Fully gasketed body with magnesium alloy sections for extra durability/strength.
16 megapixel sensor-clean images at high iso.
39 point AF system with 3D tracking-brilliant system. + 6FPS performance.
Nikon 3D colour matrix metering-still the best.
Twin card slots.
Intervalometer built in.
Distortion control for older Nikkor lenses.
Battery good for over 1200 shots per charge!!-unreal.
Well integrated feature set and ergonomic layout.
Image grab from video-in camera capture.
Semi-pro performance for a budget price.
Nikon F mount with AF drive built into body makes it compatible with massive lens catalogue back as far as 1979.
Extensive retouch menu.

Video autofocus not as smooth/silent as it could be.
Really can't fault it otherwise -regardless of how hard I try.

A massive upgrade in image quality,autofocus speed/accuracy and overall durability and usability.
One of the best I've ever used and exceptional image quality for a cropped sensor type camera.

Customer Service

Not needed.

Similar Products Used:

Nikon D90.

I get this camera as first my SLR camera. Picture quality, handling, video and battery life are excellent. Location for buttons and menus are very user friendly. I learn work with it about one week. Get Nikon D7000 and enjoy.

16 MP
ISO range from 100 to 6400 (25,600 on the "H settings)
6 FPS
Built in intervalometer
Greatly improved auto white balance
100% View Finder
Metal frame
Weather and dust seals

Limited number of frames can be shot using interval shooting.

From the moment I heard about this camera's release, I was very excited and immediately began the process of justifying its purchase. Once I was able to drop the $1200 all I could find was the kits and I really didn't want the lens that came with it so I waited. And waited. And waited some more. It took almost 3 months for me to find just the body, and I must admit that it was well worth the wait.

From the get go, I noticed the mirror slap was much quieter than that of my D200 and I found it to be a pleasing sound. Definitely better for stealthier situations. It was also immediately apparent that the body was smaller than the D200 as well, but not so much so that I could feel a big difference while shooting. Another thing that I noticed was that the larger display was crystal clear and a nice upgrade. The general controls on the body were similar enough to the D200 that it didn't take me too long to figure most of them out, but there were a few options that I had to consult the manual to figure out; specifically, changing the flash mode and trying to figure out where the shutter release cable plugged into. The user menu is similar as well so I had little trouble setting up my normal shooting parameters.

I was very pleased to see that the D7000 wasn't nearly the battery hog that the 200 is. I purchased a spare battery and the MBD11 "multi-power" battery pack and got roughly 3,000 frames from the first battery. That's over double what I would get from the D200 and the BP that accompanied it.

There are a few other improvements over the D200 that I have noticed as well. The exposure metering seems more accurate and the AF motor is quieter too. I love the 16 MP images (twice that of my previous body) and despite my initial apprehensions, I even like the dual SDHC card slots though I wish I could still use my collection of CF cards. The auto white balance is HUGELY improved over the D200. I would usually do a custom WB for each lighting situation I would encounter. The D7000 has yet to be taken out of Auto WB mode and the results are more than acceptable.

The noise at higher ISO settings is greatly reduced in comparison. I get more noise shooting with the D200 @ ISO 1600 than I do with the D7000 with the ISO @ 6400. And the fact that I can go to 6400 makes the camera all the better.

Then there's the built in intervalometer which gives the D7000 the ability to automatically shoot one frame per second for up to 999 seconds. This is the feature that I was most excited to use and have used it a few times already. I am a huge fan of time lapse photography and now I have the ability to do TL projects. My only gripe is that the camera's internal software limits us to just 999 frames. That's only 16.25 minutes of shooting when taking one frame per second and when you make your movie (which is normally @ 24 frames per second) that works out to roughly 42 seconds of TL video per session.

Speaking of video, that is another feature that I was very excited over and I am looking forward to using when opportunities arise. I have used the camera in video mode all of once in the past six weeks and I am not completely happy with the results. In all fairness though, I am sure that the issues I have with the videos shot are more from operator error than they are from the camera. I really need to read the section of the manual pertaining to the video capabilities before I say anything unflattering.

As time goes on and I've had a chance to give the camera even more of a work out, I will make any necessary amendments to this review.

Customer Service

Never used.

Similar Products Used:

Nikon D100
Nikon D200

-Noise quality
-Fast autofocus
-Picture quality
-Ergonomics
-Good Battery life
-Dual SD Card slots
-Magnesium alloy and weather proofing in its construction

-over exposes on default
-A little hefty
-Some of the button layout on the front

In a realistic sense, this camera is not a revolutionary model, or the perfect camera, however it's a very well rounded and capable camera. Currently, compared to most other models, this is one of the best cameras available.

