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Nikon D7000 First Look

November 17th, 2010

Yay, so I finally got my D7000 body today! (the kit version has been shipping since weeks but that's not what I wanted)

In short, this camera blows the D90 and D300s out of the water and will even give the higher-end models a run for their money. There is a difference in speed to the D700 and D300s, for example, but if you've never owned a D700 there won't be anything you'll miss.

First off, this body oozes quality, and all the controls feel just that much ever-so-slightly more upscale than the older models. The battery is new (yuck) and so is the charger (yuck again), but since the charger is larger I assumed that charge times will be shorter and this is true. A full charge took about 1-1/4 hour which is faster than the old charger. The new EN EL15 battery's capacity has risen from the 11,1 Wh of the old model to 13.3 Wh; this is good.

SO where are the goodies?

    
	
  • Nikon has finally addressed their loud shutter-click issue: the D7000 is quieter than the previous quietest models, the D90 and D80.
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  • The Quiet Shutter mode (set the dial on the top left of camera to Q) tones down the sound much further and this alone would be a reason for me to buy this camera (the D300s has this too).
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  • All the scene modes - a number of new ones have been added - have been banned away from the top dial (great! who uses these anyway?)
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  • The button layout at back left is identical to the pro bodies (finally!!)
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  • Movie mode seems to work well but this isn't my first priority so I'll delve in this later.
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  • Two SD card slots on the side with various modes as to how they are deployed.
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  • A virtual horizon (same as the pro bodies), configurable to the front function button.
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  • A dial top left to select Single shot, Continuous Low, Continuous High, Quiet, Mirror Up etc (same as the pro bodies),
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  • ISO way up to 25k if you need it and up to 12k for pretty darn good images.
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  • 16 Megapixels vs. 12 MP of all the old bodies (yes, megapixels DO matter).
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WOW!!!!

Summed up: I shall not miss my D90 one bit, it's been fully and totally obsoleted by the D7000.

I'll be using the D7000 as a general purpose and travel body, so the smaller size comparing to the Dx00 series will definitely be an advantage. For commercial work I'll still prefer the feel of the larger Dx00 bodies. It'll be 2011 till those are replaced by Nikon and I'm sure they will be blockbusters!

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