D7100 - storage settings

[luca_m.]

<p>I am finally ready to move on from my D40 to a D7100 camera. :-D I am shooting mostly macro and wildlife.<br>

I am not sure what I should pick as default for file storage on the D7100:<br>

NEF (RAW), Lossless compressed, 12-bit<br>

NEF (RAW), Lossless compressed, 14-bit<br>

NEF (RAW), Compressed, 12-bit<br>

NEF (RAW), Compressed, 14-bit<br>

How much better is "lossless compressed" from "compressed" - would one actually notice the difference between the two? Also, is the 12 / 14 bit noticeable? In case it is, then why leave the 12 bit option?</p>

<p>Thanks,<br>

Luca</p>

 

[ShunCheung]

<p>The difference between lossless and (lossy) compressed is pretty big. The difference between 12 and 14 bit capture is small.</p>

[richsimmons]

<p>+1. Just bought the D7100 myself. Lossless 14 bit is really good. Files are relatively large, make sure you have a lot of disc space.</p>

[rodeo_joe1]

<p>Luca, if you haven't committed to the D7100 yet, you might want to reconsider. Macro and wildlife are both areas where small formats excel, and the smaller the format, the greater the advantage. This shows in terms of getting greater depth-of-field for macro subjects and the comparative cheapness and lightness of telephoto lenses to get high magnifications. There are some great four-thirds cameras out there, and even some superzoom bridge cameras can give terrific results.</p>

<p>A camera body is only a tiny part of the gear needed for macro and wildlife shots. A decent tripod, macro lens, bellows, flash equipment and wide aperture tele lens could easily cost 3 times the body price.</p>

<p>Just sayin'.....</p>

<p>Anyway, to answer the question. Memory cards and computer storage are both cheap these days, so why compromise on the quality of your images? If 14 bit lossless compressed RAW is the highest quality available on the camera, then use that. It's really a no-brainer.</p>

[ShunCheung]

<p>Both the D7000 and D7100 have fairly small memory buffers, compared to the D300 I used before. Therefore, starting from the D7000, I have been using lossy compressed RAW to reduce image file size, speed up the memory write time and maximize buffer availability. On the D300, D700, and D800(E), I use lossless compressed RAW.</p>

<p>In reality, image quality difference between lossy and lossless compressed RAW is essentially negligible. Nikon compressed the bright areas such that the difference is largely not visible to human eyes. I also have a hard time telling the difference between 12 and 14-bit capture. Memory cards and disk space are indeed both cheap in these days. As a general best practice, I tend to use lossless and 14 bit, unless I need to minimize file size; in that case I wouldn't hesitate to use lossy compressed and 12 bit, mainly on the D7100 and D7000.</p>

[t._zenjitsuman]

<p>Shun I have 32gb Sandisk Extreme SDHC 45mb/s memory cards, but for the D7100,<br>

For buffer considerations what settings do you recommend I use?</p>

[ShunCheung]

<blockquote>

<p>For buffer considerations what settings do you recommend I use?</p>

</blockquote>

<p>It highly depends on the type of subjects you shoot. Casual photography will be quite different from landscape, which in turn will be very different from sports, animal action.</p>

<p>I am finalizing photo.net's D7100 review, and I'll post some info here. I use my D7100 for a lot of birds in flight. If you shoot studio still subjects, your requirements will be different. I tend to use 14-bit lossy compressed with AF-C and either 1 or 9 AF points, depending on the size of the bird.</p>

[luca_m.]

<p>Thanks guys. Got the D7100 in my greedy hands. :-) How heavy it is, compared to my old camera! I think I'll keep lossless 14 bit as my default.<br>

While I'm waiting for my Sandisk 32GB extreme pro SDHC, I tried using the card in my current D40: 8GB Acumem SDHC class 6. I am getting an "Err" on the D7100. I'm guessing the 8GB card is not compatible with the D7100?</p>

[luca_m.]

<p>It seems as though the Acumem card does not work with the D7100. I tried formatting it, and an error message pops up about the card being defective. I've used this 8GB card for years (and until yesterday) on my D40, never had one problem. <br>

Nikon website recommends using at least a class 6 card for movie recording, so I thought this card <em>should</em> work just fine, at least for storing pictures. Must be a compatibility issue. Looking at the Acumem card I can't see any reference to UHS-I (new standard?), maybe this is the problem.<br>

I think I'll get a Sandisk card locally, just to make sure the camera is OK. :-)</p>

[ShunCheung]

<p>Theoretically, any SD card should work fine with the D7100, but some are going to be defective. Today, class 10 really doesn't mean anything any more; even the slowest new SanDisk cards on the market today are class 10.</p>

<p>If you shoot a lot of action and need to fast write time, get the SanDisk Extreme Pro, 95MB/sec. Otherwise, if you mainly shoot still subjects or a slower frame rate, I would definitely use lossless compressed RAW and 14 bits. Any 45MB/sec or even 30MB/sec cards will get the job done; those are all class 10. Today, UHS-1 (Ultra High Speed) is the symbol for high speed (the U-shape symbol with the digit 1 inside), but still, not all UHS-1 cards are nearly as fast as the theoretical 104MB/sec speed.</p><div></div>

[luca_m.]

<p>Thanks for the info Shun, much appreciated. The Extreme Pro 32GB 95MB/s is the card I have on order. I'll probably buy a second one today, to test if the camera is OK. After all, the new camera has two slots... :-D</p>

[luca_m.]

<p>I just wanted to report back that the camera works perfectly with the Sandisk Extreme Pro card. Wow, what a difference from my old D40. A lot to get familiar with. Thanks everyone.</p>