Nikon D7000 16.2MP DX-Format CMOS Digital SLR with 3.0 Inch LCD and 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6 AF-S DX VR ED Nikkor Lens

See all shipping options

by: raviendha (United States)
on: Friday, 29-October-2010

I owned the D40 for 3 years and while I loved it, I am still a newbie. After I got the D7000 I told my friends I just bought a very, very expensive point & shoot camera! But, that is ok. Ill be taking photography classes soon and it seems like a camera that I can grow with for a long time. I also got the 70-300mm lens in addition to the one that came in the kit so Im set for a while. (Well, for a little while. Still want a macro, wide angle, etc., etc., etc.)

Just using the auto or pre-programmed settings makes outstanding pics. I was blown away with how well the photos turned out in low light. I took a shot of my 7 years old daughter in bed with just a small lamp on the other side of the room. Much, much better than I ever achieved on any other camera in low light. And the shots outside - unbelievable. I lucked up with one picture of my Rhodesian Ridgeback falling asleep in the sun. Her colors were so vivid she looked better in the picture than she does in real life!

I am not experienced enough to go into all the technical details but I think its already been covered pretty well by people much more qualified than I am - and Im sure there will be more soon. However, if you want a really nice camera that takes fantastic photos with very little photography knowledge AND one you can grow with... then this is the one to get. I LOVE IT!

by: RonAnnArbor (Ann Arbor, MI United States)
on: Wednesday, 27-October-2010

First, let me say that for the last (almost) two years I have been using the Nikon D700, and occasionally the D300s and D90 as a backup.

When I saw the specs and reviews for the D7000 I knew I had to try it out -- and guess what -- I havent used my D700 at all since getting my D7000...

It feels great. Its light, but well made, feels secure and not at all plastic-y The controls and buttons are all terrific and a huge improvement from the D90.

The camera, while easy to use, has all the bells and whistles, great image quality, and a good user interface. In fact, the shots look better out of the camera than with the D300s. In reality, the image quality is virtually indistinguishable from the D700 up to ISO 3200, and only slightly better on the D700 upto about 6400. Theres no comparison higher, the D700 wins hands down. Sure the D700 is better at low-light shooting with its full size sensor -- but the D7000 absolutely has surprised me in this area as well.

It has features you expect in Pro cameras, and I wouldnt be surprised to see the D7000 become the back-up camera of choice for full frame shooters.

That being said -- the 18-105 lens is pretty week. I already have a great selection of DX lenses including the amazing 17-55 2.8 lens (there just isnt anything that looks and feels and works as well as that lens on an FX), and the 18-200. Its a joy to use these lenses again on a regular basis. The 18-105 is average at best, and I have eBayed mine already. You might want to get the body only if you already have DX lenses.

And after a few event shoots with the D7000, its a joy to use something that weighs half of what the D700 weighs. The reality is, I will most likely also purchase the D700 update when it eventually comes down the pike, but I might very well end up selling mine off for now while waiting for that.

I am simply in love with this little camera -- its by far Nikons best current DX lens, and it even competes with their FX D700 for image quality. Who can ask for more. Highly recommended.

by: B. Fuller (United States)
on: Sunday, 24-October-2010

This is very simple, if you are a Nikon shooter looking for a new camera then stop reading and buy this camera. Its that good. If you are considering the: D3100-- Two completely different classes with the D7000 being worth the difference. However at the end of the day they will bot make nice pictures. Also, the lenses are more important than the camera. You can get the D3100 and 18-200mm for the same price. Something to think about. D5000-- Good sensor and nice camera. D3100 comment also apply here. D90--Tough choice. The best DX sensor of its generation and still better than most. If you cant quite stretch to the D7000, this is a very tempting proposition. If you are starting out so is the Sony TL-55 is a great camera but not in the league of the D7000. However it is $350 less. D300S-- Irrelevant. Nikon D700-- Would be a good complement to the D7000. Use D7000 when you need the 1.5x crop on the long end and a deeper depth of field due to the smaller chip (about 1 stop deeper) and D700 for when you want to isolate a subject with a shallow depth of field or you want to use the full width of a wide angle such as the 14-24mm. If you dont need the shallower depth of field of a FX sensor and you have the lenses to cover the 1.5x crop then the D7000 should suit just fine. D3s and D3x -- Different leagues altogether. However, the D7000 is 90% of the camera for 1/4 to 1/6th the money.

