D90 v D7000 - Which to buy?

I AM IN SUCH A HUGE PREDICAMENT! I HATE DECISIONS! I am really ready for a camera body upgrade. I currently have the, may i say it, "rustic," D40 that I feel have outgrown and am ready for a big step-up. I DO NOT want to get to a more entry level, such as the D3100, D5100, etc (even though those are fantastic cameras!) I want a more prosumer camera such as the NIkon D90 or D7000. I do not want to look at the D300's - I already looked at them and they are above me and i'm not interested.
Now for the more important stuff: I do a lot of hiking and thats what I mainly use my camera for, also family events, random stuff, some sporting events, etc. (Just kind of casual). I do hope someday to make photography a profession, but i'm only 15 . I really don't need the 6fps the D7000 has to offer, and the 4fps the D90 offers is just fine for me. 12.3 mp i believe is good for me, because what i have read, 4 more megapixels isn't that big of a difference. The only thing that really appealed to me about the D7000 is the dual memory card slots, but i figure just throw in a 32 gig and i'll be fine for the day. Everything i read about the D90 is excellent and there are some negatives about the D7000 such as auto focus issues and others. I do like the all weather sealing in the D7000 though! I figure I should get the D90 and invest in more high quality lenses, but the newer technology is appealing, plus i don't really care for the video aspect. As you can see, i'm in a huge predicament because i fear if i buy the D90, i will regret not getting the D7000, but the D90 seems like such a great camera, also, should i just wait for the D7000 replacement (maybe D7100?) Please reply for i need a ton of help on my decision!

As you said, D90 is a great camera. Get great lenses instead.

From everything ive read on the subject, id go with the D90, i did. i was turned off the D7000 primarily because of the reported punishment unless you use good glass, along with the sour taste in my mouth from the rants and raves about issues i cant speak on due to no exp with it. Get the D90 and get a good lens. This info should be taken with a grain of salt, ive only had my DSLR sense the 18th of this month.

Welcome

The D90 is a very good camera and a sensible upgrade...As far as I can see you've almost answered your question..
A lens like the excellent 80-200mm F2.8 AF ED will work perfectly on it, great for portraits and sports...

I'd wait for the D7000 replacement (as a matter of fact I am)!

cnyram said:

i'd wait for the d7000 replacement (as a matter of fact i am)!

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ditto . . .

depends on a couple of things

(1) how much you want to spend?
(2) how good you are / how much are you willing to learn about photography?

I've used both and prefered the newer technology of the D7000. It is the better camera at the end of the day. My brother has a D90 which I like a lot too.

They are both great cameras. You can take excellent photos with both. I think the D7000 has a more rugged / hard wearing body made more of magnesium than plastic compared to the D90. It has a few better features than the D90, you mentioned a couple of them i.e duel card slots, higher MP, better ISO, more rugged body, higher fps (good for sports)

you cant go wrong with either camera. a very good lens on the D90 will probably be capable of taking as good or better pictures than a D7000 and a cheap kit lens if you know what you are doing ( its more about how good you are rather than the camera)

Have a look at my gallery, I have a cheap 28-80mm lens (embarrasingly it was a Ken Rockwell recommendation! , which was £50 off eBay and takes brilliant sharp photos) so the camera works well with expensive and even non-expensive lenses. If you choose wisely, you dont have to spend lots to get a nice sharp lens.

I use it on full manual mode and like to fiddle around lots with the settings to try and get the perfect picture. this does take more time and makes it less pick up and shoot but sometimes when you just get it right the pictures are amazing. but it has the normal A/P/S priority modes on the command dial as well as 2 custom user modes you can set up exactly what settings you want and then flick the dial and its ready to go.

As you can probably tell I love my D7000!, the only camera that will replace it will be an FX one in a few years when I feel I am significantly better at photography and can make use of it as they cost a bit more, as do the lenses and can be harder take better pics with. I certainly would not think of upgrading to another DX camera as mine is a pretty good one!

can you try the D90 and D7000 out? (maybe hire them for a weekend) and take a variety of pictures, see which you prefer.

A D90 would be a good option, its cheaper so you can spend a bit more on lenses. if your budget stretches though I would get the D7000.

Thank you for all the replies, I'm not sure where I could rent one out though. I will definitely look into that, people with D7000's, have you had any issues with them yet?

i've had no issues with mine, and have had it a year and taken about 11,000 photos with it. its got a 2yr nikon warranty as standard.

not had any problems with the autofocus that you mentioned.

you could go to a local photography shop and spend an hour having a play with them both, if they know you are serious about buying one, they shouldnt have an issue with this (not the best testing environment unfortunately )

alternatively, maybe a friendly member on here who lives local to you? or go to a photography course local to you, someone might have one of these two cameras.

I still think I will go with the D90 just from all the issues I heard about the D7000, and the D90 seems like a great camera for me, thank you everyone who commented i appreciate it.

The D7000 had a lot of problems (such as oil spots on the sensor) in early production runs. Those kinks have mostly been worked out now. The D90 is now a discontinued/obsolete model. Those are the major cons of both models.

The biggest question is: do you plan to shoot video? If the answer is no, go with the D90. It's a proven workhorse, and an incredible camera. Aside from video, there's no practical reason to choose the D7000 over the D90.

No, i don't care for video, i mean it will be nice to take some little clips here and there, but my big thing is photography. Beside from what i just said, i couldn't care less for the video.

I had a D50 and last year got the D90.
I love the camera and if I was a pro I would be happy to use the D90 all the time. There is a famous photographer who uses the D90, (name escapes me) with a 35mm 1.8 for 80% of his stuff. A friend of mine uses his D90 for weddings.

However, the D7000 is a great camera as well but very expensive. Someone told me its better in low light high ISO settings, but that would not really apply to me.

I will say this, my D50 is still going strong and I still like using it. But you willl notice a difference when you upgrade.

If you are going to get that quality glass as well, well you will be blown away. Good luck with whatever you go for.

By the way, although the D90 has now stopped, there are still thousands of them waiting to be bought.
If they dropped the price a bit to get rid of them I would seriously think about getting another one.

Ok, thank you very much. And yea, i plan to get the best glass or almost best glass. Thank you very much

Without question go with the D7000, I have had mine for over a year. it is a fantastic camera. Very nice for low light (great ISO). you will not be sorry with this camera.

The price point of the two is not as drastic as it once was, the D90 can be had for $730 at Henrys and only $988 for the D7000 at Downtown Camera here in Toronto, Only a 258 dollar difference. Reason i love this city, 4 camera shops in an 8 block section of the city, all Price match

Nice, now I'm actually thinking of choosing the D300s or D300, haha so much to choose i cannot make up my mind, I'm being kind of ridulous, i know but i just want the best camera that will last me a while that I know i will be satisfied with. Is the D300 and D300s all manual, like no auto user settings?

I had a D90 and changed to a D7000 as i found a great deal. Honestly, there are just a couple differences between them but I do value the higher ISO (shooting at 6400 ISO with the D7000 is pretty amazing) and the body construction.

The video and the dual cards are a plus for me, although I've also tested a AI lens and the ability to customize bom-CPU lens is also something I must explore more.

T.Behuniak said:

Nice, now I'm actually thinking of choosing the D300s or D300, haha so much to choose i cannot make up my mind, I'm being kind of ridulous, i know but i just want the best camera that will last me a while that I know i will be satisfied with. Is the D300 and D300s all manual, like no auto user settings?

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I beleave he D300s has the same modes Aperture...Shutter...Manual...Program...

The D300s is a bigger heavier camera