Nikon D7100 or D610? Opinions?

kdotaylor · January 22, 2015

Nikon D7100 or D610? Would I be better off spending a little more for the 610? I shoot people/portraits--have done a few weddings, landscapes and nature/flowers.

Matthew Saville · January 22, 2015

To be honest, both would be amazingly capable choices. The D610, while full-frame, will actually leave you worse off WRT autofocus and professional customizations. The D7100 offers a couple new features that really make the camera a delight to use for me, including 1-click 100% zooming during image playback, and face-detection scrolling during image playback although the D610 may have that second one, I'm not sure.

I'd actually consider the D7100 to be a better more well-rounded camera for someone who shoots all kinds of stuff, and wants to own a bunch of different lenses without breaking the bank or their back. For example a Tokina 11-16 2.8, Sigma 18-35 1.8, and Sigma 50-150 2.8 would cost mere pennies compared to the equivalent in full-frame zooms, and they would be much better suited for general travel and adventure photography, in my opinion.

The D610, on the other hand, (especially if it gets just one or two new customizations that Nikon may or may not be rolling out soon with their alleged new firmware program) ...would be superior for weddings and portraits. ...That is, if you can afford all the right lenses to complete the kit.

I hate to say this, since it goes against the "buy a camera now and enjoy it!" advice that I've given for years, but honestly my answer to you would be this: don't get either camera. Wait for a D7200, or save up for a D750. Both the D7100 and the D610 have their issues, and their direct upgrades will most likely (or already do) make a world of difference.

=Matt=

kdotaylor · January 23, 2015

Thank you so much, Matt, for your thoughtful comments. I really appreciate you taking time to respond. You've given me some more points to consider, for sure!

NikonsandVstroms · January 29, 2015

I love my D7100 but for low light the D610 definitely would be nice....but like Matt said there are a lot of drawbacks to the D610 in terms of customization and especially AF coverage area which is why I personally went with the D7100 even though I already had an FX camera (D700) and only 1 DX lens at the time. Personally I like framing subjects a decent bit off center and the D700 is if anything a little small in my opinion so the D610's even smaller AF coverage would be a big issue. Another DX bonus is smaller lenses and my DX kit is a lot smaller/lighter than the comparable FX one.

Since then I've kitted out the D7100 with the Sigma 50-150 Matt mentioned, and a Tokina 12-24 F4. I got the latter more for tripod use so I'd recommend the 2.8 Matt suggested for indoor use. When light's an issue and I need a really wide lens I put a Sigma 20-40 F2.8 on my D700.

Oh and the big limitation of the D7100 in my opinion is the buffer size which is way too small so you need to shoot small bursts, and have a fast SD card.

kdotaylor · January 29, 2015

NikonsandVstroms wrote: »

I love my D7100 but for low light the D610 definitely would be nice....but like Matt said there are a lot of drawbacks to the D610 in terms of customization and especially AF coverage area which is why I personally went with the D7100 even though I already had an FX camera (D700) and only 1 DX lens at the time. Personally I like framing subjects a decent bit off center and the D700 is if anything a little small in my opinion so the D610's even smaller AF coverage would be a big issue. Another DX bonus is smaller lenses and my DX kit is a lot smaller/lighter than the comparable FX one.

Since then I've kitted out the D7100 with the Sigma 50-150 Matt mentioned, and a Tokina 12-24 F4. I got the latter more for tripod use so I'd recommend the 2.8 Matt suggested for indoor use. When light's an issue and I need a really wide lens I put a Sigma 20-40 F2.8 on my D700.

Oh and the big limitation of the D7100 in my opinion is the buffer size which is way too small so you need to shoot small bursts, and have a fast SD card.

Thanks! I am leaning more towards the 7100.

Nikon D7100 or D610? Opinions?

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