Nikon D7000

      Photo Review 8.8
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      leadpic_D7000

      In summary

      A new pro-sumer-level Nikon DX-format DSLR body that offers durability and functionality for serious photographers.Nikon’s widely anticipated D7000 slots into the company’s range between the popular D90 and D300s models. A tempting upgrade for D90 owners, it features a 16.2-megapixel (effective) sensor, new EXPEED 2 image processor and expanded sensitivity range that reaches up to ISO 25,600. A new AF system uses 39 focus points, including 9 cross-type sensors in the centre, while a new 2016-pixel RGB metering sensor underpins the built-in Scene Recognition System. . . [more]

      Full review

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      leadpic_D7000

      Nikon’s widely anticipated D7000 slots into the company’s range between the popular D90 and D300s models. A tempting upgrade for D90 owners, it features a 16.2-megapixel (effective) sensor, new EXPEED 2 image processor and expanded sensitivity range that reaches up to ISO 25,600. A new AF system uses 39 focus points, including 9 cross-type sensors in the centre, while a new 2016-pixel RGB metering sensor underpins the built-in Scene Recognition System.

      The D7000’s shutter mechanism is built to the same standard as the one found on the Nikon D300s. It has been tested to 150,000 cycles and supports a top shutter speed of 1/8000 second plus a maximum continuous shooting a speed of 6 frames/second.

      Build and Ergonomics
      In line with its market position (targeted at serious enthusiasts), the D7000’s body is solidly constructed with magnesium alloy top and rear covers. It is also sealed to prevent dust and moisture from entering, a significant advantage over the D90, which is otherwise almost identical in size. The control layout and general ‘feel’ of the camera body is similar to the D90.

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      Front view of the D7000 body without a lens. (Source: Nikon.)

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      Angled front view with the 18-150mm kit lens. (Source: Nikon.)

      The front panel shows typical Nikon styling, with the red flash just under the front sub-command dial and a bright LED lamp that covers AF-assist, self-timer indicator and red-eye reduction functions. The Function (Fn) button is located just below this lamp and a depth-of-field preview button further down on the lower edge of the lens mount.

      Right of the lens mount are the lens release button and AF/MF switch. above them are the bracketing (BKT) and flash buttons, the latter being used to raise the flash, set flash modes and adjust flash exposure levels. An infrared receiver for the wireless remote control is located just above the D7000 logo.

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      D7000_back_l

      Rear view of the D7000. (Source: Nikon.)

      Roughly half of the rear panel is covered by the 3-inch LCD monitor, which has a resolution of approximately 921,000 dots plus a 170 degree viewing angle and supports brightness adjustment. As usual, Nikon provides a clip-over transparent plastic cover to protect the monitor against impact bumps and scratching.

      Left of the screen is the following array of buttons (from top): Menu, WB/Help/Protect, ISO/thumbnail playback zoom out, Quality/playback zoom in/ two-button reset. Above this array and just below the mode dial are the Play and Delete buttons.

      The viewfinder eyepiece sits just above the monitor surrounded by a wide, soft rubber eyecup. The pentaprism finder itself covers 100% of the sensor’s field of view at 0.94x magnification. Focusing screens are non-interchangeable.

      To the right of the finder lies the AE/AF lock button. Below it is the combined Live View switch and movie-record button. The arrow pad (multi-selector in Nikon speak) sits below it with the focus selector lock lower down and the Info button near the base of the rear panel. Just right of the AE/AF lock is an array of six tiny holes for the speaker that provides the audio when movies are played back in the camera.

      The main command dial, which is used for adjusting most camera functions, is located in the top right corner of the rear panel. Below it is the memory card slot cover, which opens out towards the side panel to reveal two SD card slots arranged vertically. As expected, the D7000 supports SD, SDHC and the new high capacity SDXC cards.

      When two cards are loaded, you can set the camera to one of three modes. Overflow only uses the card in Slot 2 when the card in Slot 1 is full. Backup records each picture on each card. RAW Slot 1 – JPEG Slot 2 is like the Backup setting but records NEF.RAW files and JPEG files to separate cards.

