Your favorite, most-used D7100 feature(s)?

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gustafson

Senior Member
Have had my D7100 for over a year, but feel like I'm using it like a glorified D3300 (which I also own). Was hoping to hear what D7100 features other Nikonites use a lot, so I can get more out of my D7100.

To be fair, I have used some D7100 features that are not on the D3300, such as:

- Screw-drive AF motor, mainly to drive a modified TC-16A to allow pseudo AF on MF lenses
- A mode with metering for Ai/Ai-S/Ai'd MF lenses

All said though, I feel I've barely scratched the surface of what the D7100 has to offer, and was hoping to hear from you about other cool features and capabilities that might help with my shooting and workflow. Thanks in advance!


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Elliot87

Senior Member
Ironwood said:
U1/u2
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This is a feature I keep meaning to learn about and set up but I never seem to get around to it.

I just learnt a couple of new features from this Steve Perry video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNUH5dCaLMU Unfortunately not all of them work on the D7100, like using the movie record button to change ISO. It works with the D7200 but not the D7100 which is frustrating as changing ISO with a large lens attached is not really possible without taking the camera from your eye and your left hand from the lens.

This has the makings of an interesting thread as I feel I'm in the same boat and would like to get more from my D7100.
 
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gustafson

Senior Member
Elliot87 said:
This is a feature I keep meaning to learn about and set up but I never seem to get around to it.

I just learnt a couple of new features from this Steve Perry video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNUH5dCaLMU Unfortunately not all of them work on the D7100, like using the movie record button to change ISO. It works with the D7200 but not the D7100 which is frustrating as changing ISO with a large lens attached is not really possible without taking the camera from your eye and your left hand from the lens.

This has the makings of an interesting thread as I feel I'm in the same boat and would like to get more from my D7100.
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@Elliott87, thanks for the vid, will check it out. Good to know that I'm not alone. I did set up U1/U2 for default settings vs BIF, but can't say I've ever used it. It takes some discipline to develop new habits, and that's never been my strong suit



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nickt

Senior Member
I just like that style of camera. I like all the things that separate it from the d3x00 and d5x00 series. Especially front and rear command wheels and top lcd display and the various buttons on the back for quick access to to things like iso. I'm programed for back button focus. I also program my pv and fn buttons for spot and center weighted metering. If you are feeling like your d7100 is just a glorified d3300, then maybe you just don't have a need or desire to quickly change settings as you shoot. Back in the beginning I played with my camera enough that everything became second nature. I can change iso, shutter, aperture, focus mode, exposure compensation, etc all in a blink. No need to get into menus, my fingers pretty much know what to do and a quick glance at the top lcd and I have confirmation my settings are good. So I guess the feature I use the most is the user interface as a whole. I've recommended both styles of cameras depending on what people might need, but for me, I like being able to adapt very quickly.
 
Needa

Needa

Senior Member
Challenge Team
Form going from the D5100 to the D7100 was about not needing to menu dive as often. I shoot mostly manual so having the extra external settings are helpful, just wish the ISO to the movie button would have worked. I do have some custom setting in U1/U2. The way the camera feels is also a plus for me.
 
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gustafson

Senior Member
nickt said:
I just like that style of camera. I like all the things that separate it from the d3x00 and d5x00 series. Especially front and rear command wheels and top lcd display and the various buttons on the back for quick access to to things like iso. I'm programed for back button focus. I also program my pv and fn buttons for spot and center weighted metering. If you are feeling like your d7100 is just a glorified d3300, then maybe you just don't have a need or desire to quickly change settings as you shoot. Back in the beginning I played with my camera enough that everything became second nature. I can change iso, shutter, aperture, focus mode, exposure compensation, etc all in a blink. No need to get into menus, my fingers pretty much know what to do and a quick glance at the top lcd and I have confirmation my settings are good. So I guess the feature I use the most is the user interface as a whole. I've recommended both styles of cameras depending on what people might need, but for me, I like being able to adapt very quickly.
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@nickt & @Needa- thank you for reminding me of some D7100 features that I do use from time to time, such as using the front and rear command wheels and the top LCD to change AF modes, metering modes, ISO, etc. It's definitely a relief not to dive into the menus and rear LCD for that!


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Ironwood

Senior Member
Elliot87 said:
This is a feature I keep meaning to learn about and set up but I never seem to get around to it.

I just learnt a couple of new features from this Steve Perry video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNUH5dCaLMU Unfortunately not all of them work on the D7100, like using the movie record button to change ISO. It works with the D7200 but not the D7100 which is frustrating as changing ISO with a large lens attached is not really possible without taking the camera from your eye and your left hand from the lens.

This has the makings of an interesting thread as I feel I'm in the same boat and would like to get more from my D7100.
Click to expand...
Yes the button changed for iso would be a great feature. I picked up a good tip the other day in thread about tips for your camera. You can set the camera so that you just have to press the ISO button once then use the rear command wheel to change the ISO , it's better than how I was doing it before, having to hold the ISO button in while turning the command wheel.
 
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Lawrence

Senior Member
Ironwood said:
Yes the button changed for iso would be a great feature. I picked up a good tip the other day in thread about tips for your camera. You can set the camera so that you just have to press the ISO button once then use the rear command wheel to change the ISO , it's better than how I was doing it before, having to hold the ISO button in while turning the command wheel.
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I've accidentally set mine up like this. However I find you then have to half press the shutter to get out of changing back to the normal functions.
Would be great to have a better way to change ISO
 
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gustafson

Senior Member
Ironwood said:
Yes the button changed for iso would be a great feature. I picked up a good tip the other day in thread about tips for your camera. You can set the camera so that you just have to press the ISO button once then use the rear command wheel to change the ISO , it's better than how I was doing it before, having to hold the ISO button in while turning the command wheel.
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That is good to know! There's are rumors of a firmware update for the D7100 and D7200 (to enable full control of AF-P lenses). Be great if the D7100 gains an easier way to manage ISO, if / when that happens. One can hope.


