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Nikon D7000 review and findings by Steve Bingham...

Posted: Wed 20 Oct 2010 19:59
by Stany Buyle
I'm looking forward to the D7000 test results by Steve Bingham. Steve Bingham is high qualified American professional photographer and a real master in PS. You can see the results of his PS skills on his website.

If I would consider to buy a D7000, the opinion of Steve on the D7000 would be a very influencing factor on my decision to buy or not... Even though Steve is not a full time camera and lens reviewer like some other experts, he is -TMHO-, as qualified to give a trustworthy opinion than Thom Hogan, Bjorn Rorslett, Dpreview or Chasseur d'Images, just to name some of my favorite sources for professional camera and lens reviews.

While Steve recently joined this forum, I would be very happy if he would share some of his early findings about D7000 on this forum.

An idea for Steve: I just received the ViewNX2.02 version from somebody and this way you can do a "real nikon NEF conversion" to TIFF. I am convinced that that conversion handles noise better than any third party solutions.
I was trying conversions through ViewNX2.0.2 on some high iso portraits I took with D7000 in NEF at PhotoKina and they look really very good.
From that conversion with a native Nikon NEF converter you can do whatever you want in CS5 or NX2...
The View NX2.02 should be in your package tomorrow...
x
x

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Re: Steve Bingham is testing the Nikon D7000...

Posted: Fri 22 Oct 2010 08:44
by Steve Bingham
An idea for Steve: I just received the ViewNX2.02 version from somebody and this way you can do a "real nikon NEF conversion" to TIFF. I am convinced that that conversion handles noise better than any third party solutions. I was trying conversions through ViewNX2.0.2 on some high iso portraits I took with D7000 in NEF at PhotoKina and they look really very good. From that conversion with a native Nikon NEF converter you can do whatever you want in CS5 or NX2... The View NX2.02 should be in your package tomorrow...
Stany,
On my computer this version is pretty buggy! It keeps telling me it can't connect to the internet. I have to cancel 5 times to get it to stop trying. After 5 cancels it does what I want. No camera yet so I really can't test it on D7000 files.

ViewNX trying to make internet-connection-message- problem..

Posted: Fri 22 Oct 2010 08:46
by Stany Buyle
Steve Bingham wrote:Stany,
On my computer this version is pretty buggy! It keeps telling me it can't connect to the internet. I have to cancel 5 times to get it to stop trying. After 5 cancels it does what I want. No camera yet so I really can't test it on D7000 files.
  • I have the adequate solution for "ViewNX trying to make internet-connection-message- problem" because I encountered it myself on found out the reason.
    The problem and solution is explained on my forum (with screenshots) in this topic: http://www.fotografie.fr/fotoforum/view ... f=42&t=197
  • Looking forward to your D7000-D300-D700 comparison.

Re: Steve Bingham is testing the Nikon D7000...

Posted: Sat 23 Oct 2010 01:36
by Steve Bingham
Here you go. More detail to follow. Lots of work. In short, the D7000 is a lot closer to the D700 than many think. Maybe even better!!!!!
http://dustylens.com/d7000_vs_d300_vs_d700.htm

Re: Steve Bingham is testing the Nikon D7000...

Posted: Sat 23 Oct 2010 09:49
by Stany Buyle
Interesting first test results. About the lower magnification needed to see in a viewer or to print in relation to noise is a very interesting topic which was once nicely debated by BoBn on Dpreview.
In the same perspective, if you look to an image at the same magnification from D3x and D3(see the test by Dr. Dusslier on this site), D3x is about equal about noise than D3 until iso 3200, some would even tend to give advantage to D3X...

What interest me most to know about D7000 though, is the grain and noise in shadow areas, skies and background at low and base iso. D300 was pretty bad about this(compared to D700). Also, I talk about view on screen, not on a print.

Thanks in advance for your answer and comments.

