Bret Loc: Dayton Ohio

I bought the kit refurbished from B&H only because of the lens...18-140 is shot #2. I use every lens I own on the D5100 and I have several.

tamalero Loc: Mexico

Afraid I'm not even near your level of skill.


Heres a shot with my D5100 (sun was setting), hence high ISO with the 50mm-300mm Nikkor DX lens.

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Bret Loc: Dayton Ohio

Yes shot #1 is with a D7100 300mm. Excellent camera...and if they bundle one with a SB910...oh wait...that would mean I'd have a kit flash....lol

Bret Loc: Dayton Ohio

Not bad tamalero...but I find the D7100 better at iso800 than the D5100...and for me I don't like going higher than iso400 for anything.

tamalero Loc: Mexico

That is why I'm looking into upgrading to either a D610 or a D750.

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dcampbell52 Loc: Clearwater Fl

I haven't owned a D3xxx or D5xxx but I have used all of the Nikon lineup except the D3300, D5300 D610, D750, and D810 and I own a D70s and D7100. For me, the main differences between the D7100 and the lower models is that it has higher good ISO (meaning that while it also has higher ISO, the iso in some of the extreme high while usable is acceptable only of all else fails) and higher monitor resolution, longer battery life, and double sd card slots. But the main for me is ability to select degrees kelvin in white balance and commander mode for external flash. Also it has a high shutter speed of 1/8000 vs 1/4000 in the lower models which enables going to high shutter speeds with good bokeh (extremely nice in the bright beach sun of Florida). I can shoot at ISO 100 and 1/8000 of a sec and not have to go to a neutral density filter because of brightness. The D7100 just has more flexibility than the lower models (note that the D3300 and 5300 are newer models and come closer to the other abilities of the D7100 than any of the other D3x00 and D5x00 cameras). But I use commander mode a lot with my SB800 and SB910 speedlights and the popup on the camera.

Bear2 Loc: Southeast,, MI

I went from their predecessors, a D5000 to D7000, and loved the change although I sometime still use my D5000 with a different lens.
Main advantages: dual control wheels instead of searching through menus,
Ability to fine tune lenses to the camera body resulting in sharper images
In camera focus motor it can use more lenses.
And as you mentioned - weather sealing.
Disadvantages: No articulating screen
Very glad I upgraded.
Hope this helps.
Duane

bettis1 Loc: Texas

I went from a D3100 to the D7100. The largest improvements are much more flexibility in how you shoot everything due to the increased ISO, the quicker adjustments with the two wheels instead of only using the menus and the greater choices in settings. It's certainly a major step up but it also requires you to do more study to appropriately learn to use the more sophisticated camera. You won't be sorry that you step up.

Bob

Marilyng Loc: Lorain,Oh.

I have upgraded from a D5100 to a D7100 & never regretted it once!Put it simply,it just takes awesome photos! It is your decision so if you are not sure about the upgrade maybe you could rent one for a day or ask one of your friends if you could try it out for a day.Before I purchased mine in Dec. I asked here in the forum & got positive feedback so I went for it!

menardre Loc: Westport, MA

I bought a D5100 a few years ago and still use it. Last year I bought a refurb D7100. I have not done a one-to-one comparison of the picture quality .... they both take great pictures. The D7100 is much easier to use for nature photography since the controls are much easy/quicker to access. Sometimes I go out with a long telephoto lens on my D7100 and a short telephoto lens on my D5100, that way I don't miss anything or have to change lens in the field. I just wish that the D7100 had a articulated LCD.
Roger

innershield Loc: phoenix, az

I have both cameras. The articulated screen is another thing to fail. Where are all the flip phones now. You should use it in the fixed position. Do any of the 700, 800, 4's have that screen. Also, the 7100 has a motor for non-motor lenses. And the 5100 does not have a MUP setting. Hope this helps

Dngallagher Loc: Wilmington De.

I had a D5100 for a year or so, when the D7100 came out I got one right away.

The 24 MP makes a difference for sure allowing closer cropping without losing details and of course it has a built in motor drive for focusing as well for older non AF-S lenses.

Low light performance is also great.

Having 2 slots for memory cards is helpful, but I opted for a 64 GB card in slot 1, so I have YET to run out of space to start using my 32 GB card in slot two as overflow.

It also has an Aperture Index ring that allows older lenses to meter when attached.

I had an ancient series E 35 mm lens that though manual focus will still meter fine on the D7100 via the AI ring.

The buffer space is not much different than the 5100 though, I can get about 6-7 shots on burst till the buffer fills up (shooting raw) then writing to the card slows down the fps, the UH 1 speed of the card speed up the write speed to about 45 MB., and allow the fps to continue shooting raw in burst at about 3-4 fps continous.

zndr33

I saw a huge improvement in sharpness and over all photo quality when moving up to a D7100.

I recently sold my D7100 and got a D600 (and did the recall) and I would not hesitate to go back to a D7100 at any time. In fact, the lenses are less expensive and easier to find than full format and it's probably one of the most practical dslr cameras for a range of photos. Don't get into the "splitting hairs" arguments about extreme photo situations. This is a wonderful camera.

Before the D5100, I had a D3100 and D3200 and the jump to the D7100 was a zero disappointment move and more of an elation. I don't see any reason not to move up if budget allows; you will enjoy many things about it.

Best of luck.

sojourner52 Loc: Dallas

Unless you are shooting professionally or blowing your pics uo tp poster size, here's really not a good reason to spend the extra money tp go full frame. imho

Jencast2008 Loc: Michigan

I went from the D90 to the D7100 and love it so much. I was in love with my d90 and still am but the D7100 is awesome. Love it even more. I think I have mainly kit lines from bundles I bought but I really like my 50mm 1.4 and I like my 18-140mm 3.5. Nice lens. I have a 55-200 im not crazy about and never use because I have a 70-300 I like better. Good luck on what u choose to get. The D7100 is worth the cheddar I won't be able to afford an upgrade for many years so I went with the D7100 bundle I found.

Sorry kinda got off topic lol