In the market for a new camera

Hello all, newbie to the forum here. I've had a D70 for years that has bitten the dust...it corrupts the SD card when it writes to it. Very depressing, but I HAVE been looking for an excuse to upgrade.

I'd like to keep it around $1,000 and preferably under. I had been debating between the D7000 and the D7100, but for some reason the Amazon price on the 7000 has gone form $485 to $550, so I'm leaning towards the 7100. It looks like the D7200 might drop at CP+ in a few weeks, so I'm thinking I'm going to hold off and see what happens there before I pull the trigger. If it comes out, I'm hoping that either it will be close enough to the $1,000 point that maybe I can splurge, or that it will at least drive down the price of the 7100.

Before doing that, I'm wanting to make sure I'm not missing any options. I'm not opposed to used, but it would have to be pretty significant savings over new....10 or 20% probably won't do it. My kids play a lot of sports I want to shoot, so something with a better frame rate than my old D70 is important to me....probably at least 6 fps. Other than that just overall quality and performance.

So...any other suggestions?

You're on the right track....but 6fps is shutting out he D7100. Who knows when a D7200 will come out? Nikon just announced a D5500. They didn't mention a D7200. I'd say the D7100 is a great choice but has limited buffer capacity. It's up to you but all you speak of are great cameras. I'd definitely take the 7100 over the 7000.

by the way:

​Welcome to Nikonites!

Welcome to the forum,if you shoot raw the the D7xxxs may not have a large enough buffer you need to investigate that,not surprised your D70 corrupts the sd card mine takes compact flash are you using a card converter.

I read an article from back in mid December that the D5500 was going to be announced at CES and the D7200 at CP+. Since they were spot on with the D5500, I figure it's worth a couple of weeks to see if they have it right on the 7200 as well. I've been with out a camera this long, I can wait a few more weeks.

I am aware of the buffer limitations on the D7000/D7100. I think the buffer will be okay for my needs (but I really wish I could get my hands on one to give it a try). That's one reason I'm willing to wait and see if the 7200 is release next month...it's supposed to have an improved buffer.

Mike, the SD card does tend to slide around a bit in the CF card slot, but once you get it set it works okay. Or maybe I've been Android brainwashed. You know what I said to mean, right?

I totally agree with you....I'd wait and see about the 7200 too! Mind you, you'll be paying a premium for a brand new camera, but the price will likely drop further on the 7100.....lots of options.

sonicbuffalo said:

I totally agree with you....I'd wait and see about the 7200 too! Mind you, you'll be paying a premium for a brand new camera, but the price will likely drop further on the 7100.....lots of options.

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Agreed. If the 7200 does come out it's probably 50/50 at best that I'd actually get it. I'd just hate to order the 7100 today and have it drop $100 in a few weeks. If the D7200 is around $1,200 and vastly improved over the 7100 then I'll have a decision on my hands. Maybe it's time to get set up on Kickstarter.

Welcome to the forum!
The D7100 is a truly great camera, how much better the D7200 will be and when it will land are unknown... I'd look at the upgrades the D5300 got in the D5500... I'd guess Wireless, GPS & tilt-screen (Possibly touch screen?) but most importantly, a bigger buffer.

I'd suggest going to your local dealer and getting hands-on with the D7100, take an SD card and have a play. It's also worth remembering that the 95MB/sec SD cards really improve the buffer situation... NOTE: They don't FIX the problem, just help a lot.

Also worth asking - What lenses do you have? Are they AF-S? If not, then you will need at least a D7xxx series for the in-built focus motor, and if they are DX then they won't suit an FX camera (D600 and up) IF your lenses are are non-AF-S DX lenses, then your options are very much narrowed!

SteveH said:

I'd suggest going to your local dealer and getting hands-on with the D7100, take an SD card and have a play. It's also worth remembering that the 95MB/sec SD cards really improve the buffer situation... NOTE: They don't FIX the problem, just help a lot.

Also worth asking - What lenses do you have? Are they AF-S? If not, then you will need at least a D7xxx series for the in-built focus motor, and if they are DX then they won't suit an FX camera (D600 and up) IF your lenses are are non-AF-S DX lenses, then your options are very much narrowed!

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I'd love to get my hands on a D7100, I'm just having trouble finding one locally. The internet and big-box stores have killed off the devoted camera store for the most part, and the big-box places only tend to carry the entry level models in stock. We do have one place I town that seems to have it I'm going to try to get by. I also kind of hate to be "that guy" who goes in a retail store to look but with no intention of buying there. But this place wants full list price for he 7100....even a refurb there is more than new on Amazon.

I'll have to double check my lenses, but I'm willing to bet they don't have the AF motor.

SteveH said:

Also worth asking - What lenses do you have? Are they AF-S? If not, then you will need at least a D7xxx series for the in-built focus motor, and if they are DX then they won't suit an FX camera (D600 and up) IF your lenses are are non-AF-S DX lenses, then your options are very much narrowed!