Quote from your website:
'Steve Bingham [url=http://dustylens.com/d7000_vs_d300_vs_d700.htm]on his website'[/url] wrote:Preliminary results:
This will probably stir up some controversy, but here goes.
I spent the better part of today testing these 3 cameras. I was somewhat shocked, so I did it again. Same thing. Now we await the REAL scientific tests like dpreview and DXO. Using an ISO 12233 chart as well as a Macbeth Color Checker I came up with the following results. I used the same lens (Nikon 24-70) on all three cameras and adjusted the focal length for the same field of view (no easy task with the D7000 showing 100% in the viewfinder and my D700 only 96%). All shots were done in raw and converted using Nikon ViewNX 2.0.2. (I still am an Adobe Camera Raw fan, but I have to wait). The photos were compared with no sharpening and again with USM at .4 at 100% and 0.

My findings: The D7000 really needs to be compared carefully with the D700. It pretty much whipped my D300 in every IQ catagory.
  • 1- The D7000 has better resolution then the D700 (expected) Considerably better (not expected).
  • 2- The noise level of the D7000 at 3200 was equal to the D700 WHEN BOTH FILES WERE MADE THE SAME SIZE (either by upresing the D700 or down rezing the D7000 in PS CS5. Comparing the two totally different file sizes at 200% gave a 1 stop edge to the D700. But we DON'T print that way. We print a certain size. The same scene printed at 16 x 24 inches would display equal noise from these two different cameras at ISO 3200. Wow. This was a shocker.
  • 3- Dynamic range is more difficult to measure. First you need two files that have identical levels and curves. This is very difficult to do. Based on my attempting to "stretch" the DR in PS CS5, I would say the D7000 might well have an edge here also. (totally unexpected) This awaits real tests.

If you want DX vs FX IQ to compare...

Posted: Sat 23 Oct 2010 11:58
by DiederikVP
Hi Mr. Bingham,

Thank you for posting your findings here. Very appreciated.

If you want to compare DX vs FX in relation to IQ and noise by a technological point of view though, someone should do that with D3s vs D7000, because D3s sensor is the most recent standard about FX image quality at Nikon, and nòt D700. Without any intention to offend anyone who own D700, finally D700 carries a 2 1/2 year old sensor technology which is -for technical standards-, simply "outdated".
To backup my statement, just compare it with D2Xs vs D3 in Nikons chronological product lineup. D2xs was released 2006, june 1st, D3 was released 2007, august 23rd, which means "only" 13 months! If you compare with eye for detail a D2Xs vs a D3 image from iso 400 upwards it looks like a prehistoric camera against a revolutionary camera and D3 made D2X and D2s from one day to another simply obsolete for professional users.
For personal use I am not interested in D7000. When the D700 successor will appear, it will beat the D7000 IQ with a considerable margin . I hope it will be a D700 with D3s sensor at a reasonable price(2000 euro).
Greetings,
Diederik.

100% crops?

Posted: Sun 24 Oct 2010 10:19
by DiederikVP
Steve Bingham wrote:...the D7000 is a lot closer to the D700 than many think. Maybe even better!!!!!
To backup your above statement, is it possible to publish some 100% crops of D7000 vs D700 and D7000 vs D300?
Steve Bingham wrote:..Comparing the two totally different file sizes at 200% gave a 1 stop edge to the D700. But we DON'T print that way. We print a certain size.
I am aware of your convinction that photography is only about the final print. Not everybody shares that opinion though.
With the etymology of "photography" with "gráphein" (engrave) and "phōtós" (light), engrave an image on a DVD is closer to the origin than a print. You both watch print and DVD, but while watching a DVD details and noise become more striking...

I can imagine that in a print at the same image size, probably until A3+ and until iso 3200 the differences will be very small to none.
If the images out of D7000 and D700 made in identic conditions, PP to fit the same size as you indicate and watched on screen, are really indistinguishable from each other(also in shadow areas and also at high iso), than Nikon achieved something that is even more revolutionary than what they did with D2x>D3.

Awaiting your answer impatiently.
Greetings,
Diederik.

Dear Steve, some questions...

