MikeWhis said:
Ummm, I have a D5100. I brought it to snow, sand, rain and dust. And although its not weather sealed, it never had a problem. :D But don't throw it into the sea though. You might not be happy. ;)

I had a D5100 survived the snow, dust, sand, but not a light drizzle. Less than a minute under a slight drizzle killed my camera....Now it's just a nice paper weight.

So i upgraded to the D7000 and never had a problem again.

Ummm, I have a D5100. I brought it to snow, sand, rain and dust. And although its not weather sealed, it never had a problem. :D But don't throw it into the sea though. You might not be happy. ;)

fotomatt1 said:
I'm considering purchasing a Nikon D7000.

Get the D7000. You will not regret it when shooting at high ISO sensitivities - the images are a lot cleaner than those produced by 60D. And the colors are more accurate (especially the blues look more natural)

And get at least one prime lens to go with it - the Sigma 20mm f/1.8 is a very good lens on a DX camera. Combined with the AF-S 85mm f/1.8G your setup for travel would be complete.

I'd take a look at the D5100 too, but it's the same story with the plasticy construction. I feel like I want something a little heftier.

D7000 is indeed a significantly better camera.
I'd rate D5100 $50 cheaper than 60D, and 60D $300 cheaper than D7000.

Pierre said:
Given your access to Hasselblad and Phase One, I am a bit surprised of your choosing the D7000. For me in your situation (and even in mine), I would not go for less than a D800. If you start hunting for one, for sure you should have it by December.

Is weight the limiting factor?

My friend (who has a D7000) and I often go in photoshoot together and he has yet to come-up with a shot that beats my D700, On the hother hand, his system is at least 10 pound (and $7000) lighter than mine.

The limiting factor is price. When I'm outside of work I'm not a pro...this is for my personal and vacation photos. If I need to do something truly important, I can always grab a Hassy H2 and Phase One P30+. I was pretty much set on the Canon 60D because I can get a refurb for a steal, but I just don't like it. The buttons are mushy, the body is mostly plastic, and we've had some reliability issues with the couple we have in our studio. The D7000 is a little more than I wanted to spend, but not the end of the world, especially since it's getting me a significantly better camera.

Given your access to Hasselblad and Phase One, I am a bit surprised of your choosing the D7000. For me in your situation (and even in mine), I would not go for less than a D800. If you start hunting for one, for sure you should have it by December.

Is weight the limiting factor?

My friend (who has a D7000) and I often go in photoshoot together and he has yet to come-up with a shot that beats my D700, On the other hand, his system is at least 10 pound (and $7000) lighter than mine.

I have the D7000/16-85mm combo. It works very well, particularly as a walk around combo. I also have a Sigma 10-20 for wide angle photography and the Nikon 70-300vr for critter work. The thing about waiting is that when you wait, you cannot take photos, so yes, there is always new technology coming along but the new technology doesn't mean the older technology doesn't work.
Have fun!

As far as waiting for the D7100 (which may be vaporware) I have no problem with that. I really want to purchase this camera before a trip that my future wife and I are taking to Europe in December. My guess is that there will be no new body in this range by then, as there was nothing announced at PMA. Perhaps at Photokina in September, but even if that's the case it won't be shipping by then.

Also, I should give you a bit about my background. I'm not new to photography or cameras. I have a degree in photography from RIT and have worked in the photographic industry for 15 years, and even worked 2 years at CONTAX as a Marketing Manager and then another 2 years working for Phase One. I'm presently the technical director of a large photo studio in NYC. We're an all Hasselblad / Phase One and Canon studio, so Nikon is foreign territory for me. I know the 60d well...even have one sitting on my desk right now, but I'm not enamored with it, so I've done some reading on comparable cameras, and the D7000 seems to be very highly regarded. I took a trip to B&H and played with one for a while and I do like it a lot. I figured the best place to get real feedback is from people who use the camera every day. I'm glad to see everyone here is more than happy with theirs, and it will probably help push me in that direction. Now I just have to save some more money since it's a bit more expensive than the 60d!

IMHO cameras are about sensors (and associated circuitry/software) - the rest is just fluff. The D7000 sensor is soooperb. Don't waste another moment of your life, get the D7000.

The Nikon D7000 has better image quality than Canon 60D, but other than that, they're almost as good. The Canon has a better screen while Nikon has better viewfinder, image quality and storage slots.

kanuck said:
I think the D7000 is a wonderful camera and the price keeps dropping.

Kanuck;

With you on the wonderful camera part; Not so much on "the price keeps dropping." BH and Amazon are charging the same price I paid in 2010...

I think the D7000 is a wonderful camera and the price keeps dropping. Have you considered the D600, which might be released this summer? As mentioned above waiting generally is not a good idea especially with spring and summer...I'd love to have a D700/D7000/D600 as a second body, but then again I'm sure so would everyone else.

