Nikon D7200 Review
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Last Updated On By John Sherman 76 Comments
Nikon D7200 Review
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2 MP CMOS Sensor? That’s progress for you… :)
Key Features and Specifications
DX-format DSLR – 1.5x crop factor
2 MP CMOS sensor without an optical low pass filter
Bharat, that was my fault I am sorry – did that unintentionally while formatting John’s review.
Interesting that some people always read reviews to find typing errors, instead of reading the just of the review and the quality content of the hours of work that has gone into doing the review. But then some people’s best skill in life is to find small mistakes in others lives and in issues like this. Yes I agree, striving for perfection is good, but at the speed that these reviews needs to be done, there is always a danger some some non important mistakes.
I think he was kidding. Note the smiley face.
you are genius!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :) :)
Thanks for a review. Have been waiting for it :).
As I shoot birds mainly, I always need reach. So it seems D7200 will be good replacement for my D7000. Better ISO, good AF – I am convinced. Was choosing between D7200 and D750. FX is FX and has its benefits of course, but for now I prefer reach, and invest the extra $800 to the optic :)
Thanks again!
Nice review, but I personally would’ve liked to see how the sensor on the D7200 stacks up against the one on the D7100 in terms of ISO performance and also if it has any dust/oil spot problems. I had the D7100 and really liked it but eventually sold it because I was getting spots in my images and I am not a fan on cleaning the sensor all the time. Now I am really tempted by the D7200 but have no idea how the sensor would behave in that regard and that’s the main thing holding me back..
How long did you own your D7100 before the spots showed up? Conducting field tests involves a lot of lens swapping so I did get dust on my sensor, but not any more that I would expect with any DSLR under those conditions. However I will give the sensor a check for oil spots before I return it.
If I remember correctly they showed up within 3 months. I swap lenses quite often but not in dusty environments and I never leave the camera without a lens or body cap for more than a few seconds. The problem with the D7100 is quite well known and most people report oil spots in the top left corner of the images, which was the case with my camera too.
Hopefully the D7200 won’t have the same issues. I think I’ll wait a while longer before committing to buying one, just to see if anything comes up about a similar problem or anything else.
Vlad
Where you seeing them at an aperture wider than F14 such as F8 ?. I had the same problem with my D7100 and doing a wet cleaning with eclipse cleaning fluid just solved the problem for a few thousand shots. There was a Nikon clinic last fall and a japanese technician was cleaning for free our cameras, He cleaned the sensor much better than I ever did , and after an added 5K shots no traces of oil spots (dark brown spots) shows even in blue skies at F16. Even if I turn down the exposure slider to -5ev in LR no spots are showing. Doing this with the exposure slider after my own eclipse cleaning was still showing them clearly. I was so afraid to damage the sensor that I probably didn’t apply enough pressure on the sensor to clean it correctly.
Verm, will this camera do well with the tamron 150-600mm?
I’ve had some focus issues on moving subjects with the Tamron on the D7200. I contacted Tamron and they said they should be compatible, so maybe it’s just a problem with my lens. I would test it out before buying if you can.
All Tamron’s or was it specific length?
There is no image quality difference between the D5500, D5300, D3300 and the new D7200. None of them have a AA filter. Image quality is the same. Only difference may be the internal algorithm Nikon uses to take care of noise. But for the rest, it is the same sensor.
Same sensor does not mean same quality, the D810 uses the same Sony sensor found in their Mirrorless full frame cameras but the D810 has the edge, what the electronics inside does to the data is almost as important as the sensor. With film your statement is true.
Am I wrong or D5500 D5300 and D3300 are, like the D7200, APS-C Cameras ?
So the comparison in terms of image quality makes perfectly sense. They all have as well expeed4 processor to process images. So again, image quality is the same.
The article states that:
“The biggest differences are that the D7200 has more dials letting you adjust your settings quicker, has a more rugged build, and does not have an anti-aliasing filter over the sensor, hence is capable of resolving more detail than the D3300/5500”
The D7200 is not capable of resolving more detail than the D3300/5500/5300. Can have a better AF, a better metering, whatever you want, but Image quality is the same. It is an intrinsic non changeable feature of the sensor.
Hopefully this clarify once for all the issue.
Marco,
Thanks for the correction. I’ve updated the review.