Posted: Sun 24 Oct 2010 18:34
by Stany Buyle
Good evening Steve,
some questions in relation to your D7000 vs D700 experience...
  • I was reading that you like the 10-24mm. How is it about overall sharpness and IQ compared to the 14-24 F2.8.
  • You are a very skilled landscape photographer. Landscape is done at smaller apertures. From what I learned, diffraction kicks in quite a bit earlier with DX than with FX. What are your practical findings about this in relation to D7000 vs D700.
  • At what iso D7000' sharpness starts considerably going down because of noise reduction?
  • There is a difference in DOF between DX and FX, how do you handle this/how does this influence your shooting?
I will have post questions later on during this week.

Thanks in advance,
Kindest regards,

Stany

Re: Steve Bingham is testing the Nikon D7000...

Posted: Mon 25 Oct 2010 02:37
by Steve Bingham
Well, first things first. I SCREWED UP. Man, am I embarrassed! A few of you caught my error with the D700 files in my comparison tests. And I THANK you for that. I was juggling three bodies and removing and replacing lens and my eyes failed me. My initial plan was to set all three cameras at aperture priority at f8 - generally a sweet spot for a lot of lenses. Well the D300 was set correctly. The D7000 was set correctly. But I mistook the P for an A on the D700. Funny thing is, I never use P INTENTIONALLY. Sigh. So, I went outside again today and reshot all the D700 shots. Then I came back inside and replaced all the bogus D700 files with correct ones - all at f8.

Hopefully all is well now. My new (and improved) findings. The D700 produces a good 1/2 to 2/3 stops less noise at ISO 3200. Now that seems realistic.

The D7000 produced slightly better resolution, especially at the lower ISOs. That makes sense also. http://dustylens.com/d7000_vs_d300_vs_d700.htm

2nd question. I believe that diffraction starts to raise it's ugly head around f8 on my D7000. On my D700 it was around f13. It pretty much is a wash when you consider depth of field being pretty similar with f8 on a DX and f11 on a FX. Rarely do I consider it a problem as f8 has a few advantages. Most lenses love it. It provides adequate DOF, especially with something like the 10-24. A landscapers dream.

Re: Steve Bingham is testing the Nikon D7000...

Posted: Mon 25 Oct 2010 23:50
by DirkVermeirre
Hi Steve,

How fine to find you here. Long time ago, since dpreview but I'm not active anymore on the fora since a longer time because I'm to busy with plenty of things. I still follow what's coming out from Nikon but switched a few years ago to the 5D (and still have my D2x). I used a few times Nikons from friends (like the D700) and they are superb, ergonomic they are ten times better and also the high iso noise is better. Maybe in the future (also still have all my Nikon lenses, excepted for the 45P (a friend used it in the jungle and lost it there) I still will catch a Nikon.

Warm regards,

Dirk

Re: Steve Bingham is testing the Nikon D7000...

Posted: Sun 31 Oct 2010 11:26
by pam.meier
The D7000 will be very interesting for those who have a fine line-up of DX lenses from Nikon and others.
After all upgrading to FX may mean upgrading your lenses and that will make it even more expensive than buying a new body.
I find Steve´s test results exciting. Nikon really are doing their home work. Consider what that may mean to an upcoming 16-18 Mpix FX body ...
But I´m all set. My D3 and A900 really will be enough equipment for years to come.

Re: Steve Bingham is testing the Nikon D7000...

Posted: Tue 9 Nov 2010 21:45
by ADeVos
Will we see-read more results-findings from Mr. Bigham testing?
From what I read from Mr. Rockwell I conclude that D3(and FX) is (still)clearly superior to D7000(and DX)...
He writes: "the D3 is crisp, while the D7000 is softer, and the D300 is just mush"
http://kenrockwell.com/tech/comparisons ... /index.htm

Re: Steve Bingham is testing the Nikon D7000...

Posted: Tue 21 Dec 2010 12:36
by ADeVos
ADeVos wrote:Will we see-read more results-findings from Mr. Bigham testing?
From what I read from Mr. Rockwell I conclude that D3(and FX) is (still)clearly superior to D7000(and DX)...
He writes: "the D3 is crisp, while the D7000 is softer, and the D300 is just mush"
http://kenrockwell.com/tech/comparisons ... /index.htm
And? I was visiting the websites of Mr. Bingham and he makes incredible photoshopped pictures and he explains some things very comprehensif...
So once more dear Mr. Bingham, how are your findings after using D7000 for several weeks now?
Hope Stany doesn't ban me for bumping my question... ;)

Re: Steve Bingham is testing the Nikon D7000...

