Nikon D7000 DSLR Review

Nikon is heating up market again since September 2010 with the release of it's latest DX format DSLR camera, Nikon D7000. Nikon’s D7000 features a 16.2 MP DX-format CMOS sensor, 6 fps continuous shooting and breathtaking Full 1080p HD movies with full time auto-focusing feature. In terms or video recording, Nikon D7000 has surpassed the power of Nikon's first video recording DSLR, Nikon D90. It comes with the full time autofocus shooting of HD quality video which D90 lacks. This is a great improvement for Nikon lovers who enjoy shooting HD quality video with their DSLR. According to the Nikon, Nikon D7000 falls between the Nikon D90 and Nikon D300s DSLR camera range. Here are some of the key features that D7000 carries.

1. CMOS Sensor

It has a High Resolution 16.2 MP DX-format CMOS sensor to give you large prints and tight cropping facility after the shooting. The D7000 inherits the same excellent three-inch, 921k-dot monitor as D90.

2. Camera Controls and Settings

Nikon D7000 Front View

It has a Dynamic ISO range from 100 to 6400 and expandable up to 25,600 (Hi2) which lets you shoot in near darkness and it’s Active D-Lighting feature helps you to restore the picture by enhancing the details in the shadows and the highlights. D7000 has a built-in speedlight flash that comes with an i-TTL and the Wireless Commander mode so that you can light up your subjects by controlling the wireless remote flash units. Built-in HDMI connection lets you connect your camera to the HDTV and playback with the remote controls. Optional MB-D11 multi-power pack further expands your shooting time while adding a vertical shutter-release and the control dials to the camera. The D7000 has a shutter speed range of 1/8000 to 30 seconds, with a top flash synchronization speed of 1/250 second. And just like with professional models, the shutter unit is tested for 150,000 cycles in severe conditions, proving precision and durability. Nikon has made D7000 with a ground-breaking 2,016-pixel RGB (3D Color Matrix) sensor which delivers more accurate control of light metering and optimizes the Scene Recognition System for the exposure, white balance, focus tracking and i-TTL flash control. D7000 shoots with the High Speed 6 frames per second continuous shooting up to 100 shots and helps to capture the most fleeting action. It has a highly customizable 39 point AF System which includes nine center cross-type sensors that operate with every AF NIKKOR lens so that you can focus on making great images.

3. Live View mode

Live View and Recording Button

The D7000 offers smooth switching from the regular shooting to the Live View shooting with the dedicated Live View switch. Large, easy-to-view 7.5 cm (3-in.) VGA wide-viewing-angle (170°), approximately 921k-dot TFT LCD monitor with the reinforced glass realizes comfortable Live View shooting. The D7000 also allows contrast-detect AF. By selecting AF-F (full-time-servo AF), the camera automatically tracks the subject continuously even if it moves during the Live View shooting. There are selectable AF-area modes according to the subject; face-priority AF, wide-area AF, normal-area AF and subject-tracking AF.

4. U1 and U2 mode

U1 and U2

This is completely new feature to any of the DX format Nikon DSLR camera. U1 and U2 mode allow you to save your camera settings into the memory. These are two user definable settings right on the Mode Selector Dial which let you store most camera settings so that you can go back to them at anytime without the need for further adjustments on the menu settings. The U1 and U2 modes are easy to set. You just have to navigate through MENU >> SETUP >> Save user settings where you have to select U1 or U2  and then Save settings. Any changes you made in this mode can be permanently set by repeating the action above. In addition, it comes with nineteen other options of scene modes, such as Silhouette, High key and Low key, Portrait, Landscape, Child, Sports, Close-up or Night Portrait that are selectable by setting the mode dial to the SCENE mode.

5. Quiet shutter-release mode

Quiet Mode

You can reduce the sound of mirror-up and mirror-down during the shooting by selecting the "Q" on the release mode dial. This improved quiet shutter-release mode is a convenient function for scenes such as a school play or when shooting wildlife, special events which are sensitive to noise.

6. HD video

D7000 is equipped to capture Full 1080p HD Movies with the Full Time Autofocus and an external stereo microphone jack to record the cinematic-quality movies up to 20 minutes all enhanced by the Nikkor interchangeable lens quality and the versatility. You can set both the aperture and the shutter speed from the camera in movie mode, although the slowest shutter speed is limited to 1/30th second, plus exposure compensation and AE-Lock can also be set. Out of the box, the D7000 can only record mono sound via its built-in microphone with three different levels of sensitivity on offer, but stereo recording can be recorded using an optional external microphone.

7. Electronic Virtual Horizon

This feature is especially useful for landscape shooting, the virtual horizon indicated in the LCD lets you know when the camera is in level. The virtual horizon can also be displayed during the Live View shooting. This feature was available only on pro cameras like d300, D300s or D700 before D7000 was introduced.

8. Double SD card

Double SD Slot

Twin SD Card Slots with SD, SDHC, SDXC memory card compatibility gives you options to keep on shooting and not to worry about memory being full or separate your NEF (RAW), JPEG and movie files. Or if you want, you can also program the camera to store images in the first memory slot and store a backup copy of those images in the second memory slot which gives you peace of mind while shooting important events, wedding for example. You can do that by navigating through the Shooting option in the MENU where you can define what you want to do with the card in each slot.

