D7100

24.10 Megapixels	Nikon F	APS-C size sensor

Basic Specifications
Full model name:	Nikon D7100
Resolution:	24.10 Megapixels
Sensor size:	APS-C (23.5mm x 15.6mm)
Kit Lens:	5.80x zoom 18-105mm (27-158mm eq.)
Viewfinder:	Optical / LCD
Native ISO:	100 - 6400
Extended ISO:	100 - 25,600
Shutter:	1/8000 - 30 seconds
Max Aperture:	3.5 (kit lens)
Dimensions:	5.3 x 4.2 x 3.0 in. (136 x 107 x 76 mm)
Weight:	43.1 oz (1,222 g) includes batteries, kit lens
Availability:	03/2013
Manufacturer:	Nikon

D7100 SUMMARY

By supercharging the resolution with a 24.1-megapixel CMOS sensor and removing the optical low-pass filter to capture finer detail, the Nikon D7100 delivers the best image quality we've ever seen in a Nikon APS-C-type DSLR. Add in a new 51-point autofocus system, full 1080p HD video recording with full-time AF, a nifty 1.3x crop mode that extends the camera's reach, and many more advanced, near-pro-level features, and it's clear the D7100 is a serious tool for shooters who want to get more serious about their photography.

PROS

Solid, ergonomic body design; Stunning, highly detailed photos, thanks to 24.1MP sensor upgrade and removal of optical low-pass filter; Cool 1.3x crop mode extends reach to nearly 2x the full-frame equivalent; Records Full 1080p HD video at up to 30fps with full-time AF; Many pro-level features packed into a consumer-friendly body at reasonable price.

CONS

Shallow buffer that hampers continuous burst shooting; AF slightly slower than average for its class; No real-time aperture control while in Movie mode (among other quirks); More noticeable moire patterns and aliasing artifacts (but only found when shooting fabrics with strong, distinct patterns).

PRICE AND AVAILABILITY

The Nikon D7100 started shipping in the U.S. in March 2013. It's available both body-only and in a kit with the AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6 VR lens. Retail pricing for the body-only is around US$1,200, similar to cost of the D7000 at launch. In the 18-105mm kit, it costs around US$1,500.

IMAGING RESOURCE RATING

5.0 out of 5.0

Nikon D7100 Optics

Kit Lens Test Results

Zoom
Good performance with the 18-105mm VR kit lens.

18mm, f/8	34mm, f/8
105mm, f/8

The Nikon D7100 is available with a Nikkor AF-S DX 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR (Vibration Reduction) lens, which has a better-than-average zoom ratio of about 5.8x for a kit lens. Sharpness was very good across most of the frame at full wide angle in our Far-field shot, though there's some blurring in the extreme corners and a hint of flare. There were low levels of coma distortion in the leaves at the corners, and chromatic aberration wasn't an issue because most of it is removed by the D7100's image processor (see below). Performance at 34mm was likewise quite good with only a touch of blurring in the corners. Results at full telephoto were better than average showing good detail near the center of the frame, though the periphery was a bit soft and not as contrasty. Again, chromatic aberration was well suppressed. (These shots were both taken at f/8. See below for how the lens performs at maximum aperture.) Overall, a good performance for a kit lens, and the built-in Vibration Reduction (Nikon's term for optical image stabilization) will come in handy for hand-held shots in low light.

Macro
A larger-than-average macro area, with soft detail overall. Flash throttles down well.

Macro with 18-105mm Kit Lens 105mm, f/8	Macro with Flash 105mm, f/8

The Nikon D7100 captured a larger-than-average macro area with the standard 18-105mm kit lens, measuring 4.29 x 2.86 inches (109 x 73 millimeters). Detail was somewhat soft, and there was strong blurring in the corners. (Most lenses have some softening in the corners at macro distances.) Some vignetting is noticeable in the extreme corners as well. The Nikon D7100's flash throttled down for the macro area well, producing a good exposure.

Geometric Distortion
High levels of geometric distortion at wide angle and telephoto ends with the 18-105mm kit lens.

Barrel distortion is 1.1 percent at 18mm

Pincushion distortion is 0.7% at 105mm

The Nikon D7100's 18-105mm kit lens produced about 1.1 percent barrel distortion at wide angle, which is higher than average and noticeable in some of its images. At the telephoto end, pincushion distortion was 0.7%, also higher than average and noticeable in some images. This is the tendency for the lens to bend straight lines outward (like a barrel -- usually at wide-angle) or inward (like a pincushion -- usually at telephoto).

Auto Distortion Control
Low geometric distortion when Auto Distortion Control is enabled.

Barrel distortion is 0.5 percent at 18mm

Pincushion distortion is 0.1 percent at 105mm

The Nikon D7100 offers an Auto Distortion Control feature to reduce geometric distortion automatically with most recent Nikkor lenses. As you can see it worked reasonably well with the 18-105mm lens, reducing barrel at wide angle and pincushion distortion at telephoto significantly, though some of the image was cropped away in the process. Since this option is database driven, it's only available for Nikkor D and G-type lenses with certain optics such as Fisheye and Perspective Control lenses excepted. Auto Distortion Control is Off by default.

You can also apply Auto or Manual Distortion Control to JPEGs after the fact, in the Retouch menu. Manual mode works with images from any lens.

Chromatic Aberration and Corner Sharpness
Very low to moderately low C.A. in JPEGs, much higher in uncorrected RAW files. Some corners are soft at wide angle and telephoto with the kit lens.

Maximum Aperture
Wide, f/3.5: Upper right C.A.: Moderately low Softness: Slightly soft	Wide, f/3.5: Center C.A.: Very low Softness: Fairly sharp
Tele, f/5.6: Upper left C.A.: Low Softness: Slightly soft	Tele, f/5.6: Center C.A.: Very low Softness: A touch soft

Chromatic Aberration. Chromatic aberration was moderately low at the full wide angle setting of the 18-105mm VR kit lens, suppressed by the D7100's image processor. (See below for crops from uncorrected RAW files.) At telephoto, chromatic aberration was even lower and hardly detectable. (This distortion is visible as a slight colored fringe around the objects at the edges of the field of view on the resolution target.)

Corner Sharpness. The Nikon D7100's 18-105mm VR kit lens produced slightly soft corners at full wide angle when wide-open, but performance here is actually pretty good. The top corners were slightly softer than the bottom, and some of the softness likely stems from C.A. suppression. Softness didn't extend very far in the frames, though, and the center was fairly sharp. At full telephoto, all four corners were also somewhat soft, with the upper left being the softest, but the lens is softer overall at telephoto than at wide angle.

Corner Shading. There's some moderate corner shading ("vignetting") at both ends of the zoom when wide-open, as indicated by the darker corner crops.

f/8 Aperture
Wide, f/8: Upper right C.A.: Moderately low Softness: Minor blurring	Wide, f/8: Center C.A.: Very low Softness: Sharp
Tele, f/8: Upper left C.A.: Low Softness: Slightly soft	Tele, f/8: Center C.A.: Very low Softness: A touch soft

f/8. Stopped-down to an aperture of f/8, corner performance did improve at wide angle, while sharpness in the center also improved slightly. Corners were still a bit soft at telephoto, however, as was the center. Vignetting was negligible.

Uncorrected RAWMuch higher levels of C.A. at wide angle and telephoto from uncorrected RAW files.

In-camera JPEG	Uncorrected RAW
Wide: Upper left C.A.: Low	Wide: Upper left C.A.: High
Tele: Upper left C.A.: Low	Tele: Upper left C.A.: Fairly low

As you can see from the crops above comparing camera JPEGs (left) to uncorrected RAW files (taken at f/8), levels of lateral chromatic aberration are much higher in uncorrected RAW files, particularly at wide angle. The D7100's processor is doing a good job at suppressing lateral chromatic aberration in JPEGs.

