Spotted this review of the newly released Nikon D7000 SLR on photographyblog. The D7000 is a replacement for the D90 but sits in between the current D90 and D300s cameras, and is meant to go head to head with Canon's 60D.

They were very positive about it, praising its clean high ISO performance, and the ability to autofocus during video recording (albeit with the expected whine of the AF noise), but knock off points for a non-articulating screen when comparing to the 60D.

http://www.photographyblog.com/reviews/n...onclusion/

shuttertalk Wrote:Spotted this review of the newly released Nikon D7000 SLR on photographyblog. The D7000 is a replacement for the D90 but sits in between the current D90 and D300s cameras, and is meant to go head to head with Canon's 60D.

I still haven't quite gotten how that works. The way I see it, Canon brought out the 7D to compete with Nikon's D300s, which it matches almost spec-for-spec. (Okay, 1080 v. 720 video resolution, two card slots instead of one, 22% difference in linear resolution - any other significant distinguishing marks?) I've always thought of the D90 as a step down from the 50D, and that the 60D was lowered to match the physical size and approach the cost of the D90 tier in Nikon's lineup.

Comparing the D7000 to the 60D sounds like a bit of a joke. Weather sealing? Off-camera TTL flash control? Dual card slots? These are pro-level features from Nikon, and Canon doesn't do them all in the same place, ever. Just because Nikon and Canon both make cameras with black bodies doesn't mean that they compete head-to-head.

(And people should know me well enough to understand that this little rant isn't a canon-versus-nikon thing - it's a camera industry, marketing, sales, and promotion thing.)

I don't know much about Canon - but let me share a few thoughts about Nikon.

Nikon is at a crossroads right now - marketing-wise. Historically the single digit bodies: D2, D3 have been their pro line followed by the semi-pro triple numbers: D200, D300, D700. Their consumer line has been 2 numbers: D40, D70, D90, and their entry level line has had 4 numbers: D3000 etc.

Now Nikon has a problem - the 2 digit model line has hit the numbering wall with the D90.The next model number up from there would be the the D100 (which is 3 numbers and which already exists). Nikon could play some funny little *D95* type game - but the fact is that the 2 digit line has run out of numbers.

Here is where it gets interesting. The D7000 isn't a classic 4 digit camera body. It clearly trumps the D90 across the board - and in many ways also trumps the semi-pro D300s (burst speed, autofocus points and weather stripping aside), It's also interesting to note that while no consumer grade Nikon camera body (2 or 4 digit models) up until now has supported non CPU lenses, but the D7000 will. This is a feature aimed solidly at the semi-pro and pro photographers who have been taking photos for years and who already own a stable of good legacy glass. It doesn't really make sense for Nikon to cannibalize their semi-pro model line like this unless you look ahead to what their marketing strategy is evolving towards.

My predictions:

1. a single product line for consumer/enthusiast DSLRs featuring half-frame DX sensors. I expect that there will continue to be multiple models available at any given time within this line - i.e. D3100, D7000

2. all *new* 3 digit camera bodies will be full frame - lead by the uber-successful D700

3. I expect the top-tier single digit bodies to continue as a separate line