Customer Reviews

Nikon D7000 Digital SLR Camera with 18-105mm VR Lens Kit (16.2MP) 3 inch LCD

5 star:		(104)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I was looking for an alternate DSLR after my D70 gave up. So, the natural choice would have been D90.

I wanted to graduate to a better camera as I wanted to experience some of the extra features which the higher end cameras got to offer but not cough up too much money.

D7000 was just going to be released and when I checked its specifications, there was no turning back. (There were some considerations of going to Canon 60D as the price was very attractive but few points illustrated below kept me with Nikon).

Few things that won my heart:

- 39 focus points: the pictures are so well composed, I can't write in words. You got to see the pictures to tell the difference. Canon 60D has 9 point

- HD Video Recording: This reduces cost in terms of buying another flash memory camcorder and you could use all your high end lenses to record some awesome videos. The high end lenses would help you to deal with low light and challenging situations which would pose a problem in a normal camcorder)

- 2 SD Card slots. (Good if you are going to shoot videos, it was personally a relief for me as I don't need to deal with CF cards)

- Metal body: Compared to Canon 60D and D90 this has a metal body making it robust and sturdy.

- Nice Kit Lens: The kit lens is light and coverage almost all the ranges from wide to tele. You could shoot any frame you have in mind with this lens. It also has VR which makes it more attractive.

I have used it for a month now and it is just awesome! No regrets and definitely a good buy!

I bought this camera after my d40 broke, and having used a d90 before i was really pleased at the ease with which i transitioned to the camera even without using the manual initially. An awesome camera for the money and is on a par in the most important features ( iso range, fps and pic quality) as the more expensive d700. Classed as an enthusiasts camera yet delivering pro pics, outstanding, its all the camera you will ever need. full hd vid is easy to use and great quality, nice one nikon.

If you are reading this review, you will, I am sure, have already read much about what has been written about this camera, some bad but mostly good. I have no intentions of going over old ground. I have been keen on photography for over forty years, some of it as a professional working in evidence gathering. I have used many different types of camera, ranging from simple point and shoot compacts to the highest level of 35mm equipment. I therefore consider myself to be qualified to judge.

This Nikon D7000 is quite simply the best camera I have ever used. People with no photographic knowledge right up to aspiring professional photographers, will not be disappointed with it. There is plenty of scope to improve your photographs and experiment with the many different settings and features that it offers. The picture quality is superb. If you are already at an advanced stage you will find it's abilities astounding, I know I did. Add to this the excellent pricing offered by Amazon and you can't go wrong.

I am a semi-pro who's been using a FX (full-frame) Nikon D700 since it came out - excellent camera, except of course, telephotos aren't as long as with the smaller-sensored DX models.

So, I got a used D200 a while ago and very quickly it's fallen from use, not being competitive in either total pixels (10mp) nor in terms of its light gathering properties. I was so used to using and getting brilliant results with the D700 with up to 4,000 iso that the maximum 1600 (& very poor quality at that setting) of the D200, that it had to be replaced. I get a lot of bread and butter work snapping bands and stuff in dark pubs. I've also got a huge and unwieldy Sigma 150-500mm that I naturally wanted to use at a massive 750mm focal length. Even with the lens' Optical Stabiliser, the iso's needed were far beyond what the D200 could offer.

So, enter my new D7000. Same speed sensor as the D700, which is why I bought it instead of the D300, which only runs up to 3200 iso. With a significantly bigger pixel count than the D200, at 16.2, this should I hope be the perfect partner to my normal D700.

Having had the camera for two months now, and at the most extreme, saw me professionally taking 1,000 photos of Salisbury's Diamond Jubilee celebrations, over 8 hours, both as RAWs and basic jpegs. From medieval jousting, to flashgun snaps (SB600), stage work, fireworks at the end, everything, the D7000 never skipped a beat, even the Sandisk 45mbs cards coping with the occasional "high" continuous action spurts. The day before was a cricket match, mated with the Sigma 150-500mm monster zoom, which gave me an action grabbing 750mm focal length! I had Continual "high" going off for as long as the short bits of action lasted, but admittedly, as fine jpegs.

My RAW files that get converted to PSDs and then to pretty huge full-res jpegs. And, I'm MIGHTY IMPRESSED. There is a touch more 'grit' in flat dark/mid grey tones above 1000 iso than the D700 but it still well controlled. Even at 5000 iso it is serviceable, with good colour rendition and balance. At its very highest, an extended 25,600 it is a little globular and a red rose turned magenta, but it was in the dark (almost) and a lot better than the D700.