My pleasure. I like your reviews very much, they are competent and entertaining. Thanks for the time you spend on them.
Does D5500 also omit the anti aliasing filter? That would be great news.
D3300/D5300/d7100, toshiba sensor, D5500/ D7200, sony sensor.
D7200 has Toshiba sensor?
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/…LR_cameras
There are differences as the sensor on the d7100 is a toshiba and the d7200 a sony . Plus It has exspeed 4 instead of 3 . I understand that the sensor of the d7200 has been tweeked together with a tweek of the exspeed 4 algorithms . The noise reduction in jpeg in the d5500 is more agresive giving you less noise at the expense of detail . These differences that do exist are very small in absolute terms but they do exist . One more thing , if you go to imaging resource and check the color data of the D7200 compared with other present Nikon the are different .Sensor performance is only part of the equation .
Great review! D7000 also has exposure dalay mode- d11, but it is preprogrammed for one second :))
This is a very nice review from the perspective of a bird or nature photographer. There is lots of good information. However, from someone who shoots mostly people, events, and landscapes, I think it’s missing quite a lot for people like myself. As someone who shoots Nikon, the Nikon camera comparisons are all I need really. But I’d just omit all other brands if you cannot do a bit more thorough comparison with multiple brands included.
Good point about the events as humans, even though they are just rather large slow animals, do venture indoors a lot where there are added issues with artificial light. Fortunately there will be many reviews published of this camera’s performance from many perspectives and it’s always good to seek multiple opinions before making a buying decision.
So I’m going to ask the obvious. I currently have Nikon D3100 and I’m happy with it. I’ve been thinking of upgrading to D7000 because D7100 was costlier. Now with the new camera out, D7100 now costs a bit less and I can try to afford it. Will I be missing something (except WiFi and NFC, which I don’t care much about) important/super useful if I get D7100 (which will be a purchase for around 4-5 years from now) instead of this new one? I’m not a professional. I’m enthusiastic. And I shoot mainly portrait and some events.
Unless your events aare in low where you have trouble focusing, the D7100 would probably be fine for you.
Nice review. It fits my experience using a D7100, D7200, and D800E, with only a couple of exceptions: First, the difference in the buffer size between the D7100 and D7200 is a big deal for action and bird photography. With the D7100, the buffer fills and the frame rate drops to about 1 shot per second after a burst of only 4-5 shots. I get 3x to 4x that number of shots in a burst with the D7200. That has made a significant difference in my keeper rate for moving birds. This, along with the superior autofocus, justifies the upgrade for me. Second, I’m not a fan of using crop mode on an FX body such as the D810. You end up with a lot fewer pixels on the bird than with the D7200, so feather detail suffers, and the gear is heavier and a lot more expensive. If I could only afford one body and did a lot of bird photography, I would pick the D7200. If I could afford two bodies, I would use the FX for general photography and landscapes and the D7200 for birds and wildlife.
Again, very thorough and useful review. Also, I enjoyed the bird images.
www.flickr.com/photos/russ-w/
Great Review and enjoy the comparison between the camera’s. I have a D810 and Df and use both for Wildlife and landscapes. The Df is great in low light as we all know but not a speed king, but I even use it for birds in flight. My longest lens is a 300f2.8 vr2 that I use with converters and is great for African wildlife on the D810. The ability to shoot it in 1.2 and Dx mode makes it a real star and even if it is not D4s speed, the camera is fantastic. For birds, I am considering buying the D7200 and the Sigma 150-600. So thanks for this review. I can buy the D7200 and Sigma 150-600 for 30% of the price of a 600mmf4. Yes I know the pixel peepers will tell me the IQ is not the same, but at the price the results is fantastic. I tested the combination and I am very impressed by the camera and the lens. Attached Image shot with Df and 300mm f2.8 vr2 + TC 2.0iii
That’s pretty much my sentiment as well!
I’m from South Africa, and also use the D810 and DF combo, which I am extremely pleased with – I typically use the DF with a 85mm 1.4 / 20mm 1.8 / 300mm f4 with 1.4 t/c, and the D810 with a Sigma 150-600mm that you mention for birding.
I often use the DF for both wildlife and birding coupled with the 300mm, and it has a pleasant smoothness that I really like.
