The only batteries that may be replaced hold the letter E or the letter F in 9th position in their serial number.

EN-EL15 Rechargeable Li-ion Battery Service Advisory (Nikon).

We are not alone. Plenty of people on the web have the same objective and they brought us exactly that: A wealth of comparisons, parallel tests and face-to-face reviews for the newest contenders for the title of “Most attractive enthusiast-targeting photo camera with a Full Frame sensor”.

• Low Light Comparison of the Canon 5D Mark II, 5D Mark III, and Nikon D800 from Joe Marine (via PetaPixel): It’s an impressive show of the Canon video performance (even calling the old 5D MkII in)
• DxOLabs does a number of reviews and comparisons aiming at the sensor quality (D800 & 5D MkIII): does not leave any doubt about the photo ability of the Nikon sensor (or should I say Sony sensor?).



• Nikon D800 vs. D3s and D7000 comparison by Cary Jordan: is obviously impressed by the D800 performance (as an excellent FX camera and as a very good DX/APS-C camera, too.)
• Canon EOS 5D Mk III Vs Nikon D800 at PhotoAnswers: is rather balanced but shows very nice D800 pictures.

Via PetaPixel.

However, I would strongly suggest that you would try this only if the camera is broken and it’s already out of warranty. The Nikon D7000 is a fragile piece of hardware equipment and after rebuilding it, you may still have to correctly recalibrate most of its sub-systems (including AF).

Source: Vimon Camera Service, camera repair in Thailand.

Amateur

Since animals are always hard to approach (in an African safari as well as in a European forest), you must have a lens with the adequate focal length: As long as possible. 300mm is the strict minimum (400mm would be better). But if you want to stay in a tolerable price range (isn’t the amateur defined by his/her high sensitivity to cost issues), it would be better to purchase a zoom lens rather than a prime lens (with fixed focal length). It’s true that a zoom is also easier to handle and use when the distance is imposed by the approach conditions and limits).

Taking these into account, Nikon offers two actual possibilities, despite being very different ones. The first is a 70-300mm f/4,5-5,6 ED IF AF-S VR zoom. Its focal range is quite extended, it’s stabilized, it has super-sonic motor assisted AF, but -over everything else- its picture quality is an excellent surprise (considering its price: You can get it under 500€ on eBay – second-hand).

However, there is a second possibility to reach longer focal lengths: The 80-400mm f/4,5-5,6 D ED AF VR has an optimal focal range, a perfect weight (and handling) and vibration reduction (image stabilization). But the image quality is not totally there. This lens suffers from a relatively old design which will force you to strong post-treatment or to systematically work at f/8 with the longest focal (The most important and most often used one, of course).

Personally, I would prefer the 70-300mm (for its sharpness). But the choice is still difficult. One future event could make it easier and re-shuffle cards: All leaked informations indicate that Nikon is currently working on a new version of the 80-400mm (two recent patent applications are proof of it). We can easily imagine the arrival of an excellent 80-400mm at the end of 2011. If the price stays at a reasonable level (but certainly not under 1000€ anyway), the balance will be tipped toward this newer lens.

Whatever the tele-lens used, the amateur will nearly automatically attach it to a Nikon D7000. This successor to the glorious D90 is so well balanced and brings such an image quality that it’s difficult to recommend anything else right now (end of 2010, beginning of 2011).

In order to also allow landscape photography, I recommend to also bag an 18-70mm f/3,5-4,5 G ED IF AF-S DX. You’ll notice that it shares the same filter diameter (67mm) with the 70-300mm (a cent is a cent, right?). But, more importantly, this will be a well-balanced set for image quality.

Enthusiast

The photographer claiming to be an expert or willing to chase a more ambitious goal will not be contented with the above zoom lenses recommended to the amateur. Here again, I will have to ideas to share according to the depth of your pockets. If you want to go low in costs, look at a 300mm (possibly a second-hand one) like the 300mm f/4 IF ED which despite the lack of stabilization (no VR) has a great image quality to show.

Unfortunately, Nikon has nothing very convincing in terms of both quality and price around 400mm. It will be around and over 5000€ (second-hand!) that we will find the next two lenses despite their very different feature sets.