I've had no concerns with sharpness, if anything, my full-frame lenses (many from my film camera days) are now using only the central parts of their optics (always the best, in any lens) and not the edges, so they are performing even better.

OK, its image quality is spot-on; how does the D7000 handle? It's smaller and quite a bit lighter than the D200 but the grip has a harder 'feel' and is more angular. The depth of field preview button (yes, people still use them!) is now on the bottom flange, almost underneath the lens and not the side, where they've always been. The Function button is now placed where the depth of field button used to be etc etc...I've now found that one uses the third finger of the right hand to activate it.

The shutter/mirror action is super quiet. Compared to the almighty clank in comparison of the D700, this is whisper quiet. I know which camera I'll be using in a quiet concert hall, from now on. The cricket match continual high bursts, mentioned above, would have sounded like a machine gun going off with the D700 - the D7000's action sounds exactly as if a gun silencer had been added. A 'phutt' instead of a 'clack'.

The autofocusing is BRILLIANT. Even in a dark yew wood and with a Sigma 14mm ultrawideangle (21mm on DX) and where I could hardly see, let alone focus, it came up with the goods. My Tamron SP VC 70-300mm had me autofocussing instantly on landscapes at 300mm (450mm on this) at dusk.

DOWNSIDES - yes, a couple significant ones. My D200 & 700 share batteries and CF cards. Nikon, in their wisdom, use a much more expensive, different battery (about £60 versus £25) for the 7000. All my big, fast compact flash cards won't fit the D7000 - that takes SDHC cards. OK, they're cheaper than CF cards, by quite a margin, but it did mean that I had to buy new ones. I bought two Sandisk 16gb extremes (45mbs) from Amazon and as I filled both up during the Diamond Jubilee event, I really should have spares, so have just ordered a couple of Lexar 32gb Pro's, as I use this D7000 for more of my professional work. As for the battery, I will have to take yet another, separate and different charger with me when I travel.

BATTERY staying power - The Diamond Jubilee mega event, mentioned above, using A/F about half of the time, some VR (lens Vibration reduction) at night, frequent screen image checking and showing to clients, ONLY used 3 of the 5 bars of the indicator.

I used the D7000 recently through a weekend music festival, shooting video. This drained the excellent Nikon EN-EL15 battery to exhaustion for the first time. An element of warning here, though, on two bars one thinks it's got plenty of life left and then a red one bar low-battery light shows. From then, you've only got minutes, less than ten. OK, it's new and is expensive but this is very impressive indeed. A 'normal' shoot (whatever that is!), such as a day's walk and 100 shots might use just one bar, if that, even.

The video function - I used this a lot recently at a weekend music Festival, mostly static on a tripod, with the D700 for the stills. I used the third quality setting down from maximum - 1280x 720 high quality. Maximum shooting time is 20 mins, which is normal, apparently. At this setting, it used about 1.2gb, which proved way too big to upload onto Facebook/You Tube, though I did manage a song's worth at 200mb, but that took a ridiculous time to upload and was still very compressed.

The video quality at high iso is good, but not having shot such before I cannot compare, but you get good colour and minimal noise. You flick the Live Preview switch and then press the red button to activate. I set the 2nd SDHC card to record the video and off it goes, recording light blinking and a countdown from 20mins. The screen stays Live all the time. If it switches itself off (low card space, for example) it'll still be Live and you might not immediately realise the recording's stopped. The camera body gets noticeably warm after ten mins or so and it's recommended that you let it cool after a 20min shoot. However, I recorded an hour's worth, re-setting it each time and it coped but I seriously wouldn't do that continuously. I used a 32gb card which ate most of the footage I shot that weekend.

I've briefly used it with the Speedlight SB600 flashgun and it operates much the same way as on the D700. I've also found another handy feature, especially for tripod use. Via the Function button, you can set the exposure +/- bar indicator to indicate if the camera is level, or not. Much better than a screen grid, which is often affected by perspective distortion with buildings, this is dead easy to see and correct and seems accurate.

Build quality. Supposedly more flimsy than the D300, which is aimed at pro's, the 7000 seems solid enough and the controls are all chunky and positive. Nothings feels like it's going to fall off. My D700 has had some tough handling and the rubber bits are getting tatty - if the 7000 fares as well, I'll be very happy.

Well - what more is there to say? IF, like many, you want to move on from your out-of-date D200, this is an obvious and perfect upgrade. I don't know what Nikon may produce or if something even better in this sphere will turn up in the next couple of years, but this is the here and now and for my money (not bad value, either!) the D7000 is an excellent DX format DSLR.