I agree with Pierre on timing to buy a DX DSLR. Waiting for a D7100 a D400 is a waste of time and mostly fantasy at this point. I have to many things to photograph and places to go. So I am going to buy a new D7000 body to add to our lineup. We even have a D200 in the field that is taking great still photos. I use a D90 quite a bit. The D300 makes me think a D400 would be my camera, but it will be a very long wait. My recommendation would be buy a D7000 now. I have had problems though ordering a back up D7000 body as B&H doesn't have them right now. Soon as I can order another, I will. I have decided to pass on the D800. I want as wide a depth of field as I can get. My longer lens work better on DX than the D700 I had. Maybe Nikon will redo the 80-400VR but I can't wait that long.

DaveO said:
The D 7100 may be announced by the time you are about to buy. I am waiting on the
D 400 if it is ever announced. It's between the D 400 and the D 700. Price wise they may be close.

If you are ready to buy, don't waste a minute waiting. As far as I can tell, a soon D7000 replacement is not even a rumor but most likely a fantasy, just like the D400 which could still be a year or more away.

2 years ago, I waisted a good 9 months waiting for the D700 replacement that never came.

I purchased the D7000 after a long hiatus from enjoying photography. All my other camera's are film. I have had the camera for about two months and believe it to be a good camera for getting back into photography for someone like myself who has been away for some time. The unit is good, I appreicate the quality and am impressed by the quality of the shots I am getting. The camera is simple to use and master and the controls and menu's are intuitive. I purchased the body seperate from the lens to insure that I got what I wanted. I have purchased of have on my list the following lens combination:
18-200mm AF-S DX F/3.5-5.6 (this is my everyday lens if you will)
35mm f/1.8 This has a sharp focus and I like it indoor with natural light. Bargin for $199.
On my list to buy:
10-24 mm AF DX f/3.5-4.5 I am blown away by the wide angle images folks are getting with this one. They are sharp and clear, this is my next purchase for landscapes and wide angle work(soon).
105 mm AF-S Prime. I think it is f/2.8 for macro work and portraits (soon for this as well)
Telephoto - ? TBD

I think the important thing is to work with a camera that feels good in your hand and the controls are easy to work so you can capture that special moment. Canon makes good products and I have owned several brands over the years Minolta, Canon and Nikon. I liked them all for various reasons. I am really sold on the Nikon brand for dlsr today. I am not sure what my opinion will be in 10 years, but today they are doing good work.

The D 7100 may be announced by the time you are about to buy. I am waiting on the
D 400 if it is ever announced. It's between the D 400 and the D 700. Price wise they may be close.

The d7000 has 14EV of dynamic range at iso100, I'm pretty sure that blows any Canon dslr out of the water. (2,5EV advantage over the 60d!)

I am not a Canon expert but I have a friend that just bougth one and he told me it is essencially the same sensor than his old EOS1 or at least he did not noticed a significant change in quality. He seem to have problems with his 60D focus system. He was not very impressed with the ISO neither.

Well, a 18 year old 50 mm f/1.4 is not really an old lens. I have one older than that on my D800.

I just bought a D7000 for a job and it is a slick little camera. Definitely worth the money. It came with a kit 18-105, which I haven't used, and I don't know about the lens you are considering. I'm using it with a 17-35 f/2.8D (FX format) for this job and it is a great combination. I agree with @srpaynpray that 35mm is around the sweet spot for the D7000.

I can't compare with the 60D, not owning one, but if you are not in a huge rush, you will have more options as other cameras may come out between now and late Summer from both Nikon and Canon.

Well, this is the Nikon forum, so guess what? Everybody here is likely to think it is a good idea!

I just upgraded from D90 to D7000 and I am b l o w n a w a y by the difference in image quality. If you look at the PAD thread you will see what a great camera it is, plus, like me you are buying when teething problems are sorted and prices are low.

Your lens choice is great, I have the 50 1.4G and 35 1.8G and I have to say I use the 35 more than the 50. Your mileage may vary of course, but if like me you find the 50 less useful on a DX, the 35 is a cheap lens to buy. I have the 18-105VR which is a good kit lens, but I hanker for the 16-85....

Welcome to Nikon and the forum. Post some pics on the PAD when you have got your new camera.

I'm considering purchasing a Nikon D7000. I've been weighing it against a Canon 60d, which I can get at a great deal through Canon's loyalty program, but I'm not in love with the plastic construction of the 60d. I have a couple of older Nikon AF lenses such as a 50mm f/1.4 from college which is approximately 18 years old! I know it's an old lens, but it will work with the D7000. I'm also looking at the Nikon 16-85mm f/3.5-5.6 as an all around travel lens. What does everybody think about that body / lens combo, and also the D7000 vs. the 60d? I'm not in a huge rush....I'll probably make the purchase some time over the summer, but I tend to do an exhaustive amount of research on a purchase like this. Thanks in advance.