Just Announced: Nikon D7000 DSLR

[J Brooks]

Nikon announced this camera yesterday, so I decided to check out the specs on it this morning. This looks to be a very nice camera that will fall between a D90 and a D300s. However, I'm not sure that it's an actual D90 replacement. The specs are quite good on this model if I do say so myself, and it's a fairly reasonable price. Some specs are listed below:

Features of Nikon D7000:

16.2MP CMOS sensor
1080p HD video recording with mic jack for external microphone
ISO 100-6400 (plus H1 and H2 equivalent to ISO 12,800/25,600)
Twin SD card slots
3.0 inch 921k dot LCD screen
New Live View/movie shooting switch
Full-time AF in Live View/movie modes
39-point AF system with 3D tracking
2016 pixel metering sensor
Up to 6fps continuous shooting
Lockable shooting mode dial
Built-in intervalometer
Electronic virtual horizon
Shutter tested to 150K actuations
Scene Recognition System (see 2016 pixel sensor, above) aids metering + focus accuracy

Sensor:

23.1 x 15.4 mm CMOS sensor
Nikon DX format (1.5x FOV crop)
16.2 million effective pixels
RGB Color Filter Array
14-bit A/D converter

Autofocus:

39 area(9 cross type) TTL phase detection*
Nikon Multi-CAM 4800DX focus module
Detection range: EV -1 to +19 (ISO 100 equivalent, at normal temperature)
Manual focus [M], Electronic range finding supported

Metering: TTL exposure metering using 2016-pixel RGB sensor*

Matrix :3D color matrix metering II (type G and D lenses); color matrix metering II (other CPU lenses)
Center-weighted: Weight of 75% given to 8-mm circle in center of frame; diameter of circle can be changed to 6, 10 or 13 mm, or weighting can be based on average of entire frame (fixed at 8 mm when non-CPU lens is used)
Spot: Meters 3.5 mm circle (about 2.5% of frame) centered on active focus area (on center focus point when non-CPU lens is used)

The full list can be found here:
http://today24news.com/technology/nikon-d7000-specs-price-review-revealed-154256

I was wondering what you guys think, because I'm seriously considering going with this instead of a D300s and saving myself a little money.

 

[Robert Edmonds]

I bought a D90 at the start of the season, so I was worried about how big of a jump Nikon might do this year with their mid-grade DSLRs. While 16 Mpxls is more that's really with a print going to give you ~1.12X more resolution compared to the d90. In a step away from other storm chasers, I could care less about the higher sensitivity ISO (and care even less about video). However, the ISO 100 vs 200 (I believe with the 90) is something I would like. While more color range is better with 14 bit vs 12 bit, hard to imagine getting much out of it until 16 bit printing becomes standard (currently most printers are 8bit). All in all, yes it's an improvement, but I don't see me jumping to replace my camera, or feel bad that I didn't hold out.

 

[Lanny Dean]

Robert, you can take the D90 down to ISO 100 if you didn't know already.

 

[Robert Edmonds]

Robert, you can take the D90 down to ISO 100 if you didn't know already.

Sorry correct, I wasn't sure how L1.0 converted to iso. So I was doing my comparison off a website that showed the specs side by side. Website must have been off or I miss read.

P.S. I don't mean to put down the camera. I was just expecting a jump in sensor size much closer to the 20Mpx range. I would certainly buy this camera over the d90, now, but just am not as dissapointed as I thought I would be about my purchase.

 

[Lanny Dean]

Sorry correct, I wasn't sure how L1.0 converted to iso. So I was doing my comparison off a website that showed the specs side by side. Website must have been off or I miss read.

P.S. I don't mean to put down the camera. I was just expecting a jump in sensor size much closer to the 20Mpx range. I would certainly buy this camera over the d90, now, but just am not as dissapointed as I thought I would be about my purchase.

I certainly wouldn't be dissapointed with your purchase. The D90 is a GREAT cam in and of itself. I love mine. The only thing I dislike is the fact it does not have any type of weather seals, of course the 7000 has them and a pretty tough body to boot!

I had been keeping an eye out for this cam for well over 4 months now via www.nikonrumors.com and it certainly is an upgrade to the D90 but there are a few issues and concerns I have:

1) D7000 sensor size is 23.1 x 15.4 (Nikon build) The D90 is 15.8 x 23.6mm which is a little bigger sensor (Sony build)

2) D700 has 16.2MP versus D90 12.3MP. The D90 has larger pixels than the D7000 and a larger sensor.