      You can also set the camera to record movie clips and still images separately by using the Movie-settings > Destination option in the shooting menu. In addition, the second slot can be used for installing firmware updates without requiring the main card to be removed.

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      D7000_18_105_top_l

      The top panel of the D7000 with the 18-150mm kit lens. (Source: Nikon.)

      The top panel is similar to the D90’s, albeit with a few cosmetic adjustments and a reassignment of the drive controls. These are now located on a second dial directly under the mode dial and a locking button is provided to prevent them from being changed inadvertently.

      The mode dial carries typical shooting modes for an enthusiast’s camera with P, A, S and M settings plus a green Full Auto mode and a Flash Off setting that prevents the flash from popping up. The remaining modes are different from those on the D90 and include a Scene setting that opens a sub-menu containing 19 settings plus two User memories for storing and recalling customised shooting settings.

      The data LCD is similar to the D90’s, as is the power on/off switch and the two buttons behind it. The left one handles metering in the P, A, S and M modes and provides a quick way to format cards when held down simultaneously with the Delete button. The right button accesses exposure compensation and can be used to reset the camera defaults if held down while the Quality button is pressed.

      The base plate carries the battery compartment, which fits into the grip moulding. A standard, metal-lined tripod socket is located centrally in the base plate in line with the optical axis of the sensor. To the rear of the battery compartment is a rectangular rubber cover, which lifts off to enable the optional MB-D11 battery pack to be fitted.

      Two lift-up rubber covers on the left side panel protect the interface ports. The upper one covers the USB, A/V-Out and HDMI terminals while the smaller lower one is for the accessory terminal and connector for an external microphone.

      New Features
      Improved video capabilities are an important feature of the D7000, which now supports 1080p Full HD video recording at 24 frames/second. Maximum clip length is restricted to 20 minutes, regardless of the frame size and frame rate. There’s also an Intervalometer that lets users shoot time-lapse video movies.

      A countdown timer is displayed roughly 30 seconds before movie recording ends automatically. Recording will also cease is the mode dial is rotated or the lens is removed. The table below shows the settings available for movies recorded for PAL TV output.

      D-Movie mode

      Frame size

      Frame rate

      Full HD

      1920 x 1080 pixels

      24p (23.976 fps)

      HD

      1280 x 720 pixels

      25p (25 fps)

      24p (23.976 fps)

      SD

      640 x 424 pixels

      25p (25 fps)

      Note: these frame rates are suitable for broadcast-quality recordings. Use of the H.264/MPEG-4 compression makes video clips from the D7000 editable in most popular software applications.

      A dedicated movie button on the Live View switch provides quick access to video recording. As with previous Nikon DSLRs, movies can only be recorded in Live View mode. Contrast-detection autofocusing is possible while you’re shooting movie clips and if you set the AF mode to Full time-servo AF and the AF-area mode to Subject tracking AF the AF area will follow moving subjects.

      Although the D7000 comes with a built-in monaural microphone, you can attach an external stereo microphone if you require stereo soundtracks. This will give you 16-bit Linear PCM recording with a sampling rate of 48Kbhz. In addition, for both the internal and external microphones, the D7000 lets you adjust recording sensitivity to high, medium, low or auto to cope with differing recording environments.

      The D7000 includes basic editing facilities that allow you to delete unwanted parts of video clips by choosing the start or end point by frame. You can also save a single frame from a movie as a separate JPEG file, a new addition to the camera’s video palette.

      The D7000 introduces a new AF system with 39 focus points, including 9 cross-type sensors around the centre of the field. It’s controlled by a rotating switch just below the lens release button. Rotate the switch to swap between the AF and M modes; press the button in the AF mode and rotate the main command dial to select the focusing mode. The front command dial sets the AF area mode.

