I thought I would run this post for those people that are looking for some feedback on these 2 new items from Nikon. I was helped in making my decision by some FM feedback, so I bought these 2 items from fellow FM'er Stephen Lilly, who gave me a pretty good deal. My concerns for buying these 2 items were; the D7100 had to be a big improvement over my D7000, which I think is pretty worthless for wildlife shooting. The 80-400 had to be much quicker than my old one (I think I can run faster than it can focus).
I have concluded that both of these items were a good purchase after using the camera for about 2000 shots, and the lens for about 300. The 7100 focus is very good, fast, accurate, and tracks very well. The 80-400 is the best zoom I have ever used (have never had my hands on a 200-400, but this has to be very close), crisp, sharp, quick, and accurate.
I enclosed 2 shots to let you decide. Both are very small files, shot at 1000ISO, handheld, 1/800 sec, F 5.6, VR on, JPEG, DX crop mode, on a rainy overcast day. Crappy conditions, not flattering settings!
Thanks for posting these. A couple of questions -
Focal length for these two guys?
By DX crop mode, do you mean these were shot at the 2.0x 15mpx mode?
Are these cropped from the original files (I realize they were downsized for posting)?
Both were shot at 400mm, but because it was in what I called the DX crop mode, which is referred to as the 1.3 X on the menu, it is a 800 35mm equivalent. So you are correct, this is about 15.4 mp. They are not cropped in processing. Picture control is standard, without enhancement.
I realize this is an odd evaluation, to look at an image from the least ideal settings, but I like looking at the Achilles heel to see possible weakness. With that said, at this resolution unfortunately you are not able to see the detail in the yellowthroat, which is equivalent to my Nikon 500mm. The second shot is to demonstrate the autofocus ability of the camera to find the subject, without jumping to the branch to the right of the bird.
Thanks for the info. Shooting small perching warblers is a great test. The 7100 is on my short list to use with my 300 f4, but the 80-400 is tempting for the flexibility.
Thanks for posting these. I'm especially impressed that they were handheld (you're probably a lot younger than I am). I rented this combination over the weekend mostly because I'm looking to replace my D300s and hope that the 7100 would be up to the task. I love the D300s, but there are times when the higher resolution would be useful.
It took me awhile to get used to the different focusing controls particularly, but after that I was pretty happy with shots taken at the local zoo. Used a monopod - it was a hot day and that 80-400 gets heavy after a couple of miles. That helped also to get a sharper image when it was racked out to 400mm; it's easy to get a little soft when all the way out if you're not concentrating.
The transition from D300s to D7100 will be an adjustment. The D7100 has the buffer issue, and it fills up extremely fast. The larger image size and the ability to handle noise will be the noticeable advantages in using the D7100.