That said, the usage of this camera has been very easy and fun, except for a few quirks:
1. I always appreciate the value and functionality of so many buttons on a camera, but the placement of so many buttons on the front facing can be a hassle and annoying sometimes. If my camera strap is around my neck and I have to twist it up to look at the buttons on the front, it slows me down. Granted, I've learned their placement and I have no real complaints about all the buttons except for...
2. The autofocus toggle for focus point selection. It's a button on the front, it could have been an option in the menu, I don't know why it wasn't. Took me forever to figure that out, and I had my camera autofocusing on its own for a week! To further explain, you can choose points in the photo where you want to focus the most, and I couldn't figure out how because I didn't know it was a button placement. I thought it would make more sense as a menu option. Not only that, but sometimes the autofocus does not focus on the right subject, OR it can't make up its mind and goes in and out of focus repeatedly.
3. The camera is a little heavy, but the build quality is really top notch. You don't feel the weight shift or hear creaks as a result of the heaviness. Lenses don't weigh down the front of the camera as much either, so it feels nice and balanced.
4. Movie quality is good, especially through a 50mm lens! However, autofocus is constantly going in an out and searching. You can hear the lens focusing on the built in mic, so I highly recommend using manual focus and/or an external mic. You can use any stereo microphone.
5. The camera overexposes a little, and the default setting is a little soft, so you lose some detail with that combination. Of course you can compensate by adjusting exposure, contrast, and sharpness, depending on your photography needs. I actually like to turn down the sharpness all the way for certain looks, so that's no big deal.
6 A. Large file sizes if you want to do RAW+JPEG will fill up your cards fast on a day of shooting. It's up to you if that's important to save in both formats or not.
6 B. Not a real complaint, but the battery is pricey for an extra one. That is the price you pay to be an early adopter.
6 C. So many menu options to navigate through. Depending on how serious you are about photography, this won't be a problem. If you're more casual, then it'll be annoying and you'll want to put this camera down to use your point and shoot instead.
7. Last but not least of my little knit picking, is the reputation and name this camera has already. This is more of an annoyance than a problem with the camera, but it will lead to a potential problem. I travel to different countries a lot. The fear of having my camera stolen is normal. This camera is so popular with people that I fear more than usual that it'll be stolen. Which is not good, it's not a cheap camera.

Aside from my moans about this camera, I have a lot of compliments about its qualities!
Usability:
-Really meant for a more serious photographer than a casual or beginner. There are many options, and customizable settings. You can find a lot of these options on a lot of other DSLR models though, so this is no extra cause for celebration. However, the execution of this process for a great photo makes a happy photographer.
-Autofocus with speed! It takes fast, accurate, and clear photos on the fly.
-Dual SD card slots so that you don't have to switch if you're full.
-Battery life = nice and long :)
-Using the dial for Single, Continuous, Remote, Timer operation is really nice for a quick selection.
-Ergonomics from the grip to the button layout on the top and back makes it easy for me to just slide my thumb over and select what I need. Slight molding and leather pad for the thumb is comfortable.
-Continuous shots are fast.
-Flash is excellent, flash fill is beautiful when used. Very balanced output.

Picture quality:
I will preach this to the end, you have to have good lenses. This camera's capabilities and potential will be lost otherwise. The quality of my pictures, and positive feedback I get from people is tremendous once I started avoiding kit lenses. Kit lenses are nice and convenient, but if you want real quality photos, get a good lens and then you'll really come out top notch with this camera.
-As warned, this camera will overexpose and soften images on its default setting. Sadly, you'll get some slightly washed out pictures if you're not careful. I even have to tune down the contrast because it can still knock the exposure off. Once you have the settings you want, the photos are top notch.
-Active D-lighting is great on this camera. It will improve detail in dark or high tones when the contrast in your composition is too high. You can choose different levels of compensation.
-Color accuracy and saturation is very good. I haven't seen any distortion or off tones. Even the Auto White Balance is extremely good in fluorescent lighting! This is an amazing achievement.
-Overall photo quality, as to be expected with all Nikon DSLRs is great! It's no surprise, even the entry level models produce fantastic image quality.
-This camera has the best noise quality I have ever seen (within normal conditions).

There is a combination of so many good things that went into my decision to buy this camera. The speed and picture quality alone would be enough for anyone. However, more importantly to me was the body construction. I travel a lot around the world, and unfortunately I am accident prone. That's a terrible combination for any camera owner. Luckily, I've been extra careful and never ruined a camera yet, but I'd like not to take chances. Also the seals on the body provide some decent weather proofing. That puts my mind at ease. Otherwise, I seriously would have purchased the D90 and been happy with it.

