D7000

NikD said:
I am finally ready to upgrade from my ancient D70.
Thoughts?

Keep the lenses and buy a D7000. You'll have a top line DX body. The 5100 is better if the movable screen and/or the more recent video aspects of it are more important to you.

While I was filling my cart with mammoth supplies of cheese, beer, a winters supply of coffee etc at my local Sam's club, I noticed they had a deal last week on the D5100 and the kit lens for $849. This struck me as expensive, as the body alone can be had for $680 or so (certainly for under $700) online from the likes of B&H, Adorama etc...

from my Amateur Experience the D7x for sure we absolutely love ours no buyers remorse here.

Hi gentlemen, I had my D7000 stolen while in Far North Queensland.

I have the excellent Nikon L120, but will need to purchase another body.

It has given me the opportunity to review my gear in toto!

I have several Nikon lenses along with Tokina 10-17 and a 150-500 Sigma OS.

The thing that makes me pause is this....DPR, of which I am a member, give the 7000 a big wrap along with the newer 5100!

They acknowledge the superiority of the 7000, but tests revealed an identical set of images from each camera!

Now, the thread I was participating in suggested Apple...I am an Apple nut......is working in with Nikon to develop a 7000s.

Anyone know if there is any substance in this possibility.Obviously hold off, if an update is in the wings.

It is about time for one!!

Ron Ocean Grove, Australia.

D7000, for sure. Better AF and the ability to AF fine-tune (which is a HUGE deal), better built body with a lot more controls (much better ergonomics) and the fact that the D7K can AF the older AF-D glass. These things vastly out-weight an articulated screen, IMHO.

I am an amateur with two small kids. I have shot a couple weddings and portraits for friends. I also really enjoy landscapes and stars. I do like having the tactile control layout instead of digging through menus and the AF sounds much better on D7K. I guess the only thing I like about the D5100 (other than price) is the swivel LCD especially for video. I take video now with my Lumix DMC-LX3 and can only imagine the creative possibility with a DSLR. I won't shoot tons of video, just short clips of kids. The other thing is the Tokina is so heavy, I wouldn't want to lug it around all day, but maybe I can grab a used 55-200 for cheap down the road.
I appreciate everyone's input and I think you are all telling me what I already know, just needed a push in the right direction.

TaoTeJared said:
Let's keep it simple D7000.

18-55 VR + 55-200 VR are tempting but most end up selling them for what you already have.

+1 & 2 & 3

Let's keep it simple D7000.

18-55 VR + 55-200 VR are tempting but most end up selling them for what you already have.

Simply put, If you are a manual shooter you will miss a alot of your controls on the D70. Either way you will need to get SD cards as it doesn't take CF and its Sync isn't as high.

If you shoot on Manual or even A, S, or P, get the D7000, If you shoot any other mode and wont miss the size Get the D5100. I needed the size and the sub command dial, you may not.

Also (as you probably know) your af lenses won't work with Af on your D5100. Another benefit is the speed the D7000 can AF with old Af-D lenses. It is much faster than why other camera I've used (including the D3) except the F5...

You will however enjoy the fantasmic ISO settings and noise control, the much improved image quality and size, and features like liveview, a screen that you can see, and a million minute controls, that both cameras offer...

To make a good recommendation, it would be a bit nicer to know a bit more about how experiences you are, what you use the camera for, and what features of the D70 you must have in your next camera. A big difference between the D7000 and the D5100 is a lot of the control features, like the extra control ring, and the dedicated buttons for autofocus modes, exposure controls, white balance, etc...

That being said, I am in favor of the D7000 in your case. The D7000 largely succeeds the lineage that your D70 is from, so you will be more familiar with it that the D5100, which has some controls removed from it compared to the D70. In addition, it works with your existing lenses, so it saves you from having to replace them. The D5100 kit lenses do not play the same role as the lenses you already have (they are meant to be light, cheap, and slow in aperture but still reasonably good optically for what they are) so I suspect you would end up having to replace them later anyway.

Personally I say got with the D7000. If you are already keen on using older non-AF-S lenses then you will be a little sad when you can no longer use or buy them. I wish I had the D90 instead of the D5000 for that reason. Plus you are losing 2 lenses. Also with the D5100 kit you are getting kit lenses which aren't going to be any better than what you already have.

I vote get the D7000 and save some money for nice glass down the road.

The build quality of the kit lenses (18-55 for example) leave alot to be desired. It works fine, but it looks cheap. They're optically a great lens for starting out but if you've got better lenses already as is your case, I don't think you do yourself any favors getting that kit.

If you're happy with the lenses you have now, I would get D7000. If you're not happy I would say buy the 7000 now and save up to add more lenses down the road or splurge to add the 18-200 for when you want to leave that tank of a Tokina at home. D7000 feels quite solid in the hands with the partial metal body and the viewfinder 100% is really nice. I haven't used D5100 but I've used 5000 and 7000 (I own the later and bought my mom the former). The 7000 is far more capable and menus are for me quicker. I don't have the 70-200 Tokina but have 50/1.8 and 3 other Tokina 2.8 zooms which use the AF screw and D7000 does a reasonably good job of driving them. The very bright AF assist light was nice for reducing lens hunting with very dark/night-time scenes with these lenses which was a problem for me with the Tokina lenses otherwise. I own some manual focus lenses as well (the D7000 really opens up the lens options). It's nice to use them when your subject is patient but it's sad to miss shots because of the lack of AF. Probably with practice and talent this is not an issue, but I'm quite happy to use my AF lenses as AF lenses.

NikD,

I was in my local Costco a week ago and they also had D7000 kit with the 18-200 VR II as well (I live in Souther California). Have a look around and see if you find the same bundle. I personally own the D7000 and love it...so my vote would be to get the D7000.

Good luck and happy shopping :D

I am finally ready to upgrade from my ancient D70. I have the kit lens 18-70 DX but I have 2 other lenses that arent going to be AF compatible with the D5100; the 50mm f1.8 and a Tokina 70-200mm f2.8. Costco has a bundle with the D5100 and the 18-55 VR + 55-200 VR for $950 plus tax, or I order the D7000 body only on B&H for $1,099 and use the lenses I already have.
Thoughts?