      The default setting for stills is AF-A, which means the camera will automatically choose between AF-S (single) and AF-C (continuous tracking) modes and decide which of the 39 sensor points to utilise.

      For Live View and movie shooting, the default is AF-S and wide area with a central focusing point. Face detection is engaged automatically and up to 35 people can be detected within approx. 0.08 seconds, even if subjects are not directly looking at the camera.
      Black rectangles are displayed around the selected points to show which ones are in use. They change as the system tracks a moving subject. AF fine-tuning is a welcome addition.

      There’s also new 2,016 pixel RGB metering sensor, which improves the effectiveness of the built-in Scene Recognition System. It also works with the auto area and 3D tracking functions in the AF system.

      Plenty of customisation options are provided in the new camera. Custom Setting f3 lets you select one of 20 options to assign to the Function (Fn) button – including a new Viewfinder virtual horizon display that shows when the camera is tilted. The same options are available for assignment to the depth-of-field preview button, while the AE-L/AF-L button offers six options related to focusing and exposure settings.

      The D7000 comes with 21 Scene pre-sets, although we doubt many owners will utilise them, since everything else about this camera points to it being an enthusiast’s or pro-sumer model. They’re also tricky to find since they’re not included in the Menu. You have to press the Info button to display the Info screen on the monitor then rotate the rear command dial to select the desired pre-set. It’s slow to use and too complex for novice users to bother with.
      Shooting Adjustments
      The D7000 provides a wide variety of shooting adjustments, some of which (such as exposure compensation, and bracketing, white balance adjustments, Picture Controls and Active D-Lighting) are restricted to the P, A, S and M settings. ISO sensitivity ranges from 100 to 6400 with two extensions: Hi 0.3 (ISO 8000 equivalent) and Hi 2 (ISO 25600 equivalent).

      Users can set exposure compensation between -5EV and +5EV in 1/3EV steps, while pressing the BKT button and rotating the main command dial lets you choose the number of shots in a bracketing sequence and the order in which they are shot. The sub-command dial lets you set the bracketing increments between 0.3EV and 2.0 EV.

      Similar facilities are provided for white balance bracketing, where you can adjust the colour balance in increments on 5, 10 or 15 mired. Active D-Lighting bracketing is also available across three shots (one with it de-activated).

      The D7000 provides an abundance of white balance settings, with three auto modes (auto, normal and keep warm lighting colours), seven fluorescent presets and presets for the standard incandescent, direct sunlight, cloudy, shade and flash, support for Kelvin temperature settings from 2,500K to 10,000K and manual measurement. All can be fine-tuned, if required.

      Nikon’s Picture Controls provide presets for different image ‘looks’ that can be applied to still shots or movie clips. Options include Standard and Neutral processing, Vivid, Monochrome, Portrait and Landscape settings. You can adjust sharpening, contrast, brightness, saturation and hue and add filter and toning effects then save the changes as new Custom Picture Controls.

      The D7000 also includes the ability to access a range of CPU lens functions when a non-CPU lens has been fitted. Selecting the Non-CPU lens data setting in the ‘tools’ sub-menu lets you specify the focal length and maximum aperture for up to nine lenses (including lenses used with teleconverters). This enables colour matrix metering and improves the precision of centre-weighted and spot metering and iTTL balanced fill-in flash.

      Unfortunately, accessing some of these settings can be difficult because the menu system in the D7000 hasn’t been thoughtfully designed, unlike the menu in the D3100 which places the most frequently-used functions on the first page of each section. The first entries in the Shooting menu are ‘Reset shooting menu’, ‘Role played by card in Slot 2’ and ‘File naming’, which would be better placed in the Setup sub-menu.

      Image quality and size settings are half way down page one but ISO and Movie settings are relegated to page 3. The Playback sub-menu is logical enough, starting with the ‘Delete’ function. So it the Settings sub-menu, which begins with ‘Format memory card’ followed by the save and reset user settings commands.

