I think you've made the right choice LTC, welcome to the forum, and remember to come back to us if you need help choosing those fancy lenses........we love a challenge, although that sort of question normally stirs up a hornets nest! :-)

You have all been such a help to me. Thank you for that. And Keri, yes. The motocross pics of my son are important, so your reminder about the speed of both cameras is such a good point. Now to consider lenses. I'll get to that. :o) Oh...and you mentioned Photoshop. I love Photoshop and hope to get a more current version some day when I can afford it after all the new camera stuff.

Okay! Looks like I'm going to go with my heart on this and get the one that, after holding it in my hands last year, made my spirits soar...and made me think of future projects. Your comments here have been such a HUGE help to me. Thank you everyone. I'll be going with the D7000 (and I'll just be patient while saving up enough money for the fancy lenses I want). Enjoy the rest of your weekend. :o)

If you are going for speed pics, DEFINITELY go with the 7000. The 5100 will not be fast enough for motocross. But don't cheap out on the lenses either. You will need a fast lens too.

I completely get that emotional thing. I heard it in your original post. I'm the same way. The only reason I can think to get a 5100 would be to be able to afford better lenses, get used to the Nikon format or if you were thinking about getting into photography. Then the 5100 is a great economical place to start. It sounds like you know this is a hobby you are in for the long haul. You probably already have outgrown the 5100. IMO, as soon as you are comfortable in manual mode, you've pretty much used all the functionality of the 5100. The scene modes are nice and the effects are cool, for a beginner. Anyone who has been shooting steadily for a few years would never use them though, with the exception of HDR possibly. I have never used any of them. Any hard core editing one would want to do like that, they'd do post with Lightroom or Photoshop.

I also had a professional tell me I'd be fine with my 5100 and I accepted that. Now that my 800 is on order and I'm reading the manual, however, I'm already anxious to stretch my abilities with a superior camera.

Follow your gut. Get the 7000 and some really nice lenses. You will be happy.

Birdman and Funduro make good points. I have a slightly different take:

Ask yourself if the two kit lenses on the D5100 are going to be enough. If so, then the 5100 is the camera for you. If you think you might be buying more lenses down the track, the D7000 is the place to start.

I've used a D5100. I've never used any other camera than the 550D. The 550D indeed has larger grip, but I'm okay with the D5100's grip. I'd hold back till the next generation comes. D7000 is not worth it's current price. For the moment, try to get the best with your current camera and sell off lenses that you rarely use before you completely jump into Nikon's ship.

I think my D7000 was a great investment and I am very pleased with the way it handles and how it functions. The more I learn the in's and out's the better my photographs become. It really is an excellent camera and you should do your research. Check out the photo's that other post using both camera's and read up... You will make the right choice for you. Let us know what you decide!

That Costco deal is not a photographic value, it's a manufactures high volume clearance of older DSLR's packaged with marginal lenses. I'm not asking what the two lenses are because the merchant only sells what the manufacturer package, IE: the least popular lenses they have. The buying agent for Costco also decide which shade of tan the outdoor chairs they will sell next will be, just before they decide tot sell that DSLR package. The buying agent only cares how much money they'll make selling the lot. If you buy the value package it's because you care more about $ then image quality.
The persons that shop Costco and other mega warehouse are there to save money buying food and household essentials. Those customers did NOT walk into their store thinking it was a camera store
Sure I'm being harsh about your friends recommendation, but if you inform yourself with spec's you'll quickly realize your primary decision on the D7000 is correct. And allowing others to overrule your better judgement will not be in your interest.

Oh thank you all so much! It helps more than I can say to talk to people who can give me the various perspectives I need from a photographer's point of view. I probably didn't give quite as much information about my interests as I should have. One other reason I had been planning on the 7000 for so long (aside from not wanting to feel I was making a lateral move and the fact that I prefer a heavier, larger camera) is that I have a son who races in motocross. He's doing exceptionally well, and I'd love to get some spectacular shots of him racing. I also love to travel and get beautiful pictures of unique places and things. Last year I went to Italy with a friend...and the SOLE purpose of the trip was photography. It was the happiest I've been in a long time! LOL! I also love macro (I have tubes), but will one day get a good macro lens. Anyway, you've all brought up some very helpful points. I don't want to be intimidated by what I don't know yet, but I also don't want to question myself down the line and wonder "What if I had just gone with 7000." I've lusted over that camera for a long time, but of course the price of the 5100 with the extra lens attracted me suddenly and some pictures I've seen from it are fantastic! But like I mentioned...I held it, and it felt smaller than I like. I held the 7000 and felt my emotions change...LOL. I think there's a psychological factor to this for me.

Thank you all SO MUCH for your advice! I'm so glad I found this place. :o)

I'd say go with the 7000 as well. The nice thing about the D7000 is that (as birdman mentioned) it will work well with all of the old Nikon lenses. There are some great lenses that ar often available at a good price. I find that I enjoy using the bigger bodies as well, and as mentioned above, having the additional controls on the body makes it much easier for the camera to get out of the way of what you are trying to accomplish. I think that you might quickly regret the D5100.

KeriM said:
Like you, I'm a hobbyist. Until January I was shooting with a 3 year old D60 but a week before a family trip and a gymnastics meet in Disney, the AF went berserk. I didn't have time to get it fixed, so I ordered a D5100 and got it about 3 days before we left for the trip. I read the manual and played with it as much as I could before leaving. I wasn't 100% educated on all the features but I was able to use it to get some really good shots. I had just spent an entire gymnastics season shooting with the D60 and I was AMAZED at how much better my pics were from the Disney meet with just that slight of an upgrade. Recently, I got a 50mm f1.8 prime and I'm even happier with those results. The glass has a lot to do with picture quality.

