D7100 LE ISO capabilities and 3rd party lenses

M

MartinCornwall

Senior Member
Hello all,
After the death of my beloved D7000 ( repair bill quote from Nikon of £577 for shutter replacement) I am thinking of getting the D7100 instead. I do a lot of night photography and the ISO limit @ f2.8 30 sec exposure was 800. Anything above this was too noisy for my liking. Will I see an improvement with the D7100. Has anyone got hands on experience with these kind of exposures with the D7100 and what are the ISO limits for this camera. I know everyone has there own levels of noise acceptance but I'm looking for an improvement over the D7000.
Also having just read the thread about the display problems with the Sigma lenses I can live with those issues as long as the autofocus works as intended. It's all manual focus at night but I do still use these lenses in the daytime. Are there any other known issues with the following lenses on the D7100
Sigma 10-20 f4-5.6
Sigma 17-50 f2.8
Sigma 150-500
Tokina 11-16 mkII.

Also I have read that the D3200 D5200 D7100 all use the same sensors but I can hardly believe this with the price differences between the models. I have the D3200 as a 2nd body and the limit @ f2.8 30secs is ISO 400 for me. I'm looking for an improvement on the D7000. Would love to go full frame but the finances don't allow for a new set of lenses as well.

Thanks in advance for any information provided.
 
J

JohnFrench

Senior Member
On the lens subject, I have the Sigma 10-20 and the 150-500. They both work with the auto focus fine. The 150-500 is soft above 400 though, but still good, just not super sharp.
 
D

Don Kuykendall_RIP

RIP :(
I have both cameras, the D7000 and the D7100. I can tell you the D7100 is a lot better with low light. I rarely shoot long exposures so can't help you there.

I do use the Tokina 11-16 on the D7100 all the time.
 
A

alfaholic

Banned
If you look here you will see some improvements with D7100, at least with these measurements. In real life it is very hard to see any difference.
But if I can be subjective for a moment I would say that D7100 looks cleaner for my eyes, and D7000 looks more analog, but I will say again that this is just my brain playing with me and money spent on my gear. :)
As for autofocus, I think it is better and more precise. D7000 locks focus almost always but with so many misses, but D7100 has some trouble to lock but when locks it is good almost each time.

I would say that D7100 is a bit better overall in IQ and Hi ISO noise, but I can see that only by looking at some old photos taken with my old D7000.
But, I think that ISO1600 is a limit for both cameras, and ISO3200 only if you must, but that is subjective as well. My opinion is that you will not gain in low light performance that much, but still for that money there is nothing that will give you more.
 
S

SteveH

Senior Member
I have been using my D7100 in low light / high ISO a lot recently, and it does surprisingly well. Noise does increase a lot over ISO1600, but it's not a massive issue to deal with in post. With selective sharpening and careful noise reduction you can get usable results at 3200.

dsc_4332.jpg


dsc_4335.jpg
 
BackdoorArts

BackdoorArts

Senior Member
The D7100 is at least one and possibly two stops better in the ISO noise area over the D7000. It still gets some noise over ISO 1600, but it's much finer and a bit easier to deal with in post. I shoot with it up to ISO 6400 when shooting wildlife, where 1600 was my absolute cap with the D7000.
 
S

sonicbuffalo_RIP

Senior Member
MartinCornwall said:
Hello all,
After the death of my beloved D7000 ( repair bill quote from Nikon of £577 for shutter replacement) I am thinking of getting the D7100 instead. I do a lot of night photography and the ISO limit @ f2.8 30 sec exposure was 800. Anything above this was too noisy for my liking. Will I see an improvement with the D7100. Has anyone got hands on experience with these kind of exposures with the D7100 and what are the ISO limits for this camera. I know everyone has there own levels of noise acceptance but I'm looking for an improvement over the D7000.
Also having just read the thread about the display problems with the Sigma lenses I can live with those issues as long as the autofocus works as intended. It's all manual focus at night but I do still use these lenses in the daytime. Are there any other known issues with the following lenses on the D7100
Sigma 10-20 f4-5.6
Sigma 17-50 f2.8
Sigma 150-500
Tokina 11-16 mkII.

Also I have read that the D3200 D5200 D7100 all use the same sensors but I can hardly believe this with the price differences between the models.
where did you read this? I doubt it!

I have the D3200 as a 2nd body and the limit @ f2.8 30secs is ISO 400 for me. I'm looking for an improvement on the D7000. Would love to go full frame but the finances don't allow for a new set of lenses as well.

Thanks in advance for any information provided.
Click to expand...

Please tell us where you saw this posted?
 
M

MartinCornwall

Senior Member
Thanks for all the replies and input from everyone. A new D7100 will be on the way soon. After being used to the D7000 at night trying to use the D3200 is getting annoying. It's good in the day but doesn't quite cut it at night. @sonicbuffalo I have read this on various forums and while doing research, but not from this site. I did say that I didn't believe it to be true. Probably just the wrong assumptions from people guessing. If anyone else has any input on the 30sec exposures in the dark (not a lot of light pollution where I am) it would be much appreciated. Thanks all.
 
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