Autofocus and reliability concern still an issue with D7000 and Nikon?

In my quest for the perfect DSLR to invest in, I found only one concern with the Nikon D7000- autofocus and hot pixel problems!
See here:


Autofocus Problem with Nikon D7000?


Have these been fixed in the current model of the Nikon D7000? Or should I reconsider? I would be interested in hearing from Nikon owners in this area before I spend 5-10k on Nikon gear.

I think most of the "AF problems" reported for the D7000 are just people who don't know how to hold or use their camera. I've had two D7000 bodies and both have been tack sharp across all my lenses. I've also never had a hot pixel.

Agree- I bought a Nikon D7000 last night and have been playing with it to get a feel for how it works. It is MUCH more user friendly than the Olympus camera even though more complex and feature rich. Now just need more lens, ports, domes and housing for it. I looked at the Canon EOS 5D Mark III and Nikon D800 but these were almost 2k more and I can get nice results and into a DSLR setup for less cost that should last me years until I master the basics. Maybe by then a 200MP wizbang camera will be on the market.

I wonder.

I rented one and then I bought one several months later.

Both had the backfocusing issue. Not a 1 to 2pt adjustment either (using the in-camera adjustment feature), it was nearly 60% of the adjustment range to get it into tack sharp focus. 1 or 2pts for micro adjustment? Sure, no problem.

But not 11 to 12 (out of 20) pts of adjustment.

Cool camera otherwise. (I returned the purchased one)

The biggest mistake I personally make with AF is underestimating the size of the sensors.

It's easy to think of the representative dot in the viewfinder as the sensor. In reality, the sensors are quite a bit bigger. They aren't dots; they're lines much longer than the diameter of the dot. Cross type AF is even bigger (two lines forming a + sign), and dual cross type is bigger still (two crosses forming an 8 pointed star, essentially).

I mostly photograph my son these days. He moves too erratically to manually focus. I aim for his eyes. But sometimes, depending on the light, his eyelashes present more contrast, and they get focus even though the AF dot is centered on his pupil and his eyes are wide open. Since I sit close to him, even stopped down to f/2 on 50mm, his eyes end up OOF.

Just something to keep in mind.