I have find memories of a D7000 that a traded, but would never sell either of these full frame cameras, despite the slower fps, I often experiment with either 1.2 or DX mode for birding.
Verm, that was a great review of the camera. I don’t personally want one, but would certainly link that review to anyone who asks me about it. The only big problems with your review were the photographs. They were useless for making comparisons since all of your photographs are just too good. I loved every one of them.
A feature missing on the D7100 (found on my D750) is a live-view histogram. Does the D7200 have this feature? If not, what are the chances of petitioning Nikon for a firmware upgrade that would include this?
Just out of curiosity, why would you need a live view histogram on a DSLR?
Hi Nasim,
I have found the live view histo to be very helpful when doing landscape photography. It pretty much helps me nail exposures without having to make an exposure, look at the saved histogram, then tweak from there…. I can judge the histogram right on the live view screen. It seems odd that Nikon would overlook this on the 7100/7200, especially if these cameras are the equivalent to the Canon 7D and 7Dii (both of which have a live view histogram). That one feature might make me think about trading in my 7100…
I gotta say, I love the live histogram on my D810! Now I miss it when I go back to the D700. :-P I’m unsure if the D7200 has this or not though. It’s fairly obscure to find on the D810, I discovered it by accident one day. It’s probably in the manual and I forgot about it when I skimmed through it.
Oh, and to answer your question Nasim, I use it when averaging a scene for a panorama or video pan, if I want to avoid HDR (which I find the D810 doesn’t usually need, the dynamic range is incredible!). It’s a bit more representative of the whole scene than relying on a spot meter and looking for the darkest and brightest spots like I used to do.
I use the live view histogram all the time (yes, every shot!) for landscape photography, though it’s a good practice for any sort of shooting. That is the reason, why I have a Canon camera. Nikon has had this feature missing on all their DSLRs but the very top-of-the-line models for years. To me that’s a real shame (!), because for me, it’s a must-have feature!
Mr Sherman, enjoyed your review, need to read twice, don’t want to miss anything, QA .. did you do a d750 revew, if so what’s the link? Tks
Great website, great review. Thank you, Mr. Sherman!
However, I would really like to have the opportunity to download full 24/36 mpx originals. 100% crops are nice but still…
I’am an owner of D810 and D7100 and I’m thinking if I should upgrade to D7200. It’s not an easy decision given the fact that these models are almost identical. That’s why full 24 mpx originals (preferably not a camera JPEGs) might come in handy.
Thank you again.
Eduard, that would be very impractical from several standpoints – first, images are copyright of the author and providing full JPEG images is giving away a lot. Second, full size images eat up a lot of space and cost a lot in terms of traffic. Those are the reasons why we won’t do it…
Nasim, perhaps I’m not understanding your statement “In comparison, my D7000 is much slower and clumsier to set the ISO on, requiring that I take the camera away from my face.”. While you are looking through the viewfinder, use your left hand and press the ISO button on the back of the camera and leave it pressed and then turn the back wheel. This is adjust the ISO (rather than the shutter speed) on the fly without having to move your face away from the camera.
FYI: the writer of the review is John Sherman, not Nassim who is traveling.
I think his point is (a) that finding the record button is easier than finding the ISO button and (b) it can be done one-handed.
Sorry about that John, I missed that.
That makes sense Tonio.
The manual says
“Maximum number of pictures that can be stored in the buffer to sensitivity 100 ISO. Decreases if Optimal quality is selected for JPEG compression (0 80), if the sensitivity is set to ISO 12800 or higher setting or if noise reduction or auto distortion control is enabled.”
And auto distorsion control is important for the buffer management, even in Raw. Remember to turn off!
Is d7200 better than the current nikon dx flagship camera d300s for wilidlife and action photography?
Better in every way image-wise but not entirely when it comes to handling.
Hi John
Great article that I enjoyed a lot. I own the D7000,D7100, D750 cameras, I found your comments is spot on the D7000. Can you explain me how you do to avoid blurry(not quite perfectly sharp when seen at pixel level) images that for me are a serious problem with all high density pixels sensors such as in the D7200, in FX that density would be a sensor with over 50 MPX ?. When using VR or not what is the rule (1/(2X focal length)) you use for min shutter speed ?
regards
I usually stick to 1/focal length even with VR on if handholding, but my hands aren’t as steady as some folks. I use a tripod a lot for these reasons, then my decision is based upon the species and/or action I anticipate. My general go to setting for birds when I don’t know what will happen is 1/1250 @ f/8 and whatever ISO fits that. I hope this helps.
