by wildlight » Wed 09 Feb, 2011 7:17 pm
FlatFoot,
A few months ago I bought a Nikon P7000 to enable me to leave my big rig Nikons and arsenal of lenses at home, whilst out walking. I have been looking for something to whinge about re the P7000, but to date cannot fault it. I recently blew some images from the camera up to 32 inches by 26 inches, and they were about on par with what a Nikon D200 (SLR) from a few years back would have given. The camera shoots RAW (awesome), and you can either set it and forget it, or get right into the techno tweaking, being able to go as deep as you want. So many customisable features in one tiny package. It will give a bushwalking photo fanatic everything they could want and more, and all for under 400gms weight. I use a Manfrotto monopod as a trekking pole, and I must say, am much happier having saved all that weight (Nikon D700 with a swag of lenses, and tripod).
If you ever get into it, the Nikon will allow you to run off camera flash- stunning for those campfire (where permitted) portraits, and bathing petals and people with theatrical lighting. It will shoot macro- and even has manual focus, the LCD simulating the look of a ground glass screen from aeons ago- when film was all we rolled! Best of all the little beast is ACCESSIBLE- no more unpacking, bolting it all together, lens to body, hood to lens, etc. It can comfortably swing from your neck in its own little LowePro case, ready for instant deployment.
The acid test was the big print run, and even the guys at the lab were astounded- I brought in the camera with the images still on the card, they were in such disbelief at the quality from such a small rig.
And if you see yourself as the next Alby Mangels, it will pump out some pretty impressive video for you, complete with customisable white balance and beautiful rich colouring and tones.
It will amaze and certainly not disappoint. It will challenge the way you think, but will reward you handsomely for doing so.
Cheers
WildLight.
** this post was edited by me when I realised a censorship MOVE had been made. "looking for something to whinge about" was not exactly the way I originally wrote it, but will have to suffice!