      Auto bracketing options are similar to Nikon’s pro cameras with AE & flash, AE only, Flash only, WB bracketing and ADL bracketing to choose from. You can also set the bracketing order. Unfortunately, WB bracketing isn’t supported when you set the camera for NEF.RAW or RAW+JPEG recording (which will displease potential pro purchasers looking for a second body.)

      The Live View menu settings have been simplified since the D90 and are a decided improvement. You can display an overlay that shows you key functions like aperture and shutter speed settings so you can adjust them while you frame the shot.

      Sensor and Image Processing
      The D7000 features a Nikon-designed CMOS sensor that was probably made by Sony (Nikon’s regular sensor supplier) but different from the sensors used by rival manufacturers. The chip itself is slightly larger than the sensor in the D3100 but marginally smaller than the 23.6 x 15.8 mm sensors Nikon used for earlier models, although the difference in crop factor (1.52x vs 1.5x) won’t be noticeable for most users.

      The resolution in this camera has been increased to an effective 16.2 megapixels (this chip has approximately 16.9 million photosites). The new chip appears to have more sophisticated on-chip electronics as it supports 14-bit processing and a faster continuous shooting frame rate than the D3100’s.

      A/D conversion takes place in each photosite, making the imaging chain fast enough to support Full HD video recording, with contrast-based autofocusing. Interestingly, the differences in resolution between the D7000 and D3100 (16.2 megapixels vs 14.2 megapixels) will be invisible to most potential users – unless shots are enlarged substantially.

      The D7000 supports three sizes for JPEG files, each with three quality levels. Users can choose between two compression options. Size Priority compresses images to produce relatively uniform file sizes while Optimal quality compresses images to provide the best potential picture quality and image sizes will vary with the amount of detail in the scene.

      NEF.RAW capture is provided at the largest file size (4928 x 3264 pixels) and users can choose between lossless and compressed (40-55% reduction in file size) settings as well as 12-bit and 14-bit raw file capture. RAW+JPEG capture enables raw files to be recorded with Large/Fine JPEGs. The table below shows typical file sizes.

      Image Size

      Compression

      Pixels

      File Size

      JPEG

      Fine

      4928 x 3264

      7.8MB

      Normal

      4.4MB

      Basic

      2.0MB

      Fine

      3696 x 2448

      3.9MB

      Normal

      2.0MB

      Basic

      1.0MB

      Fine

      2464 x 1632

      2.0MB

      Normal

      1.1MB

      Basic

      0.5MB

      NEF.RAW14-bit

      Lossless

      4928 x 3264

      19.4MB

      Compressed

      16.7MB

      NEF.RAW 12-bit

      Lossless

      15.5MB

      Compressed

      13.6MB

      The maximum continuous shooting frame rate is six frames/second and the buffer memory can hold up to 11 NEF.RAW frames or 10 RAW+JPEG pairs. It fills up after 31 Large/Fine JPEGs or 100 JPEGs at other sizes and quality settings. Unfortunately, Nikon doesn’t publish the memory card recording capacities for video files so we can’t provide this information.
      Playback and Software
      Playback functions have been extended from the D90, with the D7000 offering 4, 9 or 72-thumbnail display, calendar display and image sorting by date. Face Playback ,which lets you zoom in on faces and flick between them, is a welcome new addition.

      Faces detected in playback zoom are indicated by white borders in the navigation window. Rotating the sub-command dial lets you view other faces, while rotating the main command dial shifts the display to an adjacent frame at the same zoom ratio.

      If two memory cards have been inserted, you can choose between them by pressing the BKT button and using the up/down buttons on the arrow pad. You can also choose between RGB and brightness histograms and set blinking alerts for over-exposed highlights in all channels or the individual R, G and B channels. Playback zoom to a maximum of 31x enlargement is also available and you can use the arrow pad to move the enlarged section around the displayed image.

      In-camera retouching functions include the standard trimming, resizing, straightening, red-eye correction, colour balancing and monochrome conversion functions. You can also access D-Lighting adjustments, distortion and perspective controls, image overlay and NEF.RAW file processing (to JPEG) functions along with a range of special effects that includes skylight, warm, soft and cross-screen filters plus intensifiers for red, green and blue, fisheye and miniature effects, colour outline and a new colour sketch effect.

