Nikon D7100 Announcement: Is This the D400?

Nikon D7100February 21, 2013: Nikon announces the D7100, its new flagship DX camera. The Nikon D7100 is almost everything that the D400 would have been. It pushes the D7000 envelope further, updating the sensor to 24MP, improving its autofocus to Multi-CAM 3500DX with 51 AF points with the center point functional at f/8, upgrading to the EXPEED 3 processing engine and adding new wireless connectivity options.

The D7100 brings many firsts for Nikon. Its 100% viewfinder display is augmented with an Organic LED display rather than the standard monochrome LCD of previous Nikon cameras. The OLED improves visibility of shooting information when looking through the viewfinder. Nikon also adds a 1.3X crop mode, which increases continuous shooting to 7fps from 6fps. This effectively makes the overall crop factor 2X compared with the full frame 35mm FX format. The D7100 also introduces an i-button to quickly access the most frequently used features.

Nikon D7100 Camera Back

The D7100 offers the same dust and moisture resistance as the D300s. The top and back of the camera are made of magnesium alloy, while the front is poly-carbonate. Its shutter is designed to last for at least 150,000 shutter actuations. Like the D800E, Nikon has removed the anti-alising filter to improved sharpness. The LCD size has increased to 3.2 inches and 1,229K dots. Nikon has also done away with the built-in plastic screen protector.

The D7100 is packed with video features. Offering 1080/30p H.264/MPEG-4 video, which can be boosted to 50i/60i in 1.3X crop mode, as well as HD at 720/60p. There is now a built-in stereo microphone, as well as external microphone input. Dual SD card slots offer many storage options.

Nikon uses the word “enthusiast” to describe the D7100. Indeed, the word appears four times in the Nikon USA press release. The camera is aimed at the high-level enthusiast, similar to the FX F600. But the D7100 falls short of the pro-level build of the D800 and D4. Whether a D400 pro-level DX camera will come is a question that will be debated for some time. For now, the D7100 offers the most features Nikon offers in a DX format camera.

The D7100 packs a lot into a small package. The overall size is just a few mm larger than the D7000, while shaving 15 grams off the overall weight. Its price is also kept trim; $1195 at introduction for the body only and $1595 when paired with a 18-105mm VR lens. The D7100 will be shipping in March, 2013.

Pre-Order the Nikon D7100 today!

Amazon:
Nikon D7100 (body only) at Amazon $1196.95
Nikon D7100 with 18-105mm VR Lens at Amazon $1596.95

B&H Photo
Nikon D7100 (body only) at B&H Photo $1196.95
Nikon D7100 with 18-105mm VR Lens at B&H Photo $1596.95

Adorama
Nikon D7100 (body only) at Adorama $1196.95
Nikon D7100 with 18-105mm VR Lens at Adorama $1596.95