So one of the disadvantage I accepted a long time ago when I first got the camera, is not being able to adjust aperture while in LiveView. I shoot mostly video with my D7000, so LiveView is everything.

I often use my 18-200, at mid zoom range, f5.6 or more closed, and at 1/30th to match framerate. As we all know f5.6 is as much as the lens opens at 200mm.

Not using LiveView in Manual (M) mode, at 1/30 and f5.6, I can freely zoom in and out and the camera is locked at f5.6 through the whole range. At the same time, I can fully predict the aperture behaviour if I'm wide open at f3.5 at 18mm and then zooming in to have it close to f5.6. All good.

Enter LiveView. All the same settings (f5.6 & 1/30), but when I adjust zoom, the aperture closes down F9 when I hit 200mm. If I turn on LiveView while already at 70mm, the aperture closes from f5.6 to f6.3. More lens travel, the more it closes. Predictable but odd.

And here's the kicker, so I start at f5.6 at 18mm, enter LiveView, zoom to 200mm and it closes to f9, THEN, I toggle LiveView on and off, and it reverts back to f5.6 at 200mm? What gives?

This is especially odd since the camera does not allow for aperture adjust while in LiveView!

I had a few months where I barely used the camera, but I swear I did not experience this behaviour before when shooting video. It's just such a standout quality. I am baffled! Is there some setting that messed up, because I can't find one. I feel like I'm going crazy.

Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!
Ken