normanhall Loc: Leslie Missouri

i had the option a few months ago and decided to go with the d5100 one reason was the articulated screen and then the price was about half. I also want more lens so buying the cheaper of the two helped with that. But i must say i have no regrets for buying the 5100 i love it and as of right now i see no reason to move up to something else.
I use manual mode and raw. i was not interested in all the other bells and whistles. some want the d7000 for the fps but i don' need a million frames a second to shoot landscapes and portrait. Unless you want the bells and whistle get the 7000 if you want to just have a great camera to take great photos get the d 5100

normanhall Loc: Leslie Missouri

It also is a 16 mega pixel camera with the same sensor as the 7000 so you are not compromising in my opinion a lot.

mborn Loc: Massachusetts

D7000 Haqve it love it very durable

ejrmaine Loc: South Carolina

I've owned the D7000 since it came out and have no regrets, it's a great camera.

Spodeworld

I have a d5000 and a d7000. I would go with the higher end model for the internal motor for greater lens options, the controls which mean you don't have to navigate through menus plus being able to use and meter with legacy lenses.

dnaylor48 Loc: Charles Town, WV

Cameras don't take "good pictures" any more than a wrench can fix ypur car, it's the USER.

Newdevonian

The only way to judge picture quality is large (20x16 or larger) paper prints. No viewing on a computer screen is going to show a difference.

Barny

Have upgraded from a D40X to the D5100. The articulated screen is brilliant. 11 focal points should be enough compared to the D7000's 39. Only need the focus motor in the D7000 body for old lenses. Biggest loss is only 4fps compared to 6fps for the D7000. Will spend the savings on a good speedlite, but which one?

rebeil Loc: florida

Short and Sweet D5100 love mine save money and buy GOOD lenes or go all the way to a D4

Al Beatty Loc: Boise, Idaho

Hi mlkddk,

My wife and I use a D200 & a D300 for much of our day-to-day photography but decided we wanted a Nikon that would shoot HD video and (more importantly) had a mic jack so we could use our radio-operated lavalier mic system. The clincher for us was the articulated LCD on the D5100 similar to our old CoolPix 8700. With it we can take low-to-the-ground shots/video and not have to bend over as far. For me that was important as I slide into the 70'ish age group. What we had to give up to get the articulated LCD would be important if we didn't already have a couple of great cameras for still shots. We had to give up a bunch of buttons that "set things" like focus mode, shutter release mode, ISO, etc. We hope Nikon puts an articulated LCD on the next model of the D7000 because that would have been (will be) our first choice if it had that feature. By the way, we used the D5100 on a mother's-day shoot yesterday and are very happy with the picture quality. Also, we did figure out some "work arounds" to help compensate for the loss of the outside buttons but really did miss them after using the older Nikons with those features for a number of years.

Good luck with your search, both cameras produce excellent quality images. We've tested them both. Let us know what you decide and why you made the decision to did. Take care & ...

Tight Lines - (Gretchen &) Al Beatty
www.btsflyfishing.com

martinfisherphoto Loc: Lake Placid Florida

D7000 as in has the internal focusing motor, now all my Nikon lens are AF

G4 Loc: Metro NYC/Jerseyside

There's a D7000 here. We find less menu related tasks as there are dedicated buttons rather then menu hunts for most settings we regularly change.
There is a weight penalty with the D7K due to the metal frame which generally means slightly more robust build quality. If your not changing with the technology this may mean something? Longevity?

If the sensors are identical then check the other internal features. I doubt you could make a bad choice with either.

wilsondl2 Loc: Lincoln, Nebraska

I would double check and make sure your lenses will work on the 5100. If the do not have their own motors they wont. - Dave

sloscheider Loc: Minnesota

d7000 for me

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

snapsort.com has a comparison of those cameras. http://snapsort.com/compare/Nikon-D5100-vs-Nikon_D7000

From personal experience, I prefer the D7000. It's more expensive, so it's better.

Seriously, it has a weather-sealed body, so I don't have to worry if it starts to drizzle while I'm out. Many of the controls are available directly, rather than having to go through the Menu system. I especially like having the motor in the camera, so it will auto focus with more lenses. Although I like the swivel screen, I find the easy access to controls more useful. I'll get the new model (D7200?) when it comes out, and probably sell the D5100.