      Side-by-side comparisons of original and retouched images are available , along with movie clip trimming. Most effects can be applied only once.

      Nikon’s bundled software is miserly compared with the software bundle Canon provides with even its entry-level DSLRs. The D7000 wouldn’t allow us to upload image files directly into folders using our normal card reader and Windows Explorer. According to the user manual, you must upload via Nikon’s software – which we prefer not to use because it’s caused problems for our computers in the past. You can work around this problem by connecting the camera directly to the computer via a USB cable, although that’s a hassle.

      Performance
      Subjectively we feel the D7000 may be one of the most responsive cameras for taking photographs that Nikon has produced thus far. For shooting stills, the AF system was quick, quiet and accurate under most lighting conditions and hunting was almost negligible in very low light levels. The viewfinder showed minimal mirror blackout in the continuous shooting mode.

      Metering was spot-on in almost all of the shots we took, regardless of the mode selected. The camera has a slight tendency to bias exposures towards shadows but if you leave the Active D-Lighting on Auto, highlights are usually correctly exposed – unless the subject brightness range is extremely wide. (This strategy worked slightly better with the Picture Control setting on Neutral than with the slightly more saturated Standard setting.)

      Still shots and video clips taken with the review camera showed a slightly warm colour bias with the default Standard Picture Control setting (although this was easily corrected with editing software). This was confirmed by our Imatest testing, which showed increased saturation in reds and yellows.

      Imatest showed the review camera capable of the resolution levels expected from a 16-megapixel camera, although only with the raw files we evaluated. (We used Adobe Camera Raw 6.3 to convert these files to 16-bit TIFF format for analysis.) The resolution of JPEG files straight from the camera was slightly below expectations across the board, although JPEGs were clean and generally artefact-free.

      Resolution was maintained across almost all of the camera’s sensitivity range, dipping slightly at ISO 1600 and again at ISO 25600. The graph below shows the results of our tests.

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      D7000_Res-vs-ISO-graph

      Long exposures at night showed little noise right up to ISO 6400 and, although noise could be seen at higher ISO settings, it was reasonably well controlled and shots could be printed at smaller output sizes. We found a small scattering (less than 10) of stuck pixels at higher ISO settings but don’t consider them a major problem for most photographers. (If you shoot raw files and convert them with Adobe Camera Raw 6.3, the stuck pixels will be removed automatically.)

      Flash shots at the two highest ISO settings were almost as noise-affected as long exposures but slight softening reduced the visibility of any stuck pixels they might have contained. Except for the ISO 100 setting, flash exposures were well balanced across the camera’s sensitivity range.

      The auto white balance setting failed to remove the warm cast of incandescent lighting and left a residual slight greenish hue in shots taken under fluorescent lighting with our standard tests. However, for everyday shooting in mixed lighting, the camera produced usable images under most conditions and plenty of in-camera adjustments are provided for correcting colour casts.

      Video quality was similar to other 1080p-capable, APS-C sensor DSLRs we have reviewed. In bright conditions, clips were well-exposed and moving subjects were recorded smoothly. We found few instances of the ‘rolling shutter’ effect that can occur with fast pans or subjects moving quickly across the frame.

      As we moved between bright conditions and deep shade the exposure system handled the transitions surprisingly well. Exposure readjustment while zooming was also pretty smooth. There was little noise in low light levels, although it increased as the light faded.

      Wind noise was common in clips recorded out-of-doors and there’s no in-built filter to suppress it. In quiet conditions, the camera’s microphone often picked up the focusing and zooming sounds from the lens.
      We carried out our timing tests with a 16GB Verbatim Class 6 SDHC memory card. The review camera powered up almost immediately but thereafter varied in capture and processing speeds, although capture speeds remained close to the published specifications.

