Canon 70D or Nikon D7100??

[mouselovr]

In the process of purchasing a new camera and looking for recommendations. It is narrowed down to these 2 options, the price point is close enough that it is not an issue so I am looking for some choices from people who have shot both or have had a good/bad experience with one or the other. So sell me!!!

 

[havoc315]

In the process of purchasing a new camera and looking for recommendations. It is narrowed down to these 2 options, the price point is close enough that it is not an issue so I am looking for some choices from people who have shot both or have had a good/bad experience with one or the other. So sell me!!!

Truthfully, the experience between the cameras will be more similar than different.

The 70D has a more advanced live view system, especially with the right lenses. So you will get faster and smoother AF in live view, especially in video. The 70D also has a touch screen, that some people like.

The D7100 has higher image quality, but that's primarily when measured in a lab. If you are using kit lenses, printing 4X6 images, posting on facebook, you may never notice the difference in image quality. But if you are pushing the limits more often, the D7100 will have better dynamic range and less noise. Taking a regular jpg shot in good day light, you won't see any difference. But in low light, or if you are lifting shadows in RAW, you benefit with the Nikon. (I shoot with the Nikon D750 which has fantastic dynamic range. I'm blown away by my ability to lift shadows in post processing).

The Nikon has a 100% viewfinder -- you can see the whole image you are photographing. The 70D is only 98%, meaning you get a bit more on the margins that you don't see in the viewfinder. The Nikon has more autofocus points and may get slightly better autofocus when using the viewfinder. The Nikon has dual card slots. Nikon also has a 1.5 crop factor while Canon uses a 1.6, meaning most of your lenses will be a little wider on Nikon, which is beneficial for landscapes.

The biggest question is the lenses. Though for the most part, they have overlapping lenses... you may find that one brand might have a more specific lens you wanted, or at a better price. For example, Nikon has a fantastic high quality stabilized low weight 300/4. It's a unique lens, and nobody else has anything exactly like it right now. Or you might see that the lenses you want are a bit cheaper in the Canon camp, etc.

They are both mid level/upper level APS-C cameras, they both would serve any shooter well. There really is nothing you can do with one of them, that you wouldn't be able to do with the other. To some extent, you might just want to see which fits better in your hand.

 

[bob100]

In the process of purchasing a new camera and looking for recommendations. It is narrowed down to these 2 options, the price point is close enough that it is not an issue so I am looking for some choices from people who have shot both or have had a good/bad experience with one or the other. So sell me!!!

I haven't used those models but the Canon will give you better "IQ" image quality, better selection of lens, AF, etc.
Of course most professionals use Canon and you would expect the highest level of quality


the 70D is probably cheaper - $679 refurbished which includes one year warranty
http://shop.usa.canon.com/shop/en/catalog/eos-70d-body-refurbished

But go to a store (bring your own SD card) and check them out for yourself

 

[havoc315]

I haven't used those models but the Canon will give you better "IQ" image quality, better selection of lens, AF, etc.
Of course most professionals use Canon and you would expect the highest level of quality

Not sure where you get that. What pros choose in terms of using the 1DX has little to do with the cameras lower down the line..... and Nikon has had Canon beat by objective standards of IQ for a few years now.
Take a look at any DXO testing in the last few years. Superior dynamic range, superior color depth, superior noise performance, and in the case of the D7100 vs 70D, higher resolution (though you can argue whether resolution is part of IQ). Most experts will look at DXO as the basic benchmark -- they score the IQ of the D7100 with a total score of 83 and the Canon 70D at 68. The highest scoring cameras are the Sony A7rii and Nikon D810 at 98 and 97 respectively, and the highest scoring Canon is 5DS at 87 points total. Nikon AF is also generally considered the best, at least on the non-professional cameras, the Nikon tracking algorithms are considered the best there are (see dpreview's analysis). In terms of selection of lenses, Canon and Nikon are pretty darn close.. there are some lenses where Nikon has the better option (such as the Nikon 85mm lenses), there are some cases where Canon has the better option (for example, their 100-400 is considered better than Nikon's 80-400)

But in reality, all these differences are subtle... You can achieve the same photographs with either camera 99% of the time and won't notice the difference 99% of the time. Even the big DXO score differences only matter when pixel peeping at high ISO.

