Difference Between Nikon D5100 and D7000

Nikon D5100 vs D7000

The Nikon D5100 and D7000 are two replacement cameras for the aging D5000 and D90 respectively. The D7000 is on a higher tier than the D5100, thus it has a number of features that are superior to the latter. The difference between the Nikon D5100 and D7000 starts when you pick-up the cameras. The D7000 has a magnesium alloy body that gives it a more solid feel than the plastic construction of the D5100. This also means that the D7000 is significantly heavier than the D5100; by more than 200 grams. The added weight lends a more solid feel to the D7000 but can be tiresome to carry around for extended periods.

The D7000 also features a superior metering sensor that has 2016 individual RGB pixels; way more than the 420 pixels that you get in the D5100. The metering sensor of the D7000 lets you do a lot of cool new stuff, including 3D AF tracking. This gives you more accurate focus as your subject moves around by tracking its color as well as its shape.

Aside from the new features, continuous shooting has also been improved in the D7000. Taking 50% more shots per second at 6fps compared to just 4fps in the D5100. Continuous shooting is not something most people routinely use but is very useful when shooting fast moving subjects. Shooting at very high resolutions means that your memory card often gets filled-up quite quickly. The D7000 also has an answer to this by having dual memory card slots. Unlike the D5100 where you can only use one SD, SDHC, and SDXC memory card, the D7000 lets you plug-in two of these simultaneously.

In favor of the D5100 is its articulated screen. While the D7000’s screen is fixed into the camera body, that of the D5100 can be pulled out and rotated to just about any position you wish. This is quite useful when you are shooting videos as you can avoid holding the camera at eye level all the time. It is also useful when you do not have direct line of sight to the subject. You can raise or lower the camera and still get to see the live view by tilting the screen accordingly.

Summary:

1. The D7000 has a magnesium alloy body while the D5100 does not
2. The D7000 weighs significantly more than the D5100
3. The D7000 has a superior metering sensor than the D5100
4. The D7000 is faster at continuous shooting than the D5100
5. The D7000 has dual memory card slots while the D5100 only has one
6. The D5100 has a tilting screen while the D7000 does not

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