Nikon D7000 DSLR Digital Camera Buyers Review

With Nikon’s release of the D7000 DSLR Digital Camera, they have essentially created practically a brand new category in its DSLR camera lineup. The new Nikon D7000 DSLR offers an excellent mid-range alternative to their higher end Nikon D300s line, as well as the slightly older, yet the bit more affordable D90, which was released a few years ago.

Nikon D7000 Video (CLICK On Video To Pause)

The D7000 DSLR Digital Camera is complete with a full complement of automatic as well as advanced features such as:
• A 16 megapixel CMOS sensor (New!)
• A 3D color matrix metering (New!)
• Full 1080p HD Video
• Excellent low-light performance
• Full Time Auto focus in both Live View as well as video

Just to mention a few of the significant improvements made available under its hood, making the Nikon D7000 an excellent choice for a DSLR Digital Camera for both prosumers as well as general enthusiasts.

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Some Of The Basic Features Of The Nikon D7000 Digital Camera

Similar to the other DSLR cameras which are currently available on the market, the Nikon D7000 camera is equipped with a manual, semi-manual, and an automatic exposure option. There are also 2 custom setting modes as well as 19 scene modes which round out the basic photo shooting choices.

As the camera is equipped with a brand new 16 megapixel CMOS sensor, the Nikon D7000 as well as the recently released D5100, also with 16 megapixels, offers the Nikon DSLR entire lines second highest resolution display. The only other camera with higher resolution is the Professional Level Nikon D3x which offers a 24 megapixel sensor, and is significantly higher in price.

The Nikon D7000 is a lot more durable than it first may appear, as it is completely sealed to protect itself from the weather elements as well as protection from dust. All this in a very reasonable 1.5 pounds of body weight. It is a little bit heavier than the Nikon D90 which is around the same size.

You will be able to shoot stills comfortably with several of the different available NIKKOR lenses, such as:

• A 18-105mm kit lens
• 24-70mm and the 70-200mm VRII lenses

Each of these lenses felt well-balanced when attached to the camera. Unlike a few of Nikon’s entry-level digital cameras, the D7000 will accommodate both DX as well as non-DX lenses.

For those photographers who has used any of the other Nikon DSLR cameras, will feel comfortable and familiar with the control layout, while those new to the Nikon DSLR line may have to familiarize themselves by reading the user’s manual to know exactly where the dials and the buttons are, but the controls are arranged conveniently.

Nikon has also made some excellent adjustments so that Live View, the video as well as the continuous shooting are a lot more readily accessible. The Function button however to some, may be buried a little bit tight between the lens barrel and the grip, potentially making it a bit difficult to access. Another issue to others may be that the bracket button is located just below the flash pop-up control, which may make it easy to mistakenly activate the bracketing function, when attempting to pop up the flash. But these are minor issues at best.

Features Of The Nikon D7000
• 100% View Finder – Allows for extremely large as well as bright 100% coverage. Leaves no more guessing when it comes to your framing
• 2 SD Slots – When your out there shooting the photos, saying that your card is broke or full is no longer an excuse. 2 slots are an extremely useful feature both for full fledged professionals or for the home user
• 1/8000th – Useful when shooting outdoors into the sun wide while using a bright lens
• Magnesium Body With Excellent Sealing – Allows you to shoot in extremely dusty or humid environments without damaging the interior of your camera
• Uses ML-L3 Infra Red Remote – Small as well as inexpensive. The Infra Red sensor is on both the front as well as the back of the camera
• 2-megapixel image sensor in DX-format
• Full 1080p HD video complete with full-time autofocus as well as manual exposure control
• ISO range of 100 to 25600, which is the widest of any Nikon DX camera
• 14-bit analogue to digital conversion
• 2016 pixel 3D Colour Matrix metering system, with EXPEED 2 image-processing engine (New)
• 39 pt Autofocus system with 3D tracking (New)
• 6fps continuous shooting
• 921k dot 3-inch LCD screen

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New Notable Features On The Nikon D7000 DSLR

In addition to Nikon’s standard features as well as specifications on their DSLR line, the Nikon D7000 also comes with a few options such as:

Video Mode & Live View:
Featured for 1080p HD capture, the Nikon D7000’s video mode offers their latest HD DSLR features which includes full-time autofocus as well as manual exposure control. Video options will range from 640 by 424 at 30 fps up to 1920 by 1280 at 24 fps, with 5 setting combinations available in between.