      Shot-to-shot times in single-shot mode averaged just over five seconds. We measured an average capture lag of 0.5 seconds, which was eliminated by pre-focusing. Each Large/Fine JPEG file took roughly four seconds to process, while a NEF.RAW file took 4.3 seconds and a RAW+JPEG pair took 5.9 seconds.

      In the high-speed continuous shooting mode, the camera recorded 10 Large/Fine JPEGs in 1.7 seconds, which is very close to specifications. It took 13.9 seconds to process this burst. For NEF.RAW files, capture rates were marginally faster with 10 frames recorded in 1.6 seconds. However, it took 28 seconds to process this burst.

      Changing to RAW+JPEG capture enabled the camera to record nine frame pairs before pausing briefly. However, it took more than 30 seconds to process this burst.

      Note: More information can be found in our review of the AF-S Nikkor 24-120mm f/4G ED VR lens, which was used throughout our tests.

      Buy this camera if:
      – You want fast and accurate autofocusing and a fast continuous frame rate.
      – You’d like a capable Nikon DX-format body that can record both still pictures and Full HD video clips.
      – You need a camera with weatherproof sealing and a rugged chassis.
      – You could make use of the extended sensitivity range.
      – You’d like to be able to fit an external stereo microphone for video recordings.
      Don’t buy this camera if:
      – You’re looking for a lightweight body.
      – You require support for raw files with white balance bracketing.
      – You’re not prepared to shoot and edit NEF.RAW files and use third-party conversion software.

      IMATEST GRAPHS
      JPEG images

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      Raw images converted with Adobe Camera Raw 6.3.

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      SAMPLE IMAGES

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      D7000_DSC_0949_AWB_tung

      Auto white balance with incandescent lighting.

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      D7000_DSC_0939_AWB_fluoro

      Auto white balance with fluorescent lighting.

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      D7000_DSC_0960_night_ISO100

      20-second exposure at ISO 100;30mm focal length, f/4.5.

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      D7000_DSC_0962_night_ISO1600

      15-second exposure at ISO 1600;30mm focal length, f/5.6.

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      D7000_DSC_0964_night_ISO6400

      8-second exposure at ISO 6400;30mm focal length, f/8.

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      D7000_DSC_0966_night_Hi2

      4-second exposure at Hi2 (ISO 25600);30mm focal length, f/16.

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      D7000_DSC_0951_flash_ISO100

      Flash at ISO 100; 1/60 second at f/4; 120mm focal length.

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      D7000_DSC_0953_flash_ISO1600

      Flash at ISO 1600; 1/60 second at f/5.6; 120mm focal length.

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      D7000_DSC_0955_flash_ISO6400

      Flash at ISO 6400; 1/60 second at f/8; 120mm focal length.

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      D7000_DSC_0957_flash_Hi2

      Flash at Hi2 (ISO 25600); 1/60 second at f/11; 120mm focal length.

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      D7000_DSC_0975

      Skin tones; ISO 800; 1/50 second at f/4.5; 86mm focal length.

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      D7000_DSC_1121_ADLighting

      Active D-Lighting in contrasty conditions; the top picture was taken with this function switched off, while the bottom picture had Active D-Lighting set to Auto. ISO 400; 1/60 second at f/8; 120mm focal length.

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      D7000_DSC_1134

      ISO 100; 1/640 second at f/4.5; 86mm focal length.

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      D7000_DSC_0971

      ISO 100; 1/60 second at f/5; 120mm focal length.

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      D7000_DSC_1127

      ISO 200; 1/20 second at f/11; 120mm focal length.

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      D7000_DSC_1143

      ISO 1100; 1/160 second at f/10; 62mm focal length.

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      D7000_DSC_1146

      ISO 800; 1/125 second at f/7.1; 120mm focal length.

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      D7000_DSC_1149

      ISO 400; 1/50 second at f/5.6; 100mm focal length.

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      D7000_DSC_1151

      ISO 800; 1/100 second at f/4.5; 120mm focal length.

