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Nikon D7000 vs Nikon D90

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Nikon D7000

16 MP | APS-C (23.6 x 15.7 mm) CMOS Sensor

Nikon D7000
$999.95

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Nikon D90

12 MP | APS-C (23.6 x 15.8 mm) CMOS Sensor

Nikon D90
$1199.00

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Nikon D7000 vs Nikon D90 Comparison Overview

In this review, we will be comparing D7000 and D90, two Semi-Pro DSLR cameras by Nikon. Nikon D7000 was introduced to market in November 2010 and Nikon D90 was launched in October 2008. As you can see, D90 is 2 years older than D7000. Let's see if this age difference between two cameras makes a big difference.

Both cameras have APS-C sensors but Nikon D7000 has a 16.0 MP and Nikon D90 has a 12.0 MP resolution.

Let's have a brief look at the main features of Nikon D7000 and Nikon D90 before getting into our more detailed comparison.

Nikon D7000 Key Specs

  • Announcement Date: 2010-11-30
  • 16MP - APS-C CMOS Sensor
  • ISO 100 - 6400 ( expands to 25600)
  • Nikon F Mount
  • 3" Fixed Type Screen
  • Optical (pentaprism) viewfinder
  • 6 fps continuous shooting
  • 1920 x 1080 video resolution
  • 780g. 132 x 105 x 77 mm
  • Weather Sealed Body
  • Replaced Nikon D90 Compare

Nikon D90 Key Specs

  • Announcement Date: 2008-10-13
  • 12MP - APS-C CMOS Sensor
  • ISO 200 - 3200 ( expands to 6400)
  • Nikon F Mount
  • 3" Fixed Type Screen
  • Optical (pentaprism) viewfinder
  • 4.5 fps continuous shooting
  • 1280 x 720 video resolution
  • 703g. 132 x 103 x 77 mm
  • Replaced Nikon D80 Compare

Nikon D7000 was replaced by Nikon D7100. You may also be interested in these comparisons:
Nikon D7100 vs Nikon D7000
Nikon D7100 vs Nikon D90

Let's read on the following sections in order to better understand in detail how Nikon D7000 and Nikon D90 compares and hopefully end up with enough arguments to decide which one is better for you.

Reasons to choose Nikon D7000 over Nikon D90
Max Sensor Resolution 16 MP vs 12 MP 33% more pixels
Max ISO 6.400 vs 3.200 100% higher Max ISO
Number of Focus Points 39 vs 11 28 more focus points
Viewfinder Coverage 100% vs 96% More accurate viewfinder
Max Mechanical Shutter 1/8000s vs 1/4000s faster mechanical shutter
Continuous Shooting 6.0fps vs 4.5fps 1.5 fps faster
Battery Life 1050 shots vs 850 shots 200 more frames with a single charge
Microphone Port Yes vs No High quality audio recording option
Environmental Sealing Yes vs No shoot at tough conditions
Timelapse Recording Yes vs No creative shooting
Color Depth 23.5 vs 22.7 higher color depth
Dynamic Range 13.9 vs 12.5 higher dynamic range
Low Light ISO 1167 vs 977 better High ISO performance
Max Video Resolution 1920 x 1080 vs 1280 x 720 Higher Resolution Video
Shutter Life Expectancy 150000 cycles vs 100000 cycles Longer use without changing the shutter mechanism
Storage Slot 2 vs 1 Extra storage slot
Reasons to choose Nikon D90 over Nikon D7000
Weight 703 g vs 780 g 77 g lighter
Flash Coverage 17.0m vs 12.0m 5m longer range
Sensor Pixel Area 30.54µm2 vs 23.04µm2 32% larger pixel area
Common Strengths of Nikon D7000 and Nikon D90
Built-in Flash Yes vs Yes Useful in low-light
External Flash Shoe Yes vs Yes Better for flash photography
Viewfinder Yes (Optical) vs Yes (Optical) Better framing and control
RAW Support Yes vs Yes Better image quality
Face Detection Focus Yes vs Yes very handy for portraits
LCD Screen Resolution 921k dots vs 920k dots Higher resolution screens
Top LCD Display Yes vs Yes Help viewing and changing settings easily
AE Bracketing Yes vs Yes Useful for tough lighting conditions and HDR
Common Weaknesses of Nikon D7000 and Nikon D90
Image Stabilization No vs No No Built-in stabilization
Articulating Screen No vs No No flexible viewing angles
Nikon D7000 vs Nikon D90: Physical Specs and Body features Comparison

Size and weight is a big decision factor when you are trying to find the ideal camera for your needs. In this section, We are going to illustrate Nikon D7000 and Nikon D90 side-by-side from the front, back and top in their relative dimensions.