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Nikon D7100 Viewfinder

Viewfinder Test Results

Coverage
Very good accuracy from both the optical viewfinder and LCD monitor.

70mm, Optical	70mm, Live View LCD

The Nikon D7100's optical viewfinder showed just over 99 percent coverage with our reference Sigma 70mm f/2.8 macro lens, which is quite good. In Live View mode, the Nikon D7100's LCD monitor showed closer to 100% coverage.

Nikon D7100 Image Quality

Color

Saturation & Hue Accuracy 
Realistic saturation levels and good hue accuracy.

ISO Sensitivity
100	200	400
800	1600	3200
6400	12800	25600
In the diagram above, the squares show the original color, and the circles show the color that the camera captured. More saturated colors are located toward the periphery of the graph. Hue changes as you travel around the center. Thus, hue-accurate, highly saturated colors appear as lines radiating from the center. Mouse over the links to compare ISOs.

Saturation. The Nikon D7100 pushes dark greens and blues by a moderate amount, but slightly undersaturates bright yellow, light green, and some cyans. Reds are also pushed a bit, but not as much as by most cameras. Overall saturation levels are good and remain fairly stable, climbing slightly as ISO increases. Mean saturation is 106% at base ISO, or 6% oversaturated. The average for consumer DSLRs is about 10% oversaturated, but 6% is closer to accurate, and it's easy to customize saturation to match your personal preference. Most consumer digital cameras produce color that's more highly saturated (more intense) than found in the original subjects. This is simply because most people like their color a bit brighter than life.

Skin tones. The Nikon D7100's Caucasian skin tones looked just about right when using Auto white balance in simulated daylight, while Manual white balance produced an overly pinkish cast. A very good job with Auto white balance. Where oversaturation is most problematic is on Caucasian skin tones, as it's very easy for these "memory colors" to be seen as too bright, too pink, too yellow, etc.

Hue. The Nikon D7100 did shift cyan toward blue, red toward orange, and light green toward yellow, but shifts were relatively minor. (The cyan to blue shift is very common among the digital cameras we test; we think it's a deliberate choice by camera engineers to produce better-looking sky colors.) With an average "delta-C" color error at base ISO of 4.68 after correction for saturation, overall hue accuracy was a bit better than average. Hue is "what color" the color is. 

Saturation AdjustmentThe Nikon D7100 has a total of seven saturation levels available, three above and three below the default saturation, plus an Auto setting. This covers a pretty wide range of saturation levels, about as wide a range as you're likely to find photographically relevant, apart from special effects that are arguably better achieved in software. The fine steps between settings mean it's easy to program the camera to just the level of saturation you prefer. Saturation also doesn't impact contrast, which is ideal but not always the case.

Saturation Adjustment Examples
-3	-1	0	+1	+3

The table above shows results with several saturation settings, see the Thumbnails index page for more (look for the files named D7100OUTBSATx.JPG). Click on any thumbnail above to see the full-sized image.

See full set of test images with explanations See thumbnails of all test and gallery images

Sensor

Exposure and White Balance

Indoors, incandescent lightingGood color with the Manual and 2,600 Kelvin white balance settings, but overly-warm results with Auto and Incandescent. Negative exposure compensation required.

Auto White Balance -0.3 EV	Incandescent White Balance -0.3 EV
Manual White Balance -0.3 EV	2,600 Kelvin -0.3 EV

Indoors, under normal incandescent lighting, color balance was very warm and reddish with the Auto white balance setting. (We'd say unacceptably so, though unfortunately this is common.) The Incandescent setting was also too warm, this time with a yellowish cast. The Manual setting produced the most accurate results, if just a touch cool, and the 2,600 Kelvin setting which should match our lets wasn't far off. The Nikon D7100 required negative exposure compensation here (-0.3 EV) while the average compensation needed for this shot is +0.3 EV. Our test lighting for this shot is a mixture of 60 and 100 watt household incandescent bulbs, a pretty yellow light source, but a very common one in typical home settings here in the U.S.

Outdoors, daylightExcellent results under harsh lighting, with very good handling of color and contrast, but the D7100 tends to overexpose a bit.

Auto White Balance, +0.3 EV	Auto White Balance, Default

Outdoors, the Nikon D7100 performed well in terms of color and contrast, but it tended to overexpose a bit. The D7100 required only +0.3 EV of exposure compensation to keep the mannequin's face bright, while most cameras need about +0.7 EV. The camera did a very good job of holding onto detail in the highlights and deep shadows. We preferred skintones from the Auto white balance setting as they weren't overly pink as with Manual white balance. The Nikon D7100 slightly overexposed our far-field scene producing an image that was a bit too bright overall, but it still managed to avoid blowing most highlights. Color outdoors was generally quite pleasing.

See full set of test images with explanations
See thumbnails of all test and gallery images

Resolution
Very high resolution, ~2,600 to ~2,700 lines of strong detail from JPEGs, ~2,800 from ACR processed RAW files.

Strong detail to ~2,600 lines horizontal Camera JPEG	Strong detail to ~2,700 lines vertical Camera JPEG
Strong detail to ~2,800 lines horizontal ACR processed RAW	Strong detail to ~2,800 lines vertical ACR processed RAW

Our laboratory resolution chart revealed sharp, distinct line patterns down to about 2,600 lines per picture height in the horizontal direction and about 2,700 in the vertical direction. Extinction of the pattern didn't occur until around 3,600 lines in both directions. We were impressed that the D7100 did a pretty good job at suppressing color moire, as we expected to see much more from a camera without an anti-alias (optical low pass) filter.

We were able to do a bit better with NEF files processed through Adobe Camera Raw, with the horizontal and vertiical directions showing about 2,800 lines before aliasing artifacts started interfering with the pattern, while complete extinction of the pattern was extended up to the 4,000 line limit of our chart. As usual, color moire was more evident in the converted RAW files. Use these numbers to compare with other cameras of similar resolution, or use them to see just what higher resolution can mean in terms of potential detail.

See full set of test images with explanations
See thumbnails of all test and gallery images

Sharpness & Detail
Sharp images but with excellent detail. Very minor edge-enhancement artifacts visible on high-contrast subjects. Moderate noise suppression visible at base ISO.

Excellent definition of high-contrast elements, with only minor evidence of edge enhancement.	Subtle detail: Hair Noise suppression tends to blur detail in areas of subtle contrast, though detail remains strong in the darker parts of the model's hair here.

Sharpness. The Nikon D7100 produced very sharp, detailed images overall when coupled with a sharp lens such as the Nikon 35mm f/1.8G prime used in the above left crop Some very minor edge enhancement artifacts are visible on high-contrast subjects such as the halos around the branches in the crop above left, but overall sharpness is excellent, thanks to the lack of an AA filter. Edge enhancement creates the illusion of sharpness by enhancing colors and tones right at the edge of a rapid transition in color or tone.

Detail. The crop above right shows some mild to moderate noise suppression, as the darker and lower-contrast areas of the model's hair show significant smudging where individual strands of hair merge. Still, a pretty good performance here for a 24-megapixel APS-C sensor. Noise-suppression systems in digital cameras tend to flatten-out detail in areas of subtle contrast. The effects can often be seen in shots of human hair, where the individual strands are lost and an almost "watercolor" look appears.

Raw vs In-Camera JPEGsAs noted above, the Nikon D7100 delivers very detailed JPEGs that are quite sharp when taken with a sharp lens. Even better detail can often be obtained from carefully processing RAW files, without additional sharpening artifacts. Take a look below, to see what we mean:

Camera JPEG (Fine)	RAW via Nikon ViewNX 2	RAW via ACR

In the table above, mousing over a link at the bottom will load the corresponding crop in the area above. Examples include in-camera Fine JPEG, and a raw file processed through Nikon's ViewNX 2 software using default settings, and the same raw file processed with Adobe Camera Raw 7.4, then sharpened in Photoshop. We found that fairly light sharpening of 250% unsharp mask and a radius of 0.3 pixels worked well for the Nikon D7100's NEF files.

