is the D7000 worth buying?

donaldejose

All Nikon models are worth buying. You just have to realize what they can and cannot do. Use them withing their abilities and get a great price. Most photos we take do not require "the latest and greatest" gear.

kyoshinikon

All Nikon models are worth buying. You just have to realize what they can and cannot do. Use them withing their abilities and get a great price. Most photos we take do not require "the latest and greatest" gear.

Except for the L10...

donaldejose

Yes, I should specify that I limit that phrase "all models are worth buying" to the more recent generation DSLRs. I wouldn't buy a D1; even for $100. Personally, I wouldn't go back farther than a D90 if I wanted a camera for taking pictures today If I was interested in an historical experience (what was it like "back then in the olden days?") I would be willing to pick up something older than a D90 for the historical experience.

spraynpray

Isn't it NSX that still uses a D40 and does good work on the PAD?

donaldejose

Yes, in 2012 I posted also some PAD pictures with the D40 specifically to show that it still is good in limited circumstances such as PAD or prints to 8x10. Remember though PAD images are only about half a megapixel. I just don't like the fact that the D40 does not have Nikon's modern picture control settings or active-D lighting. Same for the D80. That is why I start at the D90 for any photos I take today unless I am just doing an historical reenactment. I am not a civil war reenactor but I am a photographic reenactor. I have old back power guns and guns from the era of the old west that I occasionally shoot just to experience what it was like back then. Same with photography for me. Once in a while I find it interesting to experience the past.

Here are some D40 images I put on PAD last year to encourage those with old cameras such as D40s to not be intimated by all the new equipment listed under the PAD photos:







I would say the quality of these images is good enough for most purposes: PAD, 6x4 prints, facebook, computer monitor viewing, etc. Click on these images to view them larger and decide for yourself if the D40 is good enough for most purposes. BUT, it does have its limits and for about $500 you can get a D90 so when buying a used camera today I see no reason to go back into history further than a D90 unless you are more interested in history than in the image you can produce today.

rschnaible

Hi all,

@spraynpray In England, we would call that 'harsh - but fair' Mike" Ahem, in the light of the next day, I didn't intend for it to sound so harsh as it sounds. More like to be, 'sucked into the buying frenzy,..'

Still, I guess I'll have to stand buy it.

I have carried Nikon gear for nearly 45 years professionally, and have 3 cases of lenses and bodies that I have hauled around. Some of it replacement from stolen gear from two robberies (it would have been three if I had taken gear to Peru this last Summer).

The D7000 that came out had some production issues as does the D600, and I wonder 'What's up?"

It makes less and less sense to be early adopters.

While the complexity of electronic stuff makes for more things to go wrong, it also means that people should be leery of promises that a manufacturer makes, and perhaps weary of lack of delivery of lack of same. Maybe I'm just getting crotchety, but if a camera is suppose to work, it should just should work.

My best,

Mike

Well said Mike!

BrainBeat

Isn't it NSX that still uses a D40

My work still uses them for same night service photo's as they like how they give a softer image and so people look "better". I however prefer to use my current d5000 especially as I have to often take other photos too.

Getting a bit off the topic but I wonder how you guys think of the D5200 compared to the D7000 especially as DxOMark's tests seem to place it better now.

KnockKnock

I guess I'd compare them straight up. The D5200 looks measurably better in color depth, dynamic range, and ISO. However the margin is slim. In the real world, will most shooters get more keepers with 2-5% improved sensor? I doubt it. That's just the sensor that DxOMark is measuring. All other comparisons have been well-hashed, weight, ergonomics, generational differences etc. So it's an old song to sing when comparing. Right now, pricing is comparable between the two and I think the market makes sense - they're close in many ways. Things will be more stark when the D7000 is updated. For prospective purchases the comparison between D5200 and D7000 is really a question of features and feel - the tech is very very close, just like it was between the D5000/D90/D5100.

spraynpray

"- the tech is very very close, just like it was between the D5000/D90/D5100."

I wouldn't even put the D90 in with the 'one wheelers' personally, it is the ergonomics that are the decider for me as I think most of my decent pictures could have been done with my D5000.

donaldejose

For me the distinction between the D3100/D3200/D5100/D5200 bodies and the D90/D7000 bodies are more a matter of ergonomics than image quality. The less expensive bodies force you into the menu system more to change settings while the more expensive bodies provide more dedicated buttons to access settings more directly. Scrolling through the menus to change settings takes time and you miss shots.

DaveyJ

@Dredden85: Our D7000 performs very well with the 12-24DX Nikkor. I bought it new when I was selling some gear and wasn't that turned off by the price. I do think I made a really good move back then and that lens has performed wonderfully on D70, D300, D90, and the D7000. I still do look at FX Nikon gear but for right now the D7000 are most welcome and I still think right now the best bang for the buck. As to D7200 right now it seems way too far off for me.

MikeGunter

Hi all,

The D5xxx don't have internal motors to auto focus some lenses which makes a difference if you have or want to have those lenses, the D90, D7000 and should think the D7xxx have (will).

