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Anyone here using a Nikon D7000
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Hi there, I am currently using a Nikon D200 and have been for the last 5 years or so. I am looking at changing it next year and I have been looking around and reading reviews and whilst I would love the Nikon D3X or D4 its slightly beyond my budget :)
I have been reading good things about the D7000 however one thing that I have read more than once is that the sensor seems to get dirty and needs to be cleaned very soon after picking up a new one. Thats the only con I have read about.
I was wondering if anyone here had upgraded from a D200 to a D7000 and if so what did they think. Did they see a marked improvement in image quality ?
One of the reasons I am changing is that I want a better performance at higher iso’s than the D200 can offer.
All comments gratefully received.
Mark S.
Never used one, but did consider one. At the time I was coming from a D200 like you, and the two things that put me off were the price (higher than a D300), and allegedly hot matrix metering that tended to overexpose sometimes.
I experienced the latter in a D80 I had, and reading up on it, its caused by Nikon biassing the matrix metering in these models on the basis of what lies under the active focus point. As someone who focusses and then recomposes, this often led to the matrix metering basing exposure on the active focus point, and thus sometimes overexposing my shots.
If you don’t focus and recompose you probably shouldn’t have an issue, but it was enough of an issue to put me off it, as I had gotten sick of my D80 erratically overexposing by 1/3 to 2/3’s of a stop sometimes. This issue seems to be restricted solely to matrix metering, and only in certain models below the D200/ D300 after the introduction of the D80 (D80 seeming to be the first model where Nikon introduced this ‘improvement’).
Hope this helps. D7000 seems a fantastic camera otherwise to me, and to be honest, prefer the size of the D80/ D7000 over the larger D200/ D300 models.
Thanks Damien, what camera did you go for in the end ?
I love my D200. I like the weight and feel of it especially with the battery pack attached. I had thought about going to the D300 alright but the more I read about it the more it seemed like a waster of money. Simply for the reason that the image quality and performance at high ISO is far better in the D7000 than the D300 so I would not see a huge improvement going from the D200 to the D300 whereas I would going to the D7000.
There seems to be about a €200 difference between the 2 for a 2nd hand body. I got a loan of the D7000 off a girl in work to use at lunchtime and I liked it. Nice big display at the back. Fast AF and good performance over 800 iso which I never do with the D200.
Anyway it will be next year before I can afford one so hopefully Nikon bring out another camera which causes the prices to drop again :)
Mark.
Hi Mark,
Your reasoning is pretty much identical to mine at the time. I opted for the D300 as I needed a camera quickly at the time, and didn’t have the extra to splash on the D7000. If time or money had not been issues, I’m sure I would most likely have chosen the D7000 instead.
As things stand, I’ve had my D300 for 2/ 3 years, and love it. Its pretty much like a perfect D200, as the high iso is improved on the D200, as well as the battery life, the D200’s only two weaker points for me.
Not sure what the happy medium is right now, with regard to the combination of best used models in terms of price/ performance, but being able to wait can only be good.
DSLR’s probably represent the best value, but if I had the decision over again, with cash to spend, I would be sorely tempted by the Fuji X’s, as the big weakness for me with dslr’s are their size, and as capable as the D300 is, I’m often tempted not to drag it out.
In any case, good luck with your eventual choice :)
Just as an update. I got the D7000 about 2 weeks ago in Conns in town. I had seen on their website that they had a 2nd hand D7000 in stock so I rang them to get actuation number which was 3000. When I went in about 2 weeks later to get it, it had been sold but they checked their Nikon “A” grade stack and had a D7000 body with 780 actuations which they sold me for the same price as the 2nd hand body with 3000 actuations. 6 month guarantee with it too.
Have tried it out at 1000 iso to test one of the reasons for buying it and I am very impressed. I also tried the video on it (though I would have no real interest in this feature) but the quality is amazing too. AF is a lot faster than my D200 as I no longer have to worry about the camera “hunting”.
All in all very happy with my purchase.
Mark.
Nice one Mark. My D200 gave up the ghost in November so I had to replace it. Ended up getting the D7100 (didn’t see any good deals like yours on the D7000…). Anyhow, haven’t used it much since but the ISO is certainly excellent on it. I’d like to try out the video a bit more tbh as it seems like a waste with nice glass not to try it out some more :).
