Nikon D7200 First Shots posted: A peek under the hood at our initial lab test sample images

 

 

The long awaited successor to the popular Nikon D7100 has just touched down in our lab, and we wanted to get you our First Shots without delay! The big story with the D7200 is a big increase in buffer depth over the predecessor, granting sports and wildlife shooters greater image capture ability for burst shooting.

We'll take a closer look at that and all the other major changes in our review to come, but for an initial glance at still image quality as ISO rises you can use our First Shot lab samples of our Still Life test target. As most of our regular readers know, this also allows you to compare the D7200 to its predecessor or any other camera we've ever tested in our Comparometer (for default in-camera JPEGS). Our Lab Samples page also provides access to the associated RAW files for your downloading and analysis.

To whet your appetite for comparisons, below are a few 1:1 crops from our lab samples compairing the D7200 to the D7100 as well as the Canon 7D II and the Sony A77 II at ISO 6400.

 

Nikon D7100 shown above / Nikon D7200 shown below

 

ISO 6400 is a modern telling point, as it's often the setting that really separates the good cameras from the crowd. At least with default settings and in-camera JPEGS, the newer Expeed 4 processor on the D7200 is clearly a lot better at controlling noise while still preserving fine detail as on the D7100.

 

 

Canon 7D II shown above / Nikon D7200 shown below

 

At 20.2mp the 7D II has slightly lower resolution than the 24.2mp D7200, and thus the relative apparent size difference of the crops. Once again, at least in this area of our test target, the D7200 appears to be a bit better at handling ISO noise while preserving some fine detail, though the difference is much less than what we see in the previous D7100 comparison above.

 

 

Sony A77 II shown above / Nikon D7200 shown below

 

The resolution is basically the same with these two cameras, but the handling of ISO noise is vastly different. The A77 II at first appears to have less overall noise present, but a closer look shows unwanted mottling artifacts, and some smearing of fine detail. Again, this is just the default in-camera processing with JPEGs, and RAW conversions may yield differing results.

To perform your own side-by-side comparisons please visit our Comparometer, and to view our First Shot lab series please visit our D7200 Lab Samples page, which will also give you access to the associated RAW files for downloading and converting on your own.

One special note to mention with the D7200 is that, while its standard ISO range is from 100-25.600, there are now two extended high settings at 51,200 and 102,400 available, but only as black and whites, and without RAW files, so make sure to check these out on the samples page as well!

[quick links: Nikon D7200 • Lab Samples • D7100 vs D7200 • 7D II vs D7200]
 

 

At 20.2mp the 7D II has slightly lower resolution than the 24.2 D7200, and thus the relative apparent size difference of the