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Horoscope Fish

Horoscope Fish

Senior Member
One way to get quick-ER access to ISO settings on the D7100, and other bodies as well, is to program a button -- FN or what have you -- to the "My Menu" function. Of course you'll want to configure the My Menu function to give you access to the ISO settings.
...
 
B

Blacktop

Senior Member
I liked the "easy ISO" option on my D7100. I have it on my D750 but really miss it on my D500. Google how to set it up. I'm on my phone otherwise I would post a link.

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Prefrosh01

Senior Member
Blacktop said:
I liked the "easy ISO" option on my D7100. I have it on my D750 but really miss it on my D500. Google how to set it up. I'm on my phone otherwise I would post a link.

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I found the setting Pete was referring to. It is from a Photography Life article by Nasim Mansurov...


When shooting in modes other than Manual (for example Aperture Priority), the Nikon D7100 allows changing ISO with the rear or front dial, which can be nice when one needs to adjust ISO quickly with one hand. This can be enabled by going to “ISO display and adjustment” and setting it to “Show ISO/Easy ISO”. However, there is a downside to this feature that is rather annoying – once you do this, the camera will no longer show you the number of remaining shots left in your memory card! For this reason, I usually disable this feature and pick “Show frame count” instead. If you do not care about seeing how many shots are left in your card, then I would recommend to use this feature. Nikon has addressed this trade-off in the Nikon D750, which now has a dedicated “Easy ISO” setting – picking that option no longer affects the display of the image count.

Here is the link to the full article:
https://photographylife.com/recommended-nikon-d7100-settings/
 
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Elliot87

Senior Member
Prefrosh01 said:
I found the setting Pete was referring to. It is from a Photography Life article by Nasim Mansurov...


When shooting in modes other than Manual (for example Aperture Priority), the Nikon D7100 allows changing ISO with the rear or front dial, which can be nice when one needs to adjust ISO quickly with one hand. This can be enabled by going to “ISO display and adjustment” and setting it to “Show ISO/Easy ISO”. However, there is a downside to this feature that is rather annoying – once you do this, the camera will no longer show you the number of remaining shots left in your memory card! For this reason, I usually disable this feature and pick “Show frame count” instead. If you do not care about seeing how many shots are left in your card, then I would recommend to use this feature. Nikon has addressed this trade-off in the Nikon D750, which now has a dedicated “Easy ISO” setting – picking that option no longer affects the display of the image count.

Here is the link to the full article:
https://photographylife.com/recommended-nikon-d7100-settings/
Click to expand...

I've just switched to this setting, not used it yet but I think it is going to make a big difference to how I shoot. I never look at the shot count anyway so that's no loss. Using manual and auto iso was a decent work around but I never got used to not knowing what iso I was using whilst taking the shot. Actually just checked and now with "Show ISO/easy ISO" on I can still use manual and auto ISO but now with the added bonus of being able to see the ISO setting change.
 
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Elliot87

Senior Member
I'm trying to do the following but for whatever reason I can't find the "My Menu" section in the menu. I've had a look at the user manual but it hasn't helped me at all. The menu it is showing I just can't seem to find. EDIT: I've just figured it out, I had "Recent settings" displayed instead of "My menu".

"The next important menu option “Assign Fn button” allows programming the “Fn” (Function) button on the front of the camera. Since I shoot in different environments a lot, I like to be able to change my Auto ISO settings quickly (not just enabling or disabling Auto ISO, but actually accessing settings like “Maximum sensitivity” and “Minimum shutter speed”). Unfortunately, Auto ISO is buried in the “Shooting Menu” and takes too long to get to. I love being able to access Auto ISO with just pressing the Fn button and that’s something you can set up very easily. First, go to “My Menu” section of the menu. Then go to “Add items” -> “Shooting menu”. Find “ISO sensitivity settings” and instead of getting into this menu, simply press the “OK” button. The next screen should say “Choose position” and you will see “ISO sensitivity settings” there. Just press “OK” one more time and you will see this on the top of the “My Menu” window. If you already have some favorites saved, make sure to move this one to the very top. Once you do this, go to the “Custom Setting Menu” again and navigate to “Controls” -> “Assign Fn button”. From there, pick “Access top item in MY MENU” and press OK. Now test it out – close the menu, then press the “Fn” button on the front of the camera. If you did everything right, the back LCD should get you right into ISO sensitivity settings! Pretty neat and saves a lot of time when you need to tweak the Auto ISO feature!If you don’t particularly care for the depth of field “Preview” button, you can program your D7100 to do the same thing from that button instead."
 
S

STM

Senior Member
gustafson said:
Hahah! Good one I know you aren't totally kidding, but still funny!


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I am not kidding at all, I almost never use any of my cameras in automatic. My favorite camera of all, my Hasselblad, does not even have a meter and the CDS meter in my 45 year old FTn has been dead for years. The CDS meter in my F2 is starting to get a little inconsistent as well, but it is 40 years old after all. That is what an incident and 1º spot meter are for and I use both all of the time. In high contrast scenes, an incident reading will be better 99% of the time than some over-complicated Matrix metering. When I have time to really take to meter, I still use the 1º spot meter and Ansel Adams' Zone System and set the manual exposure accordingly. Adams' Zone System can be used just as well with a digital camera, if you are familiar with the dynamic range of the sensor.
 
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