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Hi every one

I am completely new to the camera / photography world. I currently have a Canon SX30 IS and that's it.

I desperatly want to upgrade.

After doing some reading here and elsewhere, visiting a few shops, also online, and after chatting to a few people, the "Nikon'ers" won. They convinced me. (i've come to realise the canon vs nikon battle is rather serious )

I was looking at the D90 with 18-105VR lense and the 70-300mm VR lens and then bit later sigma 150-500mm. ????????

Now I was introduced to the D7000 hearing so many positive things about it. Can you even compare the D90 and D7000. ?

Thing is, the D7000's gonna throw me out of my budget . But if it is worth waiting /saving 3 - 6 months more, I'll do that.

Or will the D90 be sufficient.

Please help!!

Anja

Hi Anja,

Well as a D90 user I can tell that it's a great camera and certainly every penny you pay for it.
I started off buying it with it's original lenses and then upgraded with a Nikon 80-400mm and a Sigma 300 mm f/2.8. Always get excellent results and still have to find a negative aspect on it.

I recently used the Sigma 150-500mm and found it to be a great lens, not too heavy and gives you a good reach at 500mm, which is what you need in the bush.
Andy

Hi again Anja,

Have a look here: http://snapsort.com/compare/Nikon_D7000-vs-Nikon_D90

Hi Switchback. Thank you so much!!!!

And thanks for the PM on the D90 lens kit. I still don't know which way to go. D90 or D7000. I would like to take the D7000, but that means I'm gonna have to wait longer since it's outside my budget. Just don't know if it is worth the wait since i'm totally a beginner.

Hi Anja,

Only you know your budget and the ammount of time you would have to wait for the D7000 before you can buy it. If you have a trip comming up soon, I'd say go for the D90 - it really still is a great DSLR, but if there is no rush and you could bear the itch (yes, that itch could be hard to ignore!!) it may be worth it to wait 'till you can buy the D7000.

Keep on watching sites like SACamera, ORMSDirect, Cameraland, Nikonshop etc.

Hi A

I also bought a D7000 (body only)in January 2011 as my first SLRD. Before that I was playing around with a Sony cybershot (mik and drukkie). As a lens I bought a Nikkor 70 x 300 f4.5-5.6 with a Kenko 1.4 convertor. I used that lens during my second visit to the Kgalagadi and I enjoyed the camera and lens a lot. Nothing wrong with that lens on the D7000. And the D7000 was so easy to learn for a beginner like me.

Then I bougth myself a Nikkor 70 x 200 f2.8 lens with a Nikon 2.0 convertor (my wife's convertor) and I used it during my third Kgalagadi trip. What a difference! The photos posted on my Trip Report (trip 1) was the D7000 with 70x200 f2.8 lens and 2.0 convertor.

My wife is using a D300 and D3s and she is still very impressed with easy handling (many of the important menu functions can be adjusted from the "outside" and you don't need to go into the menu of the camera), and the feel of the D7000. She also told me the D7000 is the upgrade of the D90 meaning you can get a D90 at a good price but.....?! The D7000 has won several awards - meaning the upgrade is probably worth it.

ENjoy the shopping.

Thanks WillemK

I got my mind set on the d7000 even though I try to convince myself it will be more affordable to buy the D90. I think I'm going to wait for December, save some more money and get the D7000.. buy myself a christmas prezzy > I'm just not sure about which lens (es).

Hi A

O, that is a difficult one - the lens. Decisions, decisions, decisions!! I am not going to try and influence you on that one because it is personal choice and budget related. I am really impress with what I have.

Enjoy the prezzy!!!

If you can wait, rather wait to get the D7000 for the following TWO reasons:
* firstly the D7000 is a reasonable upgrade on the D90 in most respects, but more importantly,
* the improvement in handling of ISO levels means that you CAN use slower (read MUCH less initial outlay) lenses to get similar results in low light. No longer necessary to get a 70-200 f2.8VR lens (although it is still on the wish-list), as the higher and improved ISO handling allows for low-light pictures way beyond what the D90 can handle.

If budget is a major long-term issue, consider the merits of the D5100 at a much lower entry cost, with similar benefits. Lenses are a personal choice based on usage and cost, and will generally never need to be replaced, merely upgraded if you do not go for the best upfront....

I wished and waited a year to get the 70-200f2.8VR and finally decided that a new D7000 would take better pictures with the 70-300VR than my trusty D70 would with a 70-200VR. so I got a new camera and lens AND I saved R8000 in the process.... I should be able to understand and use all the features of this D7000 within the next 23 years

decisions, decisions and decisions... hmmmm.... done

I recently acquired a D7000 as a second body to my D3s and I have not been dissappointed! It works very well in terms of autofocus and functionality, image quality is great and can operate at high ISO settings.

I was a Canon user before and would dare say that the D7000 image quality is even better than the Canon 7D (which is essentially in a higher spec bracket)

Here are some sample shots from my recent trip to Kruger - haven't processed many though...

This was captured using the Nikkor 70-200mm f2.8 VR-II plus 1.4x teleconverter:


This was captured using the Nikkor 500mm f4 VR-II plus 1.4x teleconverter:

Nice pictures Morkel

it seems to me that you enjoy your D7000

When I wanted to buy a new camera I hesitated between a D90 and a D7000.

The cam expert told me that I could better buy a D7000....the D90 was going out of stock in the Netherlands and the D7000 is considered an upgrade compared to the D90.

I have bought a D7000 and took it to KNP with a 18-105mm and 70-300mm but discovered that the 70-300m is not sufficient enough for KNP because you can't fit a teleconverter due to the lens form.