Thanks John for your quick answer. May I ask two extra questions:,
1- Do you use a tripod with a gimbal head for birds or your always handholding ?
2- What do you think about using a monopod for birds in flight ?
regards
One man’s trash is another man’s treasure. You don’t like the location of the back focus button on the D810 but I much prefer it. With the D600, D610, D750, and D4S, it’s very difficult for me to push the button while holding the camera one-handed (the other hand is holding a speedlight or reflector) because my hands are a bit small. I can fairly easily reach it this way with the D810.
Great review. It gave me a pretty good picture of the new D7200 and the nice sample images were the icing on the cake.
You mentioned that Nikon doesn’t mention the exact framrates in their tech specs. Actually this is wrong, Nikon tells exactly how many frames you get with 12bit, 14bit, DX-Mode, 1.3-Cropmode and Live-View. Other then this I really enjoyed your review.
PS: Sry for my bad english.
NIkon does list approximate frames, not exact frame rates, in the manual. Nikon originally advertised the D7200 as “6 fps at full resolution”. Unfortunately, the 6 fps was at full size, but reduced quality, settings. Full-size DX, highest quality 14-bit RAW images have an approximate frame advance rate of 5 fps. This is P-A-I-N-F-U-L-L-Y slow, too slow for shooting fast-action sports like baseball and softball. Changing to 1.3X crop mode 14-bit RAW increases the frame rate to approximately 6 fps, just usable, but far from ideal for shooting fast-action sports. If you don’t shoot sports the limited frame rate might not be a problem at all for you. But it is a shame that a camera with such outstanding autofocus has such a mediocre frame rate. I’ve turned off any settings that might slow down the frame rate (such as vignette control), used the fastest 95 MB/sec Sandisk Extreme Pro cards, and I think this camera is just barely acceptable, for enthusiast sports shooting. Nikon has NO current model for enthusiast sports shooters that is reasonably priced. Canon shooters around me are hammering away on their cropped-sensor Canons at 8-10 fps, and they paid $1000 – $2000 for them. I prefer Nikon image quality, but it is outrageous that the best NIkon DX camera shoots at medium slug-like speed.
The D7200 would have been an OUTSTANDING camera if Nikon had just increased the frame another 1-2 fps at the full-size, highest quality setting. Instead of “hitting a home run” Nikon “dropped the ball” with the slow frame rate.
Not that this is a bad camera, far from it. This is currently Nikon’s best DX camera. The autofocus and image quality are outstanding. Portrait and landscape photographers will be very happy with the D7200. It’s just not the camera I hoped it would be for shooting sports. $1200 seems like a lot to pay for a camera that requires me to try to work around the slow frame rate limitation and the problem of a 70-200mm lens that is not wide enough to take in the action at 1st base when the camera is used in 1.3X crop mode.
I guess the good news is that Nikon left a HUGE gap in the product line that has plenty of room for a D7300, a D9300, and a D400! But, by the time Nikon finally releases a DX sports-capable camera D-SLRs might not still be relevant. And if Nikon doesn’t get their act together, Nikon might not be relevant either.
I think that the D7200 does face recognition in live view mode only, whereas the D750 does it in viewfinder as well as live view.
Outstanding review with practical insights. Very minor comment: the D7000 does have an exposure delay mode (d11) but only a single delay time.
I am confused a bit by the high ISO performance between the 7200 and FX cameras.
A little background…
I have a 610 and a 7100 and love shooting with both and I really do want to believe that DX is getting close to FX. My experience, however, makes me believe that there is still a reasonable image quality gap between the 2 that cannot be bridged while shooting within the range of the lenses attached… this becomes even more pronounced as the focal length increases. For example, if I take a photograph of a bird and I am able to frame it properly at 200 mm on DX, the same photograph taken at 300 mm on FX has better detail, sharper focus and lower noise… noticeably so to my eyes.