As you can see, results from a raw file converted with Nikon's ViewNX 2 software are very similar to the in-camera JPEG, and the software wasn't really able to extract more detail. Adobe Camera Raw was able to extract quite a bit more fine detail in the pine needles, but as expected, it also shows slightly higher noise levels as well as some moderate chromatic aberration (we did not attempt to correct it) that the camera suppresses in its JPEGs. Bottom line: When coupled with a sharp lens and good raw converter, the Nikon D7100 rewards raw shooters with astounding detail.

ISO & Noise Performance
Excellent detail versus noise handling up to ISO 1,600.

High ISO Noise Reduction = Normal (Default)
ISO 100	ISO 200	ISO 400
ISO 800	ISO 1,600	ISO 3,200
ISO 6,400	ISO 12,800	ISO 25,600

Noise levels are fairly low at ISOs 100 through 800, though some detail is lost to noise reduction and an increase in very fine noise "grain" can be seen as ISO increases. Some minor chroma noise is also visible in the darker shadows, even at base ISO, though it's not objectionable. At ISO 1,600 noise levels increase with a touch more blurring in the fine details and more visible grain, but detail is still quite good. ISOs 3,200 and 6,400 show larger steps in both luma and chroma noise and shadows begin to show noticeable color blotching. At ISO 12,800, luma noise is quite high and shadows take on a yellow tint. At the highest ISO, noise is very high with strong yellow and purple blotching in shadows and midtones.

Still, very good noise performance considering the 24-megapixel resolution, but it's no surprise that noise is higher at the pixel level than its 16-megapixel siblings. See our Print Quality analysis section below for recommended print sizes at each ISO.

A note about focus for this shot: We shoot this image at f/4, usually using one of three very sharp reference lenses (70mm Sigma f/2.8 macro for most cameras, 60mm f/2.8 Nikkor macro for Nikon bodies without a drive motor, and Olympus Zuiko 50mm f/2.0 for Four Thirds and Micro Four Thirds bodies). To insure that the hair detail we use for making critical judgements about camera noise processing and detail rendering is in sharp focus at the relatively wide aperture we're shooting at, the focus target at the center of the scene is on a movable stand. This lets us compensate for front- or back-focus by different camera bodies, even those that lack micro-focus adjustments. This does mean, though, that the focus target itself may appear soft or slightly out of focus for bodies that front- or back-focused with the reference lens. We know this; if you click to view the full-size image for one of these shots and notice that the focus target is fuzzy, you don't need to email and tell us. :-) The focus target position will have been adjusted to insure that the rest of the scene is focused properly.

Extremes: Sunlit, dynamic range, and low light tests
Very good detail in both highlights and shadows, very high resolution and good overall exposure. Very good low-light performance, capable of capturing bright images in near darkness.

Default	+0.3 EV	+0.7 EV

Sunlight:
The Nikon D7100 handled the deliberately harsh lighting in the test above very well. Though contrast is a little high, shadow and highlight detail are both very good. The +0.3 EV exposure was best here, producing a bright face without blowing out many highlights. Despite the bright appearance, there are actually very few clipped highlights in the mannequins's white shirt. Some shadows are pretty dark, but remained fairly clean. The camera's contrast adjustment also did a good job of decreasing overall contrast without also affecting color saturation. (See below.) Still, be sure to use fill flash in situations like the one shown above; it's better to shoot in the shade when possible.

Because digital cameras are more like slide film than negative film (in that they tend to have a more limited tonal range), we test them in the harshest situations to see how they handle scenes with bright highlights and dark shadows, as well as what kind of sensitivity they have in low light. The shot above is designed to mimic the very harsh, contrasty effect of direct noonday sunlight, a very tough challenge for most digital cameras. (You can read details of this test here.)

Dynamic Range AnalysisA key parameter in a digital camera is its Dynamic Range, the range of brightness that can be faithfully recorded. At the upper end of the tonal scale, dynamic range is dictated by the point at which the RGB data "saturates" at values of 255, 255, 255. At the lower end of the tonal scale, dynamic range is determined by the point at which there ceases to be any useful difference between adjacent tonal steps. Note the use of the qualifier "useful" in there: While it's tempting to evaluate dynamic range as the maximum number of tonal steps that can be discerned at all, that measure of dynamic range has very little relevance to real-world photography. What we care about as photographers is how much detail we can pull out of the shadows before image noise becomes too objectionable. This, of course, is a very subjective matter, and will vary with the application and even the subject matter in question. (Noise will be much more visible in subjects with large areas of flat tints and subtle shading than it would in subjects with strong, highly contrasting surface texture.)

What makes most sense then, is to specify useful dynamic range in terms of the point at which image noise reaches some agreed-upon threshold. To this end, Imatest computes a number of different dynamic range measurements, based on a variety of image noise thresholds. The noise thresholds are specified in terms of f-stops of equivalent luminance variation in the final image file, and dynamic range is computed for noise thresholds of 1.0 (low image quality), 0.5 (medium image quality), 0.25 (medium-high image quality) and 0.1 (high image quality). For most photographers and most applications, the noise thresholds of 0.5 and 0.25 f-stops are probably the most relevant to the production of acceptable-quality finished images, but many noise-sensitive shooters will insist on the 0.1 f-stop limit for their most critical work.

JPEG. The graph at right (click for a larger version) was generated using Imatest's dynamic range analysis for an in-camera Nikon D7100 JPEG file with a nominally-exposed density step target (Stouffer 4110). At the base ISO of 100 (the optimal ISO), with Active D-Lighting set to Off and default Contrast setting, the graph shows 12.4 f-stops of total dynamic range, with 8.41 f-stops at the "High" Quality level. These are very good results for an APS-C model, especially a high-resolution model like the 24-megapixel D7100, with its smaller photosites. In comparison, the 16-megapixel D7000 scored 7.97 at the highest quality level. Note though that this measurement has a margin of error of about 1/3 f-stop, so differences of less than 0.33 can be ignored.

RAW. The graph at right is from the same Stouffer 4110 stepchart image captured as a raw (.NEF) file, processed with Adobe Camera Raw using the Auto setting and tweaking from there. As can be seen, the score at the highest quality level increased 1.69 f-stops from 8.41 to 10.1 f-stops, while total dynamic range increased 0.7 f-stops to 13.1. Again, these results are remarkable, matching the D7000's 10.1 f-stops at the highest quality level, despite the smaller photosites. It's worth noting here is that ACR's default noise reduction settings reduced overall noise somewhat (see the plot in the lower left-hand corner) relative to the levels in the in-camera JPEG, which would tend to boost the dynamic range numbers for the higher quality thresholds.

Contrast AdjustmentWe really like it when a camera gives us the ability to adjust contrast and saturation to our liking. It's even better when those adjustments cover a useful range, in steps small enough to allow for precise tweaks. Just as with its saturation adjustment, the Nikon D7100's contrast setting offers seven levels, plus an Auto setting.

Minimum Contrast
Contrast set to lowest, +0.3 EV	Contrast set to lowest, 0 EV

At its lowest contrast setting, the D7100 did a very good job of preserving highlight detail and bringing out shadow detail. Highlight retention was improved, but the contrast setting had a larger impact on opening up the shadows, though the yellow push we've seen in the shadows of these shot is more apparent. The lower contrast setting opened-up shadows in our far-field shot as well, without making the image too flat looking. Overall, very good results here.

Contrast Adjustment Examples
-3	-1	0	+1	+3

The series of shots above shows results with several different contrast adjustment settings, showing the minimum step size around the default, as well as both extremes. While you can see the extremes, it's hard to really evaluate contrast on small thumbnails like these, click on any thumbnail to go to the full-size image.