While I had some minor issues, the performance and output by this camera has been phenomenal. I highly recommend it to any photo enthusiast with some technical skill and familiarity with DSLRs. Its capabilities will make a more serious photographer out of you. However, I really wouldn't recommend this to a beginner or someone who just wants a DSLR and has no idea what to do with it or use it casually. That's a waste of your money, and you'll get excellent quality out of entry level models. Once again, get a good lens for this camera, and don't waste your time on a kit lens. Your pictures will make that much of a difference. If you do not want to spend the money for this camera, that's very understandable. Get the D90 instead, it's still one of the greatest cameras around. In any case, the Nikon D7000 is absolutely wonderful, and I have been very happy with it.

Customer Service

N/A

Similar Products Used:

Nikon D40x
Nikon D60
Nikon D3000
Nikon D5000
Canon Rebel XSI
Sony Alpha
Canon Powershot A590 IS
Sony Cybershot

Everything, really.
Except for...

Video auto-focus
Needs an all new, and more expensive grip, which I'm sure I'll complain about then buy.
Not much else to grip about

I primarily became interested in the d7000 when I saw I poised as the succussor to the d90, and that it had all the upgrades I was hoping for plus more. I always felt that the d90 was as good of a camera I would need for a long time, and would only upgrade should a body like the d7000 come around. It did, and so I did.
The first features that drew me to this body were the alloy skeleton, weather sealing, faster fps, a slightly bigger build, and the expanded usable range in ISO. I also liked the idea of the release mode dial, and the elimination of the mode icons from the command dial...these relatively small changes really help the camera distinguish itsself as a serious camera aesthetically. The overall feel is very solid, and the sound the shutter makes just adds to the handling pleasure. The dials also feel more solid (all of these are compared to the d90).
Compared to the d90, the external layout is pretty familiar, with a few buttons being moved and some being stacked. The auto focus mode button has been stacked on to the af/m switch, and shows in the viewfinder when selecting which is nice. I like the release mode subdial as you get a quick visual reference of what you're on rather then having to do the whole button+dial thing. The d7000 adds a "quiet" mode, which basically allows you to control when the mirror comes back down after releasing the shutter...making it much more discrete compared to the single, sc, and hc, modes. Buried in the menus is also the ability to control the role the remote plays; quick, delayed, or mirror up. The latter comes in handy if you've got your focus fixed and want to click away discretely w/o your hands on the camera. Sneaky. 6 fps is nice, although touchy, as I've accidentally rattled off 3 shots on several occasions. I have noticed at times that it does not shoot as fast as it should, I'm assuming due to the focus priority mode, as I have yet to choke on the buffer. I would like to pop in a class 10 card to see if there is any improvement over my class 6. Speaking of focus priority, there is also a new option to allow you to determine if the camera goes click when it's in focus or when you push the button.
Video. I think it's a well known thing that if you want a quality video camera, then you should buy a quality video camera. Auto focus is a nice addition, and it works overall, but also depends on the mode. The af motor can be heard loud and clear in your playback, which is a pretty big deal breaker regarding the af. I have had good results with my 35mm 1.8 as that lens is absolutely silent when focusing. I do like being able to pull single frames from the video. All in all, video is a nice feature to have, but it's not why I bought the camera, and probably wouldn't miss it terribly.
IQ is hands down amazing, not to mention that iso 6400 is very usable, and even 12800 will give you acceptable results when a slightly noisey image is better then nothing a all. This may be in part to my (re)discovery of Nikon's active d-lighting, but either way, there are certainly improvements, I'm guessing due to the new processing. (Un)fortunately, I sold my d90 too quickly to be able to really compare their sooc images. I'm sure comparing them to my d40's would be a solid whooping. Again, framing this as the d90's successor, we've gone from 12mp to 16mp. Yay. Not a huge biggie, but nice that I get some more room to crop if needed. I have yet to really compare results of selecting the different bit options for shooting in raw, or the results of the compression options. I would guess that they'd be fairly marginal.
There are some other features that have turned out to be nice additions. The dof preview button, which was somewhat worthless on the d90, was given the option to be assigned to whatever functions can be assigned to the other function button on the right of the lens. I've got the electronic level assigned, which can be pretty handy considering I like to hold my camera crooked. Oh...there's an electronic level that can be accessed either in live view, or via menu/function menu. There is now a built in intervalometer. I've only played with this a little bit, but I'm sure it will come in handy for thunderstorms and such. Nikon added a little sketch feature and a tilt shift feature in the editing menu...kind of out of place and useless on a camera on this level. Nikon also removed the horrible music/slide show options, leaving just a straight forward timed slide show. Another nice addition is the IR receiver in the back of the camera. Yes! I love my little $15 remote (hell, it's made it through the washer 3 times now). I've heard the dual sd card slots are a pretty big deal. They can be assigned to take the overflow, act as a straight back up, take the video files, or split the Raw+jpegs. 100% viewfinder too. It looks nice. I particularly like the disappearing focus points.