Handling

This camera is brilliant to hold and use. Nikon has done it again and has made the user interface more usable and streamlined. What to change flash modes. Press the flash pop-up button and rotate the control wheel. Sweet. Want to change create and use a User defined mode? There are two. Set you mode up. Go to the menu and save it. To use it rotate the shooting mode dial to U1 or U2. Presto you are there. In the D300 and D700 you to have to setup things in the menu and switch in the menu. Also, there were 2 sets of things you could change and they were not all inclusive. It was all horribly confusing and I never used it. Speaking of shooting modes. There is now one position on the shooting mode dial for scene mode shooting. You change through the different scene modes with the control wheel and the type scene shows up on the back screen. Sweet. I can go on and on but needless to say Nikon have really improved their interface. One caveat, I dont think it is quite up to par with the GH1 to change exposure compensation (IMO the most important control) but still a huge step in the correct direction in handling. I like the handling of the better than either the D700/300.

Low Light Shooting

The D300 wasnt that great for Hi ISO. It shoots clean at 400 ISO and usable up to 1600. (The D90 and D300s were better) The D700 was fantastic. Clean at 1600 ISO and usable up to 6400. It opened up new worlds. The D7000 is close to the equal of the D700. Enough said.

Picture Quality

Like all modern DSLRs it takes great pictures. I dont pixel peep so I cant really say that I notice a difference between the pictures from the D7000 and any of my 12mp cameras. It makes really nice pictures and that is all I care about.

Useful Photography Features (Not Marketing Features)

--100% view finder! Big bright with 100% coverage. No more guessing of your framing. (It is not as bright as the D700. However, it is 100% vice 95%)
--2 SD slots - When your getting paid to shoot a wedding or any gig, my card broke is not an excuse. Very useful feature. For the home user put two smaller cards rather than one big card and save some money.
--Smaller and lighter than D300, D700, D3s, D3x- When you stand on your feet for 9 hours shooting the wedding and reception, you start to feel every ounce you are carrying. Often you will be carrying two bodies with a fast tele zoom and fast wide zoom. That starts to get heavy. Light weight here we come.
--2016-Segment RGB Meter- for spot on exposure and white balance--No one touches Nikon on this and this one is fantastic.
--1/8000th -- Very useful for shooting into the sun wide open with a bright lens
--1/250 -- Could be better (1/500th for D40) but could be much worse. Auto FP helps.
--Magnesium body and better sealing -- Shoot in dusty environments without messing up the inside your camera.
--Uses the ML-L3 infra red remote -- Small and cheap. IR sensor on the front and back of the camera.
--Autofocus focus motor for non-AF-S lenses

Marketing Features that will sometimes be Useful

--16Mp -- Nikon was obviously getting creamed in the marketing wars on this. This is going to lead to bigger files requiring larger hard drives and faster computers. Occasionally it will be useful if you cant frame as close as you would like and you need to crop. Nice by not necessary.
--39 Point Auto Focus -- To me in some ways this is better than the 51 point of the D300 and D700 as that gets too unwieldy. However, you really dont even need 39. However, still useful on occasion.
--6 frames per second-- I very rarely ever put my camera in 3 frames per second. When I do so it fills the card quickly. If you are shooting the big game then 6 is nice. Or it is nice for some cool special effects shots. Other than that you wont really find yourself using it that much.

Video
The other thing I am not really going to dwell on is the video capabilities. In my opinion all the various video options are mostly marketing hype really targeted at a niche market. Shallow depth of field video is difficult and time consuming to shoot and edit properly. The average family home user has neither the time nor inclination to do this. With that said, it is nice to only have to carry one device to take still pictures and video. So I do enjoy that feature, however 1080 is not really necessary. In fact with up converting DVD players standard def is still very usable and takes up far less space. Suffice it to say that the video capabilities are very good and should do anything a home user would need it to do. Can be used for pro Videos as demonstrated by Chase Jarvis.

Intangibles

This is a very nice camera and it feels very solid in your hands. It feels far more substantial than the D40/D90 without feeling like a brick the way the D300/D700 do. I am sure the D300 has more marketing features than the D7000 but I would have to research them to figure out what they are. This camera has a decent enough general lens but the Nikon 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G AF-S ED VR II Telephoto Zoom Lens for Nikon DX-Format Digital SLR Cameras is far more useful and better lens. Or for about the same money as this kit, you can get the D7000 body and Nikon 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G AF-S DX VR Nikkor Zoom Lens and Nikon 55-200mm f/4-5.6G ED IF AF-S DX VR [Vibration Reduction] Zoom Nikkor Lens.

