D7000 that much better than the D300?

[jgredline]

<p>sanford, right now i have no plan for a micro 4/3 system for the reasons frank mentioned above. i really love my lx-5 and it is hard to imagine another small compact to be leaps above it. i really had my eye on the fuji x100, but not at $1200.00</p>

[john_hinkey]

<blockquote>

<p>This seems to be as good a place as any to ask for an opinion, since many here seem to have both the D7000 and D300S. I have a bunch of Nikon AF-D primes (20 f/2.8, 24 f/2.8, 28 f/2.8, 35 f/2.0, 50 f/1.4, 85 f/1.8 and 300 f/4.0) that have been sitting unused in a cabinet since I switched to digital in mid-2007. For various reasons I went with Pentax, which I really like, and don't plan to switch systems.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Frank, you'll find with a D7000 or any other DX camera you'll be missing lenses on the short end for wide angles. <br>

20/2.8 - Not terribly interesting FL on DX, best used on FX, though it's not the sharpest in the corners until f/5.6 or so.<br>

24/2.8 - Same as 20/2.8<br>

28/2.8 - If it's the AF version it's supposedly not very good. If it's the AIS version it's a very good lens - potentially a "normal" focal length on DX.</p>

<p>The 50/1.4, 85/1.8, and 300/4 AF are good lenses. It looks like you'll be missing something in between the 85 and 300. If you want small and light I'd recommend one of these:<br>

135/3.5 AIS<br>

180/2.8 AIS ED or 180/2.8 AF-D<br>

200/4 AIS</p>

<p>As far as wide on DX, your choices are very limited in primes. I use a 16/3.5 AI fisheye as a wide prime substitute (the 16/2.8 AIS or AF-D works well too). Otherwise your choice is one of the many WA DX zooms that are made by Nikon, Sigma, Tokina, etc.</p>

<p>John</p>

[frank_b._baiamonte]

<p>John, thanks for the feedback. At this point I'm not looking to build up any sort of "complete" Nikon system, more just wondering which of the 2 bodies (D300S or D7000) might be the better choice for using the lenses I have now. I mostly use the 300 f/4.0 for walks around the San Diego Zoo, and that is probably the lens that will get the most use for now. That and maybe also the 24 or 35 as a single-lens "walk around" or "street" set up.</p>

<p>I have a 15 f/4.0 for my Pentax, and also a 10-17 Fisheye zoom that I really enjoy using, so I'm not worried about not having anything wide for the Nikon. Actually, I'm pretty happy with my very compact travel set up with that brand, using the Limited primes in 15, 21, 40 and 70, I can carry everything in a very small bag, and even have room to toss in a 35 true macro if I want.</p>

[jos__arnaud]

<p>I have just bought a D7000, to substitute my ageing 2006 D80, that only works well in... Automatic settings ! I was expecting to be able to produce up to A2 quality prints for exhibitions with the more powerful 16Mpix Cmos, as well as grainless night photos, with the much wider ISO range. If the second aim was clearly achieved ( I also very much appreciate the cadence of 6 images/second, for occasional sports or action photos), for the moment I feel a bit frustrated with the neutral of the lack of punch of the rather correct but a bit dull JPEGs. I normally shoot in RAW, but of the programmes I normaly use only DxO Pro 6 has already updated the software to the couple D7000+18-200, and it takes about 6 minutes (!) to process a single picture ! In fact, neither Capture Nx2, nor, less strangely, Apple iPhoto, are already prepared to read and process D7000 RAW files, what seems rather strange, after almost six months from the launching ! It remains the possibility of tuning a bit the native JPEGs. Has anyone of you, more experienced Nikon digital photographers, any tested recipe for doing it ? It might be useful for other recent D7000 owners, while we wait that Nikon finally wakes up, and updates Capture NX2, to read their own RAW files, or gives a little punch to the D7000 firmware.</p>

[don_cooper]

<p>Jose, what version of NX2 are you using? My version of NX2 is V2.2.6, handles D7000 NEF files quite well. </p>

[ShunCheung]

<p>Jose, you need to update your NX2 to the latest version. Mine opens D700 RAW files.</p>

[johncarvill]

<p>I've just cancelled my order for a D7000, having had the chance to try one and find out how small and toy-like it feels in my hands. I'm ordering a D300s instead.<br>

The D7000 may win (or draw) the race on paper, but it handles far, far worse than my old D70.</p>

<p> </p>