Nikon D7000 Review

I am "sidegrading" to this camera from a D300s. Here are my thoughts after shooting both together for a couple of months.

The worst thing about the Nikon D7000 are its more "beginner friendly" ergonomics. The mode wheel on the Nikon D7000 is too easy to turn accidentally. Everything besides A, S, M, U1 and U2 are a waste for me. This could have been the perfect camera if they only made the buttons exactly like a D300s. The live view switch is too easy to hit accidentally with your thumb, especially if you use the AF lock button a lot (like, if you use it to enable autofocus). Its also too easy to accidentally press the DOF Preview button next to the lens mount as your left hand wraps around the lens. I can't imagine why they moved that button from its spot on the higher end Nikons.

The one true ergonomic advantage the Nikon D7000 has for me are its user modes. This is a HUGE advantage, as the more settings I have to change between shots, the more mistakes I make. I set one of the user modes to manual with auto ISO and mixing ambient shots in with flash shots becomes a total breeze. The smaller size and weight of the D7000 had seemed like it would be a big advantage but it just doesn't feel that great in my hands. I might try the grip to help this. The weight difference between the two is small enough that I don't notice it much and prefer the D300s feel.

I had been worried that the buffer on the Nikon D7000 would run out too easily. I have never gotten into trouble with this and I shoot in 14 bit RAW. The stuff I shoot (typical Dad stuff, some portraits, some landscapes and long exposures), doesn't really require any burst shots, though.

The image quality seems to be about a stop and a half better than a D300s after processing RAW files via Lightroom 3. I would pretty much never go above ISO 800 on the D300s. On the Nikon D7000, I will gladly go to 1600 and will use 3200 about often as 800 on the D300s. This is a big deal to me because it seams I can go without a flash about 50% more often.

The autofocus and metering are a bit better on the D7000, but not enough for me to really care.

Manual focus on the Nikon D7000 is easier, as it gives you arrows in the viewfinder telling you which way to turn the focus ring. D300s only gave you a dot for focus confirmation. Manual focus in Live View seems a bit easier on the D7000. I am not sure why, but it feels slicker. Maybe the screen is refreshing faster? The LCDs have identical resolution, so this could be in my head also.

I love that the D7000 can use a cheap IR remote. The "remote mode" on the D7000 is still a bit of a mess, in that it disables your normal shutter button, but its worth not having to deal with fancy wireless shutter releases and their ridiculous screw-in cables.

So in the end, I like the Nikon D7000 better. Image quality and user modes really cinched it for me.

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