Below you can see the front view size comparison of Nikon D7000 and Nikon D90.

Nikon D7000 vs Nikon D90 Camera Size Comparison - Front View


Here is the back view size comparison of Nikon D7000 and Nikon D90.


Nikon D7000 vs Nikon D90 Detailed Size Comparison

Weight is another important factor especially when deciding on a camera that you want to carry with you all day. Nikon D90 is 77g lighter than the Nikon D7000 but we don't think this will make a significant difference.

Also keep in mind that body weight is not the only deciding factor when comparing two interchangeable camera bodies, you have to also take into account the lenses that you will be using with these bodies. Since both Nikon D7000 and Nikon D90 have the same APS-C sized sensor, their lenses for a similar focal length and aperture will be similar in size and weight.

Weight Comparison

DSLR Cameras

D7000
D90
Min
Average
Max
Thickness Comparison

DSLR Cameras

D7000
D90
Min
Average
Max

Weather Sealing

With its weather sealed body, we believe that D7000 has a big advantage over D90 which doesn't provide any kind of environmental sealing.

LCD Screen Size and Features

Nikon D7000 and Nikon D90's LCD screens has the same diagonal size of 3".

Unfortunately, both cameras has fixed screens so they don\'t tilt or flip in directions.
Nikon D7000 vs Nikon D90: Sensor Comparison

Nikon D7000 has a 16.0MP APS-C (23.6 x 15.7 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features Expeed 2 processor. On the other hand, Nikon D90 has a 12.0MP APS-C (23.6 x 15.8 mm ) sized CMOS sensor .

Below you can see the D7000 and D90 sensor size comparison.

Nikon D7000 vs Nikon D90 Sensor Size Comparison


Nikon D7000 and Nikon D90 have almost the same sensor size so none of them has any significant advantage over other in providing control over depth of field when used with same focal length and aperture.

DxOMark Sensor Scores

Both Nikon D7000 and Nikon D90 sensors have been tested by DxoMark. DxoMark scores camera sensors for color depth (DXO Portrait), dynamic range (DXO Landscape) and low-light sensitivity (DXO Sports), and also gives them an overall score. Of the two cameras that we are comparing, D7000 has scored 80, 7 points higher than D90.

What types of Photography are Nikon D7000 and Nikon D90 Good for?
In this section, we rank and compare Nikon D7000 and Nikon D90 for five different photography types in order to make your decision process easier in case you are specifically interested in one or more of these areas.

Nikon D7000 for Portrait Photography

AVERAGE

Nikon D90 for Portrait Photography

AVERAGE
Large APS-C (23.6 x 15.7 mm) sensor
Optical Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
Average Resolution Sensor: 16.0MP
No Image Stabilization
Read the details
Large APS-C (23.6 x 15.8 mm) sensor
Optical Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
Average Resolution Sensor: 12.0MP
No Image Stabilization
Read the details

Nikon D7000 for Street Photography

AVERAGE

Nikon D90 for Street Photography

AVERAGE
Large APS-C (23.6 x 15.7 mm) sensor
Optical Built-in Viewfinder
Live-view
Face-Detection Focusing
No Image Stabilization
Large Body
Read the details
Large APS-C (23.6 x 15.8 mm) sensor
Optical Built-in Viewfinder
Live-view
Face-Detection Focusing
No Image Stabilization
Large Body
Read the details

Nikon D7000 for Sports Photography

EXCELLENT

Nikon D90 for Sports Photography

GOOD
Optical Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
Environmental Sealings
Fast Max shutter speed: 1/8000s
9 Cross Type Focus sensors
39 Focus Points
Good Battery Life: 1050 shots
Good Low Light ISO
Average Continuous Shooting: 6.0fps
No Image Stabilization
Read the details
Optical Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
Fast Max shutter speed: 1/4000s
11 Focus Points
Good Battery Life: 850 shots
Average Continuous Shooting: 4.5fps
No Image Stabilization
Environmental Sealings
Read the details

Nikon D7000 for Daily Photography

GOOD

Nikon D90 for Daily Photography

AVERAGE
Large APS-C (23.6 x 15.7 mm) sensor
Environmental Sealings
Large Body
780g
Body Thickness 77mm
Read the details
Large APS-C (23.6 x 15.8 mm) sensor
Large Body
703g
Body Thickness 77mm
Read the details

Nikon D7000 for Landscape Photography

AVERAGE

Nikon D90 for Landscape Photography

POOR
Large APS-C (23.6 x 15.7 mm) sensor
Environmental Sealings
Live-view
Average Resolution Sensor: 16.0MP
Read the details
Large APS-C (23.6 x 15.8 mm) sensor
Live-view
Average Resolution Sensor: 12.0MP
No Environmental Sealings
Read the details


Nikon D90 vs Nikon D7000 Comparison of Available Lenses
Which camera has more lenses?