Conclusion

In the end it all comes down to what is important to you. Smaller weight and size is becoming much more important to me and this camera is a very good trade off of features for size and weight. Anything that is missing I dont even use so I am not sure what it may be. My D700 was recently stolen and while I miss it, the D7000 is a worthy replacement for it. I opted to get the D7000 and Panasonic GH2 and save the $300 difference for a lens.

Pros

--100% view finder!
--6 fps (7D is 8. However, I think this number is overhyped in most cases. Even shooting at 3 FPS will fill up you card with photos that look remarkably similar) 8+ is needed for professionals shooting professional sports. Not enthusiast shooting High School etc.
--16mp sensor (a marketing increase but still nice to allow some room for cropping)
--14 bit photos
--39 point auto focus sensors (9 cross point) this is a bit of a marketing thing but it is still nice and it does not matter about the 51 on D300s and above. Still very nice.
--2016 scene meter - compares against data base for WB setting and color settings
--Excellent battery life
--MD-11 Optional Battery Grip
--2 SD card slots for back up redundancy or double the card space! Outstanding
--Magnesium used to make camera stronger

Cons
--16mp senor (takes up more room on your hard drive) (12mp JPG 3mb 12 mp RAW = 12 mb 16mp JPEG = 5 mb 16 mp RAW = 16 mb. This is for 12 bit. If used 14 bit it would be more)
--Camera heavier than it used to be
--No swivel screen - after using the GH1 extensively you really miss this when shooting at weird angles. You especially miss it for macro photography.
--No full time live view - Ditto from above. Live view is what you see is what you get. Forgot to change white balance-- you will see that when people are yellow, blue or green. Have it set in manual and blowing everything out-- youll see that as a white screen.

Decision Matrix

For the Nikon shooter this is a no brainer. If you are in the market for a camera, then skip the D300s. The D700 is getting long in the tooth and many people are buying the D7000 while waiting for D800. If you already own a D700 then this camera is a very good complement to it. Use the money you saved over the more expensive camera to buy a nice lens.

For the Canon shooter. The 7D is an outstanding camera and while I think the D7000 is a better camera (better sensor, etc) it is not that much better to warrant switching if you are already invested in lenses.

For the non-DSLR owner looking at this price point or the low end DSLR owner with just an 18-55mm kit lens looking to step up. - I would recommend the Panasonic GH2. It is smaller, lighter, more capable on the video side and in many ways better on the stills side. It needs a faster flash sync speed and faster shutter speed. It is probably not quite as good at the high ISO. On the positive side it has a multi-aspect sensor and at the $1500 price point a much much nicer 10x super-zoom. The lack of a mirror flipping up is a benefit in all cases. Also, you can use just about any lens ever made on this camera. Nikon, Leica, Canon, Pentax, C Lenses. While the GH1 sensor was by far the best M4/3 sensor and equaled to most DX sensors of its generation, it did not quite stand up to the D90 sensor. I expect the D7000 to have a higher Dynamic Range and overall better sensor. However, that difference will not be noticeable to the lay users. What you get is a noticeably smaller and lighter camera that is more capable in just about every other category. In my opinion the GH2 will be the best all-around camera of its generation. The GH1 is the camera I reach for 90% of the time. When Panasonic puts out a full Pro line of lenses, I will use it more in those situations. I am sure the GH2 will be my new go to camera.

by: Antigone (Arizona)
on: Tuesday, 19-October-2010

So I am a typical family photographer.... I have had a D40 x for a long while and have been happily add lenses to my arsenal for the last few years. I worked with physical film photography in high school and college so my eventual transition into dSLR was a little easier than those coming from say a Polaroid experience. But I dont intend nor am I a professional. That being said, I can see how this camera cow,d easily be marketed to one. There are a million buttons and menus and dials and knobs that are quite intimidating. So I am writing to say, this camera can be used by a pro but offers excellent options for someone who will leave it on Auto Mode for the majority if the time.

Highlights I have learned about since I got mine yesterday.