One can pixel peep comparison images here:
http://www.imaging-resource.com/IMCOMP/COMPS01.HTM

At low ISO, you are unlikely to really notice any differences. If you pixel peep an image at 12800, for example, you will see that the d7100 preserves a bit more detail, but the differences are very very tiny.

 

[mouselovr]

Truthfully, the experience between the cameras will be more similar than different.

The 70D has a more advanced live view system, especially with the right lenses. So you will get faster and smoother AF in live view, especially in video. The 70D also has a touch screen, that some people like.

The D7100 has higher image quality, but that's primarily when measured in a lab. If you are using kit lenses, printing 4X6 images, posting on facebook, you may never notice the difference in image quality. But if you are pushing the limits more often, the D7100 will have better dynamic range and less noise. Taking a regular jpg shot in good day light, you won't see any difference. But in low light, or if you are lifting shadows in RAW, you benefit with the Nikon. (I shoot with the Nikon D750 which has fantastic dynamic range. I'm blown away by my ability to lift shadows in post processing).

The Nikon has a 100% viewfinder -- you can see the whole image you are photographing. The 70D is only 98%, meaning you get a bit more on the margins that you don't see in the viewfinder. The Nikon has more autofocus points and may get slightly better autofocus when using the viewfinder. The Nikon has dual card slots. Nikon also has a 1.5 crop factor while Canon uses a 1.6, meaning most of your lenses will be a little wider on Nikon, which is beneficial for landscapes.

The biggest question is the lenses. Though for the most part, they have overlapping lenses... you may find that one brand might have a more specific lens you wanted, or at a better price. For example, Nikon has a fantastic high quality stabilized low weight 300/4. It's a unique lens, and nobody else has anything exactly like it right now. Or you might see that the lenses you want are a bit cheaper in the Canon camp, etc.

They are both mid level/upper level APS-C cameras, they both would serve any shooter well. There really is nothing you can do with one of them, that you wouldn't be able to do with the other. To some extent, you might just want to see which fits better in your hand.

The Pixel peep link you posted was AWESOME! thank you! So really it comes down to personal preference is your opinion from what I am reading and if video is a priority the Canon is the way to go. If I am reading correctly. When I did take a look at the link and compared the two, I do see a little drop but in your opinion would you say that the color difference in the images is the camera/metering system or is it the lighting?

 

[havoc315]

The Pixel peep link you posted was AWESOME! thank you! So really it comes down to personal preference is your opinion from what I am reading and if video is a priority the Canon is the way to go. If I am reading correctly. When I did take a look at the link and compared the two, I do see a little drop but in your opinion would you say that the color difference in the images is the camera/metering system or is it the lighting?

If you shoot a lot of video, it could push you to the 70d. If you do a lot of low light or landscapes, could push you to Nikon d7100.

The slight color differences could be caused by how each camera handles white balance in jpegs.
Do you shoot raw or JPEG? If you shoot raw, you get more control over the final product -- will you accept more noise to get more detail, or smudge more detail to wipe out the noise. A warmer or cooler white balance. (More golden or more blue). How much contrast.

If you are relying on default jpegs, each brand processes the default jpegs a little differently.

The Imaging resource comparison was of default jpegs. If you want to compare minimally processed Raws, you can do pixel peep comparisons on dpreview. IMO the power of each camera is more obvious when you look at the Raws. But the differences are still subtle when comparing cameras across the same class. (On the other hand, compare the Canon 5d3 to the Canon s120, and you'll see massive differences).