Another review

http://www.thephoblographer.com/2013/04/16/review-nikon-d7100/

Here is my experience with the Nikon D7100 using a Blackmagic Hyperdeck Shuttle 2.

First off you can only get a clean full frame HDMI signal with the D7100 set to live video mode, live picture mode outputs a cropped 720 size image only. The output of the D7100 can be clean with no menus and is full frame with no cropping edges as seen with a Nikon D600. You have to select the clean output via the D7100 info button. Unfortunately you cannot record with the two units simultaneously. If you push record on the D7100 the HDMI output changes to a 720p output however the Hyperdeck Shuttle will record a full frame image but only at 720p 59.94fps. One strang thing I found was that even though I had the D7100 HDMI output set to 1080p and the record format set to 24p (high) the Hyperdeck Shuttle only recorded at 29.97p. There is no direct setting for frame rate that you can select on the Hyperdeck Shuttle so I’m not sure if the unit is recording 23.98Psf or the D7100 is only outputting a 29.97p signal. There is no interruption to the live view on the D7100 when you record or stop recording with the Hyperdeck Shuttle, it performs seamlessly and fast. Both DX and 1.3 crop modes work with the Hyperdeck Shuttle which is a nice bonus for that extra punch. The punch in for focus still works and If you switch the menu on or change the info button the Hyperdeck Shuttle still records but at a cropped 720 size image. It can be kinf of handy to have all the record info imbedded for a few frame on each clip then switch to a clean output.

Overall there is an increase in resolution using the Hyperdeck Shuttle over the D7100 internal recording. Gone are any internal codec compression artefacts, along with any mud like smoothing in saturation that pops up with the internal codec. The motion cadence is smooth and very much the same as the internal codec. I found that there is a slight lift in gama with the Hyperdeck Shuttle recordings. And even though the Hyperdeck Shuttle records in 10bit, I still see some 8 bit colour banding in some of the images. The Hyperdeck Shuttle recorded audio from the D7100 over the HMDI which is a bonus and a workflow pain at the same time. Its more related to the DNxHD 220x format that stores 16 channels of audio with the Quicktime file. Thus making it a chore to use in Avid and will not import directly into After effects. I ended up deleting the audio tracks using Quicktime Pro and resaving the file, which then allowed me to use them properly in both applications. One of the reasons for using the Blackmagic Hyperdeck Shuttle 2 was my hope to be able to record in a native format for Avid MC editing. I was looking for a faster workflow that I wouldn’t have to transcode or alter the source material. Unfortunately the DNxHD 220x format and its 16 channel audio presents a slower workflow and work around then importing the D7100 internal H264 files directly into Avid MC or After Effects.

In the end I did find the boost in overall quality to be very good using the D7100 with the Hyperdeck Shuttle 2 compared to the D7100 internal H264 codec. I find that it could be worth the extra setup, data space and workflow in some of my broadcast work. I do have another issue with the D7100 and its sibling D5200 and the fixed horizontal pattern noise it produces in shadow contrast areas and this seems to be a characteristic of the sensor at even low ISO’s in well lit scenes. I had hoped that for some reason it might have been an internal recording codec issue or somehow it was generated while recording or related to some other camera setting. But unfortunately it is not and the HFPN is very prominent with an uncompressed recording and shows up with even more detail compared to it being slightly smoothed out somewhat by the internal D7100 recording.

@BlueBomberTurbo Thank you for the reply.

I hope I can find a work around for the manual white balance on the GH2. I only have 2-20mm 1.7 lenses for the the GH2's so I don't have big investment in terms of lenses. So selling off the 2-GH2's along with the lenses should not be a problem and I don't think I will take that much of a hit from the sale.

In regard to the D7100 have you tried recording video to an external recorder? If you have is there noticeable difference in video quality in comparison to the internal recording? I really like the build quality of the D600 and from what I understand it is very similar on the D7100. If I do end up buying the D7100 more than likely I will probably end up purchasing 2 cameras to match colors etc.

There are several other things that I really like about the D7100. The shutter speed, focus points, crop factor, and the fact that I can use the same batteries in both cameras (D600-D7100) are really appealing to me. I already have a decent selection of full frame Nikkor glass so this is another plus towards the purchase of the D7100's.