Shooting In Low Light:
The native ISO range of 100 to 6400 is expandable to 25,500. While the latter however should only be used when there are no other options available. The Nikon D7000’s low light/high ISO performance is good even when it’s set at extreme. There may be “noise” at 25,500, while the details are not as clear and crisp as at lower ISOs. The Nikon D7000 produces much cleaner images at this ISO setting than it does on a lot of the other DSLRs does at more moderate settings. You may want to take shots in Raw mode if you push the ISO anywhere above 1600, giving you more control when manually applying the noise reduction in ACR or Adobe Camera Raw, versus the Nikons D7000’s Off/Low/Normal/High noise reducing options.

Dual Card Slots:
The Nikon D7000 comes with dual SD, SDHC and SDXC card slots, which offers a lot of flexibility. You can use the second slot for back-up or overflow; raw files as well as JPEG can be recorded on separate cards, while movie files can be directed on a separate card as well. The Nikon D7000 is the only camera thus far which is able to take full advantage of the ultra hi-speed Extreme Pro SDHC UHS-I card.

The Nikon D7000’s 39-point autofocus which is a new feature, works excellent in still mode but it’s not quite as responsive when in Video or Live View modes. While it may not be much of an issue when it’s in Live View, which is used primarily for stationary subjects, you can see as well as hear the lens searching when shooting the video. But fortunately, the Nikon D7000’s microphone’s volume is adjustable, or an external microphone, such as the Nikon ME-1 can be easily attached to eliminate the Auto Focus adjustment noise.

Special Features Of The Nikon D7000:
Some excellent features of the Nikon D7000 include:
• It offers multiple exposure
• Allows for interval shooting, which is great for stop motion videos, which is extremely popular these days
• Shoot up to six frames per second of continuous shooting and
• Includes a virtual horizon graphic indicator

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The Image Quality Of The Nikon D7000

The still image quality on the D7000 is good while in automatic mode and even better when using the manual controls. Rich colors as well as generally spot-on exposures are normal, but aesthetic preferences for better vivid or even subtle colors can be easily achieved, as well as the adjustments to the contrast, white balance and sharpness are possible as well.

High ISO image noise is kept pretty well under control, particularly if you’re shooting when in Raw Mode. The JPEG images are above average, even when it’s pushed to about 1600 ISO, which depends on the scene as well as the print size.

The choice of lens will obviously affect the image sharpness, the chromatic aberration as well as the other aspects of image quality. So it’s recommended that you choose your optics extremely wisely. The available 18-105mm kit lens should do a good enough job of delivering well focused sharp images.

When testing the Nikon D7000, it earned a score of “Very Good” for Exposure, while earning “Good” in the Sharpness, Color and Distortion categories.

The video quality of this camera is quite good as well, particularly when in bright light. When it’s under low-light conditions, the colors may appear a little more grainy. As mentioned, the footage can be dizzying as well as a little noisy while the lens searches for its proper autofocus point.

Overall, the Nikon D7000 is more than capable of producing excellent videos which are on a par or in some cases exceeding those of other similarly rated and priced DSLRs. During the lab tests, the Nikon D7000 received a score of “Good” for Image Quality, a “Superior” rating for Video Sound Quality, when not using the autofocus feature.

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Advice On Buying The Nikon D7000

You are obviously serious about your photography. The Nikon D7000 DSLR digital camera is equipped well enough to helping you transition up to the next level of photography. It has an above average and sophisticated feature set, provides top-notch performance, and extremely high image quality.

If you are new to Nikon, you can expect a bit of a learning curve, particularly if you’re wanting to take full advantage of what this camera has to offer, and there’s no reason not to. You can easily get lost with all of it’s exceptional functions and features such as the autofocus as well as its multiple choice menu.

It’s well worth you taking the effort to explore the options which are available on the Nikon D7000. If and when you do decide to purchase the Nikon D7000, make sure that you update the firmware as Nikon will continuously issue an update from time to time. Overall, the features as well as the functions of the Nikon D7000 DLSR is an excellent camera choice for it’s price range.

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