As mentioned before I'm a D7000 owner, Nikon's top-tier cropped sensor model. I'm keen to upgrade to a full frame camera and had been waiting with bated breath for the release of Nikon's entry-level full frame model, the D600, which I felt didn't quite deliver what I wanted from a model at that position in Nikon's product hierarchy, both in terms of price and functionality. The latest twist in the tale is the introduction of the D7000's successor, the D7100 released a short time ago.
As a bit of background, Nikon have got a point where all of their current models have been released in the space of a little over a year and it looks like there are some baselines being established across the lineup- the Expeed 3 processor (used across all current models) and the 24.7mp sensor on the lower half of the portfolio, for example.
What I find curious is that the new D7100 offers a number of key technical specs which are superior to the D600 despite being from a lower tier. Obviously this isn't unusual if the higher tier camera is an older model but the 600 launched a mere five months prior to the 7100.
My interest is particularly from the viewpoint of HDR photography, which is what I find myself doing, most commonly. Much has been made of the impressive dynamic range of the now-standard Expeed 3 processor in the D600 and its ability to provide 1-shot HDR from RAW as well as an in-camera HDR function. So it's safe to say that the D600 is a very capable HDR camera despite only provide 3-step auto-exposure bracketing (AEB), something I've commented on previously. This does not detract from the oddness that the D7100, with the same sensor and processor, still provides 5-step AEB on a lesser model. Why almost immediately one-up your own new camera, which made much of its HDR capabilities, with one from a lower tier?
So why is this a problem? If the 7100 is superior for HDR, why not just upgrade to that? Because the 7100 is still crop sensor just as the 7000 was, thus forcing HDR shooters into deciding between superior HDR capabilities (not to mention the D7100's increased focus points and built-in WiFi) on a crop sensor or a full-frame model that doesn't quite deliver what it should on the HDR front, the likely result being that, like me, they may either refrain from purchasing altogether or, worse from Nikon's POV, notice that the Canon EOS 6D doesn't force them to choose.
Edited on 17/04/2013
