Nikon D7000 Comparison Review

The Nikon D7000 is a DSLR (Digital Single Lens Reflex) camera that was announced in September 2010 and is equipped with an APS-C sensor. It offers a resolution of 16.1 megapixel.

Is the Nikon D7000 a good camera? The D7000 has a Camera Elo of 1718. This rating puts the D7000 among the top 50 percent of all digital single lens reflex cameras. In terms of its sensor size category (APS cameras), the D7000 ranks below average. Based on its within category standings, the camera earns a 3-star performance rating.

Read on to find out more about the camera's size, sensor, features, reception by expert reviewers, and how it compares to other digital cameras.

Body comparison with a credit card

The physical dimensions of the Nikon D7000 relative to a credit card are illustrated in the side-by-side display below. Three consecutive views from the front, the top, and the rear side are shown. All size dimensions are rounded to the nearest millimeter.

The table below summarizes the key physical specs of the Nikon D7000 alongside a set of similar cameras. If you want to review a particular camera pair side-by-side, just move across to the CAM-parator tool and choose from the broad selection of possible comparisons there.

Body Specifications

		Camera Model	Camera Width	Camera Height	Camera Depth	Camera Weight	Battery Life	Weather Sealing	Camera Launch	Launch Price (USD)	Street Price
1.		Nikon D7000	132 mm	105 mm	77 mm	780 g	1050	Y	Sep 2010	1,499	ebay.com
2.		Canon 60D	145 mm	106 mm	79 mm	755 g	1100	Y	Aug 2010	1,399	ebay.com
3.		Canon 7D	148 mm	111 mm	74 mm	860 g	800	Y	Sep 2009	1,699	ebay.com
4.		Nikon D7500	136 mm	104 mm	73 mm	720 g	950	Y	Apr 2017	1,299	amazon.com
5.		Nikon D500	147 mm	115 mm	81 mm	860 g	1240	Y	Jan 2016	1,999	amazon.com
6.		Nikon D7200	136 mm	107 mm	76 mm	765 g	1110	Y	Mar 2015	1,199	ebay.com
7.		Nikon D7100	136 mm	107 mm	76 mm	765 g	950	Y	Feb 2013	1,199	ebay.com
8.		Nikon Df	144 mm	110 mm	67 mm	760 g	1400	Y	Nov 2013	2,749	ebay.com
9.		Nikon D300S	147 mm	115 mm	81 mm	938 g	950	Y	Jul 2009	1,799	ebay.com
10.		Nikon D90	132 mm	103 mm	77 mm	703 g	850	n	Aug 2008	1,299	ebay.com
11.		Nikon D300	147 mm	114 mm	74 mm	925 g	1000	Y	Aug 2007	1,799	ebay.com
Note: Measurements and pricing do not include easily detachable parts, such as add-on or interchangeable lenses or optional viewfinders.
Convert to Imperial

The listed prices provide an indication of the market segment that the manufacturer of the cameras have been targeting. The Nikon D7000 was launched in the US market at a price of $1,499. Usually, retail prices stay at first close to the launch price, but after several months, discounts become available. Later in the product cycle and, in particular, when the replacement model is about to appear, further discounting and stock clearance sales often push the camera price considerably down. Then, after the new model is out, very good deals can frequently be found on the pre-owned market.

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Sensor comparison with a 35mm slide

The imaging sensor is at the core of digital cameras and its size is one of the main determining factors of image quality. All other things equal, a large sensor will have larger individual pixel-units that offer better low-light sensitivity, wider dynamic range, and richer color-depth than smaller pixels in a sensor of the same technological generation. Furthermore, a large sensor camera will give the photographer more possibilities to use shallow depth-of-field in order to isolate a subject from the background. On the downside, larger sensors are more costly to manufacture and tent to lead to bigger and heavier cameras and lenses.

The Nikon D7000 features an APS-C sensor and has a format factor (sometimes also referred to as "crop factor") of 1.5. Within the spectrum of camera sensors, this places the Nikon D7000 among the medium-sized sensor cameras that aim to strike a balance between image quality and portability.

Since 2007, DXO Mark has published sensor performance measurements that have been derived using a consistent methodology. This service determines an overall sensor rating, as well as sub-scores for low-light sensitivity ("DXO Sports"), dynamic range ("DXO Landscape"), and color depth ("DXO Portrait"). The following table provides an overview of the physical sensor characteristics, as well as the sensor quality measurements for a selection of alternatives.

