{"id":11521,"date":"2011-10-17T20:21:15","date_gmt":"2011-10-17T20:21:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uwphoto.onpressidium.com\/nikon-d7000-review\/"},"modified":"2021-09-06T14:22:31","modified_gmt":"2021-09-06T14:22:31","slug":"nikon-d7000-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uwphotographyguide.com\/nikon-d7000-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Nikon D7000 Review & Settings"},"content":{"rendered":"

I really like the Nikon D7000. The ergonomics top-side are great, the body is fairly light, and it has incredible high-ISO performance, great dynamic range and great colors. If you want to get top-notch underwater photos, seriously consider the Nikon D7000. Of course,  now the Nikon D7100<\/a> has just come out, which I’ll probably upgrade to. Or read our new EOS R5 review<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Nikon D7000 impressions<\/h2>\n

To start off with – the battery life is amazing, even with using the internal flash to fire the strobes, the battery lasts at least a couple of days of 4 dives a day.  I also like the dual-card slots, although compact flash cards are considered superior to the SD slots the D7000 has.<\/p>\n

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New sensor<\/h3>\n

The new 16 megapixel sensor was great, and I noticed even more detail in my macro photos. Still, if you are just displaying photos online, I think you will be hard pressed to notice differences between a new dSLR and a body a few years old. Subject selection, composition, and lighting will still make the different between a good shot and a great shot. The Nikon D7000 has more megapixels than any other Nikon dSLR except for the D3x, not a bad thing.<\/p>\n

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Changes from the D300<\/h3>\n

In changing from the Nikon D300 to the D7000, I lost some focusing points, I only have 39 instead of the 51 on my D300. More is definitely better, I like to move my single focus point around. The max sync speed remains the same as the D300 at 1\/320th, the best of any current dSLR out there. Having a fast sync speed is nice when you are shooting into the sun, to help you gain a little bit more control over all that ambient light and not blow-out the photo.<\/p>\n

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ISO on the D7000<\/h3>\n

The ISO on this camera goes up to ISO 25,600. I hardly notice any noise at ISO 3200 if the image is properly exposed, which is quite remarkable. DPReview says in their review that the D7000 may have the best high ISO performance of any current APS-C dSLR. The base ISO on this camera is ISO 100, which is a change from the ISO 200 base that the D300 & D300s had.<\/p>\n

The Nikon D7000, like other Nikon models, has an amazing auto ISO function – which is great when shooting ambient light. The ISO will automatically be adjusted, if a certain minimum shutter speed is not reached, up to a max ISO that you set. A very nice feature! The values are set in the shooting menu, and it is pretty self explanatory. I highly recommed turning auto-ISO off when using strobes.<\/p>\n

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Shooting Video<\/h3>\n

Having the option for video underwater is really nice. Although they claim the camera can auto-focus while taking video, don’t expect it to be very useable, especially underwater – it is a little clunky. The underwater video is best taken with a wide-angle lens, using a larger depth of field (if you have enough of light) to get the entire image in focus. I’ve posted a sample video from a blue-water dive further down.<\/p>\n

In summary, in terms of images – I’d say this may be the best cropped-sensor camera out there right now. The Canon 7D and Nikon D300\/D300s bodies still have more of a “pro feel” to them, and slightly more controls. But Nikon has really upped their game with this camera – you can’t go wrong. Right now it costs $1199 in the USA.<\/p>\n

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Using the Sea & Sea housing<\/h3>\n

The beauty of the Sea & Sea D7000 housing is that it just works great out of the box. Aperture and shutter dials worked perfectly, and it was easy to get a half shutter press – Sea & Sea housings are known for having the best shutter-release controls on the market. I often change ISO, and the ISO control was quick and easy to use.<\/p>\n

My ports bayonetted on and off the housing easily, and I didn’t have to do anything special to insert the camera into the housing. Sea & Sea designs their controls to be ergonomic, but not convoluted – so that they will work now, and years from now, which to me is very important in a housing.<\/p>\n

Using this camera underwater, it just worked flawlessly. The entire setup is lighter than my S&S D300 setup. With a couple Stix floats and a couple ULCS buoyancy arms, the entire setup is just slightly negative in my hands.<\/p>\n

I used fiber optic cables with my Ys-110a strobes, and they worked great. By setting my flash power to 1\/100th, the internal flash had instant recycle time, and I could shoot as quickly as I wanted to. It was nice not to have electrical sync cords that I had to worry about flooding or corroding from oxidation reduction<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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<\/a>Video going over the Sea & Sea MDX-D7000 housing<\/h3>\n