Smaller pixels always means more noise, smaller sensor equals more noise as well period. I am curious to see exactly how well this cam preforms at ISO 800 and above compared to the D90 at the same ISO setting?
In looking at DXO, the D90s noise floor preformed above the D300 at most ISO settings excluding 6400 and it was on par with the Canon 50D.
IMO the D90s noise floor is going to be hard to beat especially with a brand new sensor that they (Nikon) has just come out with and with no real testing on it before launch date, I would be a little worried about possible issues with this first generation sensor. I think I will hold on to my D90 for a little while longer and see if any problems are noted with the D7000.
Of course, I am drooling right now so I might not be able to stop myself from buying it given half a chance! lol

I included a few D90 pics from a couple of shoots that I did...I love the D90!

 

[Wes Carter]

My D7000 arrived today and although I have not had the opportunity to shoot with it yet, I did go over it to try to familiarize myself with the layout. I'll have to give Nikon credit, they got the layout right on this one. Everything is easy to get to and makes sense. It feels very solid and comfortable to hold. But there are a couple of things that will take getting used to for me. They have changed the locations of the 'two finger salute' buttons to return the camera to default settings. I used that a lot, and was able to hit them without looking. I'll be looking for a while, but I'm sure I'll get used to it. Also, the AF select switch is a two position (AF and MAN) instead of three position (MAN, AF-S, and AF-C). There is a push button to select between continuous and single autofocus. That will take some getting used to for me. These might be changes that were already on the D90 and other newer bodies, I'm not sure, but it will take some getting used to for me.

One big plus is the battery charger design. The battery inserts into the charger rather than just sits on top and slides in place like the older ones. This will help me quite a bit since I sometimes charge batteries in my car while driving.

I'll post some thoughts and pics this weekend after I put it through it's paces for those that might might be considering one of these.

 

[Evan Bookbinder]

Wes, I'm heavily learning toward this model as an upgrade to my D200. The reviews have really been stellar across the board and was wondering if you were going to post a follow-up with a review and some photos.

TIA,
Evan

 

[Wes Carter]

Wes, I'm heavily learning toward this model as an upgrade to my D200. The reviews have really been stellar across the board and was wondering if you were going to post a follow-up with a review and some photos.

TIA,
Evan

LOL, I'm slow sometimes!

The more I use the D7000 the more I like it. Ergonomically, it is the best layout I've ever used on a Nikon. Once I used it for a bit and got used to the layout, I can change any setting with ease and without letting go of the camera. Nikon nailed this one.

I've never been one to use presets, but I decided to try out the sunset scene preset. I wanted to try to throw the camera for a loop and shot through the trees in my back yard. I fully expected the camera to try to adjust the exposure because of the trees. I was very pleasantly surprised to see it ignored them and recognized there was a sunset behind the trees:

I shot this fish eagle in Colonial Beach, VA. I bumped up the ISO to 400 to get a 1/500 shutter speed while still having a f/8 aperture to keep it sharp because the eagle was moving pretty quick and I was afraid the auto focus would not track it. But the auto focus never wavered, it tracked brilliantly. The 39 point autofocus is the best I've tried on a Nikon (I've not used any in the D3 family yet):

I tested the low light capabilities also. This was shot handheld indoors at night, ISO 6400:

I'm still learning the menu options on this little rig. It seems you can customize almost anything. I've not had a day I can just sit and learn the camera yet, in fact I have not finished reading the owner's manual yet. But so far I am more than satisfied with the D7000. If I had it to do over, I would order it with no hesitation whatsover.

The only weakness I have found was shooting the eagle with the exposure advance more set to fast. Shooting a RAW plus medium JPEG it filled up the buffer with about 9 shots and slowed down. So I turned it to just shoot a medium JPEG and tried it again. I did not get the 100 shots Nikon claimed. Since I don't shoot much fast action sports anymore it will not be a big issue for me. But if you do shoot sports and need a large buffer to handle the 8fps speed, you might want to step up to the D300s or D700.

The battery life is great. I bought a spare battery and just now recharged the first battery and put the other battery in the camera. I got over 600 shots with a lot of looking at the LCD screen. I think I could have got more shots had I been more reserved with the LCD and did all of my shooting in a shorter time since some of it was drained just sitting in the case on days I did not use it.

I've not tried video any more yet so I cannot comment much there. I hope to have a few days to give it a good run.

 

[Wes Carter]

BTW, I also used a D200 and this was a definite improvement in all areas. The only thing that I had to get used to was the smaller size. I had the battery pack on the D200 for the vertical shutter release and have not yet got the battery grip for this one so it felt tiny at first, but I am used to it now.

 

[Evan Bookbinder]

Thanks Wes!! I pulled the trigger (pun intended) as I couldn't resist the $1130 price after cashback since D200 body via craigslist and my very old canon gear fetched more than that. Woo free upgrade Should arrive Wednesday and I can't wait to try out all the features. Really like that U1 and U2 setting on the dial for the user-customized stuff.

Evan