Nikon Nikon P7000 - anyone own or used one?

bilzmale

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Name
Bill Shinnick
This was released to compete directly with the G12 from Canon but is currently heavily discounted ($100 less than the G12). Reviews are mixed with poor RAW speed a common complaint.

Any views on this?
 
I, for one, am impressed by the IQ - both RAW and JPEG, find it more to my taste than that of Canon and Panny rivals. 28-200 zoom range (with pretty good sharpness all across) seems awesome and pretty useful too! However, when I think of a camera this size, my attention jumps immediately to Olympus EPL2, which, imho, is in a different league all together!
 
Bill

Pro Photog Scott Bourne has been using one for awhile and is very positive about the camera...Nikon P7000 Mini Review – Conclusions « Photofocus

You probably have seen this from Thom Hogan as it was posted here also...P6000, G10, LX3 Compact Camera Review by Thom Hogan

Lastly, I listen to a mac related podtcast featuring tech columnist Andy Ihnatko from the Chicago Suntimes. He has been testing one (full review not up yet) and is very positive. He is pretty down to earth in his reviews and focuses on the typical end-user and hopefully his review will be forthcoming soon.

In general, everything I have read is that this is definitely a decent camera with one of the shortcomings with raw processing that you mentioned. Some reviewers said while it is slow, it is not that serious and at some point should easily be addressed with a firmware up date. Comments have also been consistent that if you want controls and command of the camera, there are plenty of buttons, dials, and switches to facilitate that control.
 
I had one for about two months, along with my trusty LX3. Took them both on a trip to give the P7000 a decent trial, a lot of city shooting. The images are good and I liked the longer end of the zoom on occasion (but missed the 24 of the LX3 on occasion), so that was a tradeoff. The camera feels fine, the controls are nice. But I sold it after the trip.

RAW was slow enough that I just stopped using it, and while the menus weren't all that slow, compared to the LX3 they drove me a bit crazy. My fingers would scroll or push the buttons faster than the screen would refresh and I kept losing track of which submenu I was in. I think if you didn't have another cam with you, then you would be very happy with it. But comparing side by side, the LX3 focused faster, more reliably, the menus were zippier, and the camera was smaller. I just became impatient with the P7000, especially for any sort of street use.

On the plus side though, the controls were really nice and well thought out. Making adjustments and using the controls were great (so long as you gave it a half second to catchup). And it was remarkable in the degree of adjustments you could make to all the settings. So there are certainly some strong positives.

The other thing is that I could easily slip the LX3 into any coat pocket, cargo pants, or even chinos, but the P7000 needs a large coat pocket or a bag. If I was going to bring a bag, then I may as well bring an only slightly larger m43 or NEX.

However I could have lived with it happily enough, I would just need to learn a bit of patience. I don't have anything bad to say about it, but when I had both sitting on the counter I would always grab the LX3. So the bottom line is that it was fine, but it just didn't inspire me. You're mileage may vary, we all have our own foibles.

Michael
 
Nikon P7000

I'm on my 3rd P7000 and it left for repairs again yesterday.
Lens cover blades problems. The first 2 cameras were replaced as they were new and the last one gave up after a little over 4000 photos. I love the camera... but besides the blade problems which is a common issue, the slow NRW (RAW) which only works with a few softwares ( Lightroom 3, CS5, Thumbs 4 Plus,), the white balance that goes wild after a few picture (you have to work with NRW if your photos are important), the camera is not reliable and was put on the market without some real testing other than give away gifts to review writers. Trying to catch up to the G12?
I have a camera around my neck all day long except when I shower and go to bed and even then, when it's new and I love it I take it to bed with me like a new gift like when I was a kid. Today I'm sad and I'm seriously thinking about buying another one today after I finish this article. I have bought every imaginable accessories for that camera, (SB400, wide angle lens, 2 extra batteries, tube to use 52 mm filters, etc) and I prefer that instead of my 3 DSLRs. I should buy an extra one so I would have a chance of having one around my neck while the other is on it's way from or to to repairs. Nikon people in Toronto are very king, professional and understanding but without a P&S camera, I'm like a cab driver without his car. If you want a P7000, get a deal for 2 and cross your fingers.
 
I'm sorry about your reliability issues with the P7000. I've been struggling for a bit now on which compact camera to purchase. Its how I just recently found this forum. I've emailed both Scott Bourne and Thom Hogan on their thoughts after reading both of their reviews. And they both replied to me.

Thom favored the G12 and as earlier on this thread reported Scott likes the P7000.

I've had the P7000, G12 and LX-5 in numerous online shopping carts a few times in the past couple weeks but nothing about any of them had gotten me real excited as I was really looking at battery life, fast lens and durability for an upcoming extended hiking trip.

I pulled the triggered and the product has exited the shopping cart and is in a FedEx box on the way to my house.

Ricoh GR Digital III.

I'm thinking my better half will really think I'm crazy when my dSLR goes up on eBay as I hate lugging the thing around.
 
Marcel, I'm glad that you found your way to this thread and posted about your love affair with the Nikon P7000. I can see you've had your ups and downs, but still you remain smitten?;) Please post some of your photographs in one of the image threads or start a new thread right here in the Nikon forum - and devote it to the Nikon P700!

Another request - please stop by and introduce yourself up in the Welcomes and Introductions forum because it's the best way for everyone to say hello. (y)
 
Thanks for that great feedback all - will await the XZ-1 reviews.

I wrote a detailed hands on user review for the Olympus XZ-1 titled "I'm stuck with it"

Ricoh Forum • View topic - Olympus XZ-1 - stuck with it
Olympus XZ-1 review | Photo Rumors

I owned and used a P6000 as my primary compact and also briefly tried out the P7000. The P6000 is an upgrade from the multi-award winning P5000 and unlike the P7000, was more pocketable than a Powershot G or even a XZ-1. I like the colours, clarity, metering and the intervalometer timelapse video. The timelapse video is what kept the camera in my kit bag for so long; nothing else did as good a job so simply. However, the compelling reason to choose a P7000 is the flash metering and that only applies if you own a Nikon Speedlight. I have no Speedlites instead, so eventually I gave it to a friend that needed it.
 
Thank you for the invitation

I will try how to read how it works as I would love to share my experiences with the P7000 and my 50 years as a commercial, reporter, and now a street photographer.
I will get rid of my DSLRs and big rig soon to stick to small P&S like the P7000, S8100,
my old Olympus FZ550, and just bought a new G12 a few minutes ago and if I get something else, Nikon 5100 will be the biggest. It is not the camera that is important for me, it is the photo that tells a story.:confused:(y)
 
What will happen with the customers who bought a P7000???????

Before you buy :
I have one on repair for over a month. ( cannot get parts for lens blades problem)
Waiting for a new one from Japan- promised by Nikon (new series)
Have a loan one from customer tech support (lens blade problem after 2 weeks)
Bought a new one 3 weeks ago (Lens blade problem after one week)
Borrowed one from a friend’s store, (Unopened box) will use as a backup if needed.
….result one is working, sometimes, and one is in an unopened box out of 5 (P7000)
I teach with them that is why I wanted one.
And I’ll never know when that nightmare will end, Nikon being more patient that me.

Read more: Nikon Coolpix P7000 Review
 
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