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knorris908
 
 
 
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    4
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    76
  • First review
    February 1, 2012
  • Last review
    July 18, 2013
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  • Average rating
    4.8
 
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  • Answer count
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    October 1, 2010
  • Last answer
    August 14, 2013
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knorris908's Reviews
 
Nikon D7100 DSLR Camera Body: Open up to a world of finer detail with the Nikon D7100, designed without an optical low-pass filter for impeccably-detailed image and video capture. The 1.3x crop mode gives you extra reach from your lens without sacrificing the high resolution quality, and the 51-point autofocus system locks onto your subject for incredibly fast response times. Whether you're a semi-professional or a skilled photographer upgrading to a more advanced DSLR, the lightweight and compact D7100 will keep your creativity on the edge.Memory card sold separately.
 
  • My Best Buy® Elite Plus Member
Customer Rating
5 out of 5
5
Until The D400 Arrives, This Is My New Nature Cam!
on July 18, 2013
Posted by: knorris908
from New Jersey
Okay, I have the following cameras; D300s, D700, D800, & now the D7100. What can I say about the 7100 that made me buy it?
* The D300s had always been my "Birds in Flight" camera until I stumbled-upon the combination of using the Nikon AF-S 300mm F/4 with the Nikon TC-20eIII Teleconverter, which is MUCH easier to manage on flights and hiking than lugging-around a true 600mm F/4 lens. The problem was, the D300s HATED the combo, and even when the autofocus worked, the quality of the photos were atrocious!
* The D700 is my "2nd body" for event photography, and until I got the D800, was the better camera for handling the combo of 300mm & 2x Teleconverter. It was REALLY slow to focus, but the results looked pretty good if you could get the shot....
* The D800 is my primary body for event photography, and does an admirable job with the combo of 300mm & 2x Teleconverter. I just didn't like the idea of taking my primary event body out into the mountains, woods, and swamps! #Oh, and the 4 frames per second speed was okay, but a little painful at times.#
* I bought the D7100 today from BestBuy, and by the time I got it out into the park to shoots some birds, it was already after 5pm, and the sunlight, while very flattering, was not as bright as I usually shoot with the 2x teleconverter in, so I didn't expect much. Boy was I surprised! The camera focused about as quickly as the D800 ever had, and while it is still slower than the lens without the 2X Teleconverter, performed well enough for me to follow small birds hopping about! I'm taking the camera out tomorrow with no teleconverter, and testing the "2x crop mode" which should give me the same field of view as I get with the D700 or D800 WITH the 2x teleconverter, but I'll be starting at F/4 instead of the F/8 I'm stuck with when using the 2x teleconverter.
The photos I've gotten SOOC #Straight Out Of Camera# are noticeably sharper than what I get out of the D300s/D700/D800 without any tweaking, but with my standard settings for each camera, I can get them pretty close. The D7100 just does it without any work! And the color balance issue that plagued the D600 & D800 must have been fixed, as everything looks terrific without any tweaking from the D7100.
I only say that I am still waiting for the D400 because I am accustomed to "pro-level" bodies, and the lack of the basics like dedicated ISO button on top, and the scene modes taking up space are a bit annoying. Also, I imagine that the D400 will not have the small memory buffer problem, and that it will shoot faster than 6-7 frames per second... #Though I have been suffering with the D800's 4 frames per second, so I'm happy for the D7100's FPS performance bump!#
Oh, and the ONE reason why I would want to use this camera over even the D700 & D800 during a wedding is; THE SHUTTER IS SO MUCH QUIETER! Even in "quiet mode" the D800 makes more noise when you are shooting a wedding ceremony. Trust me, when you are firing-off shots during the speaking parts, it is just unnerving to hear "CLACK!" amidst the silence... The D7100's shutter is just SO much less intrusive!
What's great about it: Sharpness of shots, Auto focus performance, Able to handle focusing with Nikon's TC-20eiii Teleconverter easily!
What's not so great: Small memory buffer fills up quickly. (Get the FASTEST SD Cards you can to minimize performance hits!)
I would recommend this to a friend!
 