Nikon's contrast adjustment is that it has very little effect on saturation. Contrast and saturation are actually fairly closely coupled, it's a good trick to be able to vary one with out the other changing as well. As usual, Nikon did a very good job here.

Active D-Lighting
Active D-Lighting attempts to preserve detail in both highlights and shadows in high-contrast situations, while maintaining moderate levels of contrast. The series of shots below show the effect of the various Active D-Lighting settings available on the Nikon D7100 on our high-contrast "Sunlit" Portrait scene. Note that Active D-Lighting is different from the touch-up menu's D-Lighting, as it is performed during image capture instead of after. (It does affect only JPEG images though, Nikon very properly doesn't apply tonal adjustments like this to RAW file data. NEF files, however, are tagged so that Nikon software can automatically apply the effect when converted.)

"Sunlit" Portrait Active D-Lighting (+0.3 EV)
	ADL Settings: Off (Default) Auto Low Normal High Extra High

Mouse over the links to see how the various levels of Active D-Lighting affects our "Sunlit" Portrait shot at default exposure. Click on a link to get to the full-res image. (Active D-Lighting's effect can be a little subtle in shots like those above, so we decided to use a mouse-over to better show how each setting compares to Off.)

When Active D-Lighting is enabled, the camera usually for the highlights in an attempt to preserve them, then adjusts the tone curve to bring the midtones and shadows back up to produce an image that doesn't look underexposed. Here, we can see Active D-Lighting performed as expected, with higher settings toning down more highlights, while all settings boost shadows.

See below for how Active D-Lighting worked on our Far-field shot.

Far-field Active D-Lighting (0 EV)
Off	Auto	Low
Normal	High	Extra High

Here are the results with our Far-field shot. The D7100's Active D-Lighting worked well here, too. As you can see, Active D-Lighting brought up shadow detail while holding on to more of the highlights. The Auto setting did a pretty good job here.

HDR Mode
The D7100 is only the third Nikon DSLR offering an in-camera high-dynamic-range imaging function (the D5100 and D5200 were the first), something we've seen in a number of DSLRs from competing manufacturers. When enabled, the D7100 captures two images with one push of the shutter button, one underexposed and one overexposed and combines them in-camera to produce a high-dynamic-range JPEG. (RAW format is not supported). We don't believe the Nikon D7100 performs any micro-alignment of the two images even though the user manual warns of possible cropping. If it is, it can only correct for very small amounts of camera movement between shots, and so Nikon recommends the use of a tripod. Obviously moving subjects should also be avoided.

"Sunlit" Portrait HDR (+0.3 EV)
	HDR Settings: Off (Default) Low Normal High Extra High Auto

Unlike the Nikon D5100 which allowed you to set the exposure differential between the two images from 1, 2 or 3 EV, and also adjust the amount of "smoothing" that is applied to the boundaries between the two images with selections of Low, Medium and High, the D7100 takes a simpler approach offering just four strengths in addition to Auto. Mouse over the links above to see how various levels of HDR affects our "Sunlit" Portrait shot and click on a link to get to the full-res image. Again, because of the underexposure issue, these aren't very good examples, but you can still see higher levels make quite a difference to the overall exposure by opening up shadow detail but they can lead to artificial looking shadows around bright objects or halos and glowing around dark ones. Colors can also be adversely affected in HDR mode, such as a drop in saturation. Still, it's a useful feature for capturing static scenes with dynamic range that exceeds the sensor for those not willing to use manual HDR techniques (bracketing exposure and then combining images while post-processing).

Far-field HDR (0 EV)
Off	Low	Normal
High	Extra High	Auto

Here are the same HDR settings with our Far-field shot. Again, some settings do a good job of taming hot highlights while bringing up some of the shadows and deeper midtones. You can also see ghosting in the tree branches and leaves from movement between the exposures caused by wind, as well the uneven and artificial-looking exposure when using higher settings.

Face Detection
Off Aperture-priority 0 EV	Portrait Auto mode 0 EV	Live View with Face-priority AF 0 EV

Here, we can see the effect of the Nikon D7100's full Auto mode which selected Portrait Scene mode, as well as face detection enabled in Live View mode. As you can see from the shots above, the Portrait Scene mode made an improvement to exposure versus Aperture-priority at f/8 at 1/60s, reducing overall contrast and lightening shadows, though noise is a bit higher as it boosted ISO sensitivity to 400. Portrait mode also selected a wider aperture of f/5.6 for better subject isolation, and a faster shutter speed of 1/500s to avoid subject motion blur. In Live View using Aperture-priority, Face-priority AF mode made only a small difference by using a slightly slower shutter speed of 1/50s.

	1 fc 11 lux	1/2 fc 5.5 lux	1/4 fc 2.7 lux	1/8 fc 1.3 lux	1/16 fc 0.67 lux	1/16fc No NR
ISO 100	2 s f2.8	4 s f2.8	8 s f2.8	15 s f2.8	30 s f2.8	30 s f2.8
ISO 200	1 s f2.8	2 s f2.8	4 s f2.8	8 s f2.8	15 s f2.8	15 s f2.8
ISO 400	0.5 s f2.8	1 s f2.8	2 s f2.8	4 s f2.8	8 s f2.8	8 s f2.8
ISO 800	1/4 s f2.8	0.5 s f2.8	1 s f2.8	2 s f2.8	4 s f2.8	4 s f2.8
ISO 1600	1/8 s f2.8	1/4 s f2.8	0.5 s f2.8	1 s f2.8	2 s f2.8	2 s f2.8
ISO 3200	1/15 s f2.8	1/8 s f2.8	1/4 s f2.8	0.5 s f2.8	1 s f2.8	1 s f2.8
ISO 6400	1/30 s f2.8	1/15 s f2.8	1/8 s f2.8	1/4 s f2.8	0.5 s f2.8	0.5 s f2.8
ISO 12800	1/60 s f2.8	1/30 s f2.8	1/15 s f2.8	1/8 s f2.8	1/4 s f2.8	1/4 s f2.8
ISO 25600	1/125 s f2.8	1/60 s f2.8	1/30 s f2.8	1/15 s f2.8	1/8 s f2.8	1/8 s f2.8

Low Light. The Nikon D7100 performed well on the low-light test, capturing usable images at the lowest light level (1/16 foot-candle) with the lowest sensitivity setting (ISO 100). As you'd expect, noise increases as ISO goes up and light levels go down, but remains well controlled and fine-grained to ISOs as high as 3,200. We did not detect any significant issues with hot pixels other than a few of them when long exposure NR is turned off, but that's to be expected. Some minor banding could be seen at higher ISOs and lower light levels (particularly with long exposure noise reduction turned off), as well as some heat blooming emanating from the bottom edge for longer exposures, but that's not unusual.

Color balance was good with the Auto white balance setting, just slightly cool, though there's a strong shift towards magenta at lower light levels, particularly at lower ISOs.

The camera's phase-detection autofocus system was able to focus on the subject down to below the 1/16 foot-candle light level unassisted with an f/2.8 lens, which is quite good. The Nikon D7100 was however able to autofocus in complete darkness with the AF assist enabled. In Live View mode the camera's contrast-detect autofocus struggled a bit, as it was only able to focus down to just above 1/2 foot-candle level.

Keep in mind that the longer shutter speeds here demand the use of a tripod to prevent any blurring from camera movement. (A useful trick is to just prop the camera on a convenient surface, and use its self-timer to release the shutter. This avoids any jiggling from your finger pressing the shutter button, and can work quite well when you don't have a tripod handy.)

How bright is this? The one foot-candle light level that this test begins at roughly corresponds to the brightness of typical city street-lighting at night. Cameras performing well at that level should be able to snap good-looking photos of street-lit scenes.