Posted: Tue 21 Dec 2010 16:44
by Steve Bingham
Hello Andre,

My initial findings (October) got hammered pretty bad by some on dpreview - so I backed off. I take little pleasure in arguing. It is interesting to note that the DXO and Thom Hogan reviews verified a lot of my findings. Specifically, that the D7000 has a great dynamic range - especially at base ISO - and low noise. They also noted the 1 stop noise difference I saw between the D7000 and the D700 (better). Since then I have discovered this DR to be especially significant in the shadows. That is, deep shadow details no longer show ugly artifacts caused by noise. In comparing my D300 (which is now my wife's camera) with my D7000 I see at least a 2 stop difference in shadow noise - maybe 3. In any case, it is instantly visible on my monitor or a large print. Even more important for me is the 14 stops of DR as I frequently push my photos pretty hard in post processing. I want the clouds to look like like clouds - with detail in all the highlights. Sometimes this requires a -1/2 to -1 stop adjustment when shooting. It depends on the clouds (side lit, back lit, etc).

I originally made these tests in haste as I needed answers BEFORE I sold my much loved D700. And then I had to repeat them, again in haste, due to a stupid error on my part. The bottom line is, the D7000 is certainly, in my opinion, the best DX body on the market today. And yes, that includes the amazing Pentax K-5 (which I also carefully considered). Why? Because the Nikon is a better SYSTEM camera. More and better lens choices, etc, etc. I have none of the exposure problems experienced by dpreview. Perhaps this is due to sample variation, or perhaps because I better understand the camera. The D7000 is a two edge sword - it cuts both ways. It is a pro level/entry level camera!!!! On the entry level there are a ton of presets which I will NEVER use. On the pro side the wonderful focusing and exposure choices leave lots of ways for the novice to screw up. On dpreview I see complaint after complaint due to novices simply not understanding the camera. Hell, most never get past page 5 in the instruction book before they start bitching.

The D7000, with proper glass, focuses extremely quickly. Without a means (or time) to check this the focusing seems every bit as quick as my old D700. Matrix metering is my default method and the D7000 seems to nail it. As I ALWAYS shoot raw, this can be tweaked anyway - but I haven't had to. I use PS CS5, ACR, and Camera Profiling using ColorChecker Passport (fits in a shirt pocket for 100% color accuracy).

In short, a GREAT buy.

Re: Steve Bingham is testing the Nikon D7000...

Posted: Tue 21 Dec 2010 22:30
by ADeVos
Steve Bingham wrote:Hello Andre, DR to be especially significant in the shadows. That is, deep shadow details no longer show ugly artifacts caused by noise. In comparing my D300 (which is now my wife's camera) with my D7000 I see at least a 2 stop difference in shadow noise - maybe 3. In any case, it is instantly visible on my monitor or a large print. In short, a GREAT buy.
Dear Mr. Bingham,
Thanks for your anser.
About that very low noise in the shadows, until what sensivity is it so good? Iso 800? More than that?
I guess DR is dropping pretty fast while raising iso, or...?

Re: Steve Bingham is testing the Nikon D7000...

Posted: Wed 22 Dec 2010 16:14
by Steve Bingham
Well noise gets worse as the ISO increases so which ISO is usable is dependent on your needs. If you want maximum lack of noise in the shadow detail, use ISO 100. I would feel very free in using ISO 800, even in a very detailed landscape - if I needed it. I think 1600, for my needs, is about tops. I used 3200 with my D700.

The main point is that a DR of 14 stops is a wonderful thing to have in post processing!

Re: Nikon D7000 review and findings by Steve Bingham...

Posted: Tue 28 Dec 2010 21:37
by ADeVos
Dear Mr. Bingham,
Thank you so much for your posting your findings about D7000.
Wishing you good health and prosperity for 2011!