Sensor Characteristics

		Camera Model	Sensor Class	Resolution (MP)	Horiz. Pixels	Vert. Pixels	Video Format	DXO Portrait	DXO Landscape	DXO Sports	DXO Overall
1.		Nikon D7000	APS-C	16.1	4928	3264	1080/24p	23.5	13.9	1167	80
2.		Canon 60D	APS-C	17.9	5184	3456	1080/30p	22.2	11.5	813	66
3.		Canon 7D	APS-C	17.9	5184	3456	1080/30p	22.0	11.7	854	66
4.		Nikon D7500	APS-C	20.7	5568	3712	4K/30p	24.3	14.0	1483	86
5.		Nikon D500	APS-C	20.7	5568	3712	4K/30p	24.0	14.0	1324	83
6.		Nikon D7200	APS-C	24.0	6000	4000	1080/60p	24.5	14.6	1333	87
7.		Nikon D7100	APS-C	24.0	6000	4000	1080/60p	24.2	13.7	1256	83
8.		Nikon Df	Full Frame	16.2	4928	3280	none	24.6	13.1	3279	89
9.		Nikon D300S	APS-C	12.2	4288	2848	720/24p	22.5	12.2	787	70
10.		Nikon D90	APS-C	12.2	4288	2848	720/24p	22.7	12.5	977	73
11.		Nikon D300	APS-C	12.2	4288	2848	none	22.1	12.0	679	67

Many modern cameras cannot only take still pictures, but also record videos. The D7000 indeed provides movie recording capabilities. The highest resolution format that the D7000 can use is 1080/24p.

Feature comparison

Apart from body and sensor, cameras can and do differ across a range of features. For example, the D7000 has an optical viewfinder that provides a field of view of 100% and a magnification of 0.63x. The following tables report on some other key feature differences and similarities of the Nikon D7000 and comparable cameras.

Core Features

		Camera Model	Viewfinder (Type or 000 dots)	Control Panel (yes/no)	LCD Specifications (inch/000 dots)	LCD Attach- ment	Touch Screen (yes/no)	Max Shutter Speed *	Max Shutter Flaps *	Built-in Flash (yes/no)	Built-in Image Stab
1.		Nikon D7000	optical	Y	3.0 / 921	fixed	n	1/8000s	6.0/s	Y	n
2.		Canon 60D	optical	Y	3.0 / 1040	swivel	n	1/8000s	5.3/s	Y	n
3.		Canon 7D	optical	Y	3.0 / 920	fixed	n	1/8000s	8.0/s	Y	n
4.		Nikon D7500	optical	Y	3.2 / 922	tilting	Y	1/8000s	8.0/s	Y	n
5.		Nikon D500	optical	Y	3.2 / 2359	tilting	Y	1/8000s	10.0/s	n	n
6.		Nikon D7200	optical	Y	3.2 / 1229	fixed	n	1/8000s	6.0/s	Y	n
7.		Nikon D7100	optical	Y	3.2 / 1229	fixed	n	1/8000s	6.0/s	Y	n
8.		Nikon Df	optical	Y	3.2 / 921	fixed	n	1/4000s	5.5/s	n	n
9.		Nikon D300S	optical	Y	3.0 / 920	fixed	n	1/8000s	7.0/s	Y	n
10.		Nikon D90	optical	Y	3.0 / 920	fixed	n	1/4000s	4.5/s	Y	n
11.		Nikon D300	optical	Y	3.0 / 922	fixed	n	1/8000s	6.0/s	Y	n
Notes: *) Information refers to the mechanical shutter, unless the camera only has an electronic one.

One convenient feature of the D7000 is the presence of an on-board flash. While this built-in flash is not very powerful, it can at times be useful as a fill-in light to brighten deep shadow areas.

Connection comparison

For some imaging applications, the extent to which a camera can communicate with its environment can be an important aspect in the camera decision process. The table below provides an overview of the connectivity of the Nikon D7000 and, in particular, the interfaces the cameras (and selected comparators) provide for accessory control and data transfer.

