Move to D610 or stay with D7100?

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ShootRaw

Senior Member
I agree..The more I read about the 610 the more I see its faults..If at the time I had my D3100 and the D610 would have been available.It would have been the obvious choice..But I really do not want to lose the 1/8000 shutter for hi-speed sync and lose the better AF system on the D7100..Also it has better weather-sealing then the D610..
Guess I will hold off and get the Nikkor 70-200mm 2.8 to complete my telephoto range..Or put $$ into lighting or the 135mm 1.8 prime Nikon will hopefully release this year...Thank for all input..
 
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gqtuazon

Gear Head
The good thing is that you have more options now compared to 5 years ago when it was just either D700 or D3.

I would save up, wait for the next Nikon rebates and get the D800 with 70-200mm f2.8 VRII combo which normally offers up to $300 in instant rebate. The D800 file sizes are much easier for me to compromise than the AF and controls.
 
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Phillydog1958

Senior Member
I'm not sure if you guys are aware, but the Nikon site has the D800 and D800E at a $200 and $300 discount, respectively. It tells me that prices are also about to drop on the D800's on the online, mail-order sites. Keep a open eye.
 
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gqtuazon

Gear Head
Phillydog1958 said:
I'm not sure if you guys are aware, but the Nikon site has the D800 and D800E at a $200 and $300 discount, respectively. It tells me that prices are also about to drop on the D800's on the online, mail-order sites. Keep a open eye.
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Yes the prices have dropped significantly compared to when they were first released. I paid the full premium of $3,300 for the D800E version. I really want to get another one but I think I am maxed out on cameras. :D
 
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Ironwood

Senior Member
Whiskeyman said:
Excessive noise above ISO 800 on the 7100 seems odd. Could it be that a lot of the noise is from underexposure? In many cases, it's better to increase your ISO and properly expose a shot than to leave the ISO as is and underexpose the shot. Underexposure creates a lot of noise, which is revealed in post-processing.

WM
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Geoffc said:
This point is spot on. My D300 is ok at ISO 800 and the D7100 (my wife has one) is about a stop behind my D800.

I've noticed that it's tempting to keep the ISO down lower than a proper exposure requires because you think it will be less noisy. You then add one or two stops of exposure in Lightroom and hey presto an ugly picture.

I did have a D600 for a few months and it was fairly good in low light but no better than the D800 on like for like sized images. I swapped the D600 for the D800 as I found its autofocus poor in low light where the D300, D7100 and D800 had no issue.
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I mostly shoot on aperture priority, set the iso as low as I can to get an acceptable shutter speed. But come to think of it, most of the shots I can remember being too noisy for my liking, are ones that I had to lighten up a bit in PP, for one reason or another.
Thanks for the heads up.
 
BackdoorArts

BackdoorArts

Senior Member
You might be a little off on the weather seal differences. Perhaps compared to the D600, but the D610 is supposed to be on par with the D800 on sealing, so I can't see the D7100 being better sealed.

The only thing I read in your posts that leads me to point you to an FX camera is the "can't get wide enough" statement. If you're finding ISO 2500 to be too noisy on the D7100 I would recommend investing in good noise reduction software for post. I think the Dfine 2.0 tool in the Nik Collection is amazing and has taken shots at ISO 6400 from my D600 and D800 and made them virtually noise free with no oversmoothing. If the D7100 is, as Geoff suggests, a stop behind the D800 then I see no reason why it wouldn't save those night photos. Download a trial and check it out. $150 for the Nik package (and 15% off if you hunt for coupon codes) is a lot cheaper than a new camera, and it gets you some of the best post-processing filters out available.
 
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NVSteve

Senior Member
BackdoorHippie said:
You might be a little off on the weather seal differences. Perhaps compared to the D600, but the D610 is supposed to be on par with the D800 on sealing, so I can't see the D7100 being better sealed.
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I would bet money the D610 is identically sealed as the D600. Since Nikon is so ineptly vague when it comes to weather sealing of anything, who knows. One can find the internal gasket schematics for all the cameras online, but that won't positively show how well any body does in terms of weather resistance. From all of my research concerning the D800, D7100 & D600, they are not sealed to a level comparable to others well known for their weather resistance (Oly & Pentax). I've run across a number of posts from people that have had lots of dirt/dust ingress, etc. I still shoot in the rain & dusty environments, but not without a blower on hand along with a rain sleeve. The whole "weather sealing" thing gets thrown around rather loosely these days. Look at the new(er) Sony A7 series-the ones with an unsealed memory card door which are being touted as fully weather sealed.
 
K

kamaccord

Senior Member
Ironwood said:
If I had the money I would buy the D610 and keep the D7100, its a very good camera. The only area I feel it is lacking, is in low light.
The question I would need to ask, is, how much better is the D610 in low light ? How much of an improvement are you getting for your money ?

I try not to go above iso800 on my D7100, as I dont like the noise. To be able to go higher would be a bonus.
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The question you raised between the D7100 and D610 are answered in the verdict section of the D610 review in the link below. However, you may want to read the entire detailed review of the D610. Enjoy.

Nikon D610 vs D7100 vs Canon EOS 6D vs Sony A7 | Cameralabs
 
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Rick M

Senior Member
For wide and out of focus elements, you can't beat Fx. The above article is really a very narrow view of capabilities. They both have their strengths, it comes down to which ones are important to you. There is no perfect camera, including the pro models.
 
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NVSteve

Senior Member
BackdoorHippie said:
Nikon stated explicitly in their release notes for the D610 that it has the same seals as the D800. Nothing vague about it.
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But what does that mean? It isn't as if they are explicit about anything except the "amount of sealing" or other fairly useless prose. They said the exact same thing about the D600:The D600 employs magnesium alloy for the top and rear covers. Despite its compact and lightweight body, it achieves high robustness and durability. Also, various points of the body are effectively sealed to attain superior dust-prevention and weather-resistant performance equivalent to that of the D800 series.
 
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Jonathan

Senior Member
Good question, to which I'd like to add this: the 7100 body is weather sealed, which I get. But does that mean I can wander about in the drizzle lens attached and the lens is also "safe"? I suspect not, but it would be great to know one way or t'other.
 
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stmv

Senior Member
I definitely do not wander about in the drizzle with the camera exposed, but,, minimize the time out in the rain, and yup,, always risk with lens of getting moisture or even fogging,, I have had prime lens that ended up fogged on the inside,, awful,,even when it dries out, you get a slight haze, and require pro cleaning,

If I am out shooting,, in the rain, then an umbrella,, or even a piece of cardboard, I do get a fairly amount of moisture on my cameras, but,, I try to dry as quickly as possible. yup,, water seal,, but not water proof.
not a bad idea to buy a lens camera water covering if you really are going out shooting in the wet.
 
T

Tall Grass

New member
I have both and without questions would say that the 610 is the one to get. I am SO much happier with the 610... Most of my photography is inside and often the lighting is sub-optimal... The 610 does a much better job... MUCH better in my experience.

The online sources that I read and used to compare the 610 and the 7100 did not show much difference in low light performance but in my experience, the 7100 is much noisier and the size and character of the noise is also more objectionable.

In daylight and at longer distances with good lighting, the comparison would be more favorable for the 7100...
 
D12345678

D12345678

Senior Member
Just got my D610 earlier this week and after using the D7100 for a few months now I can say I'm very impressed with the 610 and it's great to be able to put some of my older lenses to better use with it. I'll be keeping the 7100 though, mainly for longer focal lengths and use the 610 more for the wider stuff and lower light. It also helps having both so there's less lens changing.
 
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