Conflicting Viewpoints

I have been pursuing nature photography (particularly birds and insects) for the last eight years using a super zoom ( bridge) camera with moderate results, which have received some appreciation. I am now planning to purchase a Nikon D7000. However I am confronted with various conflicting viewpoints which are as follows: 1. Nikon D5100 is a better option since the picture quality is the same as D7000 but is easier to use and is cheaper, which will save cash for lenses. Higher frames per second of the D7000 does not always matter in the practical field and the 9 cross-type AF points are rarely used. Further with the D5100, one does not face back-focus problems as in the case of D7000. 2. Viewpoints contrary to the above suggest D7000 is the best DX format option for birding. 3. For bird photography D7000 is not enough and Nikon D300s is the minimum requirement. 4. Lenses are more important and deserve more investment than bodies and there is no point in spending more on bodies, therefore Nikon D5100 or even a D3200 is good enough. 5. Canon cameras are much better than Nikon for wildlife including birding and EOS 60D would be a good option, though EOS 7D is even better. Further, Canon lenses are better suited for such photography and are cheaper.

Kindly advise me as all this has left me utterly confused.

Dr. Raja Sen, via E-mail I do not know what the source of your information is; maybe some forums on the web. It often happens that someone with no experience or very little experience considers himself to be the ‘guru’ and writes against whatever he cannot fully understand. Please note that some of the ‘conflicting viewpoints’ you have mentioned are debatable. Since this is not a forum for such discussions, I shall not get involved in the controversy. 1. When it comes to photographing flying birds (and especially smaller birds that need to flap their wings faster), some users feel that the Nikon D7000’s 6 frames per second burst rate is not enough. That does not mean that the D7000 cannot be used to photograph flying birds. If you need a faster burst rate, consider the Canon EOS 7D (8fps). Do note however, that, at higher ISOs, the Canon 7D is on the noisier side as compared to some of Canon’s own D-SLRs. 2. I agree that lenses are more important than bodies ( but that does not mean that bodies are not important!). 3. You may go ahead with the purchase of the Nikon D7000 (and don’t worry about the so-called ‘ backfocus’ problems). Not that such problems never exist – it could be so with any camera – but most people who claim such ‘problems’ are not competent enough to identify the problem. Anyway, some current camera bodies, including the D7000, have the facility to finetune autofocus. 4. Another suggestion, especially for bird photography, is to get a Canon 60D body (5.3 fps) with the excellent Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM lens. If budget (and weight) is not a problem, you could consider the Canon EF 400mm f/4 DO IS USM lens. For photographing insects and other creepy crawlers, consider the excellent Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L IS USM Macro lens.