Nikon D7000 Review

The Nikon D7000 is a 16.2-megapixel digital single-lens reflex camera (DSLR) announced by Nikon  September 2010. At the time of announcement, it replaced the outdated D300/D300s & D90.

And I have one. In fact one in use in my camera bag as of now, plus one as a spare (in case of breakage/loss and high costs to repair). 

My first Nikon D7000 with a lens bundle at the time came at a price of around GBP £2000 but I've seen body + lenses new as at time of writing for around £500. In my opinion - buy new not used rather than taking your chances, this still is  a great camera and can now be picked up at a sensible price point 

Tech stuff
Full 1080p HD video capture, dual memory card slots, 39 auto-focus points, a new colour-sensitive meter, a near 100% viewfinder, and in-camera editing round up just a few of the extra features found in the Nikon D7000. I'm not going to list line after line of spec tables, there's plenty of info out there 

Pros
I've always found it good at night, fast for sports, easy to handle, all the buttons in the right place, not too heavy

Cons
The menu did (at first) put a strain on me(!) but there's plenty of shortcuts to discover

Images
Here's a selection of images taken with the D7000, the first was a long exposure (on a tripod) at night over looking this pool in Morocco. The next 2 taken in Cinque Terre, Italy

Morocco, taken at night with long exposure

Cinque Terre NW Italy

Boats at Cinque Terre 

NIKON Z6 Review

OK so I've used a Nikon D7000 for years but wanted something smaller, lighter and easier to take away on my travels with me. 

So, I went for the bundle of body, lens and FTZ converter... The FTZ converter sold me on the idea of moving to mirror-less,  knowing I could then utilise Nikor lenses I already had

First impressions
Out of the box and great build quality and robust, but it wasn't that much smaller than a DSLR, nor that much lighter. 

However the proof is in the pudding (or not)
When actually shooting, the focus is inaccurate and a little haphazard; For example when focusing on closer objects the camera will 'beep' to confirm it's ok but it's looking into the background and ignores blurred foreground. 

More importantly
I feel that picture quality is questionable, images are not what I'd expect from a £2K camera and no better than a compact for a third of the price. 

Pros
Great control and all the buttons just in the right place, robust high build quality and handles really well

Cons
Autofocus and picture quality

Personally I feel Nikon's entry into the mirror-less market is a learning curve for them (while resting on their laurels) and in my opinion the Z6 is overpriced and under performs. I purchased both from a perspective of loyalty to a great D7000 - plus the ability to interchange lenses, but with the extra bulk of the FTZ converter its actually BIGGER than the D7000! 

Never thought I'd give a Nikon a bad review, but lesson learned.