NOTE: This low light test is conducted with a stationary subject, and the camera mounted on a sturdy tripod. Most digital cameras will fail miserably when faced with a moving subject in dim lighting. (For example, a child's ballet recital or a holiday pageant in a gymnasium.) Digital SLRs like the Nikon D7100 do much better than point & shoots, but you still shouldn't expect a quick autofocus lock with moving subjects.

Output Quality

Print Quality
Very nice 36 x 48 inch prints at ISO 100/200; makes a good 20 x 30 inch print at ISO 800 and a usable 5 x 7 at ISO 12,800.

ISO 100/200 images are excellent with very fine details and bright, accurate colors up to 36 x 48 inches. Size down to 30 x 40 inches, and the prints look outstanding, while all the way up to 40 x 60 inches, and prints are quite suitable for wall display.

ISO 400 allow for great prints up to 24 x 36 inches, while 30 x 40 inch prints are suitable for wall display.

ISO 800 images look good at 20 x 30 inches. There is some noise, but you only really notice it in the shadow areas, and even then, the grain is reminiscent of film grain and not present over the entire image. 24 x 36 inch prints are suitable for wall display.

ISO 1600 makes a good 13 x 19 inch print with plenty of fine detail. At 16 x 20, the image is a little too soft in finely detailed areas. Noise becomes quite noticeable in the shadows (although still appearing more like film grain), but noise in the highlights and midrange areas are very low. If the image was of a brightly-lit scene or exposed to the right, noise would be virtually unnoticeable.

ISO 3200 prints start to show a fair amount of noise, but it still produces a nice 11 x 14 inch print. As before, shadow noise is apparent, but otherwise the image looks great and fine details are still noticeable.

ISO 6400 makes a decent 8 x 10, but noise and a reduction in fine detail is taking its toll on the image quality, preventing us from calling anything larger acceptable. We were amazed by how well the D7100 handles the red fabric in our test shot even at this high ISO.

ISO 12,800 images are fairly heavy on noise at larger sizes, but can still produce a decent 5 x 7 inch print. Colors still look good, but fine detail, such as in the red fabric and mosaic area, is almost nonexistent.

ISO 25,600 images were difficult to call as there was quite a bit of noise and low detail, but colors were still acceptable in 4 x 6 inch prints. While we can't call a 4 x 6 acceptable at this ISO, it would certain do in a pinch for less critical applications.

The Nikon D7100's 24.1-megapixel APS-C sensor that also lacks an optical low-pass filter produces excellent results for very large prints at low ISO levels, all the way up to wall-mountable 40 x 60 inch prints at ISO 100 and 200. Additionally, this camera is capable of images that retain wonderful colors and fine details even as the ISO increases. Like its sibling camera the D5200, this was a difficult camera to grade because its results in some areas exceeded expectations. At the higher ISO levels between 1600 and 12,800, we were on the fence many times for which way to go in calling an acceptable size. Even at ISO 25,600, it was difficult to call. The D7100 retained a great amount of fine detail at high ISOs, but we saw noticeable noise grain in the shadow areas at higher ISOs. Even still, the noise on these high ISO prints reminded us of film grain and users might like the way noise looks on higher ISO prints for certain instances. Overall, the D7100, Nikon's latest entry into the "DSLRs without optical low-pass filters" category, produces stellar low-ISO prints at very large sizes with incredible levels of detail for an APS-C sensor, yet it still does a fantastic job with prints at higher ISO levels.

Testing hundreds of digital cameras, we've found that you can only tell just so much about a camera's image quality by viewing its images on-screen. Ultimately, there's no substitute forprinting a lot of images and examining them closely. For this reason, we now routinely print sample images from the cameras we test on our Canon Pro9000 Mark II studio printer, and on the Canon Pixma MP610 here in the office. (See the Canon Pixma Pro9000 Mark II review for details on that model.)

Nikon D7100 Flash

Flash Test Results

Coverage and Range
Decent flash range but narrow coverage at wide angle. Our standard shots required an average amount of exposure compensation.

18mm	105mm
Normal Flash +0.7 EV	Slow-Sync Flash Default

Coverage and Exposure. Flash coverage was rather uneven at wide angle (18mm), with very dark corners. Coverage at telephoto (105mm) was much better, but still somewhat uneven. (Some of the corner shading is due to the lens itself, though.) There was also a slight magenta tint near the center of the image. For our Indoor Portrait scene test, the Nikon D7100's flash required +0.7 EV exposure compensation adjustment to get bright results in normal Auto flash mode with a 1/60 second shutter speed at ISO 200, which is about average for the DSLRs we've tested. The camera's Slow-Sync flash mode at 1/13 second produced bright results without any compensation, though with a stronger pinkish-orange cast from the room lighting.

Flash Range: Wide Angle
6 ft	7 ft	8 ft	9 ft	10 ft	11 ft
1/60 sec f3.5 ISO 200	1/60 sec f3.5 ISO 200	1/60 sec f3.5 ISO 200	1/60 sec f3.5 ISO 200	1/60 sec f3.5 ISO 200	1/60 sec f3.5 ISO 200
12 ft	13 ft	14 ft	15 ft	16 ft
1/60 sec f3.5 ISO 200	1/60 sec f3.5 ISO 200	1/60 sec f3.5 ISO 200	1/60 sec f3.5 ISO 200	1/60 sec f3.5 ISO 200

Flash Range: Telephoto
6 ft	7 ft	8 ft	9 ft	10 ft	11 ft
1/60 sec f5.6 ISO 200	1/60 sec f5.6 ISO 200	1/60 sec f5.6 ISO 200	1/60 sec f5.6 ISO 200	1/60 sec f5.6 ISO 200	1/60 sec f5.6 ISO 200
12 ft	13 ft	14 ft	15 ft	16 ft
1/60 sec f5.6 ISO 200	1/60 sec f5.6 ISO 200	1/60 sec f5.6 ISO 200	1/60 sec f5.6 ISO 200	1/60 sec f5.6 ISO 200

ISO 200 Range. With the kit lens at wide angle, the Nikon D7100's flash exposures started out bright at 6 feet, and brightness remained good out to 12 feet before dropping off rapidly. At the telephoto end, flash intensity started out a bit dim at 6 feet but remained consistent to 8 feet, then dropped off from there. We'll call the range 8 feet at full telephoto.

Manufacturer-Specified Flash Range
Wide Angle	Telephoto
15.8 feet ISO 200	9.8 feet ISO 200

Manufacturer Specified Flash Test. The Nikon D7100's flash guide number is 12 meters in Auto iTTL mode at ISO 100. At ISO 200, that translates to about 15.8 feet at f/3.5 and about 9.8 feet at f/5.6, the maximum apertures of the kit lens at full wide angle and telephoto respectively. In the shots above, the D7100 appears to underperform by a small amount relative to Nikon's specification, producing slightly dim exposures at the rated distances. The flash target was underexposed compared to the ideal exposure by almost a full stop at wide angle, and almost 1/2 f-stop at telephoto. Our standard test method for flash range uses a fixed setting of ISO 200, to provide a fair basis of comparison between cameras. We've now also begun shooting two shots using the manufacturer-specified camera settings, at the range the company claims for the camera, to assess the validity of the specific claims.

Nikon D7100 High ISO Noise Reduction

The Nikon D7100's four noise-reduction settings ("High, "Normal", "Low" and "Off") provide good flexibility in choosing how you want to make the trade-off between subject detail and noise levels. The Nikon D7100 user manual doesn't say when High ISO NR kicks in, so we've included crops from the base ISO in the tables below. The manual does however say that the "Off" setting still applies NR at ISO 1250 and higher, though at a lower strength than the "Low" setting.

See for yourself how the Nikon D7100's "Normal", "Low" and "Off" High ISO NR settings compare to RAW without noise reduction under daylight-balanced lighting. (Note that these RAW images also have no sharpening applied, so they're a little softer than camera JPEGs at low ISOs.) Click on any of the crops below to see the corresponding full-sized image.

