Nikon D7000 photos

The D7000 feels very sturdy and well built, with a solid grip and enough heft to offset the weight of many heavy pro lenses.

Rubber covers hide the connectors for composite and HDMI video, USB, and a mic and proprietary GPS connector.

Nikon has moved the control for selecting among the AF modes (auto, single, and continuous) to a button-dial combination. Yay! The selection also appears in the viewfinder so you can change modes without taking the camera away from your eye. Double yay!

On the flip side, I ended up having to disable modeling flash; with a flash in the hotshoe, the flash compensation button triggers the modeling flash and I repeatedly blinded people and animals by accidentally pressing the button during normal camera handling.

Nikon has also changed the way it handles user settings. Though not nearly as powerful as the named settings banks that live in the menu system, being able to access them via the mode dial is far more efficient. I'm hoping that in the future (probably in a more expensive model) Nikon manages a combination of the two systems--saved, named banks of settings that you can mix and match and assign to the dial.

This clever toggle switches you between Live View and standard shooting modes, and provides a direct record button for video. It's a small but easy, elegant solution to the problem.

Nikon sticks with the traditional vertical arrangement of menu, white balance, ISO sensitivity and quality buttons down the left side of the LCD. The buttons feel identical, which requires that you pay a little more attention than I'd like.

The location of the lock-release button for the release-mode dial on the D7000 is toward the back instead of the front (as it is on the D3s, for example). It's a subtle change but I find it easier to use this way--I can hold it down with my thumb.