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It looks like the 18-70 lens I got with the D70 is AF-S, but my 28-210 and 70-300 lenses look to be AF. I'm not sure about the whole FX / DX thing, but I thought the lenses would work on all cameras, but there was a conversion on the focal length or something. Is there a way to check if they're FX or DX?

Girevik said:

It looks like the 18-70 lens I got with the D70 is AF-S, but my 28-210 and 70-300 lenses look to be AF. I'm not sure about the whole FX / DX thing, but I thought the lenses would work on all cameras, but there was a conversion on the focal length or something. Is there a way to check if they're FX or DX?

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If a lens is DX, it usually says so on the lens itself. At least Nikon has DX on them, the other brands might use a different abbreviation.

Ok, so I looked again. My 18-70 AF-S does have DX on it. I don't see it on my 70-300, but it's just AF. My other lens is a Vivitar, so I'm not sure what to look for as far as FX / DX or the focus motor.

I'm also not real sure what that does for my camera options....am I best sticking with the D700x?

I'm not sure what cam you have in mind but as long as they have a build-in focus motor, you can use AF and AF-S lenses. On a DX you can use both DX and FX lenses. It makes little difference. It's only on an FX you run into issues with DX lenses.

Im currently selling my D7000 with all accessories for $500, only has 24,000 shots on it, if you're interested, I can put it in the market. I suppose I should put it in the market either way

The 70-300 AF has no motor. Even I had a D70 and this lens. The lens is not really worth keeping it (around a $150 new), as it has a lot of CA and even on the D70 it was an average performer. On the D3300 it is pretty soft above 200mm.

The D3300 with the kit 18-55 is an inexpensive entry level camera. If you are willing to forgo the following it is an excellent buy :
. Focus Motor
. Bracketing
. Metering with AIS and other non-cpu lenses
. 14 bit RAW

The plus points are
. Extremely light body (till D5500 came it was the lightest), and small size.
. Low cost.
. 6 fps burst rate.
. All basic functions are there.

Since you did mention sports and high continuous frame rate, I will suggest you look at a used D300. It should be quite a bit under your price limit. I can already hear some people say "Ah, this is old technology and the D7100 sensor is way better". To them I will say that I agree.

But, for sports and more accurate focus in High Speed Continuous shooting conditions, the D300 is still above the crop. I wouldn't hesitate if I was you.

thegaffney said:

Im currently selling my D7000 with all accessories for $500, only has 24,000 shots on it, if you're interested, I can put it in the market. I suppose I should put it in the market either way

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Thanks or the offer, but I think I'm going to wait and see what happens at CP+ next month. If the rumors are right I'm thinking that will at least drive the others down. If I were you I think I'd try to sell the D7000 before then just in case.

Marcel said:

Since you did mention sports and high continuous frame rate, I will suggest you look at a used D300. It should be quite a bit under your price limit. I can already hear some people say "Ah, this is old technology and the D7100 sensor is way better". To them I will say that I agree.

But, for sports and more accurate focus in High Speed Continuous shooting conditions, the D300 is still above the crop. I wouldn't hesitate if I was you.

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I did look a bit at theD300. It's bit under $500 on KEH and the 300s around $780. The main reason I didn't really pursue it was because it's only 12MP...should that not be a concern? Also, would my current lenses work on it?

Girevik said:

I did look a bit at theD300. It's bit under $500 on KEH and the 300s around $780. The main reason I didn't really pursue it was because it's only 12MP...should that not be a concern? Also, would my current lenses work on it?

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Your lenses would be all working good with it and the focus precision would more than make up for the 12MP as far as I'm concerned. Better focus makes for sharper pictures anytime and even more with more MPs.

Adorama is still offering a refurbished D7100 for $699.95.

Refurbished Nikon D7100 DSLR Camera Body, Black - Refurbished by Nikon U.S.A 1513 B

Ok, so I've done a little more looking at the D300, and I have to admit it's got me thinking. I'm a little hesitant on technology that's getting close to 10 years old, but I guess it's still a big step up from my D70.

I've been looking at the 300 vs. the 300s. The specs look nearly identical except for video (which I don't care about so much), slightly faster frame rate, and dual card slots. One review also said the 300s had better image quality but that's hard to quantify. So is there anything in the 300s that makes it worth $300 more?

I found out my father (retired photographer who built a successful photography school and is now a hobbyist / semi-pro nature photographer) has the D300 and loves it except that it's fairly noisy at high ISOs. Does the 300s have this same issue? Based on the specs I would assume so.

I did see one review that had the D7100 rated significantly higher than the D300. Other than the buffer what is it that makes that a good choice? Is it just the price (value)?

I wish I had an idea of the price of the D7200 if it is getting released in a few weeks....I'd like to know if it's in my "splurge" range.