Size comparison of the current models Nikon dSLRs

<p>While it's always best to try out a camera before buying, sometimes it's interesting to see size differences and how control layout changes from model to model.</p>

<p>camerasize.com is a couple of years old but new to me, so I figured it could be interesting to others as well.</p>

<p>Size comparison of the most popular current models Nikon dSLR:<br>

http://camerasize.com/compact/#557,567,486,611,580,509,hd,b</p>

<p>Well, I'd <a href="http://camerasize.com/compact/#543,557,486,567,611,509,580,hd,b">add the D4s</a> just to stop me feeling quite so fat as a D810 user (as opposed to just fat because I'm fat...) I knew the D5500 was smaller than the D3300, but it's impressive by how much. I hadn't realised the D5500's grip overhang has disappeared, either. The side view does show why a D750 felt quite so weird to me - though from the top, it's scary seeing how thin the body of a D750 (and D5500) is. I don't think I realised the D810 had such sloped shoulders compared with the others - the drive mode dial is really at a jaunty angle.<br />

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I'd seen the site before, but interesting to have another look!</p>

<p>Gosh, what a handy App!</p>

<p>Well Andrew, I've just inherited a D3S and it looks like Godzilla next to the rest...:-)</p>

<p>That was fun. :)<br>

Interesting there are no images for the left sides of any of the D8xx series.</p>

<p>Just for fun: added the D4S, F6, Leica S, Leica M, and Sony A7II:</p>

http://j.mp/1KHKvGa (doesn't seem to preserve the intended order)

<p>That F6 finder looks terrific</p>

You guys did notice that you can put lenses on the bodies as well?

 

http://camerasize.com/compact/#491.5,611.322,291.327,ga,t

<p>Dieter, you can adjust the camera positions using the arrows above the models.</p>

<p> </p>

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<p>Dieter, you can adjust the camera positions using the arrows above the models.</p>

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<p>I did that - twice actually - but the didn't stay put in the order I wanted, except for the D4s. </p>

<p>I've just got myself a D7200 after using a D700 and D800, and to be honest the D7200 doesn't actually <em>feel</em> much more compact or lightweight. I think the lens has a lot to do with it. Stick a big or weighty lens on almost any camera and you're going to have an unwieldy lump in your hands.</p>

<p>Even the 18-140mm kit lens on the D7200 makes it a bit lens-heavy and cumbersome. So just looking at a camera's profile will tell you next-to-nothing about its handling.</p>

<p>RJ - interesting. I've handled a D7200 in a store, but not next to my other cameras. I did use someone's D7000 immediately after my D700 and it felt tiny - and the D750 feel pretty tiny compared with a D810.<br />

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I'm actually surprised the S2 isn't bigger (although it's not exactly a 645 sensor); my Pentax 645 is relatively huge. And an M3 (Leica, not BMW) is surprisingly heavy and unwieldy, in my brief experience.<br />

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Do you think it's interesting that nobody has thought to add the Df, which as far as I know is still "current"? :-)</p>

<p>Df added ;-) http://j.mp/1HKMVBl</p>

<p>@Andrew: the Leica M body has hardly any weight or size advantage over a DSLR - in particular not if one adds the EVF and body grip to get the full functionality.<br>

The S2/S have 30mm x 45mm sensors; many "645 digital cameras) are about 33mm x 44mm; film 645 is 41.5mm x 56mm.</p>

<blockquote>So just looking at a camera's profile will tell you next-to-nothing about its handling</blockquote>

<p>True - I would have never guessed how poorly the D7000 feels in my hands from looking at the dimensions and the images alone. Quite surprised how well the D5500 works - though there's very little space for the fingers between grip and bayonet "dome". D750 suprised me as well - the deep grip and narrow body helps the ergonomics - too bad the control layout doesn't.</p>

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<p>True - I would have never guessed how poorly the D7000 feels in my hands from looking at the dimensions</p>

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<p>I used the D7000 on one occasion and it felt cramped to me. Can anyone comment on any body/handling differences b/w the D7000 and the 7100/7200? Any <em>(subjective)</em> improvements?</p>

<p>Coming from a D300 and D700, it didn't take me very long to get used to the D7000. The D7100 maybe a slight improvement from the D7000 as far as handling goes, but all three (including the D7200) are about the same size. I have all three. The key is the size of the right grip.</p>

