Stick with my D7100?

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Stephen
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The D500 is out, does amazing things - I think .... I shoot runners (not literally) and love what I do. Is it worth forking out £1,700+ for a camera that does that little bit more? 10% of me wants it, while the 90% of my Yorkshireness says, "Ney lad, save thi' money!"
 
If we only bought gear when we needed it the makers would go broke in no time:D
 
Or go somewhere in between and get the D7200 ;)

Joking aside the D500 does look a stonking camera. However, for the shots that you take they're not the most demanding on an AF system and as such is the D500 really going to give any more success? Of course there's the slight noise improvement, and the insane AF frame coverage, plus the build quality but only the individual can decide whether these things are worth the extra outlay.
 
Or go somewhere in between and get the D7200 ;)

Joking aside the D500 does look a stonking camera. However, for the shots that you take they're not the most demanding on an AF system and as such is the D500 really going to give any more success? Of course there's the slight noise improvement, and the insane AF frame coverage, plus the build quality but only the individual can decide whether these things are worth the extra outlay.

If I earned money from my photos then I might consider it. Still have lots to learn and I don't think that it will make so much difference. I could finish up taking home 5x the number of images to work through from a race. Thanks.
 
The D7200 is meant to be a huge improvement over the D7100 apparently (?). Without forking out a shed load of hard earned cash I'd go with a D7200 first and see how you get on with that lad.

:)
 
OK, let's be clear about this. Shooting runners is not terribly demanding of either the lens or the camera. Upgrading to the D500 is going to do nothing for your images. And if you were a professional you wouldn't even be thinking of it because there would be no business case. (*)

So it really comes down to how much you want a new shiny shiny to play with. But you knew that already.

If you are wealthy enough that £1700 means little to you, just do it. But you aren't, because you'd have just done it. So, bearing in mind that it won't do anything for your images, ask yourself whether this is the best possible way to spend £1700.


(*) One of my friends shoots runners and gets paid for it. He covers big marathon and triathlon type events. He uses a Canon 50D which is broadly comparable to a Nikon D90 - considerably older than and inferior to your D7100 - but it gets the job done. His shutter count recently went past 700,000.
 
"Shooting runners is not terribly demanding of either the lens or the camera"


It all depends what your expectations are. Don't want to seem defensive, but I don't go out there to "click" and ask for £19.99 for each image. I could go on for a while and explain what the purpose of my hobby is, but I'd just bore you to death. I still haven't taken THE image that reflects what I want to capture, but I'll continue to try. Smiley face thingy




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nothing wrong with the D7100 at all. Sure high ISO is slightly worse than say a D7200 or D500, but not massively so, and the AF performance is pretty good as well.

I got the D500 and traded in my D7200, partly to satisfy my GAS addiction (if I'm honest :D), and partly because I do much prefer the pro layout of the body (almost the same as my D810), and the better AF when using my Tamron 150-600 lens (which is only F6.3 at the long end so needs as much help as it can get). If I could have afforded a 400mm F2.8 or a 500mm F4, then I would probably have stayed with the D7200 instead.
 
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"Shooting runners is not terribly demanding of either the lens or the camera"


It all depends what your expectations are. Don't want to seem defensive, but I don't go out there to "click" and ask for £19.99 for each image. I could go on for a while and explain what the purpose of my hobby is, but I'd just bore you to death. I still haven't taken THE image that reflects what I want to capture, but I'll continue to try. Smiley face thingy




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Very nice pics, and nice to see you doing something that little bit different to the 'generic' running pics. But I still echo what I said before, and what was said by Stewart, they're not hugely demanding on an AF system imo. The only time I really need top notch AF systems when shooting runners is when I shoot the London Marathon and you're having to pick people out of a crowd and get under a second before they disappear back into the crowd again. In scenarios like this I need a system where lock on is instant and accurate, but it is my belief that a good lens helps you more here than the body itself.

It's interesting that you mention that you've not captured the image that you want yet, what exactly is it that you're trying to achieve? Are you sure that the shot is reliant on the AF system used, or is it possibly more down to framing, position, etc etc?

By the way, I'm not trying to talk you out of buying the D500, after all I'm one who always likes shiny new toys ;) But just want to make sure you have the right expectations (y)
 
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It's interesting that you mention that you've not captured the image that you want yet, what exactly is it that you're trying to achieve?

Ready to be bored?

