Mar 18, 2012 02:38 PM
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First off, I have been using this camera for almost 9 months now. My setup consists of the following.
Nikon D7000.
Nikkor 18-105mm VR(kit lens)
Nikkor 50mm 1.8f
Tokina 100mm 2.8f
Nikkor 70-210 4-5.6f
Nikon SB-700 flash
If you are looking for a solid Nikon body which is future proof for about 4-5 years at the very least then you need to look no further. The image quality and low light ability is a huge step up from the D90.
Features:
I would give this a 5/5 on features. D7000 boasts of an inbuilt intervalvometer for taking time lapse videos. It also has an incamera feature to combine 3 exposures into a single image. This end result is a sort of a quasi HDR look. It also has a max shutter speed of 1/8000 and an impressive burst rate of 6 shots per second. However the way the burst is implemented leaves a lot to be desired(more on this later) It also has a upper ISO level of 25600. However anything above 6400 is mostly unusable. A cool addition is the presence of 2 SD card slots.
The rest of feature one would expect from a DSLR are all here. The best feature however is the presence of an on-camera motor for autofocus. With this we can autofocus even the slightly older Nikkor lenses.
Image quality: 4/5
In a word awesome. The pics are sharp and focus is smooth. The kit lens performs well and can be used in just about any situation. However the wider range 18-24 we see quite a lot of distortion. To appreciate this camera we need some good glass in front. With the Nikkor 50mm 1.8f(nifty-fifty) and the impressive ISO range, it is possible to take some really good handheld low light photos.
Ease of use: 3/5
This is an intermediate semi-pro camera for a reason. While you can pick up and click to get some good snaps, it is not very beginner-friendly. You will need to know aperture, shutter and exposures to get the max out of this camera. If you know your way around DSLRs you will find this a joy to use. Full manual is a breeze due to dual dials(one for shutter and another for aperture)
Build quality: 3.5/5
Very ergonomically built. A bit on the heavier side. Positioning of the ISO and the WB(white balance) buttons leave a bit to be desired though. The cam with the Tokina 100mm 2.8f makes the setup quite heavy.
Apart from the positioning of buttons, the D7000 is partial weather sealed. The body is also magnesium alloy opposed to plastic. So it feels good when held(unless you are tired then its too heavy:)
Battery life: 5/5
Solid. Around 400-500 shots before I need to recharge.
Overall:
I would not recommend this camera to beginners. It is targeted towards semi-pro and those are the ones who will appreciate this camera the most. As with any camera, we will need some good lenses to complement it. In terms of competition, the D7000 sits squarely between the Canon 60D and Canon 7D. The performance as expected is also between those two. The canon 60D has better video modes and on most other fronts the 7D outperforms the D7000.
Drawbacks:
Having used the camera there are a few drawbacks. None very serious.
Most significant drawback is the limited buffer for the continuous shooting. In burst shooting mode the pics are saved onto the buffer. Due to a limited buffer, we can take only the first 10 pics in 6fps. The consequent pics will be taken at approx 3-4 fps.
Video options are limited. Not much options to play and with.