Other Best Buy Products I Recommend
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Nikon - AF-S Teleconverter TC-20E III 2x Extender Lens - Black
4.3 out of 5(18)
 
 
 
Nikon - AF-S NIKKOR 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR Telephoto Zoom Lens - Black
4.7 out of 5(27)
 
 
 
 
 
Picture Quality
5 out of 5
5
Ease of Use
5 out of 5
5
Features
4 out of 5
4
User submitted photo
User submitted photo
+24points
24of 24voted this as helpful.
 
Store your media on this Dell XPS 8500LE desktop, which features a 2TB hard drive and a 256GB solid state drive to provide ample space for music, movies, games and more. Built-in wireless networking enables simple Web connection.Windows 7 Home Premium preloadedWhich Windows 7 edition is best for you? Compare.This product has been refurbished. Learn more.
 
Customer Rating
5 out of 5
5
Great Deal! Too Bad It Ended
on May 27, 2013
Posted by: knorris908
from New Jersey
Verified Purchase:Yes
This is a welcome upgrade to my previous PC, (Which I have been VERY happy with for years!) in that the LARGE Photo files from my Nikon D800 (RAW files can be 70+MB each) made post-processing my photography jobs literally "slow to a crawl". It took forever for files to off-load (USB2 speeds) from cameras, and the Intel Core2 Quad 2.4GHz CPU was actually under-powered for the first time since I got it. The mouse pointer would lag behind movements because the CPU and RAM loads were so high. Not to mention that each adjustment to an image required a wait time for it to apply and then refresh... But now with this PC, performance is no longer an issue. It might have been better if the 256GB SSD were the original boot drive, but I'm fine with it as the dedicated photo APP and cache drive. I set part of it up as ReadyBoost until I obtain an ultra-fast USB3 Flash drive to take over. Not as efficient as the new INTEL caching method, but it gets the job done, and quite nicely. As for the video card, I had a GeForce 8800GTS in my old PC, and the AMD Radeon 7770 in this DELL actually out-performs it by more that I expected it to in the few games that I play. (World of Tanks, SkyRIM, etc..) My old PC rated an Experience Index of only 5.9, but this one is rated at 7.6 (I upgraded the original, slow hard drive to a larger 512GB Samsung Pro SSD.) and would go up to the CPU & RAM's 7.7 values if I chose to upgrade the Radeon 7770 video card. (Where the under-powered Power Supply makes a difference. I think it is only a basic 450Watt, and the better video cards usually should be run with a QUALITY 600Watt or higher.
Oh, and I don't know if ALL the Refurb Dells came with this, but MINE had a Blu-Ray drive in it instead of just a plain DVD-RW Drive.
The only negatives which had happened with this purchase was that the boot drive had failed to respond the first day I had it, and it looked like I was going to have to return the PC, but a quick review of the Dell Tech support forums site revealed a common BIOS settings change fix which luckily took care of the problem for me. (It IS a pain though to have to worry that at any given time, the boot drive could just "disappear" and that you have to do a funky little dance with the BIOS Drive controller settings to get it to recognize the boot drive again....)
Also, The PC had been "Registered" with Dell by the original purchaser, so it took some discussion with Dell to get it changed to me since I didn't know the original owner's info which is how they determine of you are authorized to update the registration in order to receive tech support or the balance of the warranty. (I happened to get a REALLY nice support person who I think took pity on me, as proof of purchase from BestBuy.com and all the other proof I had that I was the new owner was "invalid", so your experience may vary...)
But the performance for the price of this PC was unbeatable. Even today and with the holiday sales, I've yet to see a comparable configuration, (That INCLUDED the 256GB SSD and a full 16GB of RAM) for even $100 more than I paid for this DELL PC delivered. I'm used to seeing the price I paid for electronics being under-cut almost as soon as a few weeks with it pass-by, so this is a very welcome outcome...
My Best Buy number: 0551236415
My Best Buy number: 0551236415
What's great about it: Windows 7 (Adobe LR4 & Photoshop CS tend to like it better than Win8
What's not so great: Expansion options limited, low-rated powersupply, "Funky" Bios issue with Boot Sequence
I would recommend this to a friend!
0points
0of 0voted this as helpful.
 
