D7000 vs. ILC

Just trying to come to a decision to buy a D7000, get a Pen/NEX, or just wait...

Came from G11 (which I just sold). I had decided to keep it if it didn't sell, since the upgrade costs seem to be growing everytime i look into it but, as fate would have it, I sold the G11 setup. So, now, what to do.

First, I'm no pro, and don't really "NEED" anything fancy. OTOH, you only live once, and as long as it doesn't break the bank or get me divorced, why not.

D7000: I shoot Nikon FF on land, and have been wanting (not needing) a DX for a while. D7000 looks like a GREAT DX camera. Even if the mythical D400 were out, I'm not sure I'd pay too much more than the D7000 price for a second body. Obviously, using a DSLR provides much greater response and control vs. a PEN/NEX. I don't know that picture quality would actually be better, and I'm not sure frame rate matters underwater as I'd be more dependent on strobe recycle times than the camera's machine-gun capabilities (please let me know if those assumptions are wrong!). I think if money were no object, I'd go the DSLR route. But, yeah, I'm always thinking cost vs. benefit, and the biggest problem I have with the cost of the D7000 is the $3,000 housing that will be basically worthless once I put it in the water. If the D7000 housing cost the same as a PEN/NEX housing, then I guess I'd just go with the D7000.

PEN/NEX/ILC: At least $3,000 cheaper! and I'm guessing without much difference in actual picture quality. A little more struggle with ISO/SS/Aperture controls, however. Less useful to me above water.

Let me know if anyone else has different thoughts/comments here. But, in typing this out, I think the real question is whether I think the D7000 is going to provide me with $3,000 worth of enjoyment more than a PEN/NEX....?

I was in the same boat as you. I have a G10 and I wanted to upgrade to and SLR. I also have a D700 that I love and had dreams of putting it in an Aquatica housing. I struggled with my decision and went with a D7000 and Aquatica housing. I only have the 8" dome and the Tokina 10-17 so far and just love it. I live in the Great Lakes and have been shooting with magic filters for green water and just love the results. We do not have the best Vis in Michigan at the moment, somewhere in the 5 -20 foot range but you would never guess it looking at my photos, looks like much more. The D7000 and Tokina focuses fast and flawlessly. I have done some ISO tests for my own knowledge and am not afraid of shooting ISO 1600.

I didn't take the cheapest route getting here, I bought first a Olympus Pen. It is a very light package, some what larger then your G10 set up. The Pen took nice photos. The Olympus housing is very adequate, well thought out buttons and dials. My feeling was, for me anyway, wide wasn't wide enough and the focus was painfully slow for macro. I take a lot of ambient light photos and wasn't as happy with those, pretty noisy. Your G10 at F/2.8 is pretty close to F/6 or 8 with the Pen. So, even though or G10's are noisy cameras they will shoot with a reasonable shutter speed & DOF wide open at 100 or 200 ISO where the Pen, IMO, needs to be at F/8 and above ISO 400 to get a reasonable shutter speed and usable DOF.

I have a bag full of Nikon glass and now with a FF and a DX camera I have choices on land I didn't have before. My 300 F/4 is now a 450 before I put on my TC. My 2 cents about the D7000 is it's as good as they say. Low noise, almost as good as my D700.

But is it $3000 better then a Pen....for me yes.......you??????

Paul Chase

Thanks alot for the feedback. Your experience is exactly what I was looking!

Hi. I just wanted to give my thoughts on the D7000. I recently decided to go for broke and take out a 401K loan to get myself a decent SLR underwater setup. At work I shoot a D700 and D300 underwater,... both with Ikelite housings and strobes. I have "borrowed" them to shoot offshore but I wanted my own rig.

I purchased a D7000 and an Ikelite housing for it. I also got (2) Ikelite DS-161 strobes. I am EXTREMELY happy with my purchase.

The Ikelite housings, if treated right, are bullet-proof. From my "day-job", I know that the housings can take ALOT of abuse. At work, I have several housings that have literally thousands of UW hours on them and have never had a problem.

As for the D7000, all I can say for the images it can produce underwater is WOW!!!

I recently spent 2 weeks in Roatan where I did 40 dives in 12 days. The first 3 days I shot the D7000 using a 12-24mm wide. Roatan doesn't have much BIG sealife, so I switched to a 105mm macro. The lens didn't come off my camera after I switched. Roatan is GREAT for macro. The camera/housing setup was flawless throughout. Never had a single problem.

To see what the D7000 can produce underwater you can look at my gallery here or go to: William Brassard Photography

The photos posted here were all taken in Roatan. Some of the photos on my website were also taken in the Flower Garden Banks Marine Sanctuary in the Gulf of Mexico. The shots taken in the Flower Gardens were all taken with wide angle. Some with the D7000 and some with the D300. Most of the wider shots,...such as Mantas, etc... were with the D7000.

I absolutely love the IQ the D7000 gives. If you go to my actual site, you can look at some of the macro shots at full resolution. It will give you a good idea of the sharpness, color, detail and general IQ the D7000 can produce.

Also,...on my site, if you look in my "work" gallery (Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory - NASA) you will be able to see where the Ikelite set-ups get put to HARD use. And no,.. I do not work for Ikelite.

Don't know how much this helps but I figure the best way to describe a particular setup is to show what it can actually do. I am extremely happy with it.

Hope it helps.

Bill

Thanks for the input!

I saw the ikelite d7000 housing and, honestly, it did look a little clunky, not to mention not as sturdy as the aquatica housing. OTOH, its 1/2 the price, and it definitely sounds like its more than able to survive my uses. I did have the canon housing for my g11 which i definitely tried to take care of and not abuse, so the ikelite housing may make sense considering its cost...

I'll definitely give it another look after your experiences (which look quite extensive ).

Thank again!

Hmnmm.. From a Canon G11 to Nikon D7000/Aquatica? Comparing apples to watermelons. This is a value judgement you're going to have to make yourself.

It sounds like you can afford the Nikon, and it is no doubt an excellent camera. The key benefit you will gain, in my opinion, is shutter response time. DSLRs are all much faster than point and shoots, which means fewer shots of fish butts, if you know what I mean. You'll have a wide choice of lenses too. Macro or wide, you're covered. I suspect the dollar difference will end up greater than you think, but... it's your judgement call.

That said, the Pen is no slouch in the picture quality area. If you shoot macro or wide, there are outstanding lenses available for it (Panasonic 45mm for macro and either Oly 9-18 or Panasonic 7-14mm for wide). It's relatively compact, compared to a DSLR rig. Both the Olympus E-PL2 camera and Olympus PT-EP03 housing are much less expensive than any DSLR camera and housing. A rig with strobe should run about $2000, more or less depending on your choice of strobe and lens options. I guesstimate $5000 for a the Nikon D7000/Aquatica, probably more with ports and good strobes. Shutter lag can be annoying, but if you shoot mostly macro that is almost a non-issue. Use a focus light to speed up AF. I do a lot of travel to dive, so for me the more compact size of the PEN made the most sense.

Last thought: A lot of people jump into underwater cameras and buy too much camera, never really getting into it. They end up not using the expensive rig and eventually regretting the buy. In these uncertain financial times, that's worth thinking about. I might suggest renting a DSLR rig for a few dives to verify that it does what you want or need.