As a blogger, good quality photos are important. After a ton of research, I purchased my first D-SLR a few years ago – the Nikon D3100, a good starter camera. So when I had the opportunity to try out a higher-end Nikon camera, the D7100, I was all over it.

The D7100 is as close to using a top of the line full 35mm frame camera as you can get. It delivers amazing image quality and highly detailed photos with a 24.1-megapixel DX-format CMOS image sensor. It has a great ISO performance, from ISO 100 to ISO 6400 (expandable to ISO 25600). There’s also a 1.3x crop mode, which downsizes images to about 15 megapixels and extends the reach of your telephoto lenses.

The D7100 comes with full 1080p HD video recording in QuickTime format. The quality of the footage is sharp and the colours are accurate.

The camera’s viewfinder is one of the best you’ll find in an APS-C camera, according to professional reviews. The pentaprism design uses a solid piece of glass to direct the image from the camera’s lens and mirror to your eye.

The D7100 has a ton of shooting options, with many of the camera’s control buttons and dials up top and on the front of the camera body. On the top of the camera, there is a standard mode dial; underneath is a second wheel that controls the drive mode. There is a button to adjust exposure and one to start video recording. There is also a rear control dial, an AE-L/AF-L button, and a control pad that can be used to navigate through menus. On the back, there are buttons to adjust the white balance, image resolution, and ISO.

There’s a switch to change between still photos and video modes. The “I” button allows you to adjust certain shooting settings through the LCD. The rear LCD display is bright and sharp. The menu gives you access to a large list of camera settings. Here’s where you can also launch the menu, change settings, go into playback mode, and delete photos.

The D7100 is a great camera for capturing fast action. It starts and shoots in 0.2-second, and its shutter lag is a short, short 0.05-second, including the time to confirm focus in good light.

I tested out the camera during my son’s hockey games. It was wonderful to see the camera perform in fast-action scenes. It can take six frames per second continuously for up to 100 shots.

Not bad for an amateur! I’d like to learn more about all of the settings which I think would improve my ability to snap some good photos.

Nikon D7100 Key Features

• 24.1MP DX format CMOS sensor, with no OLPF
• EXPEED 3 processing
• ISO 100-6400 standard, up to 25600 expanded
• Max 6 fps continuous shooting in DX mode, 7fps in 1.3X crop mode
• 51 point AF system, 15 sensors cross type
• 2016 pixel RGB metering sensor
• Spot white balance in live view mode
• 1080 60i/30p video recording, built-in stereo mic, mic jack and audio monitoring jack
• Pentaprism with 100% coverage and 0.94X magnification
• 3.2″, 1.2m-dot LCD screen (640 x 480 X RGBW)
• Front and rear IR receivers
• Equivalent water and dust resistance to D800/D300S

Price: The Nikon D7100 retails for $1,159.99 body only and up, with some packages including an AF-S 18-140mm VR lens.