Comparison

If our Nikon D7100 review has made you decide that it’s the right DSLR for you, but want to be sure it is the right option against its peers, we’ve taken a closer look at how it compares against its three closest rivals.

Canon EOS 7D

£1060 body only

Resolution

With 24.1MP on its sensor next to the EOS 7D’s 18MP, the Nikon D7100 is clearly the better choice for enlargements and extreme cropping.

ISO range

The EOS 7D matches the D7100’s standard ISO 100-6400 range, although the D7100 has an ISO 25,600-equivalent extension, next to the EOS 7D’s maximum extension setting of ISO 12,800.

Continuous shooting

This is perhaps the EOS 7D’s main advantage over the D7100; its 8fps burst mode is faster than the 6fps offered by the D7100 at its full resolution setting.

Autofocus

The EOS 7D’s 19-point AF system is impressive in that each point is of the cross-type variety. The Nikon D7100 only has 15 cross-type points, but 51 in total.

Pentax K-5 II/ K-5 IIS

£860 body only

Resolution

Although both cameras lack an anti-aliasing filter, the 24.1MP sensor inside the D7100 manages to resolve more detail than the K-5 IIs’s 16.2MP alternative.

ISO range

The K-5 IIs just has the edge here, starting at ISO 100 and ending at ISO 12,800, with extension settings to ISO 80 and ISO 51,200 equivalents.

Continuous shooting

The K-5 IIs offers a 7fps burst mode at full resolution, a full frame faster than the 6fps option on the Nikon D7100 (although the D7100 manages this in its 1.3x crop mode).

Autofocus

The D7100’s 51-point AF system outguns the 11-point system on the K-5 IIs, with 15 of the D7100’s points being cross type compared with only nine on the D7100.

Sony A77

£830 body only

Resolution

The Sony A77’s 24.3MP sensor offers slightly more pixels than the D7100’s 24.1MP, although this difference isn’t significant enough to present any real benefits.

ISO range

The A77’s ISO 100-16,000 range is very slightly narrower than the ISO 100-25,600 (equivalent) range offered by the D7100, making it less suitable for low-light shots.

Continuous shooting

The A77 can shoot up to 12fps at its full resolution, while the D7100 can only manage a 6fps burst mode at full resolution (7fps in its 1.3x crop mode).

Autofocus

The D7100 walks over the A77, with its 51-point AF system eclipsing the A77’s 19-point counterpart and saturating more of the frame.