• If you favor a wide aperture (and its associated nice and soft backgrounds), you will look at the beautiful (but heavy) 400mm f/2,8 D IF-ED II AF-S (or the 400mm f/2,8 G ED AF-S VR which is slightly less expensive and stabilized). It has many fans for a good reason.
• Personally, I fall for the surprising 200-400mm f/4 G IF-ED A-S VR. Its sharpness stays quite homogeneous (and very high) over the focal range and over the aperture range. It’s only drawback: You’re not the only one to know it and the price does not drop much on the second-hand market.

One specificity of the Nikon lens offering is to include excellent focal multipliers. Like nearly all its competitors, the doubler (x2.0) sacrificed too much of image sharpness but the x1.4 and also x1.7 multipliers are impressively good tools.

If you limit yourself to a maximum f/4 aperture and if you use a focal multiplier, it is important to have an SLR body able to produce nice pictures up to 1600 ISO. The Nikon D7000 is still the best candidate here. It’s only drawback is the small size of its image buffer which will limit the number of pictures stored in continuous shooting mode (you will have to keep a light finger on the shutter button)

Add to that solution a low focal length complement. The exceptional 70-200mm f/2,8 G AF-S ED VR II is strongly recommended for this; And complement it with a 17-55mm f/2,8 G IF-ED AF-S DX, very beautiful lens for landscape photography on the excellent DX sensor (in “APS-C” size) of the Nikon D7000.

Pro

But Nikon really shines when you want the best possible quality. If your budget has no limit (or if your dad is Ben Bernanke), Nikon has it all. The fame of the yellow brand is made exactly out of this, and it shows. But, be ready to invest sums that are really not available to mere mortals.

The professional range of tele-lenses of Nikon no longer needs to be presented; You only have to choose from it. I have difficulties recommending the 600mm f/4 D EF-ID II AF-S because of its 4.8 kg / 10.7 lb. weight. Laurent Baheux is the only one I know who uses it without a tripod (often on some kind of support anyway). But he is a wildlife photographer trained as a sports pro photographer. It could be associated to a 400mm f/2,8 D ED-IF II AF-S.

But I would rather be tempted by the more reasonable weight association (Still, make an appointment with your physiotherapist) of a 300mm f/2,8 ED AF-S VR II and a 500mm f/4 D ED-IF II AF-S (The latter also is no less than 3.4 kg / 7.5 lb.) which will be complemented with a x1.4 focal multiplier for a very extended coverage.

Since we’re no longer afraid of anything, the SLR body will naturally be a Nikon D3s for its enormous sensitivity (ISO 6400 is OK for beautiful pictures and it’s not frightened of ISO 102,400).

Do you still have some space left in your bad? Add a 70-200mm f/2,8 G AF-S ED VR II zoom and a 14-24mm f/2,8 G ED AF-S zoom for settings less strongly under the wildlife influence.

Conclusion

As you easily noticed, the Nikon range is more extensive for (or more well targeted to) the pro photographers than the amateur or even the enthusiast. We could be tempted to chose another brand, but, with Nikon, we do long-time investments (which is a major permanent recommendation when speaking about purchasing lenses). Moreover, the NIKON offering of SLR bodies is currently the most impressive and the most powerful on the market (It will change for sure).

The wildlife photographer will be easily contented at Nikon.

The phenomenon is not always visible, but it is clearly visible (no pun intended). Nikon decided to produces a new version of the D7000 firmware which, even if it does not solves completely the issue, will “reduce” it.

Download the firmware 1.0.1 on the Nikon web site.

It takes the second rank among the APS-C digital sensors for DSLR photo cameras. But its price is 300-400€ below a Pentax K-5. Nice price-performance ratio.

Just a reminder: Above 80, the DxOMark sensor rankings are normally attributed only to very high-end cameras most of them using a Full Frame sensor…

This is becoming the hot question for November 2010: When will the Nikon D7000 be really available?

First, people noticed the difficulty (in October) to get the new camera even on pre-order (and Amazon started offering a small amount to their impatient customers). And, we assumed that this was just normal (after all, Nikon had said that the camera would only arrive in November 2010).

Then, we heard that the first cameras were served by big stores in the US. Normally, this should have been the end of it, but it seems that the quantities are very limited, to the point that “only a couple of major store chains (including Amazon, Ritz) and some small dealers*” have them, seemingly in “body-only”.