Been looking to replace my trusty D60 for a few months & after reading lots of reviews, i purchased this D7000.
I purchased just the body because i wanted to use my old lenses from my D60. 18-55 & 55-200 & 50 prime lens.
Well i'm so glad i saved a little longer & purchased this camera as the images are pristine to say the least.
The camera is loaded with enough features to keep even a pro happy.
I mainly use mine in studio for portraits & product shoots, this camera does the job perfectly.
Handling wise it's a little heavier to me than a D60 but this i think just adds to the quality of this bit of kit.
Battery charges up super fast - Shame i can't use my D60 batteries as the profile has changed.
Would be worth buying the non nikon battery grip over the genuine one to keep things light and better handling
as i have large hands. Worth every penny!! Buy this camera & a good lens & enjoy great photography.

I wont bore you with techno jargon and specs because if you are looking at this camera you have considered the specs over and over as i did myself,This is a truly awsome peice of equipment, I found it a bit harder to get to grips with than my NIKON d60(witch was simple and set up for a learner) but once you get to know your way around and feel at ease with the controls the photographs you take with the d7000 will be quite simply stunning,So for me its worth every penny of the hefty price tag weather you are a pro looking for a back up camera or an amature (like me) who has a yerning for the best in what you buy (THANX TO MY 40TH BIRTHDAY ;) MMM) then this is the best ,Im not saying its perfect for everyone because if you buy a d90 you will be hard pushed to see any difference in picture quality unless you are a camera critic by profession but compaired to my d60 it IS superior,As to my mind all the nikon range take stunning shots and always have so lets take that out of the equasion battery life is quite good... no infact really good,As for memory you will get just under half the shots of a d60 aprox 408 from a 4gig card due to the file size and increase of pixels but cards are cheap these days so thats not a problem i tested a clas 6 card and found it was plenty fast enough for action shots in scene mode (BOOO I HEAR THE PROS SAY BUT THE SCENE MODES WORK REALLY WELL IN MOST CONDITIONS SO PHOTOGRAPHIC SNOBS CAN SHUSH :P )so a class ten card would be more than ample for the buffer to write to quickly.The video mode....i cant criticize it nor can i praise it as i dont use it, What i mean is i havent used it to my mind this is just an extra toy to play with if i wanted a dedicated video camera i would probably just buy one but it will be handy to catch the odd piece of candid child play from the grand kids if you can afford it the possabilities will be endless if you are on a budget then a D90 will fill your chrimbo stocking quite nicely hope this review helped ,johnm

I bought a D70 many years ago when they first appeared. This was a 6Mpixel camera, and I have had years of pleasure from it.

The D7000 is a vastly mnore sophisticated beast, but will not present any operational problems for someone upgrading from earlier Nikon DSLRs. Indeed I suspect that the D7000 is actually easier to use in its simple "point & shoot" modes than my D70. For more experienced or 'sophisticated' photographers, the D7000 provides a much greater range of adjustment and fine-tuning, the extended ISO capabilities, in particuilar, are useful. I see little point in ennumerating each feature; suffice to say it 'just works'.

Like many users I have had a variety of 'Back focus' issues with the camera's autofocus system, and these can be irritatingly arbitrary. As I like a VERY sharp image, this can be annoying. I have resisted the temptation to return the camera while I try to sort this out using the AF fine-tuning feature per lens.

I rarely use the 'Live view' feature, and without a moveable viewing screen I suspect this is of limited value anyway. LCD screens are rarely bright enough to use in strong lighting, and "Live view" is no different.

The camera takes an excellent Video, but is a bit bulky, and is hampered by the fixed LCD.

Overall I am very pleased with the quality and all-round 'rightness' of the camera. I have some niggles, but these are like the way one's old friends' foibles can grate without affecting the friendship.

I highly recommend the camera to competent DSLR users and novices alike.

Recently purchased the Nikon D7000. I umed and ahhed between the D90 and the D7000 but the D7000 clinched it. This was an upgrade for me from a D3100 and what a leap. I enjoy wildlife photography and my old D3100 was ok for this as long as the subject was still and only about 20 metres away at most, if the subject moved or was any further away you could forget it, and that was with a sigma 500mm lens. however, attach that same lens to the D7000 and its a whole new ball game. Furthermore, its a much easier camera to use many of the features are on the buttons rather than hidden deep in one of the labyrinthine menus that Nikon chose to use. The focus is fast and sharp and the images far exceed my expectations. OK, so this is not the most technical review in the world, but I can only say that if you are considering buying one of these then consider no more because I very much doubt you will be disappointed.