Take your laptop on the go with this briefcase that features a padded compartment to guard your laptop against damage and a padded, adjustable shoulder strap for comfortable carrying.
 
Customer Rating
5 out of 5
5
Nice-sized bag with a smart layout
on February 8, 2012
Posted by: knorris908
from New Jersey
My old work HP laptop bag was starting to look a little ratty, so I began shopping for a replacement laptop bag. I had a Bestbuy giftcard and thought that I would use it to offset the cost of a new bag. I thought about upgrading to a roller-bag, but decided to stay with an easy-to-carry shoulderbag. When all was said and done, the Samsonite seemed nicer and more professional than other bags I looked at, but was only 1/3 of their cost. I figred I'd take a chance and just keep it as a "knock-around bag" if I didn't think the quality was appropriate for corporate use. Well I am definitely no longer looking for a bag since this bag is much nicer than I expected. while relatively compact, it has nicely laid-out pockets and good, sturdy feeling zippers, so storage of all my accessories is not a problem. (At first I though that it would never hold all my stuff, but I was very wrong!)
A great buy, and much less expensive than I was expecting!
What's great about it: Build quality, layout, storage capacity for size, okay for busy corporate use if you don't need a "leather look".
I would recommend this to a friend!
+17points
17of 17voted this as helpful.
 
Perform everyday tasks faster and more easily and delve into a wealth of entertainment options right on your PC with Windows 7 Home Premium. Boasting a host of new features and enhancements designed to simplify common computing tasks, Windows 7 opens up a world of new possibilities. Enjoy faster sleep and resume times and the ability to take full advantage of the power and multitasking capabilities of 64-bit PCs. With an abundance of entertainment options, you'll be able to enjoy your favorite photos, music, movies and TV shows wherever and whenever you want.Get more out of your media with Windows 7 Home Premium. Record, watch, pause and rewind TV with Windows Media Center, and access free shows from all over the Web using Internet TV. Create a custom home network easily so you can share images, videos, music and more among multiple PCs running Windows 7, then stream music and videos to other PCs or compatible TVs and stereos using Play To. If you're away from home, Remote Media Streaming grants you access to your music, videos and photos on your home PC over the Internet. Simplify everyday tasks with PC navigation features like Shake, Jump, Lists and Snap, and customize the look and feel of your computer by altering themes and taskbar programs. Prepare yourself for an improved entertainment experience on your PC with this multifaceted operating system.
 
Customer Rating
4 out of 5
4
Went On Smoothly Enough, But Minor Driver Issues
on February 1, 2012
Posted by: knorris908
from New Jersey
The install went quickly and quietly as I was replacing the hard drive with a SSD (Solid State Drive) on my wife's Sony VAIO laptop that came with VISTA (Yuck!). The laptop was performing like a dog, and even though it is restricted to 2GB max. RAM, I knew that I had to be able to do something that would allow her to use it again. (She was ready to toss a high-end 13" Intel 2.4GHz Dual Core laptop in the trash it was so bad!)
Well it performs MUCH faster now due in large part to the SSD upgrade, (There are needless "complications" with running SSDs in XP or even sometimes VISTA.) and aside for the integrated SONY webcam, (Known Windows-7 driver issues) everything works great now. This sub-$100 purchase just saved me from having to buy a new $800-plus comparable ultrbook replacement!
What's great about it: Just works, and better performance & stability than VISTA or XP
What's not so great: Prices for A nearly obsolete Operating System are still unrealistically high... (Not Bestbuy's fault!)
I would recommend this to a friend!
Ease of Use
5 out of 5
5
+27points
35of 43voted this as helpful.
 
