- Conclusion Get the lowdown
- Features How they compare
- Performance Real world benchmarks
- Differences Technical showdown
- Reviews Word on the street
- Competition Others to consider
- Discussion Answers and opinions
Compare with...
- Nikon D700
- Nikon D90
- Canon EOS 60D
- Nikon D3200
- Nikon D5200
Rated 80% by by DPReview (Nov, 2010)Nine of the 39 points are cross-type, which allows more accurate AF using wide-aperture lenses, especially in poor light.
Rated 90% by by Photography Blog (Apr, 2011)In summary, the Nikon D5100 is a versatile and compact DSLR that is well suited to beginner and more experienced shooter alike, with the fully-articulating screen a welcome addition for videographers.
Conclusion Which is better for you?
Features Key features of the Nikon D7000 compared to the Nikon D5100
MP16.1
APS-C
Rated 90% by by Photography Blog (Nov, 2010)The key difference between the D90's and the D7000's finders is the frame coverage, with the former at 96% and the latter at an impressive 100.
16.1 MP
APS-C
Rated 90% by by Photography Blog (Apr, 2011)All in all, though, the D5100 delivers excellent still and moving pictures with the minimum of fuss in a lightweight package and is a serious rival to the Canon EOS 600D and the Sony A55.
megapixels
| 0 MP | 16.1 MP   | 20 MP |
D7000 by R.-Wandrei--social_bunny (Nov, 2010)RAW format uses full 16.2 megapixels so files are huge (would be nice to see an option that allows you to choose how many megapixels you want to use when shooting RAW).
D5100 by Photography Blog (Apr, 2011)The Nikon D5100 is a new 16.2 megapixel DSLR camera that can record Full HD movies at 1920x1280 pixels / 25fps with stereo sound.
sensor size
D7000 by DPReview (Nov, 2010)With its APS-C sensor the Nikon D7000 cannot quite produce the very shallow depth-of-field footage that the Nikon D3s or other full-format DSLRs offer but it still gives you much more control in this respect than most consumer video or digital compact cameras.
D5100 by Rob-LaRosa (Apr, 2011)I had purchased one of the Micro Four Thirds cameras because it was light and small, but I found the quality lacking when compared to APS-C cameras.
viewfinder size
D7000 by J.-Carrow (May, 2012)Even 6400 can give nice shots, and the HI-2 (equivalent of 25,600) can give very usable shots if you don't mind heavily post processing them and only using them reduced to web sizes.-The metering is noticeably better, so I have to adjust the exposure less, and have fewer blown highlights.-The viewfinder is larger, so its easier to see what you're doing.-The auto white balance has a much wider range of correction, and is more accurate.
D5100 by dojokloViewfinder: The D5100 has a pentamirror viewfinder with approximately 95% coverage of the actual resulting image, the same as the D3100.
body size
132 x 105 x 77 mm
127 x 97 x 79 mm
D7000 by B.-Fuller (Oct, 2010)Smaller weight and size is becoming much more important to me and this camera is a very good trade off of features for size and weight.
focus points
| 0 | 39 | 40 |
D7000 by val (Sep, 2011)I loved the feel, the speed, the metering, especially for flash photography, the ease of use, the focus points (and accuracy) and the controls.
D5100 by Photography Blog (Apr, 2011)Ultimately the Nikon D5100 easily overcomes its few real weak points, offering a compelling mix of great image and movie quality, precise and quick auto-focusing, accurate metering and a fantastic LCD screen, all in a format that most users will find intutive and enjoyable to use.
Performance Real world tests of Nikon D7000 vs Nikon D5100
DxOMark image quality
D7000 by Emil--EmilImage quality (wealth of details, sharpness, color rendition), performance, design, ergonomics, usability, fill-n flash - it's a pleasure to shoot with this camera.
D5100 by Cebuano (May, 2011)D5100 superior low light excellent image quality and loving it more, I have returned my D3100 and keeping Nikon D5100 instead,using Nikon 35mm 1.8G AF-S ( same 1600 ISO and shutter, Aperture etc., clearly less noise under indoor night low light condition worth every penny IMHO).
DxOMark low light performance
D7000 by Mauricio-M.-Silva--mmartins98 (Jan, 2011)I've took some pictures of New York, at night, and I've got the best results of all my life, in those conditions.
D5100 by Filmmaster-6 (Feb, 2012)This is an excellent camera for those photographers who do low light shooting, The colors are brilliant and clear.
shutter lag
| 0 ms | 238 ms | 300 ms |
D7000 by TrustedReviews (Nov, 2011)So from the off we were expecting response times from the camera that were almost instantaneous.