On the poor old D200, well I have a part (DC to DC convertor) ordered which ‘might’ fix it. If not, it’ll just gather dust on a shelve like some
of my other more vintage cameras :)I managed to sell mine Mark. Put it up on Adverts and sold it, 2 batteries, battery grip cable release and remote release too. Have to get another battery for the D7000 now. I got the neewer battery grip. Huge difference in price between that and the Nikon one. £22 GBP for the Neewer one.
Hey Mark :-)
What do you think of the D7100? I”m actually saving for a new camera body myself as an upgrade to my current D300. I’ve finally given up on the mythological D400, and since most of my lenses are DX format, going full frame is not really an option.
I really like the size and build of the D300, so thats one of the worries for me. Is there a big difference between your D200 and the D7100.
I’ll most likely get the grip anyway as Ive always used one with both my old D80 and D300 :-)
Cheers
Robbie :-)
Hi Robbie,
Haven’t used it for anything other than sport so my experience is very limited. High ISO is superb and is a major improvement compared to the D200. The D300 you have is of course better in that respect than the D200 too.
Its a fine well build and solid camera, feels good in the hand. I must get a battery grip too for it as I miss the one I had on the D200. Won’t go for the Nikon one though this time around as I think its overpriced. I’m very happy with the upgrade overall.As soon as I use the camera a bit more, I’ll post up some other and more useful thoughts about it :D
Cheers
Cheers Mark :-)
The ISO performance is the real dealmaker for me. The D300 is just lagging too far behind the current line for me. I’d love to make the jump to full frame, as they really do seem to have quite the edge, but not really an option unless i win the Lotto sometime soon ;-)
I hear ya on the grip thing okay. Stupid money for what it is. Only thing that makes me wary of the 3rd party grips, is that, according to what im reading online, a lot of them seem to develop issues, dont fit as tightly or dont work quite as seamlessly as the Nikon version.
But then you’re talking €50 versus €300. So its a tough call.
Hi Robbie/Mark,
I have been using the D7000 for a couple of weeks now. I was in Paris at the weekend and went for a walk along the seine at 11.00 at night and was shooting at 2000 ISO. Something I would never in a million years have attempted with the D200 and the results are quite amazing. Yes there is grain but its equivalent to the noise you wold see using the D200 at 800 ISO.
AF is fast as well and I was having a major problem with the D200 hunting at low light whereas I am not having that issue with the same lenses on the D7000.
It is slightly smaller than the D200 but with the battery grip attached its not noticeable.
The only 2 problems I have with it is that
a) with the Battery neewer grip on it you still have to put one battery into the camera and one into the grip so when it comes time to charging them you have to remove the grip to get the other battery out. The Nikon grip for the D200 held both batteries so it never had to be removed.
b) takes a bit of getting used to having to alter WB, and ISO from the buttons on the back of the camera as opposed to the top where they were situated on the D200.
But these are minor things. Shutter is quieter than the D200 too. Theres a lot of new stuff in the menus which I will never use such as post processing options and effects but someone else might use them.
All in all I am very happy with it.
Mark.
Thanks Mark. Interesting re the battery grip !.
Yes, the shutter is a whole lot quieter than on the D200.I’ve been toying with the idea of a D7100 myself, and had a quick go with a friends and it seems small in my hand compared with my D300 but perhaps with a battery grip it might not feel as small
The main reason for a change for me also is the high ISO more for night photography than anything elseThanks Mark. Kinda confirms what I’ve seen in reviews online.
The battery grip thing isn’t that new though. The D300 grip is the same. Bit of a pain okay, but you get used to it. Also, you can set up which battery gets used first. so if you set it up for the Grip battery to be used first then it’s not as bad.
Cathal…it seems that camera manufacturers are getting like clothes manufacturers…everything being designed for smaller people ;-)
I like a camera that feels solid in my hand and don’t mind it being bigger or a little heavier :-)
I used a battery grip with the D200 and now that I have the battery grip for the D7000 I can’t feel any difference
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