I believe this is true because of the following factors:
1. The FX camera benefits from the extra 100 mm of zoom by resolving detail better
2. The FX camera benefits from the extra 100 mm of zoom by having the extra detail that allows a more precise autofocus
3. The FX camera has about 1 F-stop better noise performance allowing double the shutter speed for similar noise
To my eyes, the 7200 looks like it is about as sharp, as detailed and as low noise as the FX cameras… am I seeing this right?
The FX camera has larger pixels, which make lens aberrations less noticeable.
In your scenario above the FX would win. However if you are going with DX for reach beyond what the FX will deliver (say you only own a 200mm and don’t have access to a 300mm, or like in my examples are already shooting with the longest lens Nikon offers (800mm), then the D7200 comes out on top because either the FX files need to be upsampled to the same final subject size or the DX image can be downsampled to the final subject size. So you are seeing this correctly because of the extreme reach scenarios my tests were shot at. If you have the option to move closer or shoot a longer lens on your FX then it would have the advantage.
SOunds like the d7200 is a really good camera. I take pic of 6 year old in sports indoors and out. I have taken a lot of parties (kids) and recently got paid for a sweet 16
Am I going to be disappointed that I didnt ante up for the d750 (extra low lite and fast AF—or is it the same -3ev and 51 pts 3500 ii expeed 4?)
If I go d750 do I get the 24-120 f4 stock lens or refurb 24-70 f2.8
If i go d7200 still use my current dx lenses (d5000 2 kit 35 50 85 1.8 and 18-200) and add the 24-70 for super fx quality and the 70-200 f4 to save coin or blow the bank and get the 70-200 2.8 Can I really hold that for a long time?
Thanks
Im so confused
Gary
Thanks for the Review.
Am an amateur photographer, having recently disposed off my Nikon D50 (my first DSLR purchase in 2006). Currently using entry level Canon 550D (using since 2009). Was initially thinking of upgrading to Canon 70D. However after reading reviews of Nikon D7200, seem to have fallen in love with it. Am having Sigma 18-250mm f/3.5-6.3 DC Macro OS HSM, which I purchased a few years ago for my Nikon D50, after my Tamron 18-200 got damaged due to fungus.
Am thinking of buying just the D7200 body to use with above sigma lens, instead of going for the 18-105 or 18-140 kit lens. The reason being i want to save for buying 70-200/2.8 in future. (Can’t spend so much at this moment)
Any views Sigma 18-250 performance with D7200?
Thanks in advance for your views/suggestions/feedback
Deepak Bhaskari
hey, i am from Bangladesh, Asia. I want to buy this d7200 gray market as it is less expensive and affordable for me. but to get genuine brand new d7200, what factors i should consider. is nikon-offered-registration helpful in this regard?
Excellent review, John.
I’ve had a D7200 for about a month now, and I like it! I had a D7000 that I replaced with a D7100 which I considered a huge upgrade and comparable in image quality to a D810 in certain situations (eg. the moon and wildlife). But I see a very noticeable improvement in IQ with the D7200. I wonder if the “Clarity” adjustment in the Picture Control menu is responsible (I set mine to +3 in Standard)?
My only complaint is Nikon moving the WB from the top-right LCD to the back screen. It’s unnecessary and bothersome.
Overall, it’s a keeper for me.
Would the reviewer (or guests) comment (based on experience) on either of the following questions:
1. D7200 sensor IQ and AF vs D5500?
2. D7200 sensor IQ and AF vs Sony a6000?
My primary camera body is D750 and I want to choose a second body that is lighter weight and size (e.g. D5500 or a6000) but how much am I giving up relative to the D7200 in IQ and AF? I tend to be forgiving in terms of controls, learning how to use whatever camera I have, but IQ and AF are crucial issues for me.
Pay particular attention to lower light IQ and AF. Thanks!
Hi,
Although I cannot answer your questions regarding D7200 vs D5500, I can tell you that the D7200 is a very good camera to have as a second body to the D750. I have had both cameras for over six months. I have been to South Africa (Kruger NP) and India with both cameras and the Nikkor 300mmF4 VR, 70-200F4, both 1.4 and 2.0 tele adapters, and the Nikkor 80-400VR.
I choose these two cameras for (1) the fact that they have virtually the same controls, menus, and control locations, (2) use the same battery, (3) use the same SD cards, (4) have the same number of pixels. and (5) both have Expeed 4 processors, state of the art focus systems, and almost identical fast frame rates.