D5100 by Peter (May, 2012)Its shutter delay is minimal and it takes multiple pictures fast enough to catch the moment almost every time.
continuous shooting
D7000 by Mark-Fitzpatrick--Math-Teacher (May, 2012)Even when set to highest file size and optimal quality, I click off rapid fire shots of say a receiver as he is catching the ball.
D5100 by dojokloContinuous Shooting Speed: As you work your way up the Nikon dSLR line-up the cameras' continuous shooting speed and maximum shots at that rate increases.
battery life
1,050 photos
660 photos
Differences What are the advantages of each
Advantages compared to the D5100
| Is weather sealed | Yes | vs | No |
|---|---|---|---|
| Somewhat common; Keep shooting in rain or snow | |||
| Many more phase-detection focus points | 39 | vs | 11 |
| 28 more phase detection focus points; Faster autofocus in reasonably lit settings | |||
| Many more cross-type focus points | 9 | vs | 1 |
| 8 more cross type focus points; Easier and faster focusing in low light | |||
| Many more photos per charge | 1,050 | vs | 660 |
| 390 more shots; Longer battery life | |||
| Much larger viewfinder coverage | 100% | vs | 95% |
| Around 10% larger coverage | |||
| Faster rapid fire | 6 fps | vs | 4 fps |
| 50% faster continuous shooting; Take photos in rapid succession to capture motion | |||
| Significantly bigger viewfinder | 0.62x | vs | 0.51x |
| More than 20% bigger viewfinder size | |||
| Better dynamic range | 13.9 ev | vs | 13.0 ev |
| Around 10% better dynamic range | |||
| Less delay taking photos | 238 ms | vs | 273 ms |
| More than 10% less shutter lag; Avoid missing spontaneous moments | |||
| More highly reviewed by consumers | 86.59% | vs | 82.7% |
| Almost the same | |||
| Much faster max shutter speed | 1/8000 s | vs | 1/4000 s |
| 2x faster max shutter speed; capture fast action | |||
Advantages compared to the D7000
| Has a flip out screen | Yes | vs | No |
|---|---|---|---|
| Somewhat common; Great for recording movies | |||
| Supports HDR | Yes | vs | No |
| Somewhat common; Combines multiple photos together to capture both bright and dark areas | |||
| Higher definition video | HD video | vs | HD video |
| Great video; great for displaying on a large flat panel TV | |||
| Marginally more recently announced | Apr, 2011 | vs | Sep, 2010 |
| Announced date 6 months later | |||
| Much lighter | 560 g | vs | 780 g |
| Around 30% lighter | |||
| Smaller | 127 x 97 x 79 mm | vs | 132 x 105 x 77 mm |
| Around 10% smaller | |||
Reviews Word on the street
Nikon D7000 | Nikon D5100 | ||
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 | Rated by 567 users at amazon.com Rated 100% by by J.-Carrow (May, 2012) Rated 100% by by Michael-A.-Foley--coaster-mike Rated 100% by by Marius-David-Yaish (Jul, 2012) | Rated by 645 users at amazon.com Rated 100% by by Will-F--uGems Rated 100% by by Will-F--uGems Rated 100% by by romerider (Dec, 2011) | |
sensor
Nikon D7000 | Rated 80% by by Govis (Dec, 2011)The D7000 is a revelation in High ISO performance compared to my D200; even with pixel peeping, well exposed ISO 3200 pictures take minimal chroma noise reduction to look extremely clean.
Nikon D7000 | Rated 80% by by AP (Feb, 2011)I was very comfortable using the D80 and got the colors dialed in right and knew how it reacted to different lighting conditions and its limitations, with the D7000, I am having problems with custom white balance + High Iso + changing Aperture.
Nikon D7000 | Rated 90% by by Photography Blog (Nov, 2010)The D7000 produces noise-free JPEG images at ISO 100-1600, with ISO 3200 also looking pretty good.
focus
Nikon D7000 | Rated 80% by by DPReview (Nov, 2010)Unlike the D90, the D7000 can also maintain AF during live view and movie shooting, thanks to its AF-F ('full time') AF mode.
Nikon D7000 | Rated 80% by by DPReview (Nov, 2010)In terms of Auto Focus the D7000's movie mode offers all the options you also get in live view: you can choose between single and continuous AF and pick one of the focus area modes: normal area, wide area, face detection or subject tracking (AF-F).
Nikon D7000 | Rated 100% by by D.-Bowers--Kestrel-Hawk (Jun, 2011)The focus on the D7000 was amazing, the rate of in focus shots much higher than I expected, very, very few frames were out of focus (most of the out of focus shots was user error).
image quality
Nikon D7000 | Rated 100% by by Silverado-Kid (Mar, 2011)I've had the D7000 for a few weeks and am very pleased with its image quality (sharp and detailed), speed of operation, quietness, accurate white balance, good dynamic range, good battery life, dual card slots, and a host of other features.