But, if I list the news I could find, the list of places where the Nikon D7000 is now available count:

• Amazon
• B&H
• Ritz
• Some small dealers

Adorama is still unclear. But this looks a lot like the camera will be normally available in November 2010, to me. So, don’t worry too much about it and be sure to make your wishes clear; A Nikon D7000 may be coming to your Christmas tree.

Again and again, people ask for the operator’s manual of new SLR cameras. So, for the Nikon D7000, here it is.

• English: Nikon D7000 User’s manual from Nikon support web site
• Français : Mode d’emploi du Nikon D7000
• Español : Manual del usuario / Nikon D7000
• Português: O manual Nikon disponível para download
• Deutsch: ????

Happy downloading. It’s free.

It is somewhat (and sometimes) funny to see the expectations of some people becoming their certainties with an astonishing speed. I have exactly this feeling when I hear the cries of the most recent days: The Internet is all about this “Why is the Nikon D7000 so late?”

As a matter of fact, Nikon was never very precise about the availability date for its new Nikon D7000. They murmured more than said that it would be necessary to wait until November (more or less, the D7000 must be presented at the Photokina but it needed a few more weeks of polishing at the R&D of Nikon). But some shops seems to have blown the expectations up and made firm promises they could not and cannot hold. And here they are surprised of not shipping the cameras at the “expected” date. This is most prominently the case of Amazon which just wrote to its pre-order customer to tell that they will pay 25$ for those waiting for their D7000 pre-order. The new Nikon SLR will only be available from November 15th.

As a compensation for what seems to be a discovery only for those not listening to Nikon, here are non-official pictures to evaluate the image quality to be expected from the Nikon D7000: Nikon D7000 high-ISO samples.

Nikon D7000, primo contatto e primi scatti

Beware: The camera was still using a pre-production firmware (v0.28) and this should be taken as orientative only. The final, serial production quality may be quite different (probably improved, but…)

Merci Stéphane

• High ISO 3200 by Chase Jarvis.
• Official Nikon sample pictures

A few promo videos:

it was well worth a separate launch since this is a product central in Nikon’s strategy for the very competitive market segment of the expert SLR camera, where Canon just introduced a heavyweight competitor with the Canon 60D. Here is a camera that will attract many photographers.

First, here are its most striking features:

• CMOS 16 MP DX sensor designed with Sony
• Sensitivity: ISO 100-6400 (ext. ISO 25600)
• Shutter speed: 30s à 1/8000s
• Bursts: 6 fps
• Exposure metering via a 2016 color zones sensor
• Video capture: 1080p @ 24 fps
• 39-point Autofocus system
• Autofocus available in LiveView and video capture (with face detection)
• Viewfinder: 100% coverage, 0.96x magnification (with LCD crosslines in personalized function)
• Fixed LCD 3″ screen of 920.000 pixels
• Two memory slots: SD/SDHC/SDXC
• In-camera flash 12 GN at 100 ISO
• Synchro Flash (X) at 1/250s

During the hands-on review of a pre-series D7000 I could make today, it immediately appeared that the camera has everything to be loved: very flexible, snappy, easy to hold tightly and easy to operate. The viewfinder is lovely with a very clear view served by the large pentaprism. Moving from one mode to the next is really simple, even if the Nikon menus are still as unpleasant as always because of their long lists of options that require a extensive reading of the manual to be understood by those who did not sleep in Nikon’s bed.

Visibly, the 39 cells of the AF system bring a good reactivity even when the subject is very mobile (I could not test in extreme real conditions: fast cars or young children) or when the light is very limited.

Going to video capture is very easy, just pressing the red button at the center of the LiveView mode lever. And the autofocus works reasonably well; It’s no longer necessary to complain about what was an usual limitation of the cameras of last year.

Without a lengthy test (which was not possible today), it is very difficult to judge the effect of the 2016 color points matrix of the MultiCam sensor for exposure metering. Let’s assume that the usual Nikon expertise in this domain has taken advantage of this supplementary technology which we expect to see appearing on several other Nikon DSLR cameras.

