One of my readers (Hi Kristen!) is considering a camera upgrade so she asked me some questions about my camera the Nikon D7000.  I thought I would answer them here where it may benefit some other readers too.  You can also read about what's in my camera bag and the story behind my upgrade here.

1. What is your favorite feature of the D7000?

My absolute favorite thing - and the reason why I switched from Canon to Nikon for this particular camera - is it's incredible ability to take high quality photos with extremely high ISOs.  My Canon Rebel XSI could not go above ISO 400 without introducing a lot of grain and compromising the image quality.  With my D7000, I don't start to worry until I get above ISO 2000.  I also really love the more accurate metering system, white balance, and the fact that so many more of my pictures are in focus now!!  I always had inconsistent results with my XSI.  I thought it was user error until I upgraded.

2. Why the D7000 and not another Nikon?

To be honest, I had my heart set on the full frame Nikon D700 (not 7000) for a long time.  Right about the time when I was going to buy it, the crop sensor D7000 was announced.  When I looked at the features and saw photos of the amazing high ISO performance, I knew that this was the upgrade I wanted.  Professional photographers that I respect were calling the D7000 the best crop sensor camera currently available.  It had everything I was looking for and it was $1,000 less expensive than the D700 which made the decision even easier!  I'm not a professional photographer so I couldn't justify the extra expense for the D700.  If I ever pursue photography professionally, I will definitely purchase the D700 (or its replacement) and keep my D7000 as a backup.

3. Do you use the video much, and for home use, how does it perform? 

I don't use the video a lot.  It's more of a gimmick than a useful tool.  The image quality looks very nice, but autofocusing in video mode is a nightmare.  It's not accurate, it hunts a lot, and the microphone picks up the noise from the autofocus motor.  During video playback, you can hear the LOUD sound of the motor and it really takes away from the video.

4. Would the video feature be anything that would draw or pull you away from purchasing the camera?

I don't mind that the video feature leaves a lot to be desired.  Even if the D7000 had no video, I would've still bought it at the same price.  I bought it for photography and it absolutely shines in that area!

5. Would you say the 39 point AF gets used some, always, or "you could get by with a measly 11" (ie if I choose something like the new 5000 or the 3100)?

I toggle my focus points all the time, so I would definitely say "always".  You could get by with less AF points, HOWEVER, I would NOT recommend the D5000 or the D3000 cameras.  The entry level Nikons including the D40, D60, D3100, D3000, and D5000 cameras do not have an autofocus motor built into the body so they will not autofocus with many lenses including the popular Nifty Fifty (only AF-S lenses will work).  You do not want to manually focus your lenses so skip these entry level cameras and get something midrange.  A discontinued D90 will serve you far better than a new D5000 will.

6. I take pics for other people often and would like to get into that more...do you think there'd be any reason to look at a different Nikon if money were not an issue?

If money were not an issue, I would have gone with the D700.  However, I should mention that as a beginner, I would have been completely overwhelmed by the D700!

7. Also, in regards to blogging, I was thinking about starting and wondered if there was any specific resource that jumps out to you as a helpful resource that I might want to look into.  Do you worry about the security of it all...?
The first thing that came to mind as a blogging resource is the place I got my blogging template from.  I love having a cute, organized blog, but I don't know anything about HTML.  Copying and pasting a tweakable template was such an easy way to get started immediately.  Everything was done for me, but I was able to choose my colors and create my own banner.

As far as security goes, I definitely do think about it!  I'm careful about not including too much personal information on my blog.  I don't mention our last name or where we live for example.  A lot of bloggers watermark their photos to prevent them from being stolen, which is something to consider.  The reason why I don't watermark is because it's very easy to crop or edit out a watermark unless it's plastered all over the picture. I think I worry less about security now that I've been blogging for a while (this is my 3rd blog).  When I first began, I didn't use the first names of my children for security reasons.  I used nicknames instead.

Thank you Kristen for asking such great questions!  I hope some of these answers are helpful to you as you make your camera upgrade decision.  If you end up starting a blogging, please come back and let me know!  I'd love to "follow" your blog!

~Catherine :)