Nikon D7000 | Rated 100% by by Michael-A.-Foley--coaster-mikeThe most impressive thing about the D7000 is image quality; incredibly high dynamic range and color depth create crisp, punchy images that pull out incredible detail in the darks and highlights.
Nikon D7000 | Rated 100% by by OshkoshWhale (Aug, 2011)I mean for me, no matter what your DSLR brand is, the picture of bright day light scenery (with good lighting) is all amazing (Nikon, Canon, Sony, Pentax, Olympus), but when I see the sample image of Nikon D7000 (with bundle lens 18-55 VR) in night time (low light photography), I was blown away.
lens
Nikon D7000 | Rated 40% by by Roger--Roger (Feb, 2011)The D7000 video was OK, but not much better than my old Casio EX-V8 - even using great Nikon lenses such as my 35-70mm f/2.8 AF-D.
Nikon D7000 | Rated 100% by by Chad (Dec, 2010)The D7000 handles low-light shooting amazingly well, especially when used with a fast lens like my Nikkor 35mm f/1.8 prime.
Nikon D7000 | Rated 100% by by whmitty--whmitty (May, 2012)I am using the included Nikkor 18-105mm kit lens and bought the Nikkor 70-300mm VRII lens which on the D7000 DX becomes a 105-450mm and a perfect complement to the kit lens.
video
Nikon D7000 | Rated 100% by by R.-Warrick--CameraFan (May, 2011)The D7000 will shoot in auto-focusing HD and in stereo ... very nice quality for the average user... I've videod weddings with it and am quite pleased with the results, but don't take my word for it, here's my YouTube link.
Nikon D7000 | Rated 100% by by Ripple (Jan, 2011)Which brings me to a second slight weakness - while the HD video is excellent on the D7000 my unit had a few dead pixels (only apparent in video) but there is now a Firmware update that has reduced this, not totally, but certainly to more than acceptable levels on my unit.
Nikon D7000 | Rated 100% by by N-PatelThe Nikon D7000 can shoot the amazing Full HD videos to top it all off, I wish it did 60fps or more too.
Competition What else you should consider
 | 1 | Nikon D700 Largest sensor |
 | 2 | Nikon D90 Fastest to start up |
 | 3 | Canon EOS 60D Most shots per battery charge |
 | 4 | Nikon D3200 High resolution |
 | 5 | Nikon D5200 Best image quality as rated by DXOMark |
 | 6 | Nikon D7100 Largest screen |
 | 7 | Canon EOS 650D Has a touch screen |
 | 8 | Canon EOS 600D 5-way tie: Has a flip out screen |
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Answers Community What does Sortable's community think
42
vs
47
Nikon D7000
52% of users recommend the Nikon D5100 over the Nikon D7000
Nikon D7000
Colin-Carmichael
Intermediate I
In the last year I've put over 10k exposures through a D5100 and almost 8k on a D7000 so I know them both quite well. I recommend the D7000 for two reasons: focus motor and menu fatigue. The to... View Colin-Carmichael's recommendation
- 0 comments
- August 17, 2012
- Reply to: D5100 or d7000
John-Kim 
Intermediate III
If best value means best IQ for the money without emphsasis on user interface, then without a doubt D5100 is tremendous bargain since D5100 and D7000 uses the same sensor. BUT for long term a... View John-Kim's recommendation
- 0 comments
- October 17, 2012
- Reply to: Want to up Grade
Stephen-Mihopulos 
Beginner I
The D7000 is worth it just for that big beautiful veiwfinder. Image quality between the two is about the same, but the 7000 gives you way better battery life and TWO memory card slots, which is... View Stephen-Mihopulos's recommendation
- 2 comments
- May 11, 2012
- Reply to: Maximum flexibility
Nikon D5100
Philip-Davis 
Expert III
I suggest you start as inexpensively as possible. The D5100 with a 50mm f/1.8 lens is a very affordable starting point. Good luck! View Philip-Davis's recommendation
- 0 comments
- November 12, 2012
- Reply to: What's the best semi pro camera for portrait style photography?
heuscher 
Intermediate II
The D5100 uses the same sensor as the D7000. There are slight differences in performance of the sensor, but so slight only a lab test could find it. The sensor and processor effectively offer the... View heuscher's recommendation
- 0 comments
- October 7, 2012
- Reply to: Want to up Grade
WaterlooAlex 
Intermediate III
I'd recommend the Nikon D5100, which will give you extra money for lenses. Getting a lens like the Nikon 50mm f/1.8G will make a huge difference, it takes great portraits (including babies), and... View WaterlooAlex's recommendation
- 0 comments
- April 9, 2012
- Reply to: Need help in upgrading from my Nikon D60 to: D5100 or D7000?