Decisions, Decisions, Decisions :( why cant we have just 1 camera that does it all... If only life were so simple :) Anyway's I will ponder this decision over the weekend and hopefully make the right one. Thanks again for your feedback.

Best Regards

@BlueBomberTurbo

By any chance do you happen own a GH2? If you do how is the quality of the video in comparison to the GH2? I have the Nikon D600 and the GH2, the GH2 is noticeably sharper but I have been having problems with manual white balance on the GH2 so I was thinking that I would sell 2-GH2's and buy the D7100 if the video quality is comparable.

Review

There isn't much that we can say is wrong with the D7100 except for a couple of minor quibbles. But in the end, this may just be the best darned ASP-C DSLR that we've seen in a while. The fast fps shooting abilities will appeal to birding shooters, the dad photographing their kid's basketball game (and this is probably the perfect camera for it, and for the weekend landscaper. The sensor performance is top notch and that images yielded from the camera are super crisp due to the lack of a Low Pass filter.

http://www.digitalcamerareview.com/default.asp?newsID=5273&nikon+D7100+DSLR

Well, for anyone actually using this camera for photos, someone from ACR's team posted that an update including D7100 support is very close!

http://forums.adobe.com/thread/1178283?tstart=0

Can't wait! Been using a hack to make ACR think the files are from a D5200 (same sensor and processor), though ACR still can't read crop mode shots. Hopefully, there will be even more image detail with proper support. :)

@Aria

i'm aware that the Lumix lenses cause the camera to add some sharpening. It should be possible to lower the sharpness on the GH3 to counteract that effect to a great degree.

No, it's not that simple, the only way to eliminate the artificial sharpening is use a RAW file extractor that doesn't apply it. That's only for still photos, of course. With videos, the sharpening is permanently burned into each frame.

@LPowell, i'm aware that the Lumix lenses cause the camera to add some sharpening. It should be possible to lower the sharpness on the GH3 to counteract that effect to a great degree. It may not be as low as it could be with a non Lumix lens, but it should be possible to get it down enough to render it a non issue. IMO the D7100 is starting out with what I perceive to be less detail than the GH3. Even the best D7100 footage i've seen that has added sharpness is still not as detailed as the best GH3 footage i've seen.

The D800 is considered to be the Nikon with the most detailed image. It's still not at the GH3 level, tho it's much closer. I haven't seen anything yet that suggests the D7100 has more detail than the D800. I'd love to see a test that shows the D7100 has equal detail to that of the D800 or GH3.

@Aria

I really don't think it's gonna matter much that a Pany Kit Lens was used.

I wouldn't make that assumption. Lumix MFT lenses are artificially sharpened to a degree that makes it impossible to accurately evaluate the camera's native sharpness. A rigorous sharpness comparison test between the GH3 and D7100 would be a static shot using the same lens shot at a moderate aperture at each camera's lowest ISO setting, and with shutter speeds adjusted to produce equal exposure. The cameras should be mounted on a tripod, which should be repositioned to produce the same field of view on each sensor.

@CoolColJ, I really don't think it's gonna matter much that a Pany Kit Lens was used. The GH3 is at the top of the Detail and Sharpness level with the GH2. There's simply no contest in that regard. Also the Nikon Kit lens is actually very good according to reviews i've read.

The difference in detail between the D7100 and GH3 might only really be an issue in wide angle high detail shots. I think it's less of an issue if you're shooting more close ups of faces with a blurred background. It all depends on what is most important to the kind of shots you need to get. I like to personally have the extra detail in reserve if I need it. We still need to see more tests between the 2 in order to really get a better idea of the two cameras relative strengths. I'm really interested to see how the GH3 does with the new SLR Magic 25mm f0.95 in low light. It might just help the GH3 compete with the D7100 in low light.

GH3 does look sharper than D7100, which in my perception similar in resolution to D5200, and in many tests GH2 bests GH3 in terms of resolution.

@jasonp Nope. Not "pathetic trolling" just an error. Typed in "Canon Mark III" into DxO's search engine and the search result defaulted to 1D Mark III specs that I didn't notice. My bad. Mea culpa. Just shoot me.

Still, the D7100 sensor looks good by relative comparison -- particularly at the price point.

Thanks for the comparisons... The GH3 does look sharper but to my eyes (IMHO) it has that clinical feel in the very high detail areas. I guess it's down to a personal preference...