Nikon D7000

[Eyeayen]

Originally Posted by Mr Bump

Early owner reports from the States are encouraging

Got any links to them ???

[Mr Bump]

Originally Posted by Eyeayen

Got any links to them ???

Because the first deliveries of the D7000 in the USA were a couple of weeks ago I spent a few hours surfing around US forums and D7000 users' personal web sites earlier this week looking for owners' initial comments and sample images. I just read through them, most of which were very favourable, but did not bookmark any because they were initial observations from fairly (excited) new owners. Inevitably there were a few critical comments from supposedly disappointed customers but I'll take those with a pinch of salt and give a lot more credence to Angela's full review which, as always, will leave no stone unturned.

[greenwing]

Originally Posted by Eyeayen

Got any links to them ???

Try the Nikonians D7000 forum

Chris

[Eyeayen]

Cool, thanks.

[Mr Bump]

Well, today we have AP's review of the D7000 by Angela's ex-colleague, Richard Sibley. It's fairly positive and complimentary whilst picking up one or two areas needing improvement. Overall I felt the review was not in-depth enough but I guess AP has a lot to cram into its pages. Interestingly, AP gives the D7000 a score of 85% wheras it gave both the D3100 and EOS 60D scores of 86%. I have to say I have never really understood their scoring system and tend to ignore it. I still look forward to Angela Nicholson's review on this site.

The other interesting point is that AP compares the D7000 with the EOS 60D, but that camera is £270 cheaper and specified accordingly. I would have thought that the Pentax K5 is a more realistic competitor to the D7000, being of similar price and perhaps even better construction. The Pentax has been on sale for a couple of weeks and initial owner comments and sample images are very favourable (compared to the K7) but there do not appear to be any expert reviews yet.

[Mr Bump]

As a postscipt to the above, DxOmark now has has a K5 sensor review here. Looks like the D7000 has got a very serious competitor. It comes down to personal preferences really.

[greenwing]

Originally Posted by Mr Bump

... compares the D7000 with the EOS 60D, but that camera is £270 cheaper and specified accordingly...

Well, the D7000 is still being listed at or close to its recommended price, which is only £50 more than the 60D's recommended price. Once the D7000 starts to become available in numbers I'd expect the street price to drop to be more in line with the 60D.

Chris

[Eyeayen]

The K5 is currently hugely expensive though, but as you say looks like a serious competitor.

Has Angela left AP then ? To be honest I get given a lot of camera mags from friends and stuff to read, the reviews in all of them are good but some people just seem to word it in a more understandable way, unfortunately for AP now, the person who I understand and prefer to review camera's (Angela) has left, and no offense to Richard but I personally don't like his writing style or find it easy to understand. Some of what he's said in the review doesn't seem to reflect other impressions I've got about this camera.

I'll await Angela's review, that said i was between the D7000 and Canon's 7D, I'm waiting to look at a 7000 for myself when my local shop gets one in but I'm not as sure as I was. And I really don't want to have to wait for a D400 and it's price to drop before I finally manage to get myself a DSLR...

[HinFrance]

Personally I would be pleasantly surprised to see any review from DCM that wasn't totally subjective

I'm waiting for the empirical reviews of this from DxO and Chasseur D'Images. DxO have already done the Pentax K5 and it is currently their highest rated APS-C camera by a country mile, with only one FF camera getting a higher score. As the Nikon has a similar sensor I am expecting it to be very highly rated too.

I'm going to buy one or the other of them, but don't know which yet. I'm a bit concerned about the Nikon's ergonomics to be honest, but I will head for the camera shop a play with both of them, that's for sure.

[Mr Bump]

Originally Posted by Eyeayen

The K5 is currently hugely expensive though

The K5 is currently priced the same at retailers (c£1,100) as the D7000 but Pentax is offering a significant cashback deal so either the D7000 launch price will need to drop very quickly or Nikon will need its own cashback offer if they want to equal the K5's price.