Will Nikon match the 7D mk2?

[Plainview]

What are the odds?

The 7dii is exactly the camera many Nikon owners have been waiting for. It has me considering selling my Nikon kit and joining the canon bandwagon.

[k2skier112]

What are the odds?

The 7dii is exactly the camera many Nikon owners have been waiting for. It has me considering selling my Nikon kit and joining the canon bandwagon.

I'd rather go gay than buy a Canon...

[Plainview]

LOL, umm, okay. 'Cause yeah, Canon stuff is all total crap, or something, right?

I've been a Nikon shooter since before I went digital because I got a great deal on a Nikon N90s and loved the way that tank of a camera handled and felt. Over the years I bought & sold various glass, got a digital body, then another, and stayed with the Nikon line rather than chuck everything and start over. Canon makes fine cameras from what I can see, as does Sony, Pentax, etc. Recently, within the same price range, Nikon has had better sensors for low light performance but Canon's latest sensor in the 7Dii seems to be every bit as good as the recent Nikon sensors. Nikon seems to have abandoned the high end APS-C market. The D7100 is a joke for sports & wildlife photography with a 6fps shutter speed and a 6 shot buffer. Seriously, a 6 shot buffer? I have a D7000 and shooting 14-bit RAW gives me a 12 shot buffer which I still run up against when shooting BiF or skiers. Lots of Nikon folks still use the old D300 because it at least has a fast frame rate and a nice, big buffer.

Now Canon comes along and gives us the 7Dii with an amazing autofocus system, 20MP, fantastic low light performance, 10 fps, and a nice big (I think it's like 30 shot RAW) buffer for under $2K. What's not to like?

If Nikon will be releasing a comparable camera soon then I'll wait and see what they come up with, but I'm beginning to think that given declining DSLR sales they've decided to push the FX format and have pretty much given up on producing a pro-grade DX body.

The D750 is a real nice camera but I'd prefer to stick with the DX format for the extra reach it gives with telephoto lenses and also the lighter weight bodies.

So what are the chances Nikon is going to respond to the 7Dii? All I've seen is a couple rumors floating around that they'll have a new DX body early next year, but that's it. Will they or won't they, and will it be competitive in terms of fps and buffer size?

[smmokan]

DX format for the extra reach it gives with telephoto lenses and also the lighter weight bodies.

I agree with everything else you said, and I'm really tempted by the 7DII.... but assuming the 7DII is similar in size/weight/etc to the original 7D, you'll be sorely disappointed when it comes to the "light weight" category. The 7D is a decent amount larger and heavier than the other crop bodies (and even my full-frame 6D) in Canon's lineup and is by no means a light weight body.

That being said, I think Canon knocked it out of the park with the specs and the price.

[sal the salmon]

i think the 6d is a better camera for the money.

[Plainview]

I hadn't considered the 6D. Interesting - an FX sensor but a lighter weight body.

Still, with only 4.5 fps, a max shutter speed of 1/4000, a less developed AF system, and the shorter reach of FX, I think I'd still rather have the 7Dii. Besides, comparing the 6D vs. the Nikon D750, the D750 is better (though considerably more expensive) so I'd probably just stay with Nikon if the choice was between those two.

One of the primary reasons I want to stay with DX is that longer reach. A very reasonably priced 300mm lens on a DX camera has the same reach as a 450 mm (480 in Canon) on an FX.

[smmokan]

The only good focus point on the 6D is the center point... and it's great. The others are pretty worthless if you're shooting action. If that's your priority, I wouldn't even consider the 6D over the 7DII.

[k2skier112]

4 months after I purchased my first DSLR, the D7100, the prices are dropping hard. Rumors are a D7200. Nikon will have something new soon.

http://www.slrlounge.com/nikon-d7200...-system-rumor/

Nikon D7200 Rumored Specs

New 24.7MP sensor
EXPEED 4b processor
Nikon Advanced Multi-CAM 3600DX autofocus sensor module with TTL phase detection, fine-tuning, 72 focus points (including 39 cross-type sensors; f/10 supported by 39 sensors)
ISO: 100-12,600 (expandable to 50-51,200)
Shutter speed 30-1/8000
1.3x crop mode
8 fps; 10 fps with external grip
Video: full HD (1080p) – 120FPS
Similar in shape to the Nikon D810
Large viewfinder with 100% coverage

[Plainview]

They never mention buffer size in the specs yet it's an important number for anyone shooting sports/action.

That single spec totally turned me off to the d7100.

[k2skier112]

Me too, but I've been waiting, looking and drooling for over 3 years. Couldn't afford to spend over $2k for a body...
I did just get my first prime, 35mm 1.8, so fun.

[outabounds]

If you can't take the photos you want on a D7000, what will a 7D, D800, D750, etc do for you? New bodies are a waste of money, imo.

[Plainview]

The D7000 has served me quite well but it has a couple of shortcomings that the 7Dii addresses. The biggest one being the somewhat small buffer.

I would also hope that the sensor would be a better low-light performer given all the improvements we've seen in this area in the last few years. Not that the D7000 is bad, but better is, well, better. The D7000 does just okay at iso3200 and is getting pretty noisy by 6400. I haven't seriously looked into how the 7Dii performs at these levels yet, but I'd hope it would be better than a sensor that was designed 4 years ago seeing as how there have been a lot of improvements in this area.

A few more megapixels would help sometimes. There have been times when I've needed to really crop an image down. That's never optimum but sometimes that's how it goes. A few more pixels leftover after cropping would be nice.

The AF system appears to be much better also.

By your line of reasoning upgrading from my old D200 to the D7000 was a waste of money and anyone that bought a D100 when they first came out should still be shooting with them. The D7000 is WAY better than the D200, I've never regretted that upgrade. I would hope for a similar improvement by stepping up to the 7Dii, or whatever equivalent Nikon comes up with if they actually decide to do so.

I thought it was glass that lasts forever and never needs to be upgraded?

[Plainview]

http://www.nikonusa.com/en/Nikon-Pro...web-0301-D7200

The D7200 doesn't quite match the 7Dii in a couple of important areas for sports/action shooters, most notably frame rate. I'm really surprised they didn't at least offer 8fps and the buffer, while much improved (18 x 14 bit RAW or 27 x 12 bit), is still a little bit small but probably big enough that it won't get in the way 99% of the time. It looks like you get 7fps in 1.3x crop mode too... Still, other than the frame rate the rest of the camera looks really nice and if the iso capabilities are any indication it's going to be an awesome low light performer. It's the same price I paid for my D7000 4 years ago also. I doubt I could sell the D7000 for more than a couple hundred bucks at this point, I've used the hell out of it and it shows on the body. I'm pretty sure the shutter count is up around 50k clicks, too so I'll probably just keep it as a backup.

This camera with the new 300 f4 (if they get the bugs worked out of it) should be a great wildlife combo.