Customer Service

n/a

Similar Products Used:

d40
d90
d200

In a head to head comparison with my D300 the D7000 matches up with the same 6fps continuous shooting, it has an improved CMOS sensor that has less noise at higher iso’s and has increased the resolution by 4 MP. What sets the D7000 apart from the D300 and the D3 is the obvious introduction of the full 1080p HD video with full time auto focus.
I’m sure that there are a lot of pros and serious amateurs shaking their heads saying that the D7000 can’t seriously compared to the D3. But in some ways it can. The D7000 matches up the D3 with the same 1/8000 shutter speed along with the lowest 30 second shutter speed. It also matches the D3 with a 6400 with low noise considering it is the DX format compared to the FX format. The biggest difference compared to the D300 and the D3 is the obvious $1199.00 suggested retail price. Of course the D3 is more suitable to daily professional use and has a flash sync input along with other upgrades but for the money the D7000 harnesses many of the options and takes them a step further with the video capability.

Anyone interested in using the video features on the D7000 will have to be patient though. The camera makes shooting in video extremely easy by flicking a rear control button and then pushing the same button to begin recording instantaneously. There is also a built in Virtual Horizon Graphic Indicator that removes the need for old bubble levels. The patience will be needed when it comes to steadying the camera and thinking less like a photographer and more like a videographer. Something that hasn’t come easy for me so far but after talking with some professional video shooters and learning some pointers I’m finding the camera to be a very useful tool for shooting video and getting unmatched depth of field when compared to professional video cameras.
I will note that the D7000 has many features catering to the pro-sumer that I haven’t used to this point only because I prefer to do my editing outside of the camera in Lightroom or Aperture. I’m sure it will be fun to explore some of the in-camera image editing features like: D-Lighting, filter effects, fish-eye and Quick retouch at some point.

I think pros and amateurs should both look seriously at purchasing the D7000. As a pro I can already see many opportunities to use the video functions of the camera on a daily basis and even some of the still photography capabilities.

Strengths:?- Low light images are excellent.?- durable and weather sealed?- 39 point Auto focus.?- 1080p HD video
Bright LCD.?- 6 fps Burst Mode.
Dual slot SD card bays that can be used to make backup versions of images or store different file types.

The size of the D7000 for me is both a strength and a weakness. The strength is easy portability and handling while shooting assignments especially when it’s compared to the size of the D3 but it’s also a weakness when it comes to shooting video. I’ve found it nearly impossible to keep the camera steady (I might be anal about this) when using the video mode. Because you are looking through the rear LCD it is difficult to brace the camera when taking video. There are brackets and other accessories on the market to help steady the camera but with those options come an increased investment.
I’m also still getting use to the placement of the auto focus selector on the front of the camera located on the auto focus/manual switch. On the previous Nikon bodies I have owned the AF switch is on the back of the camera near the LCD. I think it’s a great idea to place the switch there but at this point it doesn’t feel as intuitive for me to use the button in the front. I’m also still getting use to the focusing system and have found myself switching to manual several times to make sure that I’m focusing exactly where I want to be. I’m sure after continued use I will get use to the focusing system and it will be an asset though.

Here is the link to my flickr photo stream the most recent images were made with the D7000: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jmurphpix/

Here is a link to a simpe video I made using the D7000 with the kit 18-105mm DX VR Lens. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=US3GeoIzmhA

I purchased this camera after reading many articles about it in anticipation of it’s release. The combination of improved quality in low light situations, full 1080p HD video with full time auto focus and the 16.2 MP sensor combined with the 6 frames per second continuous shooting where key features for me.
I’ve been a long time user of Nikon camera dating back to an old F3 that I purchased from a friend before working my first professional job at a college newspaper. Through the years I’ve watched as Nikon has steadily improved it’s line of digital (I’ve owned a D100, D200, D70, D300 and used the D1, D1x, D2x and D3 at work) equipment but it seemed something was different for the release of the D7000. I couldn’t help but think as I researched the D7000 that if it lived up to the information that was being released it could easily replace the D300 that I owned and maybe even the D3 that I use at work. That might seem like a lofty claim but as I found out after I purchased the D7000 many of its features exceed or match the D300 and are on par with the D3.

Customer Service

Haven't had to use it yet although Nikon offers a great deal of information and support on their Nikon USA website.

Similar Products Used:

I've used many different Nikon digital cameras including the D100, D200, D300, D70, D1, D1x, D2x and D3

New 16.1mp CMOS Sensor
Shooting in low light ISO up to 6400
6 FPS
The 39 point AF system works great!
View finder has 100% frame coverage
Duel SD card slots. You can set one for jpeg and the other for raw.

I don't believe the video is as good as the Canon 7D

I owned a D90 previously and the D7000 is a big improvement over the D90. I think Nikon has definitely got some exciting technology that is going to improve digital photography. I shoot youth baseball with this camera and it works much better than my D90 did because of the increased FPS, higher ISO and improved 39 point AF system. I would recommend this camera to any D90 user.