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      D7000_HD_video-indoors

      Still frame from 1080p video clip recorded indoors.

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      D7000_HD_video-outdoors

      Still frame from 1080p video clip recorded in outdoor shade.

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      D7000_HD720p_video

      Still frame from 720p video clip recorded from the same position as the clip above.

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      D7000_VGA_video

      Still frame from VGA video clip recorded from the same position as the clip above.

      Additional sample images can be found in our review of the AF-S Nikkor 24-120mm f/4G ED VR lens.

       

      Specifications

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      leadpic_D7000

      Image sensor: 23.6 x 15.6 mm CMOS sensor with 16.9 million photosites (16.2 megapixels effective)
      A/D processing: 14-bit
      Lens mount: Nikon F mount (with AF contacts); all functions supported with AF-S, AF-I and Type D and G AF lenses
      Focal length crop factor: 1.5x
      Image formats: Stills – NEF (12 or 14-bit lossless compressed or compressed RAW), JPEG (Baseline-compliant), RAW+JPEG; Movies – MOV H.264/MPEG-4 AVC compression format with monaural Linear PCM sound; (Stereo sound with external microphone)
      Image Sizes: Stills – 4928 x 3264 [L], 3696 x 2448 [M], 2464 x 1632 [S]; Movies: 1920 x 1080 at 24p/24 fps, 1280 x 720 at 24, 25 or 30 fps, 640 x 424 at 24 fps
      Image Stabilisation: Lens-based
      Dust removal: Vibration of optical low pass filter in front of sensor; image dust-off data acquisition (Capture NX required)
      Shutter speed range: 30 to 1/8000 second in 1/3EV steps plus Bulb; flash synch at up to 1/250 second
      Exposure Compensation: +/- 5 EV in increments of 1/3, 1/2 or 1 EV
      Exposure bracketing: 2 or 3 frames selectable in 1/3, 1/2, 2/3 or 1 EV steps
      Self-timer: 2, 5, 10 or 20 seconds delay
      Focus system: Nikon Multi-CAM 4800DX focus module; TTL phase detection with 39 AF points (9 cross-type) and single-point, Dynamic Area (9, 21 or 39 points) of Auto Area AF and 3D tracking (39 points)
      Focus modes: Single-servo AF (AF-S), Continuous-servo AF (AF-C), Automatic AF-S/AF-C (AF-A), Full time AF (AF-F), Manual focus (MF)
      Exposure metering: TTL exposure metering using 2016-pixel RGB sensor; Matrix (3D colour II with Type G and D lenses; Colour matrix with other CPU lenses), Centre-weighted (75% on 6 mm, 8 mm, 10 mm or 13 mm circle in centre of frame), Spot (3.5 mm circle centred on active focus area)
      Shooting modes: Auto, P, A, S, M, U1 & U2 (Custom), Scene (Portrait, Landscape, Child, Sports, Close-up, Night portrait, Night Landscape, Beach/Snow, Sunset, Dusk/dawn, Pet Portrait, Candlelight, Blossom, Autumn Colours, Food, Silhouette, High Key, Low Key)
      Picture Style/Control settings: Standard, Neutral, Vivid, Monochrome, Portrait, Landscape with adjustments for sharpening (10 levels), contrast (7 levels), saturation (7 levels) and hue (7 levels) plus Quick Adjust covering 5 settings with pre-set adjustment levels for saturation, contrast and sharpening
      Colour space options: sRGB, Adobe RGB
      Custom functions: 48
      ISO range: Auto, SO 100 to 6400; extension to approx. 2 EV (ISO 25600 equivalent) above ISO6400; auto ISO sensitivity control available
      White balance: Auto (TTL with 2016 pixels RGB sensor), Direct sunlight, Incandescent, Fluorescent (x8), Cloudy, Shade, Flash, Pre-set (up to 5 pre-sets can be stored)
      Flash: Built-in, pop-up, GN 12 (ISO 100/m); supports Nikon Creative Lighting System
      Flash modes: P, A modes: Fill flash, rear-curtain with slow sync, slow sync, slow sync with red-eye reduction, red-eye reduction; S, M modes: Fill flash, rear-curtain sync, red-eye reduction; Auto, Portrait, Child, Close-up modes: Auto, auto with red-eye reduction; Night portrait: Auto, auto slow sync, auto slow sync with red-eye reduction;
      Flash exposure adjustment: +/- 3EV in 1/3EV steps
      Sequence shooting: Max. 6 frames/second
      Storage Media: Dual slots for SD/SDHC/SDXC memory cards
      Viewfinder: Pentaprism with approx. 100% field of view coverage Type B BriteView Clear Matte screen, approx. 0.94x magnification, 18mm eyepoint; dioptre adjustment -1/7 to +0.5 dpt
      LCD monitor: 3-inch TFT LCD with approx. 921,000 dots plus brightness adjustment
      Live View modes: 1) Handheld: TTL phase difference AF 2) Tripod: focal-plane contrast AF on selected point
      Data LCD: Yes
      Playback functions: Full frame, Thumbnail (4, 9, or 72 images), Calendar, Playback zoom, Slideshow, Histogram, Highlight alert, Auto Image Rotation, Image Comment (up to 36 characters)
      Interface terminals: SB 2.0 (Hi-Speed), A/V out (PAL/NTSC), HDMI out, DC-IN (optional AC adapter and adapter connector); GPS terminal (also used for optional MC-DC2 remote cable)
      Power supply: EN-EL15 rechargeable lithium-ion battery; CIPA rated for approx. 1050 shots/charge
      Dimensions (wxhxd): 132 x 105 x 77 mm
      Weight: 690 grams (without battery, memory card or body cap)