<p>But when I tried some Sony and Fuji mirrorless cameras recently, I found them all too thin and too small. The mirror increases the thickness such that even the D7000 series has a better grip. Likewise, I don't like the Df, Olympus micro 4/3 bodies and Nikon 1 mirrorless. I never tried the Nikon V2 much, but its grip seems better.</p>

<p>Chip, I have both a D7000 and a D7200. The D7200 is a slight improvement over the D7000 but it isn't huge. The sculpting is a little different but the grip to lens distance is still tight and the overall height (read that, how many fingers will fit on the protrusion) is the same. </p>

<p>I came from a D200 with an MB-D200 grip on it so I was a little lost until I added a grip to the D7000. That helped immensely with overall comfort but added significant weight. I'm OK with the extra heft and will be 're-gripping' the D7200 shortly. With lenses like my Tokina 12-24 F4.0, my knuckles hit the lens on the D7000 without the grip installed. With the battery grip installed, I can relax a bit and not overreach around and towards the lens in order to feel like I've got a good hold on it. It's just the new normal and after a while, it's all I know. Now the D200 feels like a beast.</p>

<p>Tom</p>

<p>Thanks Shun and Tom. I shoot a D300 and the natural successor for me would be in the D7k series. I did hold a D5500 the other day, and it seems to have the new shape Nikon used for D750. It felt pretty good, so I am hoping Nikon incorporates something similar for D7300. Of course, we do also adapt and I am guessing I would also be able to get comfortable with a 7200 if I owned one.</p>

<p>The D7100/D7200 is slightly wider than the D7000. But as Shun said: the key is the size of the grip. To which I would add - not only the size but also the shape. The D7000's grip is too narrow and too "squarish" - instead of fitting into the fingers/hand, the fingers end up pinching the grip - which at least for me caused fatigue and cramping within minutes. On the D7100/D7200, the grip is more rounded. The position of the AE-L/AF-L button was too close to the viewfinder on the D7000 - I shoot left-eyed and could hardly get my thumb in there. The D7000 just was too heavy for its size and shape. Luckily, the small improvements made on the D7100 at least make the camera fit my hands better - though its far from feeling good. The smooth rubber is also not a favorite of mine.</p>

<p>The more I use the D7100, the more I resent the entire control layout with the PSAM dial on the left, the ISO button in an impossible position - there's way too much that needs left-handed operation or even two-handed one. I will never understand why why a PSAM wheel is preferable to a mode button - yet Nikon choose to go that route. To me there's absolutely no advantage to having that dial - and the only one I can think of is of no importance to me (seeing the mode I am in without the camera being turned on).</p>

<p>With the D300, D700, D7100, and D810 I have now four Nikon cameras, with three differing so much in the details of handling that I am constantly confused as to where something is hiding. Switching from the D300 to the D700 poses no problems whatsoever (though the D300 would benefit from having a level as well); but even the D810 is sufficiently different (mostly better - lets call it natural progress) from those two to confuse me. Why there needs to be a totally different way of doing things in the D7100 I do not know.</p>

<p>The D300/D700/D810 feel right to me (with the D810 being the most comfortable to hold) and the D7100 layout just all wrong. Not only does Nikon choose to move the cheese with every new camera - they also choose not to be consistent on a much larger scale. I assume it has to do with cost-cutting - though I don't understand why a PSAM wheel costs less than a mode button.</p>

<p>The small "width" of the D7100/D7200 also gives me the same trouble already mentioned above by Tom - the fingers hitting the lens (in my case, the 80-400). I had to add the grip to the D7100 to be able to handle that combo somewhat comfortable - I have no problems doing so on the D810 without the add-on.</p>

<p>And no - the D7K is not the "natural" successor of the D300 series - it's just what came next. And while the technology certainly has improved, the handling is a gigantic misstep (can't even say backwards because IMHO, there's never been a Nikon camera that's such an ergonomic disaster - save the Df, which indeed in in a league all of its own).</p>

<p>Of course Dieter, but the natural successor <em>for me</em> is something I am qualified to determine ;)</p>

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<p>Of course Dieter, but the natural successor <em>for me</em> is something I am qualified to determine ;)</p>

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<p>Certainly - I should have added "for me" as well ;-) Though my fall-back position is that everything I write is "my opinion and my view" anyway - I never intend to speak for anyone but myself.</p>

To each his/her own, of course. But aren't we putting to much weight on a little detail such as these minute differences in grips, being a bit more or less square, or a few mms difference in height or width? For me, as long as you can hold a camera, it works (and i have used a few that you simply cannot hold, but need to put on a tripod. Those are no fun to carry either. But still fun to use.) Switching from one to another is as easy as switching from writing with a pen to writing using a computer keyboard: effortlessly, because you know you are using one or the other. Much more important, i'd say, and by far is how it delivers what i need to use a camera for.

