Nikon's D7200 Bumps Up the Buffer at WPPI 2015

Nikon pulled back the curtain on a the new D7200 DSLR at the WPPI show.

An update to the company’s D7100, the APS-C (DX format) camera boasts a 24.2-megapixel CMOS sensor with no optical low pass filter. It will offer a more generous buffer and faster processing than its predecessor, enabling the D7200 to shoot at 6 frames per second for up to 18 14-bit RAW files (up from the D7100’s six), 27 12-bit RAW images or 100 JPEGs. Drop the camera into 1.3x crop mode and you can bump continuous shooting up to 7 fps.

You’ll enjoy a native ISO range of 100 to 25,600 with an option to expand beyond this range to 51,200 and 102,400 when shooting in black-and-white. The D7200 also sports a 51-point autofocus system that uses Nikon’s new Advanced Multi-CAM 3500II DX high-density system to keep your subjects tack-sharp. There are 15 cross-type sensors to pin down moving subjects, with a center point that works down to f/8. Shutter speeds range from 1/8,000 sec. to 30 sec. with a bulb mode available for longer exposures. The shutter is rated for up to 150,000 cycles.

In a first for Nikon, the D7200 has both Wi-Fi and NFC so you can quickly pair the camera with mobile devices to share images and remotely control the camera.

Nikon’s Picture Control settings are now available in live view mode and can now be previewed in real-time on the camera’s 3.2-inch display. There are a pair of SD card slots and you’ll enjoy an impressive 1,110 shots per charge from the camera’s battery, according to CIPA standards.

On the video front, the D7200 records 1080p video at up to 30 fps or up to 60 fps when in 1.3x crop mode. You’ll have Auto ISO sensitivity in manual mode for the first time to control exposure transitions without altering shutter speed or aperture. There are also zebra stripes to alert you to over-exposed highlights during video recording. Movie recording is confined to 10 minute clips at the highest quality setting in 60p (1.3x crop) mode or up to 20 minutes at 1080/30p at the highest quality setting.

The D7200 ships in April and is available for pre-order now for $1,200 (body) or $1,700 (with AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-140mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR lens).

Joining the D7200 is a new Bluetooth microphone and audio receiver for use with all Nikon camera with a mic input. The ME W1 wireless system records mono audio runs off of a two AAA batteries and offers a wireless range of up to 164 feet. It’s weather resistant and can record stereo sound when paired with Nikon’s ME-1 stereo mic.

The mic ships this month for $250.

Nikon also announced a new, free software utility dubbed View NX-i that will let Nikon shooters browse and organize their Nikon RAW files after they’ve been edited or processed in Capture NX-D software. The new software will be available on March 17.