I've taught primary school kids for 42 years. In that time; I have tried my best to inspire them, create an atmosphere where it is okay to fail as well as savour those amazing moments of success. Combining my two loves, running on the hills and photography, I want to be on the other side of the educational process. I need someone who will inspire me, support me and offer technical advice when I need it. My goal is to produce a "book" containing shots from fell racing which capture the essence of the sport. Looking at local courses and clubs in the area, there doesn't seem to be anything to suit. I may be a pensioner, but I ain't shuffling off this earth without achieving my aims.
 
It's interesting that you mention that you've not captured the image that you want yet, what exactly is it that you're trying to achieve?

Ready to be bored?

I've taught primary school kids for 42 years. In that time; I have tried my best to inspire them, create an atmosphere where it is okay to fail as well as savour those amazing moments of success. Combining my two loves, running on the hills and photography, I want to be on the other side of the educational process. I need someone who will inspire me, support me and offer technical advice when I need it. My goal is to produce a "book" containing shots from fell racing which capture the essence of the sport. Looking at local courses and clubs in the area, there doesn't seem to be anything to suit. I may be a pensioner, but I ain't shuffling off this earth without achieving my aims.
Sounds like a great project, and not boring at all.
 
If you've got the money sitting in a dead savings account earning 0.5% interest then you might as well just put it to better use with something that will put a smile on your face.

I bought a mint second hand D4 last week not that I really needed it, but I thought better to have something I'll enjoy than letting it rot in a bank.

I've no doubt the D500 will give you way more keepers as I found the D7100's AF struggled with moving subjects in AF-C mode.
 
If you've got the money sitting in a dead savings account earning 0.5% interest then you might as well just put it to better use with something that will put a smile on your face.

I bought a mint second hand D4 last week not that I really needed it, but I thought better to have something I'll enjoy than letting it rot in a bank.

I've no doubt the D500 will give you way more keepers as I found the D7100's AF struggled with moving subjects in AF-C mode.
Not sure why you struggled with AF-C and moving targets tbh, I found it fine on the D7000, D7100 and D7200 tbh. What focus mode were you using?
 
I had a D7100, still have D7200 and also have D500. There's little to choose between D7100 and D7200 except the shooting buffer is poor with the D7100. If you shoot continuous runs of frames this will drive you mad. But if you shoot single shot most of the time there's little incentive to change to the D7200. There's damn all difference in sharpness with D7100, D7200 or D500.Per-pixel sharpness with D500 makes up for the slight loss in pixel density with the lower pixel sensor.. Both 7Ks have slightly better low iso dynamic range and colour than D500. Once the iso starts to climb above 400 then the D500 is better. I can use teleconverters on lenses that struggled with D7Ks but AF is faster and more accurate on the D500. I never shoot jpegs so I can't really compare but raws from the D500 need a bit of contrast adjustment to looks the same as D7K. The D500 uses a new card format in order to get the claimed big shooting buffer. In other words although the buffer is good, it also relies on being able to dump to the card as quick as the buffer fills up..
In short, D500 advantages are, huge shooting buffer, class leading AF, lower noise and dynamic range that holds up at medium/higher isos. Colour depth and dynamic range take a slight hit at base iso compared to D7K so it looks like base iso is sacrificed slightly to obtain better mid/high iso performance.
 
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I'm still using my D90 I bought new in 2009 and I am looking to upgrade to the D500 too and will be getting one for certain.
 
The images you've posted have little to do with the camera and more to do with you (and are very nice by the way).

It looks as though the equipment you have is up to the job so getting something better won't get you better shots so it makes no rational sense to get anything newer.

However, we are irrational beings and if buying a new camera makes you feel better about things then do it but be under no illusions it will get you better shots.
 
To be fair on the D7100, I was really getting fed up with the buffer not being big enough and after advice on here, "upgraded" mines with faster memory cards (Samsung Pro + 95/90), and that truly solved the buffer issue in a flash. I was genuinely surprised it worked that well. My dilemma is D7100 vs D750, and the memory card upgrade may have swung it in favour of the D7100. May work for you too?
 
To be fair on the D7100, I was really getting fed up with the buffer not being big enough and after advice on here, "upgraded" mines with faster memory cards (Samsung Pro + 95/90), and that truly solved the buffer issue in a flash. I was genuinely surprised it worked that well. My dilemma is D7100 vs D750, and the memory card upgrade may have swung it in favour of the D7100. May work for you too?

Yep, that's one of the things I found out early on. I use the fastest SanDisk I could find. Sticking with the D7000 and 7100 for the moment.
 
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