Input-Output Connections

		Camera Model	Hotshoe Port	Internal Mic / Speaker	Microphone Port	Headphone Port	HDMI Port	USB Port	WiFi Support	NFC Support	Bluetooth Support
1.		Nikon D7000	Y	mono / mono	Y	-	mini	2.0	-	-	-
2.		Canon 60D	Y	mono / mono	Y	-	mini	2.0	-	-	-
3.		Canon 7D	Y	mono / -	Y	-	mini	2.0	-	-	-
4.		Nikon D7500	Y	stereo / mono	Y	Y	mini	2.0	Y	-	Y
5.		Nikon D500	Y	stereo / mono	Y	Y	mini	3.0	Y	Y	Y
6.		Nikon D7200	Y	stereo / mono	Y	Y	mini	2.0	Y	Y	-
7.		Nikon D7100	Y	stereo / mono	Y	Y	mini	2.0	-	-	-
8.		Nikon Df	Y	- / -	-	-	mini	2.0	-	-	-
9.		Nikon D300S	Y	stereo / mono	Y	-	mini	2.0	-	-	-
10.		Nikon D90	Y	mono / mono	-	-	mini	2.0	-	-	-
11.		Nikon D300	Y	- / -	-	-	mini	2.0	-	-	-

It is notable that the D7000 has a microphone port. Such an external microphone input can help to substantially improve the quality of audio recordings when a good external microphone is used.

Further information on the features and operation of the D7000 can be found in the free online Nikon D7000 Manual or on the Nikon support site.

Expert reviews

While the specs-based evaluation of cameras is instructive in revealing their potential as photographic tools, it says nothing about, for example, the handling, responsiveness, and overall imaging quality of the D7000 in practical situations. At times, user reviews, such as those published at amazon, address these issues in a useful manner, but such feedback is on many occasions incomplete, inconsistent, and unreliable. This is why hands-on reviews by experts are important. The following table reports the overall rankings of the cameras as published by some of the major camera review sites (amateurphotographer [AP], cameralabs [CL], digitalcameraworld [DCW], dpreview [DPR], ephotozine [EPZ], photographyblog [PB]).

Review Scores

		Camera   Model	AP   score	CL   score	DCW   score	DPR   score	EPZ   score	PB   score	Camera Launch	Launch Price (USD)	Street Price
1.		Nikon D7000	4/5	..	..	80/100	4.5/5	4.5/5	Sep 2010	1,499	ebay.com
2.		Canon 60D	5/5	+	..	79/100	4/5	4.5/5	Aug 2010	1,399	ebay.com
3.		Canon 7D	5/5	+ +	..	84/100	4.5/5	4.5/5	Sep 2009	1,699	ebay.com
4.		Nikon D7500	4.5/5	+ +	4.5/5	86/100	5/5	4.5/5	Apr 2017	1,299	amazon.com
5.		Nikon D500	5/5	+ +	4.7/5	91/100	4.5/5	5/5	Jan 2016	1,999	amazon.com
6.		Nikon D7200	4/5	+ +	..	84/100	4.5/5	4.5/5	Mar 2015	1,199	ebay.com
7.		Nikon D7100	5/5	+ +	..	85/100	4.5/5	4.5/5	Feb 2013	1,199	ebay.com
8.		Nikon Df	4/5	..	..	81/100	4/5	4/5	Nov 2013	2,749	ebay.com
9.		Nikon D300S	5/5	+ +	..	82/100	4/5	4.5/5	Jul 2009	1,799	ebay.com
10.		Nikon D90	..	+ +	..	+ +	4/5	4.5/5	Aug 2008	1,299	ebay.com
11.		Nikon D300	..	+ +	..	+ +	5/5	4.5/5	Aug 2007	1,799	ebay.com
Notes: (+ +) highly recommended; (+) recommended; (o) reviewed; (..) not available.

The above review scores should be interpreted with care, though. The ratings were established in reference to similarly priced cameras that were available in the market at the time of the review. Hence, a score should always be seen in the context of the camera's market launch date and its price, and comparisons of ratings among very different cameras or across long time periods have little meaning. It should also be noted that some of the review sites have over time altered the way they render their verdicts.

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Camera to camera comparisons

In case you are interested in seeing how this camera compares to another one, just make your choice using the following search menu. Alternatively, you can follow any of the listed hyperlinks for comparisons that others found interesting.

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