Nikon D7000 any good ;)

[B-9]

Heyo,

The girlfriend is interested in her own camera, long story short she likes holding the big old D3.

SO, Ive put the D3 up on the trading block for something more mild she can start with.

I feel like the D7000 whatevers (how many are there now?) might be a good bargain as im reluctant to give up any of my old Nikkor's and jump ship to something like a Fuji XE-1... or should I!

Seems logical to just piggyback her off my old manual glass, she's already started in on the old FT which i've thrown her a scrap 35/2.0 to enjoy with.

Anyone use those cheap chinese split focus screens? would make sense for the old glass.

Give me your 2 cents, if you own one that is...

 

[css9450]

I have one, and really like it.

I upgraded from a D80 and the D7000 has a lot of features I really like over the D80: built-in level in VF or on monitor during LV, front AND rear IR receivers, user-customizeable presets on the mode dial, plus the usual new-camera upgrades like faster "motor drive" and larger buffer. But most importantly, the D7000 with its CMOS sensor does perfectly clean long exposure night photos while the D80 does not (real long, like 4-8 minutes). Also, the battery life is fantastic.

Some have complained that its too easy to accidently change the mode settings (P, S, A, M, Auto, U1, U2, etc) since there is no lock on the dial. I've not had any problems, but then again, they added a lock on the D7100...

I also have a D750, and one thing I like better about the D7000 is the IR remote-control setting is set with a physical knob vs. the menu-driven setting on the D750. In other words, the IR setting on the D750 turns off if I turn the camera off. Just one more thing to remember to do when turning it back on.

 

[pvdhaar]

Seems logical to just piggyback her off my old manual glass...

Even on the glass prism APS-C Nikons, I've always found critical manual focusing through the finder quite hit and miss. There's no focus peaking to help, only the green dot from the AF module. It's much better doable on full frame. I'm using a D750, which has a considerably larger viewfinder. As a result, the amount of keepers with my manual focus 85/1.4 is a lot higher on FX. Maybe this is also a matter of eyesight, I'm over 50; the eyes aren't as good as they used to be anymore.

So for manual glass, I'd certainly consider a second hand D600 or D700 as an alternative to the APS-C D7000.

 

[Keith]

How about a used DF. I have a D4 and I'm half considering the switch myself because I'm not really sure I need all the whistles and bells of the D4 these days ... and it is a big mutha!

 

[pvdhaar]

How about a used DF..

Good suggestion as well, but the Df seems to hold its value much better than the D700/D600, at least over here. Probably no-one wants to let go of them..

 

[Keith]

Good suggestion as well, but the Df seems to hold its value much better than the D700/D600, at least over here. Probably no-one wants to let go of them..

True. I was looking at Matsuiya's site and he has used D700s for around $800 and DFs for twice that.

 

[B-9]

Comparably the D7000 is in the 3-400$ range...

No DFs or FX, those are spoils for later.

 

[jsrockit]

I'd step up to the D7100 myself... I wasn't a fan of the D7000 vs. the Fuji X-Pro1 when comparing the two.

 

[ray*j*gun]

I own a D610 and a D7000 and I don't see any problems what-so-ever with the D7000. In fact since I got the 610 I had to clean the sensor twice due to oil spots and the D7000 has been nothing but a joy. Take a look at the tests on the camera and decide if you want to spend more coin....lord knows I have spent lots of money over the years for zero performance benefit but IMO the D7000 is a fantastic camera and I won't be selling mine any time soon.

Below is the test from DP Review... look at the test shots.

https://www.dpreview.com/search/?query=nikon d7000&terms=nikon d7000

 

[huddy]

You can always put in a custom focus screen into a DX camera to improve manual focusing.

 

[Ronald M]

My 7000 makes nice photos. For low light work, D7200 is better.

I would not change focus screens without proper skill set and tools. The screens are usually off location from the factory, Thailand. Use the green dot and change the default
SETTING + or _ . If you want a split image to work, you may have to add or subtract shims on top of focus screen or you might be lucky. It will never be like a Ft no mater what you do.

 

[ray*j*gun]

I did install a Katz Eye screen and I guess I was a lucky one since it worked well and installed easily. Having said that I still use the green dot when in doubt. I would not have wanted to adjust the screen with shims ... that would have been a little scary for my abilities.

 

[AlwaysOnAuto]

I went from a D80 to the D7000 when my son came home with one on his way to the Orient one summer.
I use the green dots for focus with my legacy glass all the time.
It isn't a problem if you know how the focus works on these cameras. It took me finding that out before I was happy with the D80 when I first got it.

 

[Gerry M]

I did install a Katz Eye screen and I guess I was a lucky one since it worked well and installed easily. Having said that I still use the green dot when in doubt. I would not have wanted to adjust the screen with shims ... that would have been a little scary for my abilities.

I did the same as Ray. I use the green dot for quick focus and the split screen for final focus.

 

[B-9]

As her and I talk more about it, she is really interested in shooting film and doing the process at home. (Finally motivation and help to finish the darkroom)

The FT is now hers, and we will go through it with new seals and a battery adapter. Looking into fun leatherette as well.

We are heading to a camera swap this weekend to fondle lenses and maybe pick up another Nikon body as well (I've been wanting a F100) so hopefully we get an opportunity to demo a D7000 or one of its successors.

 

[Chuck Albertson]

I was going to say, don't sell your D3 to get a D7000 - you could get 3 or 4 used/good D7000s for a D3.

 

[Ed Weatherly]

D7100

D7100

I recently bought a D7100 and am really happy with the image quality from that little camera. Since it removes the anti-aliasing filter, it is noticeably sharper than the D7000. It has a built in rangefinder that can be used with legacy glass and I regularly use a Vivitar 19mm f3.8 lens. I use both zone focus and the rangefinder. It works great. I bought refurbished from Nikon through Adorama and got it for about $535 with an extended warrantee. That as good as a used D7000.

Ed

 

[John E Earley]

Although I've been happy with my D7000 since I traded up from a D90, I am a bit disappointed with the compatibility with older Nikkor manual lenses. Some work great and some don't. My D750 never has a problem with any of them.

Other than that the D7000 has been great.

 

[Tompas]

I'm very pleased with my D7000. It's very fast with the 1.8/35mm DX lens and works very well with my old manual Nikkors (2/28, 1.8/50, 2.5/105). It, like any other SLR/DSLR without motor/battery pack, feels to small in my (size 10) hands, though[1]. And I would like to have a 'full frame' camera, so wide angles would be wide angles again.

That's why I'm thinking about a D3s...

[1] For some not yet understood reason my rangefinder cameras, though even smaller than most DSLRs, do not feel too small.