High ISO Noise Reduction Comparison Daylight-balanced illumination
	"Normal"	"Low"	"Off"	RAW (no NR)
I S O 1 0 0
	"Normal"	"Low"	"Off"	RAW (no NR)
I S O 2 0 0
	"Normal"	"Low"	"Off"	RAW (no NR)
I S O 4 0 0
	"Normal"	"Low"	"Off"	RAW (no NR)
I S O 8 0 0
	"Normal"	"Low"	"Off"	RAW (no NR)
I S O 1 6 0 0
	"Normal"	"Low"	"Off"	RAW (no NR)
I S O 3 2 0 0
	"Normal"	"Low"	"Off"	RAW (no NR)
I S O 6 4 0 0
	"Normal"	"Low"	"Off"	RAW (no NR)
I S O 1 2 8 0 0
	"Normal"	"Low"	"Off"	RAW (no NR)
I S O 2 5 6 0 0

The Nikon D7100's "Normal" High ISO NR setting provides a good tradeoff between noise and detail at lower ISOs to our eye, but we'd probably shoot with lower settings at higher ISOs and reduce noise ourselves in post-processing (or just shoot RAW). It's interesting that the camera does such a good job with the subtle contrast in the red-leaf swatch at low ISOs that it looks better than the ACR converted RAW file, though the pleasing rendering of that fabric has been trademark of Nikons for years. It's also interesting that the camera sometimes produces a yellow cast with certain noise reduction settings at some higher ISOs (all shots here were taken with manual white balance), while the converted RAW files are more consistent in terms of color balance. We saw something similar with the Nikon D5200 as well, only it was more dramatic.

Nikon D7100 Performance

Updated 07/24/2013 with 1.3x Crop mode burst performance timing.

Timing and Performance

Mixed performance for a prosumer DSLR.

Startup/Shutdown
Power on to first shot	~0.3 second	Time it takes for camera to turn on and take a shot.
Shutdown	~1.3 seconds	How long it takes to turn off.
Buffer clearing time	2 seconds * after 12 L/F JPEGs	Worst case buffer clearing time. -- This is the delay after a set of shots before you can remove the card. Some cameras won't shut down until the buffer is cleared.
	2 seconds * after 5 RAW frames
	5 seconds * after 5 RAW + L/F JPEG frames
*Note: Buffer clearing times measured with a SanDisk Extreme Pro 95MB/s UHS-I SDHC memory card. Slower cards will produce correspondingly slower clearing times.

The Nikon D7100's startup time was fast, though shutdown was slow due to sensor cleaning. Buffer clearing times were good with a fast card, especially considering the 24-megapixel files, though buffer depths were shallow.

Mode Switching
Play to Record, first shot	~0.3 second	Time until first shot is captured.
Record to Play	~0.8 second	Time to display a large/fine file immediately after capture.
Display recorded image	~0.3 second	Time to display a large/fine file already on the memory card.

Mode switching was pretty fast.

Shutter Response (Lag Time), Optical Viewfinder
Full Autofocus Single Area AF (Center AF point)	0.251 second	Time from fully pressing shutter button to image capture. (All AF timing measured with Nikkor 18-105mm kit lens).
Full Autofocus Single Area AF, Flash enabled	0.297 second	Time from fully pressing shutter button to image capture, Auto Flash enabled.
Full Autofocus Auto Area AF	0.522 second	Time from fully pressing shutter button to image capture.
Continuous AF	0.055 second	This mode usually shows no speed increase with our static subject; we have no way to measure performance with moving subjects.
Manual focus	0.055 second	For most cameras, shutter lag is less in manual focus than autofocus, but usually not as fast as when the camera is "pre-focused."
Pre-focused	0.054 second	Time to capture, after half-pressing and holding shutter button.
Shutter Response (Lag Time), Live View mode
Full Autofocus Live View Single-servo AF	1.935 seconds	Time from fully pressing shutter button to image capture.
Full Autofocus Live View Full-time AF	1.823 seconds	Time from fully pressing shutter button to image capture.
Pre-focused Live View	0.248 second	Time to capture, after half-pressing and holding shutter button.

The Nikon D7100's full autofocus shutter lag when shooting the same target multiple times was a little slower than average for a prosumer DSLR. The D7100 required about 0.25 second for full AF using the center focus point. Enabling the flash raised shutter lag to about 0.3 second, with very little delay was added for the metering preflash. Shutter lag increased to about 0.52 second in the D7100's 51-point Auto-area AF mode. Continuous autofocus shutter lag was only 0.055 second and Manual focus shutter lag was the same at 0.055 second, which is very fast. When prefocused, shutter lag dropped a bit to 0.054 second which is also quite fast for a DSLR.

Full autofocus was much slower in Live View mode, as expected. The Nikon D7100 only offers contrast-detect AF in Live View, which took a leisurely 1.94 seconds to focus in our tests in single-servo (AF-S) mode. (How fast the lens can adjust focus makes a big difference here.) Switching to full-time AF mode (AF-F), shutter lag reduced slightly to 1.82 seconds, which is still quite slow. Prefocused shutter lag was about 0.25 second in Live View mode, which is pretty good for Live View mode.

To minimize the effect of different lens' focusing speed, we test AF-active shutter lag with the lens already set to the correct focal distance. We also use the same Sigma 70mm f/2.8 macro with most interchangeable lens cameras (on all platforms except NX, Four Thirds/Micro Four Thirds and Nikon models lacking an in-body focus motor), to further reduce variation, and because our tests showed that focus-determination time with this lens was close to the fastest, across multiple camera bodies from different manufacturers. Being an older design with a non-ultrasonic motor, it wouldn't be the fastest at slewing from one focus setting to another, but that's exactly the reason we measure focus determination speed, which is primarily a function of the camera body, vs focus adjustment speed, which is primarily a function of the lens.

Cycle Time (shot-to-shot)
Single Shot mode Large Fine JPEG	0.54 second	Time per shot, averaged over 20 shots, 1 second to clear.
Single Shot mode RAW (14-bit, lossless compressed)	0.53 second	Time per shot, averaged over 20 shots, 2 seconds to clear.
Single Shot mode RAW + L/F JPEG	0.52 second	Time per shot, averaged over 5 shots, 5 seconds to clear.
Early shutter penalty?	No (Yes with Flash)	Some cameras refuse to snap another shot if you release and press the shutter too quickly in Single Shot mode, making "No" the preferred answer.
Continuous H mode Large Fine JPEG	0.17 second (5.85 frames per second); 12 frames total; 2 seconds to clear	Time per shot, averaged over 12 frame buffer. Slows to an average of 0.28 seconds (3.53 fps) when buffer is full.
Continuous H mode RAW (14-bit, lossless compressed)	0.19 second (5.26 frames per second); 5 frames total; 2 seconds to clear	Time per shot, averaged over 5 frame buffer. Slows to an average of 0.49 seconds (2.05 fps) when buffer is full.
Continuous H mode RAW + L/F JPEG	0.20 second (4.92 frames per second); 5 frames total; 5 seconds to clear	Time per shot, averaged over 5 frame buffer. Slows to an average of 1.13 seconds (0.89 fps) when buffer is full.
1.3x Crop mode 15.4MP Fine JPEG	0.14 second (7.07 frames per second); 23 frames total; 3 seconds to clear	Time per shot, averaged over 23 frame buffer. Slows to an average of 0.21 seconds (4.71 fps) when buffer is full.
1.3x Crop mode 15.4MP RAW (14-bit, lossless compressed)	0.17 second (6.03 frames per second); 8 frames total; 3 seconds to clear	Time per shot, averaged over 8 frame buffer. Slows to an average of 0.31 seconds (3.27 fps) when buffer is full.
Flash recycling	4.0 seconds	Flash at maximum output.
*Note: Buffer clearing times measured with a SanDisk SanDisk Extreme Pro 95MB/s UHS-I SDHC memory card. Slower cards will produce correspondingly slower clearing times. Slow cards may also limit length of bursts in continuous mode. ISO sensitivity and other settings such as Active D-Lighting or NR can also affect cycle times and burst mode performance.

