Jeff Mesnil
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⇨ Nikon D7000 Review at dpreview.com

December 1, 2010

dpreview.com's conclusion:

The D7000 produces great image quality and feels very responsive in most shooting situations. It shines especially in low light. From a specification point of view a 16.3 MP resolution sensor, 6 frames per second continuous shooting, 1080p full HD video and an abundance of customization options place this camera firmly into the semi-pro segment of the market.

I bought the Nikon D7000 to upgrade from my old D60. I am very happy with it so far but I have not use it extensively since I get it mid-november.

My main complaints are minor:

  • I find the default Auto ISO setting difficult to understand and configure properly. When I use it, the flash warning is always blinking in the viewfinder even when there is enough light. I am using manual ISO setting until I understand what is going on.
  • the ISO button is hard to find when looking through the viewfinder. It would have been better positioned as the last button instead of the QUAL one. It is annoying that ISO control can not be assigned to the Fn or preview buttons.
  • the top screen is missing some information by default. I need to press the exposure compensation button to know the current step value. It also can't display both the ISO value and the remaining frames count.

Apart from that, I have no other gripes (yet...). The viewfinder is bright and its 100% coverage makes it a joy to look through.
I have seen only JPEG pictures as I am waiting for Aperture 3 to support its RAW format. Overall, the JPEG image quality is good and I am looking forward to seeing some RAWs.

I am not impressed by its video mode: the focus is not good at tracking subjects and it records too much sound noise from my 35mm f/1.8 when it autofocuses. I'll try to use manual focus when I shoot videos next... It's frustrating but not important: I bought this camera to take pictures, not to shoot video. Its video mode is a bonus.

I plan to stay on DX lenses for the near future (I enjoy using my 16-85mm and 35mm) and the Nikon D700 looks to be the best Nikon DX camera for amateurs on the market today.