Nikon D7000 user reviews (with 18-105mm lens)

Pros Fast and unobtrusive. It is fast to focus, fast to aquire, fast to make setting changes. The camera doesn't get in the way with your photography.

Cons Really don't have any. Most others negatives seem to be from actually never using the camera, or unwillingness to learn to work with the camera.

Summary To start with, this camera is a benchmark camera for the APS-C crowd. It has a high enough pixel count to really not want more from an APS-C sensor. Nikon has not compromised on noise performance for pixels. Aquisition of images is very fast. (The kit lens slows it down some, put on a nice lens, 70-200mm f2.8 and wow). The viewfinder shows everything you need, and the top LCD is very nice when making settings with a long lens attached. Some don't care for the ISO/WB etc., on the back, but after an hour working with the camera, my fingers were easily finding the right button. No they don't have a different feel, but neither do the keys on my piano, got those down too! Image quality per pixel is exceptional, high iso useability is exceptional. The video works well, and 1080p 24fps is perfect for the independent film makers. It is primarily a still camera, and I thank Nikon for not forgetting that! I've had mine for a month and am contiunaully surprised at just how good it really is, and how much camera I got for the money. I very much like it with the 16-85mm ED VR lens, rather than the kit lens for everyday use. Clamp a manual focus 24mm and do video with a smooth focusing Nikkor, you will love it! Try putting an FD on your 60D...

Pros Excellent build quality, weathersealing, incredible high-ISO image quality, dual memory card slots, microadjust, 100% viewfinder, long battery life

Cons Video not up to expectations, had to update firmware to correct hot pixel issue, hi2 ISO (25600) isn't really useable

Summary I bought this beast as an upgrade from my D80. The only negative issues I've found are the mediocre video/live view performance (autofocus doesn't work very well), and the highest advertised ISO setting (25600 eq) is too noisy to use. This could be addressed by a firmware update to improve noise reduction. Performance is still visibly better than the Canon 60D (all-plastic, not sealed, still-image quality not as good). The Canon does have better video capability, but why buy a DSLR for video when better performance can be had from a (wait for it...) VIDEO CAMERA! The 18-105 is not much of a lens (DEFINITELY not pro-quality), and much better can be had for the same price. All said, I'm happy with it, and image quality is excellent. For the price, the best DSLR out there.

Pros Great high ISO performance, excellent build quality, great burst rate, excellent battery life, super bright LCD, extremely customizable, shoots 1080p HD video, very good kit lens, super quiet shutter, dual SD card slots, 3D tracking.

Cons Many stuck pixels when viewing video shot against dark backgrounds and/or high ISO settings. Video record autofocus doesn't work well and is very audible when using internal microphone. You have to use manual focus to get good results.

Summary I was really excited about getting this camera as it was going to be an upgrade to both my D200 and Canon HV20. It was going to be my first all in one and the reviews I had been reading were quite good. I was very surprised when I was able to find one at a local Best Buy and I picked it up right away. As soon as I took it out of the box all of the touted features became immediately apparent. Great build quality, excellent LCD screen in the back, dual SD card slots, very well laid out switches and controls, comparable to what you would find on a full frame camera. The 18-105 VR kit lens is a great walk about lens that takes excellent pictures. Everything I shot, especially at high ISO came out surprisingly well and sharp.

Now for the bad news. I was very excited to start shooting HD video with my new D7000 and as soon as I started shooting video with auto-Focus enabled (Full time Autofocus, Wide Area) I noticed that I couldn't really shoot anything consistently. The camera would simply ignore my focus point and would simply "hunt" on objects all around it. I was really confused as to why it was doing this. Nikon does list a plethora of areas where auto-focusing may have problems, such as "low contrast areas, areas of parallel lines, subject appears smaller than focus point, etc". However, based on what I actually experienced, the camera can't focus on anything properly. It will initially lock onto your focus point, but after a few seconds it just starts hunting. And if your subject is moving (which is the prime reason you would want full time auto focusing) the camera simply loses it all together. There are numerous videos online that will demonstrate this. The fix for this is to simply using manual focus, but that seems inadequate at best for the casual user who would like the ability to shoot an unplanned moment say with a child or a pet.

The other problem I had with this camera are the stuck pixels that are very apparent when shooting video against a dark background or utilizing high ISO's. I know that stuck pixels is not a new phenomenon, but with a new camera out the box it's not acceptable to have 5 or 6 stuck blue or red pixels on a screen while trying to view recently shot footage. Again, this is well documented on the internet.

So despite all the wonders this camera has to offer, I will be returning mine and I simply can't recommend that anyone buy's this, especially if they have their hopes set on utilizing the HD video recording feature.

Pros 1080P, Dual SD card slots, Love the new AF-F mode when taking videos!!!

Cons Couple dead pixels when shooting video in low light. Not sure how to fix videos but pictures seem to be fine. Big complaint is the backfocusing on this All focused images using AF-S were fuzzy even using a tripod. Live view focus seems tack sharp

Summary Used the AF Fine Tune function on the camera set to -10 and all seems better but having to use that setting for all my lenses to make it sharp? Never had any problems with my D90 and those lenses. Still love the camera but not sure if this is a normal behavior to have to AF Fine Tune all my lenses to -10. I can live with the dead pixels in my videos but the back focusing adjustment doesn't seem right. Overall, took some work to get the camera working properly with my lenses.