Nikon D7000, Kit Lens Or?

[thequacksoflife]

It seems like most people who do portraits agree you should have at least one 85mm prime lens at your disposal. I was on the photozone.de website looking at different reviews, and I liked what I saw from this lens here. I just want to clarify that it will work on a D7000, since I know it uses DX lenses. On the description on the B&H website it says "Optimized for FX Format", but on Photozone I believe the lens was tested on a D7000. Just wanting clarification.

it will work perfectly.

the only differences between using it on a DX camera is. that the effective Field of View will 128mm as opposed to 85mm on an FX camera. And there will be more depth of field......

[Tringa]

Joshua, if you have already bought a D7000, then don't bother to read the rest of this post, but if not ....

You have clearly done your research and handled the D7000 so this may still be irrelevant but have you looked at the Pentax K5?

Yes, I mention it because I have one but it is arguably a very similar camera to the D7000, I think they may have the same Sony sensor and in the UK the K5 body is about £90 (about 140 -145 US dollars) cheaper than the D7000 body and the price could drop further as the next Pentax DSLR has been released.

You could then add whatever lenses you want from Pentax or a third party. Image stabilisation is in the camera body so no need to buy IS stabilised lenses and a huge range of old K mount lenses will fit.

The price difference may be a UK only effect and you may be absolutely set on the D7000. If so, you are going to have, from what I read, a great camera.

Dave

[TheArcane]

I've done some research on that camera as well, but I do feel that the Nikon is in ways that are important to me, a better camera. I do appreciate the suggestion however .

[Tringa]

Fair enough, Joshua. I'm sure you will have a good time with the D7000. Post some photos on here.

Dave

[IanCD]

Hi Joshua,
As Mike says, it's worth considering the 85mm 1.8D as well as the 1.8G as both will work on the D7000.
I have the 1.8D and am very happy with some of the results I get, though I think I may replace it with the 1.8G one day (not soon!)
The reason for suggesting considering the 1.8D is that while test sites indicate the 1.8G is better in some respects, the margin isn't huge... The price difference is significant, though, which would give you spare cash toward other equipment if you went with the 1.8D (especially if you pick up a good used copy).
Ian

[TheArcane]

With it giving me about 128mm of view in opposed to 85mm, would it be better to go with a 50mm lens, figuring in the crop factor of the D7000? My only concern is having to always stand too far back from my subject to get them in frame for portrait use.

[Mike Buckley]

You know the kind of portraiture that you like to do, Joshua, and the circumstances that you like to do it in. The best way to determine which focal length will be best is to rent the lens that you think will work. If it doesn't work, rent the other lens.

[Andrew76]

Mr. Buckley's suggestion pretty well sums it up. You can ask as many questions as you like on forums, and I'm sure you'll get some good answers, but I think that people often forget that there is no substitute for trial and error. Sometimes that costs money, but not to worry - we've all been there!

Do you mind my asking why the upgrade? Specifically, what is it that the XSi doesn't do that you'd like to be able to? Just a thought, but you could get some pretty wicked glass for the amount of $$ you say you're planning on dropping, and the new lenses would work just magically on a body that you already own.

[TheArcane]

The first reason I want to upgrade to the D7000, is that it has a larger sensor, allowing me to get better quality images (Not figuring in the type of glass). It also produces a higher resolution image at 4,928 × 3,264 in opposed to 4,272 × 2,848. The Canon I feel has always given me underwhelming results as far as ISO noise is concerned as well, producing noise even at ISO 100. The D7000 is also supposed to be a good low light performer, which is something my Canon can't handle. As soon as your ISO is up to 400, the images have too much noise to be worth using in my opinion.

The Canon also only has 9 AF points in opposed to 39, which opens up more exact focusing for me, since there are many times I don't want to focus on one of the 9 points provided. My Canon also has a trouble auto focusing, even in decent lighting (Yes, everything on the camera and lens are clean). The lens will often just go back and forth trying to find the focus point, and never finding it. This is especially frustrating when I had a great horned owl swoop in front of me at the lake and my camera just couldn't focus on it.

Mechanically I like that the D7000 has separate adjustment wheels for the shutter and the aperture, instead of having to hold down a button while I turn the wheel to adjust the aperture. For somebody who shoots in AV mode, as many people do, this may not seem like a big deal. However as somebody who shoots in Manual to have full control of what the camera is doing, it is a nice feature.

Dual card slots isn't a complete game changer for me, but it's a nice feature to have.

6 frames per second on the D7000, in opposed to 3.5 frames on the Canon.

After actually holding the camera as well, I like the extra weight and sturdiness that the Nikon has. I know that the weight could even bother some people, but to me I prefer the feel.

In conclusion, I want a higher grade of camera to grow into as I start taking photography more seriously. I obviously still have plenty to learn that has little to nothing to do with the camera itself, but having a good piece of gear at my disposal won't hurt. Especially when there are times I feel the Canon is holding me back, especially in low light performance, which is where I want to start taking more pictures. Of course I would absolutely love the have the Nikon D800 in order to have a full frame sensor, and better quality images, but it's a bit out of my price range at this time.

