I gave in - just ordered the D7000...

[mneary]

Not sure if this was a good idea... I've been mulling over the D7000 vs my current D300s for quite a while now. Basically, it came down to improved IQ & lower weight vs better build & fps/buffer... Tough decision :smile:

I'm still not convinced this was a good move - guess I can still return it or sell it if I prefer the D300s!

What sweetened the deal was the $300 instant rebate on a 24-70, though :biggrin:

Now the wait begins...

Cheers

Mike

 

[Panther]

I'd say as long as you don't shoot a lot of birds in flight and similar types of photography, you ***shouldn't*** miss your D300s :smile:

 

[mneary]

That's the problem - I do shoot birds, both static in low light, and in flight... Hmm.

Mike

 

[Omar]

That's the problem - I do shoot birds, both static in low light, and in flight... Hmm.

Mike

I'm waiting for my D7000 guide by Thom Hogan. He had made mention on his website that the D7000 takes different AF settings to capture movement. I wonder what that means.

From Thom's review:

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]I've seen reports from others about being disappointed with active autofocus use, such as with birds in flight (BIF). I haven't been able to duplicate their problems, though I will note that you may need to adjust your settings if you're coming from another high-end camera. I found my optimal BIF settings for the D7000 to be slightly different than for my D300s.[/FONT]

 

[mneary]

I'm waiting for my D7000 guide by Thom Hogan. He had made mention on his website that the D7000 takes different AF settings to capture movement. I wonder what that means.

From Thom's review:

Yeah, I'd like to know what he means, too!

On the D300s I usually have the most success with AF-C, 21pt dynamic, focus priority, short lock-on.

I rarely shoot bursts of more than 5 frames, but every now and then I'll shoot a longer burst when a bird flies by really close. That's when I'll miss the buffer depth of the D300s, I guess...

Cheers

Mike

 

[GBNova]

You should have waited for the D300 replacement is sounds like to me.

 

[mneary]

You should have waited for the D300 replacement is sounds like to me.

Perhaps - that's why I've waited until now...

But:

- I really want the improved high ISO & DR of the D7000
- I like the idea of carrying a smaller body when I'm traveling, and I have a trip to Hawaii coming up
- The D400 won't be announced till August and won't be available till Christmas
- The D400 price will exceed $2,000 initially and won't drop till at least this time next year
- The D300s will take a hit on the used market after the D400 is announced, and right now I can make an almost even exchange for a new D7000

So I'll see - if I can come to terms with the smaller buffer of the D7000, it seems like the right move at this time :smile:

Cheers

Mike

 

[wizzard0003]

There's a chance the smaller buffer won't be such a handicap with the new
faster cards coming out...

Have a read here:

https://www.nikoncafe.com/vforums/showthread.php?t=298200

Edit:
Oops, I see you've already seen that... :tongue:

 

[jp450r]

There's a thread on here somewhere that has some very good BIF shots taken with a D7000.

 

[Jonathan F/2]

Had The D7000 briefly. Tried it on my 400 VR and 300 f/4 afs and in my opinion the af isn't up to D300 standards. If you shoot a lot of fast moving objects I'd wait for the D400. I ended up returning my D7000.

 

[mneary]

Had The D7000 briefly. Tried it on my 400 VR and 300 f/4 afs and in my opinion the af isn't up to D300 standards. If you shoot a lot of fast moving objects I'd wait for the D400. I ended up returning my D7000.

Good to hear your experience, Jonathan. Others - like Thom Hogan - have said that there's not much difference in the AF performance of both cameras, but perhaps the optimal settings need to be adjusted...

Guess I'll have to see for myself - there's always the option of returning it (although with the $300 rebate on the 24-70, I might just have to sell the D7000 if I decide to keep my D300s :smile...

Cheers

Mike

 

[mneary]

There's a chance the smaller buffer won't be such a handicap with the new
faster cards coming out...

Have a read here:

https://www.nikoncafe.com/vforums/showthread.php?t=298200

Edit:
Oops, I see you've already seen that... :tongue:

Yup, and I added a 16 GB Extreme Pro UHS-1 card to the package :smile:

So with these cards, the D7000 clears its buffer just as fast as the D300s (in about 9 secs)... I would think the actual buffer size is quite similar, too (haven't done the math, just guessing) - so the difference in buffer depth is entirely due to the larger raw files of the D7000. This can be mitigated by choosing lossy compression, if absolutely necessary... I think I can live with that, because I also get the option of 6fps with 14-bit raw in return.

Cheers

Mike

 

[Jonathan F/2]

Good to hear your experience, Jonathan. Others - like Thom Hogan - have said that there's not much difference in the AF performance of both cameras, but perhaps the optimal settings need to be adjusted...

Guess I'll have to see for myself - there's always the option of returning it (although with the $300 rebate on the 24-70, I might just have to sell the D7000 if I decide to keep my D300s :smile...

Cheers

Mike

Don't get me wrong, the D7000 is an excellent camera. It's just not made to handle big telephoto shooting. I shot side-by-side with a D7000, D300 and D3. The D7000 AF just can't handle AF precision accuracy with telephoto subjects. For everything else that doesn't include big telephoto glass, I'd say it's the best DX value. The sensor rocks, I feel way more comfortable shooting with the D7000 at 1600 ISO versus the D300 which I'd cap at 800 ISO.

 

[mneary]

Don't get me wrong, the D7000 is an excellent camera. It's just not made to handle big telephoto shooting. I shot side-by-side with a D7000, D300 and D3. The D7000 AF just can't handle AF precision accuracy with telephoto subjects. For everything else that doesn't include big telephoto glass, I'd say it's the best DX value. The sensor rocks, I feel way more comfortable shooting with the D7000 at 1600 ISO versus the D300 which I'd cap at 800 ISO.

Thanks Jonathan - I'll have to do some serious comparisons with my 300/2.8 and both bodies before I decide which one to keep...

The last time I was out shooting birds I was constantly up against the ISO limit with the D300s, 1600-3200. That's why I'm hoping the D7000 will improve things... But if I can't get good focus on the subject, who cares about the ISO improvement...?

Cheers

Mike

 

[Creative Edge]

played well with my 600vr...
and now it's playing extremely well with my 400vr

 

[Miguel]

I'm waiting for my D7000 guide by Thom Hogan. He had made mention on his website that the D7000 takes different AF settings to capture movement. I wonder what that means.

From Thom's review:

Could he be referring to the 3D auto tracking?

I had the D3 and never really had much success with the 3D tracking. I always seemed to get better results by manually moving my focus point while tracking a moving subject.

I don't shoot with any big glass right now, but I can say the D7000 auto focus with all my prime lenses is spot on. Even in continuous mode.

 

[Omar]

Could he be referring to the 3D auto tracking?

That is my thought. We'll see in a couple weeks when that box shows up in the mail.

 

[Jeff Lee]

Today I was out using my 300 AFS f4...no tc to do a picture for the sharpness thread, well a crow came flying buy, and I had it on 9 point and focus release....out of 6 shots three were dead on and the crow was flying pretty fast. Lot to learn in using this camera, the quality of images just blow me a way.

 

[Miguel]

That is my thought. We'll see in a couple weeks when that box shows up in the mail.

Let us know what he says.

 

[trenchmonkey]

There's a learning curve with the new AF....handheld 200-400 overhead grab.
Don't be so quick to blame the D7K :tongue:

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