Number of available lenses is a big decision factor while choosing your interchangeable lens camera. Nikon D7000 and Nikon D90 have the same Nikon F lens mount and currently there are 304 native lenses available for these cameras.

Another important factor is the availability of image stabilization. None of these bodies have sensor based image stabilization so you have to buy lenses with Optical stabilization feature. Currently there are 101 lenses with Image stabilization for Nikon F mount.

Lens Type # of Nikon D7000 Lenses # of Nikon D90 Lenses
Standard Zoom 33 33
Standard Prime 20 20
Wideangle Zoom 33 33
Wideangle Prime 47 47
Telephoto Zoom 53 53
Telephoto Prime 43 43
SuperZoom 30 30
Wideangle Fisheye Prime 8 8
Macro Prime 25 25
Perspective Control Prime 11 11
Telephoto Mirror Prime 1 1
TOTAL 304 304
Nikon D7000 vs Nikon D90: OUR DECISION

You may have already made your decision about which camera suits better for your needs and your budget so far but in case you wonder how we rated Nikon D7000 and Nikon D90, below you can find their scores in five different aspects. Our Decision Algorithm dynamically scores cameras using 63 different specs, current price and DxO Mark scores (where possible) in order to make a more objective and consistent comparison.

Here is a summary of how Nikon D7000 and Nikon D90 scores compare:

Nikon D7000
Imaging
Features
Value
Portability
Overall
Ranked #39 out of 94 in Mid-size SLR cameras
Ranked #168 out of 1190 in all Cameras
Nikon D90
Imaging
Features
Value
Portability
Overall
Ranked #55 out of 94 in Mid-size SLR cameras
Ranked #342 out of 1190 in all Cameras

Nikon D7000 is the overall winner of this comparison. It has a higher Overall Score and beats Nikon D90 in all criteria except one: Portability. But the size difference between these cameras are negligible in real world so it is not a big disadvantage for Nikon D7000.

Nikon D7000
Nikon D7000
$999.95

Nikon D90
Nikon D90
$1199.00

Nikon D90 vs Nikon D7000 Specs Table
Detailed comparison of specifications
General Nikon D7000 Nikon D90
Brand Nikon Nikon
Announced 2010-11-30 2008-10-13
Body Type Mid-size SLR Mid-size SLR
Sensor
Type CMOS CMOS
Size APS-C APS-C
Dimensions 23.6 x 15.7 mm 23.6 x 15.8 mm
Area 370.52mm2 372.88mm2
Megapixels 16 megapixels 12 megapixels
Max Resolution 4928 x 3264 4288 x 2848
Max Native Light sensitivity 6,400 ISO 3,200 ISO
Max Boosted Light Sensitivity 25600 ISO 6400 ISO
Min Native Light sensitivity 100 ISO 200 ISO
RAW Support
Autofocus
AF Touch
AF Continuous
AF Single
AF Tracking
AF Selective
AF Center
AF Multi Area
AF Live View
AF Face Detection
AF Contrast Detection
AF Phase Detection
Number of Focus Points 39 11
Lens
Manual Focus
Lens Mount Nikon F Nikon F
Number of Available Lenses 304 304
Screen
Type Fixed type Fixed type
Size 3" 3"
Resolution 921k dots 920k dots
Touch Screen
Viewfinder
Viewfinder Optical (pentaprism) Optical (pentaprism)
Viewfinder Coverage 100% 96%
Viewfinder Magnification 0.64 0.64
Photography Features
Max Shutter Speed 1/8000s 1/4000s
Shutter Priority
Aperture Priority
Manual Exposure Mode
Custom White Balance
Image Stabilization No No
Built-in Flash
Flash Range 12.00 m (at ISO 100) 17.00 m (at ISO 100)
Max Flash Sync 1/250s 1/200s
External Flash
Continuous Shooting 6.0 fps 4.5 fps
Multi-Segment
Average
Spot
Partial
AF-Area
Center Weighted
AE Bracketing
WB Bracketing
Video Features
Max Video Resolution 1920 x 1080 1280 x 720
Video Formats MPEG-4, H.264 Motion JPEG
Microphone Port
Headphone Port
Connectivity
Wireless Connectivity Eye-Fi Connected Eye-Fi Connected
HDMI
Physical
Environmental Sealing
Weight 780g 703g
Dimensions 132 x 105 x 77mm 132 x 103 x 77mm
Battery Life 1050 shots 850 shots
Other Features
Timelapse Recording
GPS Optional Optional
DxO Sensor Scores
DxO Overall Score 80 73
DxO Color Depth 23.5 22.7
DxO Dynamic Range 13.9 12.5
DxO Low Light ISO 1167 977
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