The biggest reason for me to get a new camera boils down to wanting to get better image quality and higher resolution images. When there are mistakes made with my photography, I want to know it's me making the error, not the camera that's holding me back.

[Mike Buckley]

Joshua: You might be glad to learn that the primary reason I bought the D7000 was because of its low-light performance. I had been using a D80, which was about two generations earlier, and it didn't meet the specific needs I had for capturing informal portraits and candids in low light. I have made many images with the D7000 using the same lenses that I already owned that I would not have been able to make with the D80.

Naturally, once I began using the camera, I realized that there were a lot of other capabilities that the D7000 has that would become very important. I just didn't know how useful they would be until I began using them.

I hope your decision works out as well for you as it has for me.

[Andrew76]

In conclusion, I want a higher grade of camera to grow into as I start taking photography more seriously. I obviously still have plenty to learn that has little to nothing to do with the camera itself, but having a good piece of gear at my disposal won't hurt. Especially when there are times I feel the Canon is holding me back, especially in low light performance, which is where I want to start taking more pictures. Of course I would absolutely love the have the Nikon D800 in order to have a full frame sensor, and better quality images, but it's a bit out of my price range at this time.

The biggest reason for me to get a new camera boils down to wanting to get better image quality and higher resolution images. When there are mistakes made with my photography, I want to know it's me making the error, not the camera that's holding me back.

Fair enough, I hope that you find something that works out for your needs.

[MajaMolly]

I just ordered a D7000-body only. I saved and saved and saved so, will be happy with the new body and the lenses I have...for now, at least.

[TheArcane]

Very exciting to place that order. I'm looking forward to that moment

[Letrow]

Well, I am curious what you are going to buy eventually.
As you can see from my signature, I have a D7000 too and I have never regretted it for one moment. I have always liked the Nikon brand (they look just right to me) and when I went back to SLR after years of smaller cameras I started of with the D90. It was terrific, but I traded up for a D7000 a year later when I had a chance.
I have a number of lenses (some acquired new, some used) with it, so let me give you my favourites:

I bought the D90 with the 18-200mm and although quality wise there are better lenses at some distances, it is a great lens to take along when you travel or go out for the day. Not too heavy and a great reach. I agree that a bit more widebody would have been great, but I can live with that. The 200 mm end gets a lot of use. TBH, for me, a shorter zoom would not really make sense, this is great for a lot of the nature shots I like to do.

My favourite lens of all is the Nikkor 105mm micro, but I shoot a lot of macro. If you don't need that it is an expensive lens and costly too.

The Nikkor 12-24mm is great, although I don't use it that often. The 12mm end gives very nice effects. In terms of sharpness it is ok, not great and you have to be careful of where the sun is.

The 35mm is good, but I don't use it often. The photos don't really stand out and I can do the same with my 18-200mm zoom. It is light though, so if you like that and prefer to zoom with your feet, by all means look at it. It is a fast lens, so it gives you something extra indoors now and then.

The 50mm AF-D is fast as well and this is a lens I like very much somehow. It does not go onto the camera that often, but when it does, I always love the bokeh of this lens. I am not sure how it compares to the new 50mm AF-S lens, but I think it does pretty good in reviews. If you can get one cheaply, try it.

Hope you are happy with the D7000 when you decide to buy it. There are lots of possibilities with the camera, so take your time reading the manual and experimenting.

[MajaMolly]

Very exciting to place that order. I'm looking forward to that moment

It is exciting!

[NikonFL]

Stores have reduced price of new US NIKON D7000 body to $996. The new Nikon 18-300 f3.5-5.6 is $995, a great lens but that's out of your price range. Stepping down, Sigma 18-250 f3.5-6.3 is $429 and in your price range. Tamron 18-270 f3.5-6.3 is $549 after a $100 rebate and in your range. I own a NIKON D7000 and primarily use the SIGMA 18-250. I'm new on this site. D7000 allows tinkering with settings to get a "good" shot. I do not use video. I've owned the Sigma for about 3 years, but the Tamron and Nikon lenses look great. I wonder if Sigma has something on the horizon?

[TheArcane]

I did see this morning that the price on the D7000 body had gone down, and I'm happy to say I have placed my order for it

[MajaMolly]

I did see this morning that the price on the D7000 body had gone down, and I'm happy to say I have placed my order for it

Yeah for you!!! I'm excited for it to arrive and nervous at the same time. I know there will be a lot for me to learn.

[carloshpvp]

I bought my D7000 in the beginning of the month 100 bucks more expensive than now . It is a very good camera but I hadn't any previous experience with other DSLR to compare. Which lenses did you pick?

[TheArcane]

I bought my D7000 in the beginning of the month 100 bucks more expensive than now . It is a very good camera but I hadn't any previous experience with other DSLR to compare. Which lenses did you pick?

I ended up ordering the Nikon 85mm f1.8 G. Still trying to decide what the second lens I want to order is, before I invest in a speedlight.