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knorris908's Answers
 

need a good camera for volleyball action shots in a gym

which would be easiest to use, have a great flash? often low light in there
Angie: I'm going to do you a favor and tell you what I wish someone had told me when I first started shooting events: GET GOOD GLASS! The camera body is secondary to this in every scenario. My Nikon 300MM f/2.8 while heavier, (I use a monopod for long games.) makes any camera I choose twice as sensitive to light as my Nikon AF-S 300mm f/4 lens. So here is the rub, weight. If you simply CANNOT use a monopod, then get a 70-200mm f/2.8 and try to shoot AS CLOSE AS POSSIBLE. (DO NOT CROP more than you absolutely HAVE to! You are going to be at higher ISOs, and cropping will just make the noise & lack of saturation look worse!) The f/4 versions and slower lenses will simply force you to pump up your ISO to account for the loss of one f/stop of light or more, which will decrease the color and contrast quality of your photos as well as add more noise than the f/2.8 version does.
You really want to avoid letting your shutter speed drop below 1/1000 as a general rule. CAN you get good shots at slower shutter speeds? Sure! But better to not HAVE to because ISO value keeps getting too high!

BODY: I shoot the following in order of preference for low light/hi ISO capability:
* D300s - 12MP Least HI ISO capable (Don't like it above ISO 1600), Fast 8 FPS (Frames Per Second) with battery grip, excellent autofocus capability/speed in bright light, acceptable in poor light. DX-Crop gives the illusion of making my 600mm lens a 900mm lens!
*D700 - 12MP BEST HI ISO capability of my cameras (Like it up to 6400), Fast 8 FPS (Frames Per Second) with battery grip, excellent autofocus capability/speed in bright light, good in poor light. FX-sensor leaves my 70-200mm lens as a true 70-200mm.
*D800 - 32MP 2nd best HI ISO capability of my cameras (Like it up to 4000), SLOW 4 FPS (Frames Per Second) even with battery grip, excellent autofocus capability/speed in bright light, Excellent in poor light. FX-sensor leaves my 600mm lens as a true 600mm.
* D7100 - 24MP very good HI ISO capable (Like it up to 2500), decent 6 FPS (Frames Per Second), excellent autofocus capability/speed in bright light, excellent in poor light. DX-Crop gives the illusion of making my 70-200mm lens a 105-300mm lens.
D7100 considerations: Shoot 6 Frames in RAW & then the buffer fills. If you pace your shooting it's not an issue, but I can shoot RAW files with my D300s for as many shots as I've ever needed. Also the "1.3 Crop Mode" raises the FPS slightly to 7FPS, but again, after the 6th shot in RAW, it slows drastically. Shooting in plain JPEG, you can shoot many more like 24 consecutive shots or something, but I don't shoot in JPEG.)

FLASH: Just like the lenses, spend the money up-front to get the better flash. I love my SB-600 & SB-700 flashes, but when I need lots of light fired rapidly, my SB-910 is the flash I always use.

My suggestion for indoor volleyball based on my shooting indoor cheerleading experience:
Minimum - D300s (If flash is allowed) else D7100 | FAST 16 or 32GB SD cards (i.e. Lexar 600x) | 50mm f/1.8 (For Team/crowd shots) | Nikon AF-S 70-200mm f/2.8 VR/VRII lens | Extra camera batteries | SB-700 Speedlight | 8 minimum AA Eneloop rechargeable batteries (2 sets of 4 For your flash) | A decent camera strap (Don't even take the wrap off the Nikon strap! leave it in the box for resale and get a good Black Rapid "knock-off" strap instead. The Nikon strap "advertises" what you have to would-be thieves, and is a horrible strap to wear for any extended period of time!) Lastly, a CHEAP used backup body (D90, D300, D3000 that you'll keep your wider lens on, and switch to in emergency if your primary camera fails.)