That said, I must admit, my husband surprised me be ordering a D800 for me for my birthday. It's honestly more camera than I probably need right now but I'm willing to "grow into it." It'll be several weeks/months before I actually get it though so in the meantime, I'm out shooting every day with my D5100 to continue to improve my skills and reading the D800 manual over and over again to help with the huge learning curve.

Bottom line, if you are used to an older entry level DSLR, you will probably be impressed with the improvement in your pics with the D5100 and you could spend the extra on some really nice glass to enhance it even more. But, it sounds to me like you have your heart set on the D7000 and in that case, you may never be satisfied with an entry level camera. I'd say you're going to end up with it in the long run so you may as well make the leap now.

Be careful showing off that new D800 :-} some folks are likely to get jealous.

Back to original question: get the D7000 but wait a few weeks if there's not a rebate going on. It is a great, great SLR and for me, much better than the 5100. Those 5100's are cute, but not an enthusiast's camera. Having used the Rebel (my ex-gf had same one) I can tell you there's more than one reason to upgrade to a better body. the Rebel is to the 7d what the 5100 is to the d7000. You get a lot better body and better features. the AF is much better I'm sure, and it will balance better AS WELL AS BE AUTOFOCUS COMPATIBLE WITH OLDER LENS!! SO very crucial to me. You don't want to be limited there

Like you, I'm a hobbyist. Until January I was shooting with a 3 year old D60 but a week before a family trip and a gymnastics meet in Disney, the AF went berserk. I didn't have time to get it fixed, so I ordered a D5100 and got it about 3 days before we left for the trip. I read the manual and played with it as much as I could before leaving. I wasn't 100% educated on all the features but I was able to use it to get some really good shots. I had just spent an entire gymnastics season shooting with the D60 and I was AMAZED at how much better my pics were from the Disney meet with just that slight of an upgrade. Recently, I got a 50mm f1.8 prime and I'm even happier with those results. The glass has a lot to do with picture quality.

That said, I must admit, my husband surprised me be ordering a D800 for me for my birthday. It's honestly more camera than I probably need right now but I'm willing to "grow into it." It'll be several weeks/months before I actually get it though so in the meantime, I'm out shooting every day with my D5100 to continue to improve my skills and reading the D800 manual over and over again to help with the huge learning curve.

Bottom line, if you are used to an older entry level DSLR, you will probably be impressed with the improvement in your pics with the D5100 and you could spend the extra on some really nice glass to enhance it even more. But, it sounds to me like you have your heart set on the D7000 and in that case, you may never be satisfied with an entry level camera. I'd say you're going to end up with it in the long run so you may as well make the leap now.

starralazn said:

however those differences, two exposure dials, flash commander mode, slotted screw drive, overall build quality make up for the difference in price

a 'better' camera will be less of a distraction such that your creativity can run more freely without restriction. so, since both of them have their strengths and weaknesses, weight, control over the end product, i would say prioritize which is more important to you.

This is the main reason I recently "upgraded" from a D5000 to a D200.

Even though the D200 is an older camera, the build quality, the controls, etc make it a better choice for me right now. I am very happy with it.

In the near future I plan on upgrading to some higher quality glass and to the D400 if it ever becomes available.

I figured the D200 would be a good primer for the D400 (and it was certainly priced right)

That's a tough one LTC, and the answer depends on so many variables that will be unique to you. You mentioned your feelings about the 5100's size, and your budget limitations. It's hard to make recommendations because what's important to me, may not be to you. For what it's worth, I am very much in the camp of buying the best and then sometimes regretting the expense, but never regretting the decision. If I can't justify paying the cost of what I really want, I'll go without. I know you wanted help deciding which of the two to buy, but I'd buy neither, as I'd always regret not having bought a D400 (or even 600). Seriously though, between the two, if you would benefit more from having an extra lens, than the features offered by the D7000, I'd buy the 5100, if however I felt I'd be in a position to buy another lens at some point in the near future, I'd invest in the better body. Only you know what's really important to you, take your time deciding and weighing up all the options, and then enjoy that new Gold box! Good luck :-)

There are a couple of features that the d7000 have that the d5100 does not, however the overall image quality that you will get from either is enough to justify the price savings, if your main concern is image quality.

however those differences, two exposure dials, flash commander mode, slotted screw drive, overall build quality make up for the difference in price

a 'better' camera will be less of a distraction such that your creativity can run more freely without restriction. so, since both of them have their strengths and weaknesses, weight, control over the end product, i would say prioritize which is more important to you.

Hi. New here. I hope some of you will offer some advice. I'm not a professional by any stretch of the imagination, but I'm certainly a decent photographer and consider myself a "hobbyist." Yes, I'd love (some day) to sell some of my work...but mostly, I just love photography and find I constantly feel frustrated by what my camera doesn't do. I've had a Canon Rebel Xti for a long time and am definitely NOT getting the quality photographs I want. I decided a year ago to switch to Nikon and save up for the d7000. I've finally got just enough to purchase it (with the kit lens), but some people (one of them is a photographer) have suggested I take advantage of the huge savings now on the d5100 (currently about $900 with TWO lenses at Costco). It's tempting (based on price and some photos I've seen). But when I went to a camera shop and held both cameras, I was startled by how small the 5100 felt in my hands. I like the feel of the d7000. I'd value your opinions. Thanks.