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d7000 users..opinions?

I

iSax1234

macrumors regular
Original poster
Feb 8, 2010
122
0
Virginia
Hey guys,

Currently I have a Canon 5d classic (mk1) with an 85mm f/1.8 and 430 EX 1 that I'm in the process of trying to get rid ( I really don't want to ebay it.) Anyways after I sell of this gear I'm looking to buy a d7000 with 35mm f/1.8 and sb-700. Some may ask why?

To me Nikon seems to be going in the right direction with AF and low light performance. Along with other ergonomic features. As well Nikon is producing amazing zoom lenses and starting to compete in the prime category with Canon. To me Canon is like Adobe, lazy: So nikon it is.

Continuing on I am just looking for some of your opinions on the camera it self. I haven't personally tried one yet, but I more than likely will before I by one. How do you like the feel, do you have the battery grip (which I'll more than likely end up buying.) Feel free to throw in any insights and previous camera body experiences.

I'm really excited to get a hold of this thing, from what I can tell the ISO results are pretty good even up to 6400. As well 6 FPS vs 3 on my 5d and 39 AF points vs 9. I think its an upgrade I'll enjoy and one I can expand on with some good glass. (Plan to get a used 80-200 f/2.8, samyang 14mm f/2.8 MF and maybe some other MF glass)

Thanks a lot
 
I'm a Nikon guy and I don't own the D7000, but I've handled one at the Nikon service point here in Munich. Compared to the 5D Mark I you have now, it will feel a bit smaller and more compact. It feels sturdier than the new 60D, but less sturdy than a Nikon D300 or a Canon 50D. Not that this should detract you from buying.

If I were you, I would worry less about gear and more about what kind of pictures you want to take now. You seem to be committed to get a D7000 and I'd just take the plunge, start shooting and stop worrying. :)
 
I decided on the Canon 60D for myself, but I had no DSLR before this purchase. One of the biggest selling points for me was the articulating screen on the 60D. I've used it several times already to line up a shot I couldn't really see in the viewfinder without being a contortionist.

I also have read some reviews (dpreview) that say the D7000 has a tendency to overexpose in bright light situations such that you need to step down to -1 or -1.5 to get proper exposure. There was one site (http://www.cameralabs.com/reviews/Nikon_D7000/index.shtml) that did a comparison between the D7000 and 60D and the 60D that clearly showed the overexposure problem of the D7000. Overall, though, they're quite comparable. The "39 points of AF" is nice, but only 9 are cross-type, which matches the 9 of the Canon. The video AF is a "check off" feature that won't be actually useful because of the AF noise in the video. The stated 6fps is hurt by a small buffer, so you'll only get about 10 shots total in RAW mode before the buffer is full.

You are correct about the low light performance, though. The D7000 does perform better at 1600 ISO and above, especially at 6400+. I can't speak to the lenses available since I'm too new to the DSLR world to have experience with different lenses.

I'm not trying to knock down the D7000 because I went back and forth between it and the 60D before I chose the 60D in the end. What I considered "must have" may not be what you care at all about. I just wanted you to be aware of the negatives of the Nikon before making your purchase.
 
Thanks guys. Yeah to give you a bit of history.

Had a d5000 (Articulating screen doesn't really matter to me) got stolen.

Bought a t1i enjoyed the video started to get really interested in it. Had a desire to go full frame so I sold it and bought...

5d classic bought it with gripped and loved it. Love the feel of a larger body. The Bokeh is really nice. AF is not very accurate and no video. As well ISO isn't amazing. 1600 is max with H setting of 3200, the noise isn't bad but the banding is. As well when ever I'm using an ISO that high the AF tends to fail.

I'm not really a gear a holic, well maybe, but until I sell my canon gear which is not bad then I'm stuck researching the d7000 haha.


Thanks again
 
The d7000 is a brilliant camera in its price range, but in terms of image quality, it would be a step down from the 5d classic, which offers stellar image quality.

No APS-C camera has yet matched any of Canons FF cameras in terms of pure, unadulterated image quality.
 
I have a D7000 w/35mm AF-S f1.8G, and the MB-D11 battery grip. So far, I love it!

