Nikon D7000 Worth the wait and upgrade

I had the Nikon D40 for awhile and heard about the Nikon D7000 rumor early 2010. I knew my next dslr would be the D90 or better. What I wanted was the dual scroll wheels and 1980x1080p video recording features and this totally delivered. Also a bump in megapixal and the new cmos sensor with better iso for low lighting would sweeten the deal. I carried over the Nikon 18-200vr, 50mm 1.8 and 35mm 1.8 from my old D40.

Photos:
I been shooting this camera since the first week of November 2010 and have taken about 4000 shots/some movie clips. At first I thought the image was a little soft. The poster on this Nikon D7000 forum told me how to fixed it in the menu and all is fine now. I am finally getting night shots, when I did night photo stroll with my friends the D40 was too slow and my iso skill back then wasn't great. Since I gotten this I played with almost every buttons and setting and actually shot aperture priority now, I been using the Nikon present for the D40.

Movies mode:
I am still learning this, getting things to focus on the fly. It does continuous autofocusing, but not as zippy as the Sony A33 I played with. Overall the movies I made are fun, but in no way anything you see on blu-ray 1980x1080p. I find that I do a better job of manual focus and it is much quieter. I plug an external microphone to this and it really is a benefit to filming with audio for less background noise.

Positives:
+Great photos, Sony newest CMOS is good for low lighting.
+Camera Body motor, I have a 50mm 1.8 that I can finally use.
+ISO looks very good, once I leave 1600, I can notice some different
+more external buttons, entry level camera like the D40 uses the submenu too much.
+Bigger body and sturdier magnesium alloy material, I like that in my hands with the rubber insert.
+LCD screen is much improved, now I do know if a shot is good or bad.
+Live view photography, I don't use it much but I like the option too.
+Nikon Service, I called about the stuck pixel in Movie mode, they said wait for the firmware, and it got fixed.
+Nikon ViexNX is good for quick adjustment.
+1080p 24fps Movie mode with continuous auto-focus(like I said not as zippy as Sony, but much quieter) I made a few youtube videos now.

Neutral:
Battery is bigger and more expensive then before. I Since I record clip more it is hard to compare to the D40 which just took pictures. I get 350-400 shots before I recharge. Some people claim 1000 shots per charge, but that is not me. My 4000shot has
has 5-6 charges already.

Negative:
-GPS, if the Sony A55 with the same cmos as this can have one for cheaper, why not the D7000.
-I was hoping it be around $1000. The Sony A33 and A55 are much cheaper, with the same cmos.

Overall I like the pictures that I got from the Nikon D7000, and all the external layout. I can bracket shots with ease, for HDR editing photoshop of course. I don't have to go into the submenu to turn on the remote. I even used the continuous burst for once. The Nikon ViexNX is a good software for quick fix like for contrast and sharpening.

It is no way a Lightroom or Photoshop replacement, nope. It can edit video too, but I just use the Window Media player on Win7. I added the SB-700 to this camera and the two work well together, ie the wireless flash. I have/carry this camera around me like a cellphone.

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Nikon D7000 Fantastic Camera

I love this camera - that's the bottom line for me. I'm taking a big step up from my first digital camera, the Nikon D40 which my husband wanted so he could start digital photography, and I could not be happier with my choice.

However, I think it would be a waste of money for any one not familiar with the adjustments we used to routinely make with 35mm SLR film cameras. The Nikon D7000 can certainly function as a fine point and shoot. But why spend almost twice as much on this over the lighter D3100 if you just want to point and shoot, and maybe edit with PhotoShop or some such?

For me, it's worth the difference because I want the freedom to quickly and easily make adjustments such as setting aperature or shutter speed to freeze or blur action; adjust the white balance on the fly for what I want the image to be; adjust the autofocus field and metering to suit the particular situation; switch from single shot to continuous, etc. The Nikon D7000 puts all that in menus and sub-menus like the inexpensive Nikons, but it also puts it out right on the camera body, available through just one button and the turn of a wheel.

Also, this ended up being just about as inexpensive for me as the Nikon D3100 because I would not have been satisfied with the kit lens on the D3100 - and replacing it would have been more expensive than using all the wonderful Nikon lenses I have left from the film days - WHICH NOW ALL WORK BEAUTIFULLY ON THE D7000. (Of course, I did get my D7000 for $1,199, not the current prices.) The inexpensive Nikons keep down weight and cost by not including a focusing motor in the camera - you have to rely on one in the lens. The D7000, like other top of the line Nikons, includes its own focus motor. Nice little bonus with the D7000 is its treatment of my old A1 lenses.

I have some optically very good, and very fast, A1s. With the Nikon D7000, I can program it to recognize them - with just the push of a button and turn of the wheel again. All I had to do was assign a lens number to each of the lenses and provide the focal length and maximum aperture. Now I can use them with no trouble, I just have to focus them as always. And the switch to go from autofocus to manual focus on the old lenses, or an autofocus lens that can't effectively autofocus in the particular situation (like my autofocus trying to pick up a tiny hummingbird in the middle of a rose bush this morning) is conveniently located by the side of the lens where my left hand would be going any way to grab the focus ring for manual focus.

This is one really sweet camera. It will do whatever you want. The controls are easy and simple to understand if you have the background in photography - or want to learn.

As I said, I think people are wasting their money if they buy this just because it is the new, hot camera when it is really more than they need. But, if you want to be able to control the camera settings, and do it quickly without having to mess around with the camera, this is great.

NOTE, after reading other reviews. Nikon DSLRs have never had great video, and this doesn't seem to be an exception - if you want a video camera, get something else. As for complaint about the manual, I think it goes back to my comments about needing to have some SLR experience or being willing to learn. I found the manual completely understandable - it generally even explained each function a couple of times if you read all the way through the several hundred pages of manual. Best way I've ever found to deal with this is sit down with the manual and the camera and really work my way through every setting, button, and dial so I know what I have.

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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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