Dinosaur asks about modern updates ;)

[Woodyg3]

Hi guys,

I've been really enjoying shooting with my trusty old pair of D70 bodies with an 18-55 and 70-300 VR lately. I used to be a real photo nut in the film era, and even made a little money doing sports photography. I'm looking at the D7100 because I have always been "that guy" who pushed his equipment to the limit and looks for more. I've read everything I can find about the D7100, and I see lots of great specs and some great reviews, but I'm hoping you can help me with the practical kinds of stuff that can't really be answered with specs and typical online reviews.

Sorry about the number of questions, I know I'm a little out of control, here.

1. 24MP vs. the 6MP in my D70. Are the files 4x in size? Will I really get a big improvement in IQ with, say, my 70-300 VR, or will the glass be the limiting factor? I'm a little worried about huge image file sizes. I will ALWAYS shoot at the highest quality available, no matter what camera I'm using.

2. ISO. The D7100 goes to 6400 vs 1600 for the D70. It seems like I can get a LOT less noise at the 1600 point with the D7100 than the D70. True?

3. Focus. Will the AF be faster and/or more accurate on the D7100, or is the lens the main limiting factor?

4. Built in flash. I only use built in flash for quick, casual shots, not for anything important. Still wondering if the built in flash of the D7100 will be improved over the D70.

I know some of the questions are pretty dependent on the situation. Any general or specific advice is appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[randyspann]

I like your questions, I want to hear the answers too!

 

[Pretzel]

Hi guys,

I've been really enjoying shooting with my trusty old pair of D70 bodies with an 18-55 and 70-300 VR lately. I used to be a real photo nut in the film era, and even made a little money doing sports photography. I'm looking at the D7100 because I have always been "that guy" who pushed his equipment to the limit and looks for more. I've read everything I can find about the D7100, and I see lots of great specs and some great reviews, but I'm hoping you can help me with the practical kinds of stuff that can't really be answered with specs and typical online reviews.

Sorry about the number of questions, I know I'm a little out of control, here.

1. 24MP vs. the 6MP in my D70. Are the files 4x in size? Will I really get a big improvement in IQ with, say, my 70-300 VR, or will the glass be the limiting factor? I'm a little worried about huge image file sizes. I will ALWAYS shoot at the highest quality available, no matter what camera I'm using.

2. ISO. The D7100 goes to 6400 vs 1600 for the D70. It seems like I can get a LOT less noise at the 1600 point with the D7100 than the D70. True?

3. Focus. Will the AF be faster and/or more accurate on the D7100, or is the lens the main limiting factor?

4. Built in flash. I only use built in flash for quick, casual shots, not for anything important. Still wondering if the built in flash of the D7100 will be improved over the D70.

I know some of the questions are pretty dependent on the situation. Any general or specific advice is appreciated.

Thanks!

1) DO IT! 2) DO IT! 3) DO IT! 4) DO IT!

Ok... now I'll try to answer what I can with a more serious side. I'm a rookie owner of the D7100, having just upgraded from the D3100 about a week ago, but I've been testing it all like mad!

1) Yes, the file size increases by quite a bit. I went from 14MP to 24MP, and it's noticeable. External drives are quite cheap these days, though, so no worries! The pixels "packed in there" are an editing dream, too. Just the image quality improvements in general will amaze you over the D70 (dynamic range, depth of color, image noise). The MPs just add to the magic.

2) Yes, I'm getting much cleaner images at similar ISO settings. Again, editing dream, especially when formatting for web. You get a full 1.2 stops worth of lower noise levels.

3) On my nifty fifty, the focusing speed/IQ seemed about the same, but with my 70-300 VR... WOW! It was a quick to focus lens before, but on the D7100, it seems much faster! Add the larger pentaprism viewfinder to the mix, and manual focus is a WHOLE lot easier as well! It'll be about 50% larger than what you're used to, and the clarity... *still drooling*

4) Can't answer, as I never really use the built-in flash, but rather an on-camera SB700. I do know that the D7100 let's me use the SB700 off-camera, and that is a dream.

