James Shadle's Blog

Originally Posted by James Shadle

I did receive my D7000 from Hunt's on Friday (I think they have a few left;)).

This morning was the first crack at this new offering from Nikon.

A little history - I have owned and used the following Nikon digital cameras:
D100, D1X, D70, D70S, D2H(yuk), D2X, D200, D300 and D700. I have also used the following:
D40, D80, D3, D3S, D3X, D3000.

First I need to say WOW!

Here are my very first impressions both positive and negative. I've only run about 200 exposures through the D7000, so take that into consideration.

All statement are real world and subjective.

Positives:
Image Quality:Including resolution, sharpness and noise.
AF: Accuracy, Speed and Patterns
Speed: Frame Rate, Shutter Response, AF
Light Weight
Data Available on Rear LCD
Virtual Horizon via Function Button (Option)
Dual SD Card Slots

Negatives:
Really needs battery pack for improved handling.
User Interface not on par with D300 / D700.
Viewfinder not on par with D300 - forget about comparing with D700/D3.
Uses SD Cards

Just a few thing that struck me as I used it for the first time.
I am preparing a D7000 user guide. While you can pick a D7000 up and use it without reading the owners manual (if you have used almost any other Nikon digital camera), it is a completely different animal.

Here are my first images with the D7000
Converted with Nikon NX2.

All images:
Nikon D7000
Manual Exposure
AF-C using single and nine point centered, Lock-on setting: 4
ISO 800 Noise reduction setting: Normal
Shutter Speed: 1/1250
Aperture: F8
Sigma 300-800mm @ 400mm for sky images, 600mm for beach landing images.
WB 5000K
14bit Lossless Compressed RAW
Active D-Lighting: OFF

Processed on my laptop computer - so please consider that if exposure looks off.