Nikon D7000

The Nikon D7000 outshines pricier Nikon cameras in several important ways, making it an easy top pick of all of our leading expert sources. Low-light shooting is the camera's specialty. While other digital SLRs may falter at ISO 3,200 or 6,400, the D7000 produces good 5-by-7-inch prints at a whopping ISO 25,600 in tests. Bright-light photos look terrific overall, too, although a few highlights appear blown in test shots.

The D7000 manages its dim-light feat while still sharpening its sensor resolution up to 16.2 megapixels -- plus it adds full 1080p HD video, dual memory-card slots (great for automatic overflow when one card fills up) and upgraded autofocus and metering systems. In all of these ways, experts say it's a step up not only from the older Nikon D90 (*Est. $900 with kit lens) but also from the semi-pro Nikon D300S (Discontinued). The D7000 does omit a few of the D300S's high-end specs (for example, its smaller buffer makes the D7000 less suitable for sports photography), but experts prefer the D7000 for enthusiasts and beginners who want to get serious about shooting. With its weather-sealed magnesium alloy shell and thick rubber bottom grip, testers say the D7000 feels very solid. Some users find a few of the controls awkward, but others find them very natural. PhotographyBlog.com advises trying the camera out in a store first, possibly alongside its rival the Canon EOS 60D (*Est. $900 body only), to see what you think of the control layout.

If you like framing your shots using the LCD screen's live view, testers do note some shortcomings such as the lack of a manual aperture adjustment or exposure indicator in live view. Movie mode is the D7000's most flawed feature, reviews say. In-movie autofocus can be slow and noisy (PhotographyBlog.com's Mark Goldstein could hear it in his videos), and Jim Keenan at DigitalCameraReview.com finds the 1080p video's 24 frames per second frame rate a little choppy.