They really compliment each other well. The D7200 gives you extra reach for those far away birds, the D750 gives you stellar ISO performance. These two cameras look so much alike that it is easy to pick up the wrong one!
If you could only choose one camera I would be tempted to choose the D7200 just for the fact that it is slightly sharper due to absence of anti-alias filter and that extra reach on telephoto is critical for me.
Will all my D5200 lenses Suit the D7200?
All my lenses have built in auto focus motors.
I believe the D7200 also has a built in focus motor.
So how does this work – 2 focus motors???
I am terribly confused about the motors!!!!
Hello!
Can anyone help me regarding the size of the viewfinder of D7200 vs D5500? I decided to bu the D5500 as my first camera but after hearing that D5500’s viewfinder is painfully tiny, I have know idea what to buy. Is D7200’s viewfinder big enough to compose?
Hello everyone!
I recently purchased a D7200 after reading the reviews here. I thought I was pretty well versed in using the Nikon AF system, having been a professional sports photographer for many years. This camera has proven me wrong. I’ve been wanting to add an APS-C camera to my bag to extend my reach and based on the information from several of the writers here, thought that the AF system would be superior to the D700 and D3 bodies that I’ve been using.
I’m pretty careful about where I place the AF sensors, but I’m guessing I’m doing something wrong. There may very well be a problem with my camera, but perhaps one of you here can think of something that I missed.
After configuring the camera in a similar manner to my other bodies, I took the camera out to shoot soccer this morning. About 80% or more of the images I shot were out of focus. All of the static tests I shot prior to this morning were dead-on at close range or at distance, even when I’m using supertelephoto lenses wide open.
Normally, with my other bodies, I my in focus rate is probably about 95% or better using either a Nikon 300mm f/2.8 AF-S II or 200-400mm f/4 VR I lens.
I’m using the following settings:
AF mode: AF-C, 9-point or 21-point dynamic focus, focus priority
Focus lock-on set to normal
AF is set to only focus when I press the AE-Lock button
I have the camera locked on the center sensor. I prefer to do this rather than attempt to manually select a sensor point while the action is moving quickly.
Any ideas?
Thanks for your time.
Ken
Hello Nasim,
Season’s Greeting’s!
Thank you for a detailed write up!!
I have been using a Canon 70D and 300mm IS II 2.8 since last 15 months and have sold it off just today! I am planning to shift to Nikon purely because of precise AF, better image quality and low light performance. I have two choices: Nikon D750+200-500+1.4x TC or Nikon D7200+200-500+1.4x TC. I would like to know, if you have tested D7200 with a 200-500 and 1.4x TC. How it performs, AF wise, rendering and image quality. Alternatively you could also let me know, how this combo would perform with a D750 or D810.
Thank you,
Vivek
Hi guys
Is Nikon writing false statements on this D7200 camera when comparing the specifications ?
D7100 iso 100-6400 expandable to 25600 (Hi2)
D7200 iso 100-25600 (full color) boost to 51200-102400 (B&W only)
When DXOmark tested the two camera here what they found for S/N : D7100 iso 1256; D7200 iso 1333 In fact they are very similar within 7% between them not 2 stops as it appears in the specs, while the D750 reached iso 2956 by DXOmark more than a full stop better than the D7200.
Will we see the same thing with the D500 ?
Here is a good site to compare cameras…This compares the Nikon D7200 and the Canon 7D MK ii…this site convinced me to buy the D7200..I’m very happy with my choice…cameradecision.com/compa…ikon-D7200
I can’t wait to see the D 500. I ordered it the day it was announced. That being said, it is going to have to be VERY GOOD to be better than the D7200! I believe this camera will always have a place in my gear as long as it lasts. The files are excellent, the camera is very robust, reasonably fast and light weight for what it does. My current “do everything bag” includes my D 7200 and long lenses for birds and dragonflies which are my favorite quarry and a D800E with shorter lenses for landscapes. I believe that my new bag will just replace the D7200 with the D 500 but when I just want to take a walk around some of my favorite Dragonfly spots with a camera in hand, I believe it will be the D 7200 with my 80-400 AF-s or my 200-500 AF-s. The D 7200 even focuses reasonably well with the 200-500 f 5.6 using a TC-14Eiii. Of course you need to use the center focus point but with back-button AF it’s easy to recompose and it hunts a little but, heck your shooting a 1,050 mm lens with a minimum focus distance of a little over 7 feet, hand-held! I can put up with a little hunting. We are so spoiled! The capability of these consumer cameras like the D7200 just blow away the super film cameras of yesteryear. When I first started in photography I shot with an F4-s for about 5 years and I loved that camera but the capabilities of a D 7200 just run circles around that old top-of-the-line film body and although I never shot with an F5 I believe it would be true of that body also.