Many reviewers already started claiming that the Nikon D7000 is a top line DX format camera Nikon has ever built. No wonder it's already sold out in many camera stores. As of writing this post, Nikon has tagged it's price for $1,199.95 (Body only).

Shooting HQ Video With Nikon D90

My first DSLR camera was Nikon D60 which I loved so much but one thing I missed in my D60 was video recording. I wished Nikon could have included video recording feature in D60. But better late than never, Nikon came with another powerful camera, Nikon D90, with the video recording feature in it. Nikon D90 is considered as the first DSLR camera to record high quality video with the sound. I am glad that Nikon brought this feature with D90 for which I waited for a year or more. I finally got my hands on D90 this march and can’t wait to do some experiments with it even though I am more interested in taking still pictures. Obviously D90 shoots amazing sharp pictures with rich color and the greater details of the subject. Nikon D90 has a CMOS sensor built into it and is able to capture 12.3 Mega Pixel photo which is enough to print large size pictures for family gathering, wedding pictures and other daily events. There is no doubt that Nikon D90 is an excellent DSLR to capture your moment of life with amazing quality photo but now D90 also comes with the additional feature of taking video which can add extra flavor to your photography life.

Despite of being excellent HQ quality movie camera, D90 has some downsides while recording the video. D90 lacks Autofocus feature while taking videos. That means you have to manually focus your subject with one hand using the focusing ring on the lens barrel and hold the camera with another hand. If you are not using tripod to capture a video, I guess it would be very hard to hold D90 along with the with the heavy lens like 18-200mm for a long time. I believe most of the people don't shoot video with D90 but rather carry a small camcorder to record the video. But we can't ignore the fact that D90 records HQ video and can use it whenever we need it in case of emergency.

Nikon D5000 Vs Nikon D90

With the release of Nikon D5000 DSLR camera, market is buzzing with it's new features and comparison to other cameras in the market. I meet increasing number of people everyday getting into photography and the release of this new camera, Nikon D5000, is targeting those customers who are fresh and want to get into photography or upgrade themselves from point and shoot cameras. I started with Nikon D60 and later upgraded to D90. When I bought my first camera, I also did lots of comparison between different brands and the models of same brand. It is always confusing task to compare when you are not sure what exactly you are looking for on your first camera. But if you already know the specification you are looking for, your task is half completed and the next question would be comparison between the price of two. Since the release of Nikon D5000, it has been compared to the models of different brand or even within Nikon lineup. Since, I haven’t used other brand DSLR yet, I am trying to compare it with my own D90 and see how it differs to each other from different perspective.

People started comparing these two products because it has similar features. Due to rapid technological innovation, D5000 seems to have even more features than D90 and the price is much lower. But when you look more closely about the features avaialble in Nikon D90 and it's flexibility over the situation, there is no doubt that D90 is the best camera for the price you pay. But let’s discuss some of the key differences I found out during my research about these two cameras.

Nikon D5000

As I mentioned earlier, Nikon D60 was my first DSLR camera which I bought almost 18 months ago. And D5000 is considered as a replacement for D60 with some add-in features. D5000 offers more features than D60 like vari-angle color LCD monitor, 12.3 MP picture quality, records 720p HD movie with sound, 19 Auto-exposure Scene Modes, Live view, GPS Geo-tagging, 15.8 x 23.6mm size CMOS sensor like in D90 and many more. D90 lacks some of the features of D5000 like 19 Auto-exposure modes, vari-angle color LCD etc.

The main features that D5000 lacks over D90 are wide range of lens compatibility, off-camera flash control, dedicated buttons that allow immediate access to the settings. Nikon D90 has a built-in AF motor which gives the capability to support wide range of lens available in the market. This is one of the most important feature to be considered that D5000 doesn't have. When the camera has a built-in focus motor in it, it can utilize the AF lens for autofocus that doesn't have a motor inside the lens itself. Since D5000 doesn't have a AF motor inside the body, if you use AF lens with it, you have to manually focus. Next thing I noticed is Nikon D90 has a commander mode which allows you to control off-camera flash using the built-in camera flash. When you setup a commander mode in D90, you can actually use the built-in camera flash to send a signal over the air and control off-camera flash. This is pretty impressive feature and lot of time specially when we do indoor shooting, we use this feature for proper light setting. D90 has dedicated buttons for frequently used settings like ISO, preview of DoF, White Balance etc. Instead of navigating through menu setup, you can use those dedicated buttons to change your settings which is very handy and useful when you are in a hurry to capture the shot.

D90 has many other features that most of the people may not use in daily shooting but it is worth to have it there in-case if you need it. But that doesn't mean D5000 is a bad camera at all. Actually, Nikon D5000 comes with more features in affordable price. When it is time for you to decide which camera should you be buying, you have to answer few question to yourself; what do you want from your new camera and what is your budget? If you own point and shoot camera and want to upgrade, D5000 might be the perfect choice at this moment but if you already own one of the DSLR body like D40 or D60 for example and want more features, then probably getting Nikon D90 will be the best option.