-Bracketing. This feature lets you take a series of 2 to 3 shots quickly while the computer resets your lighting settings to be slightly more exposed and slightly less composed that what it thinks is perfect. Nice!
-There is a physical knob that can be adjusted to set the camera for single, continuous shooting, remote or timer shooting. I hated going into the menu to do this.
-Scene modes are now In a menu rather than on the dial. Im okay with this. They added many many more scene settings so moving it Indoors seems logical.
-while a little bigger, the camera does seem much heavier than my D40.
-white balance is offering better descriptions of variations offered (vice the + or - numbers previously used) if not flat out more options there
-very easy method, via a small button, to watch not through the viewfinder but on the back screen.
-video was astoundingly good... was very sorry my first video was of my office chair... totally not postable. There is a mic and it looks like there is an input for an external mic. HDMI Jack outlet too on the body.

Im sure there are a million more things to talk about. Ultimately, my point is that the many new buttons and such seem very logical and impressive. For the average family photographer, they offer great features. Considering that my spouse paid about this much for my d40x back in the day (+-200$ I suspect) this camera is absolutely worth the pennies.

by: Surgery100 (Washington, DC)
on: Monday, 18-October-2010

I currently have a D5000 (and believe me, I wouldnt change it for the world as a relatively light, simple dSLR) but I wanted a full body DX and the D7000 was well worth the wait. It is aimed as an in-between D90 and D300s; however, it outshines them both.

Pros:
1) Saves and Recalls full sets of camera settings with new U1 and U2 positions on the dial.
2) It has 2 card slots, so you can save your pictures on both cards at the same time, creating an automatic backup.
3) New 2,016 segment RGB meter (yes, a full color RGB meter unlike Canons black and white)
4) Magnesium alloy body makes it tough
5) It has an autofocus meter so it works and autofocuses all lenses (unlike my D500 which only autofocuses with AS lenses)
6) The built-in flash can be used as a remote commander for external flash units
Great processor; well placed, intuitive controls; amazing range of shutter speeds (from 30 secs to 1/8000 sec)

Although it also comes bundled with an 18-105mm lens, you can buy the body only and use it with the phenomenal VR 55-200 lens.

by: D. Waterman (Minneapolis, MN)
on: Sunday, 17-October-2010

I wont go in to lots of words, but I will tell you I have used a number of DSLR cameras (Nikon D40, D40x, D60, D50, D70, D70s, D80, D90, and now the D7000 as well as Canon 20D, 30D, 40D, 500D and 550D) and the Nikon D7000 may be one of the finest DX cameras I have ever used. In the past 24 hours I have logged 250 pictures and and I am impressed with the quality of the picture, and the ease of use with the camera. You might be tempted to think its just a glorified D90, but you would wrong. Its better than the D90, and from what I am reading, better than the D300s which is more money. The camera feels good in the hands, has a solid feel, is weatherproof, and overall speaks professional photographer. For $1,500 in a kit, it is money well spent.

I waited for the D7000 over any other DSLR for one reason: Auto-Focus in video mode. It was worth the wait. I had almost dropped the $1,400 on the Canon 60D but hesitated because the 60D was dumbed down in many ways by Canon so as to not impede on 7D sales. Nikon went all out and demolished the need for the D300s, while making a DSLR worth having. The video mode allows you to run auto-focus while shooting, which no other DSLR has done to this point. Additionally, you can now shoot 1080p in 24 frames (23.97 actually) per second, which is cinema quality. Also, you can shoot up to 20 minutes of video in one shoot, versus only 12 minutes for the Canon 60D, T2i, and T1i. You may think you are buying the D7000 for photography only, but wait until you see what you can do with video. Being able to do DOF shooting makes the DSLR video even more valuable, allowing you to do things you would have to spend thousands on in a professional camera.

The D7000 may very well be Nikons best DSLR in quite some time. I have used many, but this has quickly become my favorite.

by: Pablo E Gabetta (United States)
on: Sunday, 17-October-2010

Got this camera from BB on Friday, yes, they sold them ahead of the launch day, some people even got it on the 14th!
As soon as I open the box, you could tell that this camera looked more professional than the D90.
Tons of settings, dual sd card is great, I have the hd video going to slot 2 (16gb card) and raw going to slot 1 (8 gb card)
Screen looks much better, focusing feels faster. Video AF really works great! Stereo in for Mic! amazing. You wont be disappointed if you coming from a D90.
Waiting to see what DXOMARK.com says about the sensor, since the D90 beats every ASP-C size Canon camera in RAW quality picture, except for the 1DMarckIV
Even better than the D300!
[...]
Yes, the D90 takes better RAW pictures than their new 7D.
Check it out.