       

      Retailers

       

      CamBuy

       

      www.cambuy.com.au
      Digital cameras, lenses and accessories with 100% genuine Australian manufacturer’s warranties.
      Ph: (02) 9029 2219

      Camera House

       

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      CH_Logo120

      www.camerahouse.com.au
      Ph: 133 686
      The largest speciality photographic retail chain in Australia.

      Camera Pro

       

      www.camerapro.net.au
      CameraPro Pty Ltd
      Suite 607, 180 Queen St, Brisbane 4000
      Tel: 07 3333 2900
      Australian owned and run company based in Brisbane.

      Camerasdirect

       

      -
      CamerasDirect133

      www.camerasdirect.com.au
      Retailer of digital camera equipment and more.
      Secure online shopping and delivery across Australia.
      Ph: 1300 727 056

      Camerastore.com.au

      Camerastore.com.au
      Ph: 1800 155 067

      Camera-Warehouse

       

      -
      camera-warehouse120

      www.camera-warehouse.com.au
      Comprehensive range of digital cameras and accessories online (www.camera-warehouse.com.au) and an online print service (www.royalexpress.com.au).

      Digital Camera Warehouse

       

      www.digitalcamerawarehouse.com.au
      174 Canterbury Road 367 High Street
      Canterbury Northcote
      NSW 2193 VIC 3070
      Ph: 1300 365 220

      Electronics Warehouse

       

      www.electronicswarehouse.com.au
      1300 801 885
      Australian retailer of Vapex rechargeable batteries offering factory direct prices and fast, free shipping Australia wide.

      <

       

      Photographic Equipment & Supplies – Retail & Repairs. Click here for list of stores.

      Ted’s Cameras

       

      -
      Teds-Logo120

      www.teds.com.au

      1800 186 895
      Big range of cameras and photographic products with stores in most states and online.

      Rating

       

      -
      PR-EdChoice-web-100

      RRP: $1,999 (body only)

      Rating (out of 10):

      • Build: 9.0
      • Ease of use: 8.0
      • Autofocusing: 8.8
      • Photo quality: JPEG 8.5; NEF.RAW 9.0
      • Video quality: 8.5
      • OVERALL: 8.8

      Buy