Having had 2 previous Nikon Cameras this felt like a simple upgrade from my D80 and other than a few additional features I didn't expect to see much difference. It certainly sits beautifully in the hand, is well balanced and the controls are in the right places. That is all except one key thing - moving the focal point. Neither I, nor my experienced Nikon friend, could find how to do this. We read the manual but that was no help. A phone call to Nikon gave me the answer. There is a small button in the centre of AF/M switch. Depress this and then you can move the focal point around using the 4 way main back button. Easy when you know how! The Nikon guy even said "you aren't the first person to have this problem" So why oh why don't Nikon put it in their manual??!
Previously I had 2 large SD cards that worked happily in my D80 and as the D7000 has 2 card slots, naturally I popped one in each. The 8GB went in no trouble but the 16GB felt tight and even when it was in there the camera kept giving me 'no card' error messages. It had worked happily before so this is a mystery. So I have had to discard the 16gb and buy it an identical 8GB for the second slot. Additional expense No 1. But now having two cards I can choose how I want to use the 2nd card - back up (useful if the shots you are taking are megga precious) or for a jpg in support of the RAW on card 1. Or simply as an overflow when card 1 is full up, which even on 8GB cards doesn't take long when you are taking a RAW + jpg for every click of the button.
I like the fact that it is 16bit RAW, the more the better as far as I am concerned. The large clear live view is great, but you cannot have the viewfinder and live view simultaneously of course as you hear the mirror move when you switch on live view. I have yet to know whether to anti dust on the CCD feature really works (one of my main reasons to buy so I hope it does). But it takes good clear images and once I have learnt all the new additional features then I am sure it could be a step change up.
It has a movie mode - SO! I am a serious amateur and not the least bit interested in movie. If I wanted to do that I would get the video camera out. I do wonder how well Nikon have done their homework in this respect as I doubt many who want to buy a semi professional SLR are interested in this feature.
I would have far rather preferred it if Nikon had given me what Canon cameras have - the ability to see a live histogram when composing a shot. With the D7000 you can only view this after shooting.
Extra expense No2 came as a big shock and is not really Nikons fault but you might want to be aware of it before you purchase. I use Adobe Photoshop to process my RAWs and was perfectly happy with CS4. However Adobe have not done an updated RAW Plugin in to take D7000 NEFs for CS4 or earlier (now all unsupported of course) - answer - buy CS5...... another £200 to upgrade thank you madame! It may be different if you don't use CS but at least check it out so you know what you are getting yourself into before you purchase. There is a Nikon CD in the D7000 box but there is absolutely no information as to what this might do for you. Again a failure of Nikons inadequate manual.
So in summery
The camera is great
The manual is deficient
There are ramifications of the processing of the D7000 NEFs (can add a lot to your cost of purchase overall)
It isn't as easy on the SD cards you use.

Hope that helps.

Buying was as easy as we have all come to expect with Amazon and it arrived quickly and well packed. I love Amazon!

this is my 3rd d7000. the last one i returned because it consistently back focused.

I really like this camera, on paper it seems really good, the ergonomics and design are excellent but as much as i got sharp shots I got many misfocused shots too. Many of these shots were of non moving subjects.It can misfocus even when i used AF-S or AF-c. THe af system seems to get confused easily esp when subject is backlit. I used it on 2 primes a 35mm 1.8 and 50mm 1.8 neither needed any AF tuning. Even shooting at f2.8 When it misfocused it would always have a back focus -sometimes not by a lot and other times yes but just enough to spoil a shot.
i used a variety of focus charts including moire patterns and 45 degree charts and they were all seemed fine. i did them all at different distances. But the misfocus was just random and more frequent a longer distances and it varied a lot even if i focused on the same thing. I know this is an advanced camera but i have owned a d70 and d90 previously so i know how to focus ie contrasty targets.

Was the AF system faulty or was it just me ? Having been through 3 d7000s and not happy with the AF system with any one of them I thought about sending it to back to nikon but tbh if you research the common problems with nikon d7000 - dodgy autofocus is one of them and I didn't want to send it off only to be told the camera was within AF specification.
but amazon have an excellent return policy so dont let this review put you off if you have a bad copy, you can return it. a lot of other people seem to be happy with it. I really wanted to give this camera 5 stars, but the AF system system was very hit or miss for me. THe AF system is the most important part of the camera. It might have excellent dynamaic and tonal range on DXO marks but AF system was really a frustrating experience.
I have been a nikon fan since the d70. Going off topic but I have since got a sony A850 and it nails the focus where the d7000 fails , my keeper rate with this is very high and this is 24 megapixel camera so i rule out any bad technique on my part.. the d7000 backfocus phenomena does exist..