Hello everyone!
This is a follow-up to my earlier post.
I ended up purchasing a D7200 based on John’s findings last September, as I was getting into birding and the D500 was obviously not out yet. I’ve been using the D7200 on-and-off since then and wanted to discuss my findings with you.
If possible, I’d like to know how all of you have your AF configured. I’ve had nothing but problems with the AF system on my D7200, and unlike John, don’t find it to be remotely in the same league as my D3 or D700 bodies, much less a D4-series camera. I have found that John is right about acquiring focus on subjects in dimmer light, but my copy is unable to maintain focus on them.
I’ve had Nikon perform warranty service on the body, and things improved a lot for static subjects. The camera required quite a bit of AF fine tuning prior to servicing, but none after. However I’m still having problems with moving subjects like birds.
When the subject is moving parallel to me, it’s better although not perfect and it’s absolutely horrible whenever a subject moves towards me in any way. Sometimes it can’t even capture a sharp image of a person walking towards me at 5 MPH. With slow-moving subjects, AF seems VERY jittery and I’ve had to increase the lock-on setting to 4 or 5 to offset this problem.
The focus on moving subjects is often close, but not right-on. I usually have my D3 and D700 bodies set to 9-point dynamic mode and have had great results with them. Unfortunately, I’ve found that the D7200 is completely unusable set this way. I’ve had the best results using a single AF sensor, usually one of the 15 cross-type. The side-sensors on my sample seem completely useless and inaccurate on my sample.
I’ve done a lot of testing under more controlled conditions using moving cars at sunset to simulate the conditions I encounter when out in the field and found that using my D3 in 9-point dynamic with active d-lighting on, I can get a return of 80-90% at 9 FPS and 100% if I slow the camera down to 5 FPS.
Under the same shooting conditions — but where I’ve actually made the test easier for the D7200 — single-point AF, no active d-lighting at 5 FPS, it might get around 33%. As I mentioned earlier, I’ve found that my D7200 is completely unusable in the dynamic focusing modes, so the same test yields such a low return rate, I stopped using it completely. Slowing the D7200 down doesn’t seem to improve things as with the D3.
I suspect that the AF capabilities of the lens attached can have some effect, as I’ve had better results with my 300mm f/2.8 AF-S II and TC-14e II than I have had with my 200-400mm VR, although it doesn’t seem to matter with the D3 — with only a few exceptions (that are probably my fault), it just seems to nail everything I throw at it. Obviously, a lens with smaller, lighter elements is going to focus faster than a complex zoom lens with multiple heavy elements, and I can say from experience that my 300mm focuses just a tad faster, which can sometimes make a big difference.
Any suggestions are welcome.
Regards,
Ken
Kenneth
contact Steve Perry who is a pro wildlife photographer who can be reach on its site. He has shot with the D7200 and maybe of some help for you
Excellent review. I find it through, and objective. I wonder how will the D7200 compare to the D500 for wildlife photography? I shoot mainly birds, and tend to crop many of the images. I read about the excellent autofocus capability, fantastic shutter speed, and bottomless buffer of the D500. Does the lower pixel count put the D500 at a disadvantage? Thank you :)
The D7200 has more leeway for cropping though not as much as the higher pixel count might suggest. D7200 files are 6000 x 4000 pixels, D500 are 5568 x 3712. This is only a 7.2% decrease in linear resolution. When it comes to capturing action and emotional moments with wildlife, the AF speed/accuracy, frame rate and buffer advantages of the D500 in my opinion outweigh the small resolution difference.
As much as I love Nikon and my stack of Nikkor lenses, well, I eventually got totally fed up with Nikon and switched to Canon. Thank God!
”As much as I love Nikon and my stack of Nikkor lenses, well, I eventually got totally fed up with Nikon and switched to Canon. Thank God!”
Happy for you…………………….