Posted by Jason Dunn in "Digital Home Hardware & Accessories" @ 09:01 PM
"Mississauga, ON, September 15, 2010 - Nikon Canada today introduced the D7000 digital SLR camera designed to fulfill the needs of passionate photographers who demand exceptional performance, reliability and unprecedented levels of control and versatility in a compact form factor. Engineered as an ideal balance of durability and functionality, the D7000 features a multitude of new enhancements and updated Nikon technologies to help photographers produce exceptional photos and full 1080p HD (High Definition) movies.
Continuing the tradition of innovative technology that began with the revolutionary D90, the first digital SLR to capture HD movie, the D7000 features a new 16.2-megapixel CMOS sensor with low-light ability never before seen in a DX-Format (APS-C) camera. The new EXPEED 2 TM image-processing engine fuels the enhanced performance of the D7000 along with a new 39-point AF system and groundbreaking new 2,016 pixel RGB 3D Matrix Metering System to deliver amazing image quality in a variety of shooting conditions. Additionally, the D7000 provides full 1080p HD movie capability with full-time auto focus (AF), enabling users to capture their world with both striking still and moving images."
The Nikon D7000 is one of the worst-kept secrets in the DSLR world as of late, so the announcement lacks much in the way of excitement other than to confirm the specs that pretty much everyone already knew as of a couple of weeks ago. However, I was able to sit in on a conference call a couple of weeks ago and got some details about the D7000. In short, it's a lot of camera for the price point - which will be $1279.95 CAD for the body only, and $1599.95 for the body plus the 18-105mm lens. And despite what some other sites are saying, the D7000 is the replacement for the D90. The D90 will continue to be sold into early 2011, then that's it.
The D7000 highlights: a new 16 megapixel CMOS sensor with native ISO from 100 to 6400, with support for ISO 25,600 on the High 2 setting; a 2016 RGB pixel metering sensor, up from a 400 pixel sensor on the D90; 39 auto focus points, 6fps shooting, magnesium alloy body, and twin SD card slots. That RGB metering system is a big deal: it has more than double the pixels of the D3x, and 4.6 times more than the D90. The auto-focus system is twice as fast as any focusing system before it - and the full-time contrast detection system apparently works really well in Live View mode. The video is 1080p in AVCHD (h.264) format, supporting 30/25/24fps. There's also a VGA video mode, but there's no high-speed video mode at that lower resolution. They've made some improvements to minimize the "rolling jello effect" from side to side pans when shooting a video, and there's also support for an external stereo microphone and basic movie editing directly on the camera.
The D7000 is built to last: it offers 150,000 shutter release cycles, new reinforced glass on the screen, and has the same level of weather sealing as the D300s. There will be a battery grip offered that is also built out of magnesium alloy; worth noting though is that Nikon has implemented an "authentication function" that verifies that a battery is a Nikon-created battery. This means no third-party batteries will work in the D7000; Nikon said this was to "protect users", but I think it's a bit of a protectionist move to boost Nikon's bottom line...though I really do have to wonder how many people purchase an extra battery for their DSLR. I used to be a big "always have an extra battery" guy, but DSLRs are so incredibly power efficient, you can usually shoot for days without needing a recharge. The D7000 uses a new battery as well: the EN-EL15, boasting 1900 mAh of power versus the 1430 mAh on the D90's EN-EL3e.
A note about the dual SD card slots: they support SDXC cards, and the new UHS50 interface, so really huge, really fast memory cards will work nicely in this camera. The dual SD cards can be configured in various modes: overflow mode: when one card gets full it writes to the second card; backup mode: records image to both cards; record raw to one card, JPEG to another. You can record movies to one card, images to another. Slick!
Full press release and lots of images after the break. Read more...