Nikon D7100 DSLR Camera Body: Open up to a world of finer detail with the Nikon D7100, designed without an optical low-pass filter for impeccably-detailed image and video capture. The 1.3x crop mode gives you extra reach from your lens without sacrificing the high resolution quality, and the 51-point autofocus system locks onto your subject for incredibly fast response times. Whether you're a semi-professional or a skilled photographer upgrading to a more advanced DSLR, the lightweight and compact D7100 will keep your creativity on the edge.Memory card sold separately.
Bought this camera to replace my D80, which has been faithfully serving me for almost 5 years now. I went back and forth between getting the 5200 with the flip out screen or the 7100. My choice came down to a couple key factors... first, I rarely use live mode when shooting, so the flip out screen was not really that necessary. Second, the info screen on top of the camera body is crucial to me. While the D5200 is a great camera, having to make all the adjustments from the back screen can get very annoying to someone who has worked predominately with the info screen on the top of the camera.
In all, I haven't had a great chance to use this camera to its full extent yet, but from what I have used of it, I am very pleased. The picture quality is superb, along with the 1080 video. The auto-focus system is extremely fast and generally very accurate. It's borrowed from some of their higher end cameras, and I'm very happy to see Nikon bring it down to their mid-level SLR's. I also really like the 1.3x crop feature that effectively enhances your zoom to 1.3x, while obviously downsizing the MP count to a still very respectable 18MP.
My only complaints so far with the camera are the lack of continuous burst shooting in RAW format, along with a lack of correction to the Live View when changing settings. When shooting in RAW, you quickly fill up the camera's buffering capacity, so even though the camera can shoot at a nearly 6 FPS rate, you'll fill up the SD writing ability of the camera after about 1 second and drop to a 2.7 FPS rate. Granted, I don't shoot much in the way of sports, so it's not a huge issue for me, but if you're a RAW sports shooter, you may want to look elsewhere. The problem is mitigated when shooting in JPEG and the camera is able to shoot continuously up to 50 shots at the 6 FPS rate.
The other thing I don't like is the fact that adjustments made to shutter speed, aperture, etc aren't reflected in the Live View mode instantaneously. Instead, to see the difference it makes, you have to exit Live View mode and then re-enter it. Again, not a huge deal, but kind of a nuisance, especially consider nearly every point and shoot camera with manual controls has this ability.
Overall, despite the two gripes I have, I love this camera so far. The features, performance, and picture quality are hard to beat for the price. If you're a serious amateur or even just need a back-up to your Nikon D4 (at which point, you're probably not reading reviews on the Best Buy website), I would highly recommend this camera. The Canon 7D is a worth adversary, and when the Canon 7D Mark ii comes out, I'll be interested to see how they try to up the ante. But if you're a traditional Nikon user with numerous Nikon lenses, there is definitely no point in switching and the D7100 should fulfill most all of your requirements in an all-around, mid-level DSLR.
My Best Buy number: 2645365193
My Best Buy number: 2645365193
What's great about it: Pic quality, features, 1.3x crop, 1080p video, 51-point autofocus
What's not so great: Limited shutter burst in RAW, lack of aperture correction in live view mode
Store and transfer digital photos, videos and more with this SanDisk Ultra SDHC UHS-I Class 10 memory card that features a 16GB capacity for expansive storage and Class 10 performance for fast read and write speeds.
I've always used SanDisk, and they've always been very reliable SD cards. The 16GB Ultra is no exception, and does the job for me with my Nikon D7100. Unless you're a professional photographer shooting tons of HD video or high FPS shots, this should do nicely.
Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18–200mm f/3.5–5.6G ED VR II Standard Zoom Lens: This powerful and versatile Nikon standard zoom lens is a great one-lens solution for DX-format DSLRs. Its wide angle to telephoto focal range gives photographers a flexible tool to get the shot without having to switch lenses.
This reviewer is a member of the Best Buy Tech Insider Network Program. This invitation-only program provides BestBuy.com reviewers with manufacturer-supplied products for the purpose of writing honest, unbiased and usage-based reviews. Outside of receiving products to test and review, Best Buy Tech Insider Network Reviewers are not compensated in any other way.
Nikon did a great job with the 18-200mm lens. The lens covers a broad range and is generally light enough for carrying around anytime, anywhere to capture almost any situation. The 18mm wide angle gives you the option for sweeping panoramas, and the 200mm zoom (especially when combined with the ability of the Nikon D7100 to do a 1.3x crop, making the effective range over 250mm) is a very nice telephoto to have. For the price, you probably won't find a better lens that covers such a large optical zoom range. I was going back and forth between this and the 18-300mm that Nikon makes. I decided on the 18-200 for two main reasons... first, the 18-300 is heavy as heck, much worse than this guy (my mom has the 18-300 and holding it around my neck for even 10 minutes was a little taxing), and second, I honestly don't do much shooting beyond a 200mm range. If you need it, the extra 100mm for the price is not a bad deal at all, but from other reviews I've read, you start to run into vignetting and some sharpness issues at full zoom of the 18-300. If you're not in need of 300mm zoom and fine with occasionally using some digital cropping to enhance zoom, the Nikon 18-200 is a worthy buy.
My Best Buy number: 2645365193
My Best Buy number: 2645365193
What's great about it: Picture quality, zoom range, build quality
What's not so great: Slightly heavy, some sharpness issues at full zoom