I've got a thread in the D7100 section here that discusses my first impressions after the jump from the D7100, so take a look! There may be some others that have made your specific jump, too, but my advice... why not? You're gonna love it!

 

[gqtuazon]

Hi guys,

I've been really enjoying shooting with my trusty old pair of D70 bodies with an 18-55 and 70-300 VR lately. I used to be a real photo nut in the film era, and even made a little money doing sports photography. I'm looking at the D7100 because I have always been "that guy" who pushed his equipment to the limit and looks for more. I've read everything I can find about the D7100, and I see lots of great specs and some great reviews, but I'm hoping you can help me with the practical kinds of stuff that can't really be answered with specs and typical online reviews.

Sorry about the number of questions, I know I'm a little out of control, here.

1. 24MP vs. the 6MP in my D70. Are the files 4x in size? Will I really get a big improvement in IQ with, say, my 70-300 VR, or will the glass be the limiting factor? I'm a little worried about huge image file sizes. I will ALWAYS shoot at the highest quality available, no matter what camera I'm using.

2. ISO. The D7100 goes to 6400 vs 1600 for the D70. It seems like I can get a LOT less noise at the 1600 point with the D7100 than the D70. True?

3. Focus. Will the AF be faster and/or more accurate on the D7100, or is the lens the main limiting factor?

4. Built in flash. I only use built in flash for quick, casual shots, not for anything important. Still wondering if the built in flash of the D7100 will be improved over the D70.

I know some of the questions are pretty dependent on the situation. Any general or specific advice is appreciated.

Thanks!

1. Yes. Be sure that your computer is not in the dinosaur age also. Glass plays a big role too.

2. Yes. True.

3.More focus points = more convenient, more options, possibly faster AF due to faster processor.

4. built-in flash is the same. Invest on a speed light for in-doors and a more pleasant lighting.





Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Pretzel]

@mikew, don't you shoot both?

 

[Horoscope Fish]

1. 24MP vs. the 6MP in my D70. Are the files 4x in size? Will I really get a big improvement in IQ with, say, my 70-300 VR, or will the glass be the limiting factor? I'm a little worried about huge image file sizes. I will ALWAYS shoot at the highest quality available, no matter what camera I'm using.

File sizes will vary of course but in general, yes; you can expect files from the D7100 to be considerably larger.

2. ISO. The D7100 goes to 6400 vs 1600 for the D70. It seems like I can get a LOT less noise at the 1600 point with the D7100 than the D70. True?

Yes. Personally, I wouldn't hesitate to use ISO 3200 on my D7100. At 6400 I'd start to think about noise... a little... mabye... but ISO 3200 is still in my overall comfort zone with the D7100.

3. Focus. Will the AF be faster and/or more accurate on the D7100, or is the lens the main limiting factor?

I can't say if the AF will be faster or more accurate than your D70 in a technical sense, but the AF on the D7100 seems very snappy overall with all the lenses I have (Nikon, Sigma and Tokina), some have AF-motors, some do not. The AF on the D7100 does have the auto-focus "Fine Tune" function which is nice to have though I doubt you'll need it, frankly.

4. Built in flash. I only use built in flash for quick, casual shots, not for anything important. Still wondering if the built in flash of the D7100 will be improved over the D70.

I find the pop-up flash capable enough but you have to keep your expectations in check. It does great as a "fill flash" used outdoors for example. Indoors I'd call it pretty darn good but certainly not great. The guide numbers at ISO 100 show 36 for the D70 and 39 for the D7100, so there's that. You gain three feet according to Nikon.

...

 

[mikew_RIP]

I love my D70 but have to admit there are only some things its good for,took it out at the weekend to a village fete some of the machines where half in the shade and the interior church shots needed recovering in the under exposed areas,the D7100 would have made a far better job.

Noise is a problem with the D70 at high iso and if you need to crop.

 

[Woodyg3]

Pretzel, I've been following your 7100 thread. Good info there.

Yeah, guys, I have low expectation for any built in flash, but I hoped maybe they had improved at least a little.

Thanks for all the replies, I appreciate your time, everyone.