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<p>For me, as long as you can hold a camera, it works</p>

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<p>Certainly - and the D7000 for me falls in the category of camera I can't hold comfortably - so I am not going to hold one at all. For Nikon, that was a loss of the sale of two new cameras - since at the time I was fully prepared to walk out of the store with two D7000 bodies and because of the screwed-up ergonomics, walked out with none at all. I really don't care about the millimeters and the size and shape of the grip - I handle the camera and if it doesn't feel right, then it's a - perhaps decisive - count against.</p>

<p>Of course, making a camera that fits all kinds of hands large and small etc. is no easy feat - and I am quite sure there are many that didn't/don't like the feel of the D300, for example. But at least for me, smaller usually doesn't mean better.</p>

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<p>But aren't we putting to much weight on a little detail</p>

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<p>It may just be a few mm, but little things can be big things :)</p>

<p>To some extent, your point is well taken. I have a Coolpix A, and I adjust my handling to the camera. If I am shooting with my FE2, I make a different adjustment. With a main body DSLR, I am going to be more particular. Depending on what lens I am using, the camera grip might have a significant impact on my capability and it will almost certainly have an impact on my enjoyment level. </p>

<p>Dieter: Very much agreed about the left-handed thing (which won't be news to people who have heard me rant on this before). I always believed that Nikon put a mode dial on cameras that have lots of scene modes, because it would be a bit hard to find the mode you wanted with the mode button and scroll wheel if you had a long list. With the four "creative" modes on the "pro" cameras, it's not an issue. Though I have to say I switch modes very rarely, and would be perfectly happy reprogramming the button to something more useful.<br />

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I, too, had my fingers pinched by a D7000, but I have large and chubby hands. I'm slightly surprised that I felt a D4's grip was so deep (I could barely reach the buttons by the mount) - but that may have been my hands in the wrong place. My F5 never troubled me (well, the vertical grip is a bit vestigial, but the normal one is fine).<br />

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But then I tried a 5D3 and found it unnaturally awful - partly because of the need to dislocate my thumb to reach the rear scroll dial (which is always a feature I actually envied on Canons). I guess it's what we're used to. I've yet to use my RX100 enough to comment on it much, but it seems to be trying very hard to slip out of my fingers and I'm forever lost in the menu interface, so I conclude I'm a long way from used to it right now. For some reason I didn't seem to have handling problems with an Eos 620, a Pentax 645 or a Voigtlander Bessa R, but maybe they're just so far from the digital cameras that I don't see the weirdness. Shame about the 5D3 experience, though - it's scaring me off my long-term plan of getting an Eos 3 so I can play with the eye-control focus.</p>

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<p>But aren't we putting to much weight on a little detail such as these minute differences in grips, being a bit more or less square, or a few mms difference in height or width?</p>

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<p>Ergonomics is more important than what the manufacturers think. They put their faith in design more so than usability.</p>

<p>It also becomes a lot more important as the amount of time you are going to use it increases.</p>

<p>I used to shoot weddings that were 12-15 hours of shooting. I was on my way to pick up one or two D7000 when it was introduced because it was light and DX lenses are smaller and lighter as well (at least in theory). Specs sounded great and I did use D70s back in the day and I knew they were about the same size. Well, they're not. The D7000 is smaller (not as wide) and there was not enough room between the right grip and the lens mount. Not being able to hold the camera comfortably is a no go for long shooting days.</p>

<p>At work I have a D600 and that body size works fine for me. It's not heavy as the pro models but I wish Nikon could understand that they have to make the cameras and lenses lighter. Carbon fiber, titanium - whatever it takes. Low weight is important.</p>

<p>Another weird thing about the D7000 is that they moved down the "arrow navigator". Now looking at the D7100 and D7200 I see they moved it up for each iteration. So now it's back to where it has been all the time on the D700, D800, D600, D300 and even the old D70s I was talking about. What's up with that?</p>