Attached to a large tele-lens like the 300mm f/2.8, the Nikon D7000 immediately appears very light. But, even if Nikon strives not to make our photo bags heavier than really necessary, the D7000 is very nice to handle and its protection based upon the use of rubber seals seems aimed at adventurous users. The only restriction – compared to a pro camera – is that the central structure of the camera body stays in polycarbonate (with a half-housing built out of die-cast magnesium alloy) and the user of heavy prime tele lenses (when heavier than the body itself) will have to remember not to hold the ensemble from the body but from the lens shaft. If this advice is forgotten, the risk of deterioration to the front plate of the D7000 is still significant. But this is a rule that is already well known from all those who consider a mere DSLR body as nothing more than a lens cap, isn’t it?

Furthermore, the presence of two SD/SDXC memory slots will be appreciated by all those who want to have a sizable reserve always available when a card is full, to separate the storage of JPEG and Raw files, or to produce two copies (an original and a backup) of all their images (all these modes are immediately available in the menu).

In the end, we could say that the Nikon D7000 is an SLR camera clearly aimed at the experts who did not move up to a full frame solution but want nothing less than the technologies normally for the pros only. At Nikon, if you stay in the DX format (APS-C with a conversion factor of 1.5), you will not find better, except if you are looking for the robustness of a Nikon D300s. As its launch price (1150€, body only) is quite competitive (at least, less expensive than the initial retail price of the Canon EOS 60D which is its direct competition, while it can easily titillate the Canon EOS 7D), it may stay at a stable price for at least the rest of the year 2010 since it will not be available before beginning of November. Everything tells us that Nikon forced itself to disclose it before the Photokina, but it was worth the effort and it would have been a pity to hide as nice a camera as the Nikon D7000.

We’ll see…

First and foremost, let’s notice that after a deluge of news in 2008 and 2009, the yellow brand seemed a little slow (and farming money from its advance, I should say). It is probably a coincidence and the simultaneous occurrence of several jumps in the various product families, but it should also be considered as a warning of things to come in the digital SLR product lines.

The cameras that are most probably going to be replaced or renewed are (according to the data I could get):

• The Nikon D90 has grown past its normal life since the very noisy launch of 2008 and its 720p video capture needs to be upgraded to keep annoying the competition. So, probably, here comes the Nikon D7000 for early September: 16MP DX-format sensor (APS-C size), 1080p video capture @ 24fps, 26-point AF system, climbing sensitivity (but not as high as the FX sensor of the D3s, let’s not dream: Native ISO 100-6400).
• Nikon may renew, or may only give the last orientations for the evolution of its pro line after the Nikon D3s and D3x. But there may not be much more than a wooden prototype.

On the other side, no replacement for the D700 in 2010 (with an FX sensor). Both pro and amateur sales representatives where told that this impressively beautiful Full Frame photo camera will see its successor only after the professional shows of early 2011. Probably, for a real announcement before Summer 2011 and availability after Summer. We will have to be very patient and Nikon certainly did not have as many sales as needed to fully convince the marketing department that a (relatively) low resolution FX (Full Frame) sensor is the way to go. They see the competition (Canon and Sony, first) rushing for a pixel-race that may not be ideal for image quality but stays convincing for most applications.

The $1000 open question is still in front of the low-end of the market. On one side, I hear that the Nikon D4000 is ready to launch; On the other side, I hear that it does not even exist. But no source seems more reliable than another. It may simply come from the fact that rumours abound and are always less precise for entry-level photo cameras, or it may be that the new entry-level camera from Nikon will hold a completely different name and people get lost by this change. We will have to wait a little more, I guess.

Currently, Nikon’s development efforts are centered on the preparation of a a new hybrid compact camera (how should I name these photo cameras which look like a point-and-shoot, host interchangeable lenses and an APS-C sensor that would be acceptable in a mid-range SLR camera?). For Nikon, it will be the means to put a whole new range in orbit, bringing two new major features:

• Much improved video capture modes with options to simplify significantly the operation and certainly some technical details to reduce the issues linked to autofocus while shooting video.
• A deep integration with Internet and the communication networks. It is clear that these cameras (there will be a full range of them) will be very near to Flickr, YouTube and Facebook. WiFi integration will be part of the scope.

the first announcements have been done by Makoto Kimura in an interview with Bloomberg, and confirmed by others more recently. If the cameras are scheduled for the end of the year (1st quarter or 2011, at most), Nikon seems ready to lift the curtain on many of the features and details of new range in September 2010 at the Photokina.