# Nikon D7100 slow?



## jenelise (Dec 16, 2013)

Hello.  I'm new here and have a question about my new camera. I previously used a Nikon D3100 and got quite good with it. I have taken a basic photography course and am teaching myself more as I go, with the goal to start building a portfolio in the new year. I just upgraded my camera to a D7100 and it seems so different than what I know. I've figured most things out, but I can't get past how slow it seems. I feel like there is probably some totally obvious setting that I am missing, but I can't figure it out. With my D3100, I can shoot photos one after the other and catch action. The D7100 is so slow after taking the photo that it's been almost impossible to use for anything other than still photos. It doesn't matter what my exposure settings are and does it in auto as well, there is quite a lag between taking the picture and having it show up on live view/being able to take another picture. I've noticed that RAW is worse than JPG, which is making me wonder if it's just because of the large file size? Is it my memory card? I'm not sure what else to try, but I'm sure this camera wasn't meant to operate so slowly. 

Thanks!


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## SnappingShark (Dec 16, 2013)

Look at the release mode dial.

6-7 fps is what you'll get I think.


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## robbins.photo (Dec 16, 2013)

Ok, you'll need to go into your menus and turn off the following:

Auto Distortion Control, Long Exposure NR, Auto ISO sensitivity.


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## SCraig (Dec 16, 2013)

The resolution of a D7100 is much higher than a D3100 hence the files are MUCH larger.  As in probably twice as large.  Hence they are going to take twice as long to transfer, especially if you are using relatively low-speed SD cards.  I use 95 mb/sec SDHC cards in mine and the response time is pretty good.  I'd never recommend using anything slower than that because of the amount of data that is being moved around.


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## D-B-J (Dec 16, 2013)

Check your dial on the top left. If it's on single(s) or continuous low(cl) it won't be at it's max of 6fps.

Jake


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Derrel (Dec 16, 2013)

Some good comments above. Here is what I would suggest: do a two-button reset of your D7100. This web page shows how to do that. it takes like 10 seconds or so. Nikon D7100: From Snapshots to Great Shots > 1. The D7100 Top 12 List > 11. Oh, Shoot! Reset Options - Pg. : Safari Books Online

If the camera is still slow as a snail, the problem is most likely a pokey memory card, so this could easily be like a $15 fix, in the form of a good SanDisk brand 95 mb/second memory card.

In-camera image processing, like auto distortion control, or Nikon's D-lighting dynamic range optimization routine,noise reduction routines, and so on, can tremendously slow down a d-slr, as it is forced to "process and optimize, and only THEN write to memory". The two-button reset will clear the camera of custom function settings which might be slowing things way down.


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## Tailgunner (Dec 16, 2013)

Derrel said:


> If the camera is still slow as a snail, the problem is most likely a pokey memory card, so this could easily be like a $15 fix, in the form of a good SanDisk brand 95 mb/second memory card.



This^ 

I switched over from a D3100 to a D7100 and ran into the same thing. It would take for EVER to write to my memory cards! I'm talking about the time in between shots, once you depress the shutter, you get a green wait light that seems to last forever. Trust me when I say run, drive, or crawl to your local Camera shop and pick up a pair of Pro Scandisk 95MB cards! It was literally a night and day difference! I shoot fast all the time like sports with my D7100, kids Basketball, racing tracks, major league baseball games etc.


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## jenelise (Dec 16, 2013)

Thank you for the suggestions everyone! I turned off the above settings, but it's still pretty slow. I have the cheapest SanDisk card, which was great for the 3100, but apparently isn't going to cut it anymore. I will pick up a 95 mb card this week.


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## Tailgunner (Dec 16, 2013)

jenelise said:


> Thank you for the suggestions everyone! I turned off the above settings, but it's still pretty slow. I have the cheapest SanDisk card, which was great for the 3100, but apparently isn't going to cut it anymore. I will pick up a 95 mb card this week.



I've got all those settings turned on and my D7100 is still quick enough to capture a series of events as demonstrated by my above photos. Anyhow, I started out the same using the same cards from my D3100 in my D7100. Buying the 95MB Pro cards was the best $80 ($35.00X2) I spent for my D7100. 

Now with this said, long exposure shots are another story. If you take a 30 sec long exposure photo for example, it's going to take the camera about the same amount of time to write that info on the memory cards.


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## SCraig (Dec 17, 2013)

Tailgunner said:


> Now with this said, long exposure shots are another story. If you take a 30 sec long exposure photo for example, it's going to take the camera about the same amount of time to write that info on the memory cards.


Only if "Long Exposure Noise Reduction" is enabled.  When that feature is enabled the camera will take a SECOND shot after the first using the same exposure time but with the shutter closed.  It will then use that resultant image as a noise comparison for the first one to try and eliminate a lot of the noise.  If that feature is turned off then the image size is the same as any normal image and takes the same amount of time to write.


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## Tailgunner (Dec 17, 2013)

SCraig said:


> Tailgunner said:
> 
> 
> > Now with this said, long exposure shots are another story. If you take a 30 sec long exposure photo for example, it's going to take the camera about the same amount of time to write that info on the memory cards.
> ...




You don't say, I learn something new every day.


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