Nikon D7100 Performance

Mixed performance for a prosumer DSLR.

The Nikon D7100's startup time was fast, though shutdown was slow due to sensor cleaning. Buffer clearing times were good with a fast card, especially considering the 24-megapixel files, though buffer depths were shallow.

Mode switching was pretty fast.

The Nikon D7100's full autofocus shutter lag when shooting the same target multiple times was a little slower than average for a prosumer DSLR. The D7100 required about 0.25 second for full AF using the center focus point. Enabling the flash raised shutter lag to about 0.3 second, with very little delay was added for the metering preflash. Shutter lag increased to about 0.52 second in the D7100's 51-point Auto-area AF mode. Continuous autofocus shutter lag was only 0.055 second and Manual focus shutter lag was the same at 0.055 second, which is very fast. When prefocused, shutter lag dropped a bit to 0.054 second which is also quite fast for a DSLR.

Full autofocus was much slower in Live View mode, as expected. The Nikon D7100 only offers contrast-detect AF in Live View, which took a leisurely 1.94 seconds to focus in our tests in single-servo (AF-S) mode. (How fast the lens can adjust focus makes a big difference here.) Switching to full-time AF mode (AF-F), shutter lag reduced slightly to 1.82 seconds, which is still quite slow. Prefocused shutter lag was about 0.25 second in Live View mode, which is pretty good for Live View mode.

To minimize the effect of different lens' focusing speed, we test AF-active shutter lag with the lens already set to the correct focal distance. We also use the same Sigma 70mm f/2.8 macro with most interchangeable lens cameras (on all platforms except NX, Four Thirds/Micro Four Thirds and Nikon models lacking an in-body focus motor), to further reduce variation, and because our tests showed that focus-determination time with this lens was close to the fastest, across multiple camera bodies from different manufacturers. Being an older design with a non-ultrasonic motor, it wouldn't be the fastest at slewing from one focus setting to another, but that's exactly the reason we measure focus determination speed, which is primarily a function of the camera body, vs focus adjustment speed, which is primarily a function of the lens.

Shot-to-shot cycle times were about average, at 0.54 second for Large/Fine JPEGs, 0.53 second for RAW files, and 0.52 second for RAW + L/F JPEG frames. There were no signs of slowing after 20 L/F JPEGs or RAW files, though the D7100 slowed after only 5 RAW + L/F JPEG frames.

Continuous H mode speeds were good for the class and resolution, ranging from 4.9 for RAW+L/F JPEGs to almost 5.9 frames per second for L/F JPEGs. The D7100's 1.3x Crop mode managed just over 7 fps for 15.4-megapixel Fine JPEGs, and just over 6 fps for 14-bit RAW files.

Buffer depth in full-resolution continuous mode was fair with JPEGs at 12 L/F JPEG frames, though with RAW files, buffer depths were shallow for a prosumer model at 5 RAW frames and 5 RAW+L/F JPEG frames. 1.3x Crop mode had significantly deeper buffers at 23 JPEGs and 8 14-bit RAW files.

Note that all JPEG timing was performed with Optimal Quality files and buffer depths/clearing times would likely improve with Size Priority (not tested). Although we didn't test other RAW mode options (12-bit and lossy compressed), Nikon claims you can expect full-resolution buffer sizes to increase by 1 frame switching to 12-bits, and 2 frames switching to lossy compressed.

The built-in flash took 4 seconds to recharge after a full-power shot, which is a touch slow for an SLR.

Connected to a computer or printer with USB 2.0, download speeds were very fast.

Bottom line, the Nikon D7100's performance ranged from below average to quite good in our tests. Startup was fast, as were mode switching, manual and prefocused shutter lag, and continuous mode performance. Autofocus speed however was slightly slower than average, and full-resolution buffer depths were shallow for a prosumer model, particularly with RAW files.

Battery Life
Very good battery life when using optical viewfinder.

The Nikon D7100 uses a custom rechargeable lithium-ion battery for power, and ships with a charger. Battery life when using the optical viewfinder is well above average. Nikon does not specify battery life for Live View mode, but it will certainly be a lot lower. Although battery live is quite good, we still recommend you pick up a spare battery and keep it freshly charged and on-hand for extended outings, or when using Live View a lot.

The table above shows the number of shots the camera is capable of (on either a fresh set of disposable batteries or a fully-charged rechargeable battery as appropriate), based on CIPA battery-life and/or manufacturer standard test conditions.

(Interested readers can find an English translation of the CIPA DC-002 standards document here. (180K PDF document))