RECOMMENDED - A good, used D3S/New D4 or new D800 | FAST 16 or 32GB SD/CF cards (i.e. Lexar 600x-1000x) | NIKON AF-S 300mm f/2.8 VR or non-VR lens | A Nikon TC-14e Teleconverter (Makes your 300mm f/2.8 a 420MM f/4 for when you can't be on the floor.) | Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8 (For Team/crowd shots) | A decent monopod ($30-$60) | Extra camera batteries | SB-910 Speedlight |16+ AA Eneloop rechargeable batteries | A GOOD camera strap (Don't even take the wrap off the Nikon strap! leave it in the box for resale and get an actual Black Rapid camera rapid-strap instead. The Nikon strap "advertises" what you have to would-be thieves, and is a horrible strap to wear for any extended period of time!) Lastly, a CHEAP used backup body (D300s, D7000 that you'll keep your wider lens on, and switch to in emergency if your primary camera fails.)

Yes, there are other options like the D3200 or D5200, but I'm betting that if you're serious about doing this, that you'll have traded-in either of those bodies for a higher-end/better performing one within the year, so why waste the money?

I hope that this helped you! And yes, I realize this is a decent amount of money, but better to pay once, and have what you need from day one, than to suffer, and either lose interest because you aren't getting the results you want, or end-up eventually re-spending to get what you should have bought in the first place...

To make your wallet feel better: I would shoot indoors with a Nikon AF-S 400mm f/2.8 VRII which costs more than all of the gear I've recommended for you in either scenario COMBINED just by itself! (See what's in store for you?) :-)
10 years, 8 months ago
by
knorris908
   New Jersey
 

which camera I should buy?

which camera I should buy, simple but not too expensive, I gonna use it for my daughter dance, play piano?
Great question.
For me, I wish that I had just gone out and bought my D300s (Wildlife) & D700 (People/parties/portraits) from the start instead of losing money on upgrading. While I agree that lenses are the better investment because they tend to retain their resale value, buying a camera that isn't "what you REALLY want" costs more too since you will likely lose 30-50% or more of what you paid when you trade it in against another camera.
For you I have 2 suggestions:

If your daughter's dance performance and recitals will be in low/poor light, or if using flashes are discouraged/forbidden, I would go with a Nikon D700 if you don't need video capability. Expensive compared to the other offerings, but you will likely not wish to upgrade based on CAPABILITY of the camera (full frame/FX advantage) for quite some time. Just alot yourself some time to learn the camera or take a class or two if capturing your daughter's special moments are really important to you.

If you NEED video and can always use flash, then I would go with the Canon S95 if you are looking at point & shoot pocket cameras. (point & shoots don't often look too good above ISO 400, but the S95 photo quality is passable atup to ISO 800 in my view. Otherwise, I'd go for the D5000 since it's a better camera, and almost the same price as the D3100. The D7000 is twice as expensive, but capable of FULL HD 1080p video, a longer lens is included, and has a second SD card slot so that you can be "SURE" that your little girl's once in a lifetime moments are saved even if one of the cards fail. (I've never had a memory card fail on me WHILE in use, but I'd be devastated if some of my child's special once in a lifetime moments just "disapeared" because a memory card failed...)
Both the D5000 and the D7000 have an "AUTO" mode that makes the camera do all of the calculations for you so that you an just "point & shoot", but you will typically get MUCH better quality photos than with an actual pocket camera. I don't have any real experience with Canon or other brands outside of trying them out in my local camera store to compare features, feel, and photo quality. While I can say that Canon has some excellent photo quality and even better lenses, I just like the form and function of the Nikons better.

My most important opinion: The best camera IS THE ONE YOU BRING! The world's best camera will still miss the shot if don't have it with you because you hate lugging it around, or if it is too much of a pain to twiddle with in order to get it to do what you want... But I highly recommend at least using good training videos or even better, seminars/classes to get the most out of whatever camera type or brand you use. Your daughter will only be at this age once, but the photos can bring you smiles and tears of joy for a lifetime...
13 years, 6 months ago
by
knorris908
   New Jersey