Shot-to-shot cycle times were about average, at 0.54 second for Large/Fine JPEGs, 0.53 second for RAW files, and 0.52 second for RAW + L/F JPEG frames. There were no signs of slowing after 20 L/F JPEGs or RAW files, though the D7100 slowed after only 5 RAW + L/F JPEG frames.

Continuous H mode speeds were good for the class and resolution, ranging from 4.9 for RAW+L/F JPEGs to almost 5.9 frames per second for L/F JPEGs. The D7100's 1.3x Crop mode managed just over 7 fps for 15.4-megapixel Fine JPEGs, and just over 6 fps for 14-bit RAW files.

Buffer depth in full-resolution continuous mode was fair with JPEGs at 12 L/F JPEG frames, though with RAW files, buffer depths were shallow for a prosumer model at 5 RAW frames and 5 RAW+L/F JPEG frames. 1.3x Crop mode had significantly deeper buffers at 23 JPEGs and 8 14-bit RAW files.

Note that all JPEG timing was performed with Optimal Quality files and buffer depths/clearing times would likely improve with Size Priority (not tested). Although we didn't test other RAW mode options (12-bit and lossy compressed), Nikon claims you can expect full-resolution buffer sizes to increase by 1 frame switching to 12-bits, and 2 frames switching to lossy compressed.

The built-in flash took 4 seconds to recharge after a full-power shot, which is a touch slow for an SLR.

Download speed
Windows Computer, USB 2.0	15,953 KBytes/sec	Typical Values:Less than 600=USB 1.1; 600-769=USB 2.0 Low; Above 770=USB 2.0 High

Connected to a computer or printer with USB 2.0, download speeds were very fast.

Bottom line, the Nikon D7100's performance ranged from below average to quite good in our tests. Startup was fast, as were mode switching, manual and prefocused shutter lag, and continuous mode performance. Autofocus speed however was slightly slower than average, and full-resolution buffer depths were shallow for a prosumer model, particularly with RAW files.

Battery

Battery Life
Very good battery life when using optical viewfinder.

Operating Mode	Number of Shots
Optical Viewfinder, (CIPA standard)	950

The Nikon D7100 uses a custom rechargeable lithium-ion battery for power, and ships with a charger. Battery life when using the optical viewfinder is well above average. Nikon does not specify battery life for Live View mode, but it will certainly be a lot lower. Although battery live is quite good, we still recommend you pick up a spare battery and keep it freshly charged and on-hand for extended outings, or when using Live View a lot.

The table above shows the number of shots the camera is capable of (on either a fresh set of disposable batteries or a fully-charged rechargeable battery as appropriate), based on CIPA battery-life and/or manufacturer standard test conditions.

(Interested readers can find an English translation of the CIPA DC-002 standards document here. (180K PDF document))

Nikon D7100 Video Recording

Most DSLRs nowadays offer some form of HD video recording, and the Nikon D7100 is no exception. The Nikon D7100 serves as Nikon's flagship enthusiast-level APS-C camera, and as such, features a healthy array of HD video recording capabilities (and interestingly, -- perhaps a sign of the times -- no standard-definition video recording resolution), featuring full-time autofocus, manual exposure controls, manual audio recording levels, an external microphone jack, and a headphone jack. The D7100 offers an interesting feature that many advanced and professional users yearn for with video-capable interchangeable lens cameras: Clean, uncompressed HDMI output. The D7100 provides a full 1,920 x 1,080 resolution live view signal via HDMI allowing for monitoring video with an external HD monitor or better yet, recording uncompressed video data to an external storage device.

Here's the full rundown of the D7100's video capabilities, along with our usual selection of sample videos.

Nikon D7100 Basic Video Specs

• 1,920 x 1,080 (Full HD / 1080p) at 60i (59.94 fields/second), 50i, 30p (29.97 fps), 25p, 24p (23.976 fps)
• 1,280 x 720 (720p) at 60p (59.94 fps), 50p
• No Standard Definition recording resolution
• Choice of two compression levels; High or Normal quality
• TTL (through the lens) matrix metering using the main image sensor
• MOV file format, with H.264/MPEG-4 Advanced Video Coding (AVC) encoding
• Linear PCM stereo audio recording
• Uncompressed, clean HDMI output at 1,920 x 1,080 resolution for monitoring video on external HD monitor or recording uncompressed video data directly to an external storage device for higher quality footage
• Autofocus can be triggered during movie recording by half-pressing the shutter button, or continuous AF (AF-F) can be enabled
• Manual focus also available in movie mode
• Aperture can be controlled in Aperture-priority or Manual exposure modes, but only before recording begins*
• Shutter speed and ISO can be controlled in Manual exposure mode
• EV adjustment (exposure compensation) can be selected prior to or during recording
• 1.3x crop mode increases the apparent focal length of the lens by ~30% compared to APS-C (~2x compared to full frame)
• Built-in stereo microphone, sensitivity adjustable
• External stereo microphone jack
• Stereo headphone jack for monitoring audio
• Still image can be captured while in video recording mode, but doing so stops the recording
• Flicker-reduction mode for both 60Hz and 50Hz light sources
• Movies can be "trimmed" in-camera, selecting just the portion you want and saving it as a new file
• Single frames can be selected from movie files and saved as separate JPEG files
• Video duration limited to 20 minutes maximum in High quality; 29 minutes 59 seconds at normal quality
• File size restricted to 4 GB maximum
• Class 6 or faster SD memory cards recommended
• Can select which card slot is destination for movies

*Note: Due to the design of the aperture mechanism in the D7100 and other non-pro Nikon DSLR bodies (i.e. "pro" meaning D800, D4), when in Movie Live View, the aperture can only be changed while Live View is disabled.

Nikon D7100 Video: Image size, frame rate, and file format

The Nikon D7100 offers two different video resolutions, five frame rates, and two quality settings in combinations as shown below:

Nikon D7100 Video Options
MOV files, H.264/MPEG-4 encoding
Resolution	Aspect Ratio	Frame Rate	Quality
1,920 x 1,080	16:9	60i / 50i * (60i = 59.94 fields per second, interlaced)	High/Normal 24/12 Mbps
1,920 x 1,080	16:9	30p (29.97 frames per second, progressive)
1,920 x 1,080	16:9	24p / 25p (24p = 23.976 frames per second, progressive)
1,280 x 720	16:9	60p / 50p (60p = 59.94 frames per second, progressive)

*60i/50i recording mode is only available when using the 1.3x crop mode image area.

Crop Mode. The D7100's 1.3x crop mode can be used in video mode, and is required to enable 60i/50i frame rates.

Most of the D7100's video modes are progressive scan, meaning that every video line is scanned, one after the other, for every frame. Compared to interlaced scanning, progressive scan video is generally better for viewing videos on a computer screen. (Interlaced works fine for HD TVs, but some computer video players that de-interlace poorly will produce bad tearing of moving objects.) The D7100 does feature a 1,920 x 1,080 resolution with a 60i or 50i interlaced scan video format, but it is only available when the D7100's new 1.3x Crop Mode is enabled.

The D7100 expands on the frame rate options of its predecessor, the D7000, now offering 60p/50p frame rates in 1,280 x 720 mode, as well as the aforementioned 60i/50i frame rates available in 1.3x crop mode, but it loses the VGA 640 x 424 standard definition recording resolution. The new formats are great for capturing smooth-looking action, but won't be as good in low-light situations, because the camera can't use a shutter speed slower than 1/60 second. The faster frame rate will help those looking to record fast action and then edit and display at a slower frame rate for a slow-motion motion look. Sadly, the D7100 like many competing video-capable DSLRs, does not offer 60p video at the 1080p resolution that some mirrorless models offer.