Re: Nikon D7000 review and findings by Steve Bingham...

Posted: Thu 10 Jan 2013 05:58
by Steve Bingham
MOD Moved to a new topic: Nikon D7000 to D800e - Steve Bingham...
Due to a very recent decision to go to with 24" x 36" wrap around prints, which requires 28" x 40" prints, I have decided to go home to the full frame D800e. My original decision to stick with the WONDERFUL D7000 was that my prints were routinely 16" x 24". That is no longer the case, as it seems huge wrap-arounds are rapidly becoming the new norm. I will miss the DX forum, but as a photographer, even in retirement, I still desire to sell prints. Imagine.

As an older citizen, of 76, I also choose to not travel thousands of miles for "the shot". Therefore, I will be sticking to the wonderful four corner areas of Arizona, Utah, New Mexico, and Colorado. A great area for scenics.

So guess what? I will be going back to scenics. (Oh no! Yes! Aarrggg) Ghost towns served me well, but every photographer needs to do what he can do. I can no longer travel thousands of miles for a shot.

You can, however, bet your * that I will give it my all. Goal: 5-10 prints suitable for gallery hanging - per year.

By the way, this was not an inexpensive decision - but, heck, how long do I have? I LOVE photography and everything about it, always have, always will.

Re: Nikon D7000 review and findings by Steve Bingham...

Posted: Thu 10 Jan 2013 23:06
by Leen Koper
MOD Moved to a new topic: Nikon D7000 to D800e - Steve Bingham...
Well, it seems you are doing better than Ansel Adams. He was satisfied with one good image a year... :lol:

Re: Nikon D7000 review and findings by Steve Bingham...

Posted: Thu 17 Jan 2013 12:42
by Stany Buyle
MOD Moved to a new topic: Nikon D7000 to D800e - Steve Bingham...
Steve Bingham wrote: Due to a very recent decision to go to with 24" x 36" wrap around prints, which requires 28" x 40" prints, I have decided to go home to the full frame D800e. ..........
Hi Steve,
I'm curious what lens set you purched to go along with your D800E as well as your first D800E impressions.
Kindest regards,
Stany

Re: Nikon D7000 review and findings by Steve Bingham...

Posted: Sat 9 Feb 2013 03:48
by Steve Bingham
MOD Moved to a new topic: Nikon D7000 to D800e - Steve Bingham...
Hi Stany,

I actually decided the D800e was a little overkill for my needs. After shooting the D800 for a week I decided to get the D600 instead. I did get an excellent sample with zero dust or oil spots. A month later it still remains clean. However, to sort of answer your question:
1- Nikon 24mm f1.4
2- Sigma 35mm f1.4
3- Nikon 50mm f1.8
4- Nikon 70-200 f4

I purchesed these lenses on the following criteria - in order:
1- Resolution
2- Lack of CA
3- Lack of flare
4- Lack of distortion
5- Build and weather protection
I realize that 2 and 4 can often be helped in raw conversion.

I will be printing 2' x 3' on aluminum and a little resampling in PS CS6 gets me there. (Slightly larger than A1)
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Steve Bingham
http://www.dustylens.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.ghost-town-photography.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Re: Nikon D7000 review and findings by Steve Bingham...

Posted: Sat 9 Feb 2013 15:51
by Steve Bingham
MOD Moved to a new topic: Nikon D7000 to D800e - Steve Bingham...
Let me further explain my reasoning above. I am now printing on 2' x 3' (roughly A1) aluminum instead of canvas wrap around. I have found with just a little resampling in PS CS6 I can come up with incredibly sharp prints of this size. For the difference in price (almost) I was able to pick up a Nikon 24mm f1.4 lens. The D600 is also a little smaller and lighter. In any case it seems to fit my needs a little better even if the D800e is obviously a better camera. I think 24mp in full frame produces excellent results. I have seen many huge prints (A0 and A1) produced with the old D3x and marvel at their detail. Your needs might well be different from mine.
Steve Bingham
http://www.dustylens.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.ghost-town-photography.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;