I bought it specifically for a job I'm currently working, doing timelapse capture of a building being built. The built-in intervalometer is perfect for this. I have two 64GB SD cards set so one acts as a backup of the other, and the battery grip allows the camera to self operate continuously for the entire dawn-to-dusk session day after day. So far, I've only run 35,000 shots through it (about 1000 a day for just over a month) and it's been superb.

I've only grabbed a few video clips so far, using the 1920x1080/24p setting, and it looked very nice when I dropped it on a timeline in Adobe Premiere CS5.

I've been trying to decide what my next lenses will be. I was thinking a used 80-200 would be great, but then a friend got the 70-200 VR II, and it's fabulous. I really want a set of primes... Tough decisions!
 
I've gotten a D7000 last weekend for my birthday, and I must say it is a tremendous piece of camera. I love the ergonomics, it's a marked improvement over the D80 and D70 which I've used before (I haven't used the D90, so I can't comment on that).

Regarding ergonomics, I prefer Nikon's UI by a long shot over Canon's (I'm not saying Nikon's is better than Canon's, IMHO it's a matter of personal taste) and I could list quite a few other things that Nikon has gotten right (in no particular order):
- High ISO performance is just amazing, shots taken at ISO 3,200 are not just usable, they look great. The noise looks like film grain, I haven't really noticed any chroma noise (color noise).
- The AF is a huge upgrade to what I was used to before. Seeing as you come from a 5D, the same should be true for you as well. My 30 mm Sigma focusses much more reliably and accurately now. Thanks to the many AF points, I can really focus on a particular eye now without having to focus and recompose a little (thus shifting the focal plane).
- It has a quiet operation mode where the mirror is released when you let go of the shutter release.
- Auto ISO is finally useful since it is no longer limited to ISO 100-800 as is my D80. Just let it do its magic in manual :)
- Colors are great.
- The meter works just like the good ol' meters of the F50, F80 and D70. (The D80 was a bit quirky in that respect.)
- The viewfinder is large (for a crop camera) and bright, but the 5D's is larger since it has a full frame sensor.

There are a few things that may be important to you, but are less of a deal to me:
- 6 fps. I feel like a pro!™ I don't think I ever thought I need that much. But if Nikon includes it for free and it is optional, who am I to complain ;)
- True mirror lock up. I'm not the patient tripod type. At least not yet. So I haven't felt the need for mirror lock-up.
- Live view and movies. I don't care about movies and I don't know whether I'll need live view. I've had it for a few years on my Olympus E-20 and didn't really use it a lot.
 
womoma said:
The d7000 is a brilliant camera in its price range, but in terms of image quality, it would be a step down from the 5d classic, which offers stellar image quality.

No APS-C camera has yet matched any of Canons FF cameras in terms of pure, unadulterated image quality.
Click to expand...

Is not the 5d also twice the price?

I like Nikon products. Their user interface and layout seems pretty intuitive compared to Canon.

I picked up a d7000 this past friday. It is a replacement for my D90 with 18-105 that I subsequently sold.

I have not had a whole lot of time to play around with it yet, but based on the small amount of photos I have seen so far the D7000 is at least twice the camera of my D90, and a overall I consider it an incredible deal at $1129.00 out the door.

The image quality is a big improvement over what I got with the D90, but I really need to take some outdoor shots to do more outdoor shots on a sunny day to get a real idea of how much better the IQ is compared to the D90.

As far as overexposure, I did find that my D90 had a tendency to overexpose, so I always set the EV to -0.3.

Low light performance is stellar. So far I have gotten great images up to ISO 2500 that appear to be noise free..

Its got weather sealing, a magnesium alloy frame, 100% viewfinder, whats not to love?
 
This is silly:

womoma said:
The d7000 is a brilliant camera in its price range, but in terms of image quality, it would be a step down from the 5d classic, which offers stellar image quality.

No APS-C camera has yet matched any of Canons FF cameras in terms of pure, unadulterated image quality.
Click to expand...

Almost any APS-C sensor made in the last 18 months will outclass the original 5D in almost every way. I have the 5D and while its great, its still a 5 year old camera with some serious limitations. Don't take my word for it, take a look at the DxO scores for the 5d's sensor. Technology has come a long way in the last 4 or 5 years and the Nikon will beat the pants off the 5D.
 
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