Nikon D7000 review at dpreview.com

<p>I admit I don't fiddle with the ISO on the D700 as much as I would on the Eos 300D (partly an issue of vintage and sensor size, before anyone accuses me of picking on Canon) - this is partly because the difference between ISO 400 and ISO 800 is less catastrophic on the D700, and partly because there's an auto-ISO mode. For a prime lens, I tend to fiddle in the menus (which is annoying) to set it to an appropriate shutter speed for the focal length - assuming my primary interest in shutter speed is avoiding camera shake - and leave it there while I mess with the aperture. It's annoying for a zoom lens, though - I either end up at a higher ISO than I need, or I forget that I've set the ISO lower and end up with a blurred image. Canon's solution with the variation of auto-ISO by lens focal length is only a partial improvement - I'd like to "program shift" the compensation it to compensate for vibration reduction or caffeine intake. I emailed both Canon and Nikon about this (before the feature appeared in Canon bodies) in the hope they might implement it.<br />

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If the ISO was easier to change - particularly if it was on the right hand, and holding Fn while scrolling a wheel would allow it to be changed without moving the eye - I'd be far more involved in its setting.<br />

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Admittedly, I also use the Fn key for virtual horizon on my D700. I think between the three configurable buttons there ought to be more options available for chording them for extra options. :-)<br />

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Gary: It's not that I'm not used to where the ISO button is, it's that it's physically difficult to press it while controlling the camera. If the centre of gravity is a foot or so in front of the body (as with, say, a hand-held and extended 150-500 Sigma) the left hand can't easily be moved if you don't want to bend your lens mount. You can hop the right hand across to the ISO button if you don't mind the whole camera-lens combination being precariously balanced on your left hand and relying on nobody walking into you, but even if you can grip the camera to press the ISO button without flipping it onto the floor, you're then stuck in the mode where button presses persist until the shutter is pressed - and that's not my preferred interface. Short of a fing-longer, it's a pain. It ought to be an easy fix in a BIOS update, so I reserve my right to whinge - there is a genuine usability issue. Some have said the D7000 is worse because, as you look through the viewfinder, your face is in the way of the button. Arguably it has some benefits: if you have a very pointy noise, you could press the button that way, while keeping your right hand on the grip.<br />

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Nikon seem to have the expectation that the left hand is available to reach the camera body when shooting - there's the same issue for selecting between autofocus modes, for example. In my experience, that's far from true, and it'd be nice if future Nikons allowed slightly more for the "walkaround telephoto" market. It may be that Nikon's interface design team still haven't caught up with the idea of VR, as well as high ISO - if all you're shooting is Velvia (and I <i>was</i>, over the weekend) then hand-holding a non-VR 500mm lens isn't an option it's worth designing cameras around. With VR and a usable ISO 6400, it's much more likely.<br />

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Apologies for wandering off-topic.</p>

<p>I can't say I've ever thought about the placement of the ISO button before today. It's in a different place on my D80 and D1h (I just checked) but never really thought much more about it until now.</p>

<p>Shun -<br>

I think my question was not worded properly. <br>

Is it possible to do manual focusing while doing video at all or does it have to be auto focus ?</p>

<p>Anand, of course it is <strong>possible</strong> to manually focus while capturing video. It is like it is also possible to hit the lotto. Are you going to do a good job adjusting the focus manually tracking a moving subject while the video capture is on going? Most likely you won't do a very good job.</p>

<p>I think you are right, Dave. With all the hype about the D7000 smoking everything except a D3x for resolution, its nice to read a pretty objective review. High ISO performance is not everything. I was tempted by the U1 and U2 hard switches for different shooting modes, though. But its not brilliant enough for me to reconsider my decision to move up to FX.<br>

I liked the D300 and to me I can put up with the same plethora of menu's on the D700. After all, I took the time to do the 4 way setup that Nikonians provide. </p>

<p>@<a href="../photodb/user?user_id=322462">Anand Dhupkar</a> - You can manually focus in video mode, in fact, you almost have to in low light situations. </p>

<p>Is a camera with good high iso capabilities like the D7000 better at low light focusing than a camera with poor high iso capabilities like the D80? Or are they not related?</p>

<p>I actually find these days that I change ISO and aperture far more than I change shutter speed. I let the camera decide shutter speed often, unless I'm shooting something moving fast. I usually tweak ISO to get the shutter speed I want at a given aperture.</p>

<p>For the D7000, you can hobble a 1 handed ISO change in 1 way: you can assign ISO to My Menu, and assign the FN (or the preview) button to the first item in My menu. That'll bring up a list of ISO that you can change with the multi-selector (but not the command dial).</p>

<p>I hear you can set it via Easy-ISO settings but I havne't tried that.</p>

<p>Ofer - except in contrast-detect live view autofocus mode, the sensitivity of the image sensor is unrelated to the autofocus performance (there are separate autofocus sensors that aren't attached to the main image sensor). However, newer and higher-end cameras tend to have better autofocus modules as well as better sensors - they're related only in that the technology behind both tends to be improved over time, and be better in more expensive models.</p>