapixels swayed it there!

Also, I’m not in the financial position to be able to buy one DSLR without selling the other. I know accidents happen, but I’ve never dropped or damaged any of my cameras (and I’ve taken them up many mountains). And I’m not an event/wedding photographer so will never be in a position to need a back-up camera in an instant (thankfully).

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Never say never my friend. There are quite a few people on this forum who thought the same as you and Murphy's law bit them in the rear end. I believe it was Dave_W who had the shutter on his new D800 crap out on him waaaaaay before it was supposed to. There was another fellow on here who had his DSLR (i believe it was a D800) get caught in torrential rains, which proved it was not water proof. If you are that "serious" into photography and want to eventually make some money through it, you really should get a back-up camera. Pick-up a used D3XXX for a few hundred.

You have to have car insurance, right? But if it were up to people to choose, many would not get it because of the expense or the thinking that they will never get into an accident because they are such good drivers. Guess what? The people with no insurance will get into accidents as well, but it will cost them far more then if they had insurance.

How much will you sell your D7100 for? On ebay, they are going for around 530 pounds.

Invest in a back-up, it will be your insurance. Cameras are nothing more then electronic/mechanical light boxes which can fail like anything else. Just my 2 cents.

All fair points, well made!

I think, further down the line, I will buy a back-up DX camera. It’ll be easier for me to buy the D810 now (which will hopefully last for quite a few years) and then buy a back-up later next year sometime. I need to sell the D7100 to partially pay for the D810 (and a wide-angle lens), but will be able to pick another DX up for a decent price sometime in the near future.

Even though they sell these high-end cameras as weather-proof, I never like to use them in pouring rain. If I do take a snap in the rain it’s quick, and then back in the bag!

Fortunately I’ve a bank account that will allow me to insure electrical items, so will be putting the D810 on that!

Alistair said:

All fair points, well made!

I think, further down the line, I will buy a back-up DX camera. It’ll be easier for me to buy the D810 now (which will hopefully last for quite a few years) and then buy a back-up later next year sometime. I need to sell the D7100 to partially pay for the D810 (and a wide-angle lens), but will be able to pick another DX up for a decent price sometime in the near future.

Even though they sell these high-end cameras as weather-proof, I never like to use them in pouring rain. If I do take a snap in the rain it’s quick, and then back in the bag!

Fortunately I’ve a bank account that will allow me to insure electrical items, so will be putting the D810 on that!

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Unless you want 36MP and good low light performance D810 is an over kill for most. It gives you bragging rights, but to lug it around with a big heavy zoom is a big pain (figuratively and physically - neck and shoulders!). That is why a lot of D8xx owners have also got either the D6xx or D7xx body, and some have even retained their DX body. For images which do not need to be blown up to wall size a lighter lower MP camera is better.

If you need a light camera to take to the mountains, consider the D3300 with its kit 18-55 lense. Together they are around 760g, less than most bodies (and less than most FX professional zooms).

LOL. Seems like most people are trying to talk you out of your plan. I would never want to go with just one camera body, either. But, I certainly understand the financial limitations that buying a D810 could put on a person. It's not an inexpensive camera.

If the D810 is your dream camera, and the only way to get it is to sell your D7100, then you should go for it. As you said, you can always get a DX camera later as a back up.

So, why don't you sell me your D7100 so I have an extra backup body...

Just kidding! I hope you love the D810 when you get it!

Got it last week!

I’ve used it once, properly (and that was low-light work) so haven’t really had a chance to properly test it out (although I must say that first impressions are very good indeed).

I had intended to go out walking tomorrow morning, to capture sunrise from a mountain here in South Wales, but the forecast is mist and rain, so that’s off the cards!!

It’s practically identical to the build quality of the D7100, so it shows just how good the D7100 really is. The only thing that stands out to me with the D810 is the bigger grip (and it’s a slightly chunkier camera).