Long Term D7000

[Jarra]

Has anyone owned and used a D7000 for an extneded period. If so what are the good and bad points.

regards

Jarra

[ricktas]

The D7000 was only announced on 15 September 2010 (7 months ago). Once announced it usually takes a month or two to be available and stores started having stock in November. So no one will have used one for an extended time yet. What are you trying to find out about this particular model?

[SerenityGate]

I won a D7000 on the bid auction site and paid $130 for it.
I've been using it now for about four weeks, and takes great photos.
Unfortunately, the Sigma 24-70 lens won't work on it. Camera won't even turn on with it attached. Found that is a common problem with the camera.
But it takes great photos with the Sigma 150-500 zoom (using the lens as an F8-F13 minimum). One day, I'll get a better long zoom lens for wildlife.
I agree with Thom Hogan about the slowness of the buffer. I'm using a fast Lexar 16gb card that I took out of my D300s, but notice it takes a while for the green light to go off when taking a lot of photos at JPG fine and 14-bit NEF lossless, compared with the d300s.
One thing that's really good is the ISO levels.
Because of the slowness of the Sigma zoom, I find that using auto-ISO of 1600 gives really good results.
Sill learning, but because of the extra level of ISO and the higher resolution, it's now my first choice to use with the big zoom, as I carry it sideways (the tripod point) and the lighter weight makes it easier to carry. Although I'm going to have to get the MB-D11 battery pack as I have fairly large hands.
Big problem is the new battery, as I have a lot of the EL3e batteries and, of course, the new ones are a lot more expensive.
All in all, it's a great camera.

[Kym]

On the Sigma lens issue... http://www.shutterasia.com/forum/showthread.php?t=44132


The issue isn't about the D7000. The issue is Sigma compatibility when Nikon upgraded their protocols for lens communication for whatever reason. Third party lens manufacturers would always have to play catch up. I think some old Sigmas would need a chip replacement to work. If you don't own any Sigmas, then you're fine buying the D7000.

[farmer_rob]

I've had a D7000 since november (5 months).

Good points - it depends where you are coming from. I had a D40x. Autofocus system is great, but more complex. I love the greater resolution, and think the colours are better. I think I get better contrast. It seems to have better dynamic range. I have no trouble using ISO up to 1600. There are buttons for most functions. Battery life is great.

Bad points - I want to be able to turn off the live view switch as I often set it going by accident ( I use the button near it for AF.). Buffer size for continous shooting is crap when using RAW. I had to upgrade to elements 9 to use RAW (f****** adobe!)

I love the camera and think it was a great purchase for me - without reservation. However, if you use a d300 now, you'll lose features. If you use a d90, the d7000 seems to be a better camera, but you need to be sure about why you are upgrading.

[Jarra]

Thanks folks exactly what I was after

[ricktas]

So now we have helped you with that, how about showing us some of your photos from your D50, or giving some other members some critique on their photos. Members have answered several of your questions regarding gear since you joined, so now it would be nice if you gave something back to them.

[tanalasta]

Having come from the D90 and the D7000... I have the following points:
1. The ISO performance at 3200 - 6400 is superior to the D90 and I would imagine significantly better than the D50. The colour, detail retention is better and the 14 bit dynamic range (about 9EV if I recall correctly) allows lightroom post processing to a greater degree. Good in low light.
2. Metering is usually spot on but emphasises the focal point and can overexpose by >1EV at times, especially in bright, harsh conditions. Something to get used to and compensate for. Look at the histogram and if it's blown out, dial in some EV and shoot gain.
3. Focusing is spot on, no back nor front focus. Additional focal points fantastic for using D-9 AF-C and portraiture when I'm not manual focusing. I also find the addition of the focus shortcut button to change modes, although not in the most ergonomic position, more practical than having autofocus at the top of the my menu. The focus sensing error extends past the boxes and tends to lock onto areas of high contrast. So if you have your area of focus spot on in the middle of the sensor box in thew viewfinder but there is an area of high contrast just next to it, it may misfocus. Somthing to get used to in a more complicated system.
4. Nice to have 16MP and there isn't any worsening of noise of quality for it. However, if you zoom in at 100% crop, you are looking at more detail and things become subjectivly more visible. Hint: Don't pixel peep for faults as when you do a real print or look at non-100% crop, it looks fine!
5. Yes, the dial at the top can accidentally move easily. So if your settings suddenly look different, that may be why. I've actually copied the aperture priority settings to U1 and U2 for the moment.
6. Very reasonable at ISo 1600-3200. Usable at 6x4" at ISO 6400 with a bit of lightroom noise reduction.
7. If you shoot weddings or do short bursts of 2-5 frames at a time, the buffer isn't an issue. If you shoot wildlife, birds and fill the buffer with 14 bit RAW, then you really need the D300S or better.
8. No back or front focussing at all. Have a look at the review from Mansurov on the D7000, which I've found to be one of the best and most accurate on the internet. I have not had to fine tune any of my lenses so far although to be fair, still testing the 85mm f/1.4G at close distances as I'm not 100% happy at under 1m. Works brilliantly at other distances but a few photos near the closest focal point have been a bit soft.

[Bear Dale]

I won a D7000 on the bid auction site and paid $130 for it.


What auction site? I always thought these places were scams.

[Tommo1965]

What auction site? I always thought these places were scams.

LOL

I wondered when someone would pick up on that post...Im moderately interested too

[SerenityGate]

The Auction site is Bidhere Australia. The camera and 18-105 lens were delivered by courier just within the 21 days they said (between 7 and 21 days).

Watch what happens carefully before getting involved. Some people are so intent on winning at all costs, they pay a lot more than the price of the camera or whatever.
And they can take you with them.
I watched the item for quite a while, late at night (the world cup cricket was on, so it was okay). One person was using the bidmonkey (autobidder) and the rest were single bidders. I only hit the bidmonkey start button when the other autobidder's time was 2 seconds left. That way, if there was a single bidder, that single bidder's bid would count. Then I would stop the bidmonkey until the other autobidder's bid came up and so on.
Saves a lot of money, and lets other people do the bidding until it's just you and the other one autobidding. Make sure you set a limit.
I was lucky, the other person must have set a limit so I won. $16.80 for the camera, and $115 worth of bids.
Remember, be very careful and watch other people lose their money before you lose yours!

Hope this helps

P.s. Kym, I Know it's the Sigma's fault, not the camera. One online forum contributer said they had the lens' software/firmware<?> upgraded and it worked, but that was under warranty.