The inclusion of the 24p mode has pretty much become a standard feature for video-capable interchangeable lens cameras. This is the de facto standard frame rate for cinema, and the 24p frame rate gives videos the "film look and feel" that many filmmakers and video shooters want. It can be tricky to shoot in 24p however, as the lower frame rate can look choppy, particularly when shooting with fast shutter speeds or when panning quickly.

Note that the Nikon D7100 has no separate PAL or NTSC video timing modes, perhaps as a consequence of its HD-only recording: Both traditionally NTSC (60/30/24 fps) and PAL (50/25 fps) frame rates are available via the movie settings menu at all times. The D7100 also doesn't offer a composite video output, only providing a Mini (Type-C) HDMI output.

The Nikon D7100 saves its video files in the MOV format, using MPEG-4 encoding, following the Advanced Video Coding standard, with bitrate options of 24 Mbps for High quality and 12 Mbps for Normal quality. Pretty much any computer or editing program made within the last 5 years should be able to play its files with little problem, although the full 1,920 x 1,080 resolution files may strain older systems.

The D7100 also includes a highly sought-after feature that makes the D7100 quite a professional-level video camera: uncompressed, clean HDMI output. This feature is not found on many video-capable still cameras, and is typically seen on high-end video and cinema cameras. This feature allows for a full 1,920 x 1,080 live view video signal without all the graphical overlays typically shown on the rear LCD -- hence the term "clean HDMI" -- to be displayed on an HD monitor (great for directors, DPs, etc., to get a larger view of the scene) or for use with an external video capture device, while simultaneously recording to the memory card. This lets users capture and record a much higher quality HD video feed, making post production much easier with video files that are more flexible for editing, color correction and grading. Note that the user manual warns that for 1080 60i/50i and 720 60p/50p video modes, the camera's LCD monitor will be disabled when the HDMI output is active.

Nikon D7100 Video: Image Quality

The Nikon D7100 produces high-quality HD video, with good detail, modest motion artifacts, and pleasing, accurate color. In our daytime videos, under bright sunlight, colors were accurate and the contrast was pretty well-controlled. The shadow areas weren't crushed down to black, so we could still see lots of detail in the shadow. Also moiré artifacts were very well-controlled in the 1080p resolution videos, even in the usual problem areas of our test videos like roofing shingles, asphalt and window blinds. At 720p resolution, moiré was more noticeable in areas like roofing shingles (see our rolling shutter video below for an example), but overall it wasn't severe.

The D7100 also did really well in our night video shots. Shooting at ISO 3200, image noise was low and the resulting image still had good dynamic range. Shadow detail was present and fine details were still visible.

Nikon D7100 Video: Focusing

Beginner video shooters (and plenty of advanced users alike) will welcome the addition of full-time autofocus. Unlike some earlier DSLRs with video recording features, the D7100, as with the D7000 before it, has the ability to autofocus during recording, however, depending on the lens used, the focus motor noise may be picked up by the internal stereo microphone. With the kit lens, it's very audible in the sound track, so it's probably best not to select continuous AF when using it, or plan on using an external mic. Other Nikon lenses with silent focus motors would likely be better. Users also have the option to manually focus.

• Single-shot or full-time servo AF (AF-F) for continuous AF during recording
• By default, the D7100 doesn't AF during recording, but you can always trigger an AF cycle by half-pressing the shutter button
• AF area mode options:
  • Face-priority AF
  • Wide-area AF
  • Normal-area AF
  • Subject-tracking AF (Half-press shutter button to AF before recording or use servo AF with AF-F mode, then hit OK button with subject centered in little green square. The square will follow the subject around the frame, maintaining focus on it.)
• Manual focus is also available during movie recording
• The magnified focus-assist display is available prior to starting recording, but not during

Nikon D7100 Video: Exposure Control

Like many advanced DSLR cameras with video recording features, the D7100 offers users a full range of manual exposure settings depending on the shooting mode used, as well as simple auto-exposure settings for quick point-and-shoot video recording.

• Defaults to fully automatic exposure, but exposure compensation adjustment is available in P, S and A modes.
• Auto-ISO limit in still capture mode doesn't appear to apply to video recording.
• Aperture can be set in Aperture-priority or Manual exposure mode.
• Desired aperture must be set before entering movie live view mode; the aperture dial does nothing in Aperture-priority or Manual exposure mode.
• In Manual exposure mode, shutter speed and ISO can be set in addition to aperture.
  • You can change shutter speed either before or during recording, but changing it during will produce very loud clicks in the audio track, as you rotate the control dial.
  • Available shutter speeds range from 1/8,000s down to 1/60s for 60p, and down to 1/30s for 30p and 1/25s for 24p.
  • Sensitivity can be set from ISO 100 to 25,600, however ISO can only be changed before recording begins.
• Full range of Picture Control settings apply to movie recording. (Standard, Neutral, Vivid, Monochrome, Portrait, and Landscape, and adjustments for contrast, brightness, saturation, and hue for each of the main settings.)
• Creative Effects are also available during video recording, but some severely reduce the frame rate of the video being recorded, though Miniature Effect works well.
• AE (auto-exposure) lock is supported in video mode.
• Matrix metering is always used for video recording, regardless of metering mode selected.

Nikon D7100 Video: Audio Recording

The D7100 features fairly advanced audio recording capabilities including the ability to use a standard external microphone via the 3.5mm stereo mic jack, as well as manual audio level controls and an audio meter on screen that is displayed both before and during recording. Unlike the D5200 and D7000, the D7100 now also includes a 3.5mm stereo headphone jack for monitoring audio, which has been a much sought-after feature for many advanced video shooters. While the D7100 does include a built-in stereo microphone (located right in front of the hot shoe), the use of an external mic is highly recommended for critical audio when using autofocus, as we noticed quite a significant amount of autofocus noise on the sound track when using the built-in stereo mic. Also, handling noises and button noises from adjusting exposure are easily picked up with the built-in mic.

Nikon offers a nice-looking external stereo microphone, the ME-1, with a design claimed to significantly reduce autofocus noise. We haven't tested this mic yet, but given that it specifically claims to reduce AF noise, it sounds like a good bet.

• Internal stereo microphone
• Defaults to automatic level control
• Manual level control available via Movie Settings menu, with 20 levels available
• VU (audio level) meter display also available via Movie Settings
• 3.5mm external stereo microphone jack
• Audio can be turned off entirely
• 3.5mm stereo headphone jack for monitoring audio during recording

Nikon D7100 Video: Rolling Shutter Artifacts ("Jello effect")

Pretty much every DSLR on the market distorts moving objects, or the entire scene, if the camera is being panned. The technical term for this is "rolling shutter artifacts," but many users simply call it the "Jello effect," because the image can jiggle and sway like Jello as the camera is moved. This occurs because the image is captured and read out line by line, so the bottom of an object may no longer be underneath the top of it by the time the camera gets around to capturing that part of the frame.

Rolling shutter artifacts can be very annoying if they're severe, and difficult to fix in post-production, but as noted, all digital SLRs show them to some extent, and it's simply a matter of taking precautions when filming. Thankfully, in the case of the D7100, this camera does a very good job of controlling rolling shutter effects. If you pan back and forth quickly, rolling shutter effect is still present, but pretty well controlled compared to other cameras we've tested. As we've seen with other cameras we've tested, shooting at 720p resolution and 60 frames/second greatly reduces rolling shutter artifacts.

There are plug-ins out there to fix rolling shutter when editing your footage on the computer, but software correction is not a surefire solution. It's simply something that you must keep in mind when moving the camera while recording video. If you just pan slowly while filming, you're not likely to notice it much at all.