GADGET REVIEWS Just another GADGET NEWS

Nikon’s hot new video-shooting D7000 is on paper – a replacement for the D90. In reality, it puts pretty much every other Nikon crop-frame SLR to shame.

To show you just how good this $1,200 camera is, let’s compare it to Nikon’s flagship APS-sensor model, the $1,500 D300s. I’ll put the more expensive camera’s specs in brackets. The D700 has 16.2 megapixels (12.3), shoots at up to ISO 6400 (3200) in regular mode, captures 1080p video (720p) at 24fps. More surprisingly, both have magnesium alloy bodies and 100% coverage in the viewfinder (both pentaprisms, not dimmer mirrors). The D7000 even beats the D300s with its exposure-meter, using a 2016-pixel sensor (1005 pixels).

In fact, the only places the D300s clearly wins are in autofocus, with 51 focus points against “just” 39, and memory card format. The D7000 has a pair of SD slots, and the D300s uses the faster and harder-to-lose Compact Flash.

So how does it perform? Handsome, bestubbled photographer and friend of Gadget Lab Chase Jarvis has had a bagful of D7000s for a few months now, and Nikon gave him a another bag full of cash to shoot a movie. The results are pretty great, as you can see for yourself:

Chase actually strapped one of the cameras to a toy, remote-control helicopter to get some of the shots (without telling Nikon, of course), which shows another advantage of the D7000: at just 1.7-pounds (780g) it is smaller and lighter than the 2.2-pound (918g) D300, and almost identical to the D90.

This camera shows us one other thing: that competition is good. Nikon and Canon are locked into a battle that keeps producing more and more amazing kit. Nikon’s D3 took high-ISO shooting to a whole new level, while Canon was concentrating on cameras that shoot great video. Now, both manufacturers are catching up to each other, and we have this new D7000 and Canon’s fantastic EOS 550D (Rebel T2i) to show for it.

And wait, there’s more. Nikon has also launched a new speedlight, the SB700, and a couple of lenses: a 35mm AFS 1.4G (the S means it has its own motor inside, the G means no aperture ring) for $1,800 and a 200mm 2G for $6,000. If you’re a Nikon shooter with some cash to spend, today is probably a very good day for you. And all this before the Photokina show kicks off next week.

D7000 product page [Nikon. Thanks, Geoffrey!]

Nikon D7000: Camera Road Test With Chase Jarvis [Chase Jarvis]

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Source:wired.com

Posted under Gadget Reviews

Nikon has announced three hot new products today, and if you have been paying any attention to the rumors, youll already know what they are. The biggest news is the new D300s, a video-capable update to Nikons top-of-the-range crop-frame DSLR, the D300. We also get a new entry level DSLR, the D3000, and a replacement for Nikons pro 70-200 zoom, called the AF-S Nikkor 70-200mm F/2.8G ED VR II.

D300s

So, whats new? A glance at the camera doesnt give much away. On the outside you see a camera much the same as the two-year-old D300, and from the front it is pretty much indistinguishable apert from the s. Round back, though, things have changed. The rear now looks just like the D700, with the memory-card hatch button gone, replaced by an info button. There is also a grille which covers the speaker for video playback and the welcome addition of a separate center button in the main control d-pad, plus a dedicated live view button.

The screen has also been improved, and is now the same 920,000 pixel model as found in the D700. Finally, there is a microphone socket hidden under the flap.

On the inside, the biggest change is video, coming in from the same 12.3 megapixel sensor as the old model. Itll shoot in motion jpeg format, like the other Nikon video-capable DSLRs, but also now in AVI, and itll do it at 24 fps and up to 720p. Also new is the ability to auto-focus while shooting video, using the slow but accurate contrast-detection method.

This video means youll burn through storage, and the D300s has an extra memory crd slot for you, adding an SD card to the existing CF. You can choose to mirror your images across the cards, use them consecutively or write, say, jpegs to one and RAW to the other, or still shots to one and video the other. Speaking of still shots, the D300s will now hit 7fps without an external grip (up from 6fps), and there is a new quiet shutter mode, which lets you rattle of shots without flipping the mirror back down between each of them.

In short D300s takes an already great camera, adds video and tweaks a few features. $1800, body only.

Product page [Nikon]

D3000

The second new camera is way down at the other end of the performance scale, although it manages to pack a lot in for such a cheap DSLR, and surprisingly doesnt have video. Priced at $600 with the 18-55mm VR kit lens, it costs the same as the D60, and you have to wonder why anyone would still buy the D60, especially as they share the same 10.2 megapixel sensor.

The differences: 11 point autofocus instead of just three, which also brings 3D tracking, Nikons name for spookily following a moving subject and staying locked on, a 3-inch screen (the D60 has 2.5 inches) and a new guide mode, which walks the user through the settings step-by-step.

This last looks great, especially in a camera clearly aimed at the first-time DSLR owner. You or I might spend hours, and a few battery charge cycles, digging through menus to discover what goodies lie inside. The normal user, though, is unlikely to stray from the green rectangle mode, so anything that stretches them and encourages experimentation is a good thing.

Product page [Nikon]

AF-S Nikkor 70-200mm 2.8G ED VR II

Quite a mouthful, huh? The new pro-zoom replaces the well respected but flawed 70-200 2.8 lens. And before you ask: yes, the vignetting has been fixed. The lens also gets a nano crystal coat to reduce reflections, and has seven (count em) ED elements to do the same thing. It also has upgraded vibration reduction (the VR II part) which gives up to four stops extra room before you start to get the wobbles. This combined with the fast 2.8 maximum aperture throughout the range means super low-light shooting. $2400

Product page [Nikon]

AF-S DX Nikkor 18-200mm 3.5/5.6G ED VR II

Finally, we have a new DX sized lens, the AF-S DX Nikkor 18-200mm 3.5/5.6G ED VR II, a superzoom with the new VR II anti-shake inside. $850.

Product page [Nikon]

Posted under Gadget Reviews