As for the D7200, I'm not even sure what that camera will offer that will be ground breaking.

I suspect, if the D600 is any guide, it will have headphone outputs and a better audio input meter/switch although likely menu driven.

Maybe a live histogram - something that I would like in the penta prism mirror box anyway, an additional stop WOW I Can really see that of dynamic range and ISO usability.

Beyond that, the 24mp sensor doesn't offer much other than the opportunity to offer more noise for the money.

And Nikon's ability to get it wrong with early adopters lately doesn't inspire me to reach into my pocketbook for anything quickly. I would certainly let any product mature in the field before buying.

My best,

Mike

Dredden85

@ KnockKnock: You pretty much have me sold. I just hope I can hold my breath for two months. I'll have to trade in my D5000 and Tamron 18-250 rig for the D7000 and 18-200.

Dredden85

@DaveyJ & MikeGunter: I am starting to feel the same!

NSXTypeR

Oh yes, I am seriously looking at the D7000 now that the D40 is pretty much kaput.

Does anyone know when the instant rebates end?

Symphotic

I bought one last year for a customer and I think the D7000 is a great camera body, but comparing a D7000 and a D600 side by side on Saturday I don't think I will buy another one. A D600 is about twice the price, but I think I would only go for the D7000 if I were deeply invested in DX lenses already or if I had to have a new body today and I didn't have the money for a D600.

Although I am a HUGE D7000 fan, its time is now past. Still I believe the D7000 is now priced very well if you really can't see yourself wanting to go FX yet. If you were my son or daughter, I would advise you to give up Starbucks for another 7 months and go with the D600 though.

Symphotic

.... Nikon's ability to get it wrong with early adopters lately doesn't inspire me to reach into my pocketbook for anything quickly. I would certainly let any product mature in the field before buying....

Mike, +1 to that!

Parke1953

Symphotic funny you mentioned the Starbucks, my wife last week told me how much I spend there in a month. Wow.. Do they have a rehab for Starbucks.

Dredden85

@ Parke1953: Its called Decaf

MikeGunter said:
.... Nikon's ability to get it wrong with early adopters lately doesn't inspire me to reach into my pocketbook for anything quickly. I would certainly let any product mature in the field before buying....

Agreed! +1

NSXTypeR

Isn't it NSX that still uses a D40 and does good work on the PAD?

Thank you for the kind words! Yes, up until a few weeks ago I was using the D40!

KnockKnock

Well, it's with sad heart I need to report that I just returned my refurbished D7000 to Adorama due to focus issues. This contradicts my happiness on this thread's previous page. The only think I can say to rectify this, thinking back, is that most of those first week's shots were after I got home, at night, walking around shooting at ISO1600+. I have to add some denial in there too.

Come week two, shooting in full sunlight, I noticed things which should have been razor sharp were not. Fine detail in nature, fur, eyelashes were not quite there. Both RAW and in JPEG with contrast and sharpness cranked. I spent all weekend working to find the magic number in AF Fine Tuning to match that of the (truly sharp) Contrast-Detect AF reference shots I made. Tripod, MUP Remote. -4 came close for one lens. But I could never match the reference shots. I had to conclude at 1:00AM at the end of my 3 day weekend that there may be something else going on beyond AF calibration.

Short of buying a calibration tool and putting in hours of more proper testing with my other lenses and/or sending to Nikon for repair, weeks of waiting - I decided to eat the shipping and return it within 30 days. I want to believe in refurbs. My D60 was perfect. But I'm less confident at this point.

I know there are thousands of D7000's out there working properly, making their owners happy. Doing my online research I found lots of controversy on this topic. I just didn't want to get any more involved with that than I had to.

Time to regroup - consider a truly new D7000 body, wait longer for the elusive D7200, leap to the D600. This isn't enough to push me away from Nikon. It'll probably take a couple weeks for the refund to hit my credit card, so back to decision making. Sigh.

Symphotic

...leap to the D600...

Maybe you should wait a few weeks for the D600s to sort themselves out, then leap. I think with Nikon the two times you don't want to buy something is when they first come out with a product unless you don't mind sending it back for minor tweaking, and perhaps at the end of a product cycle.

MikeNikon

I think NO

Nikon D7000 AF system is used in Nikon D5200 with advance sensor developed by Toshiba, I think you should buy Nikon D5200 or wait for Nikon D7100.

MikeNikon

I am a Nikon user from past 10 years.

Msmoto

In most cases, when Nikon has refurbished a product it is better than new. There is of course always the exception.

In checking focus, one can make a chart and do the testing. Not fun, but doable. And, if the proper technique is not utilized, the idea a camera is not focusing properly may be confusing. The lens used is also important as some are simply not as crisp as others and when we pixel peep, we see this, thinking the camera is not focusing.

So, before sending a camera off, I would carefully give some details as to what lens was not focusing, how you determined this, and also post full size on Flickr, give us a link, and let us see what you feel is not sharp.

On your next body, make certain you share some data so we know what you are dealing with. Also, the leap to a full frame from crop sensor is a lot more than a camera body. It involves in many cases the purchase of a new set of full frame lenses.