Sept 15th. Nikon has today announced the mid range Nikon D7000 digital SLR camera, an update to the popular Nikon D90, and in many ways a model that out specs the higher end Nikon D300s.

Nikon's D7000 digital SLR camera aimed at advanced amateurs boasts many features normally found on in their professional line-up, such as a weather sealed magnesium and polycarbonate body, a 16.2 megapixel CMOS sensor, 39 AF points and continuous shooting at 6 frames per second.

New 39 point auto focus system; Redesigned controls; Dust and moisture sealing; Performance at high sensitivities; Rugged build; Fast continuous frame rate; In camera editing options; Active Dlighting; Quality of recorded video; Battery life; Twin SD card slots

Speed of focusing during Live View; Buffer is shallow when shooting RAW at 6fps; Current street price may be a bit on the high side

It is now more than three years since Nikon introduced its 12.3-million-pixel D300 and 12.1-million-pixel D3 cameras. With the exception of the 24.5-million-pixel D3X, every enthusiast and professional Nikon DSLR has featured a variation on one of these two 12-million-pixel sensors.

The Nikon D7000 is a new prosumer DSLR camera with a 16.2-megapixel DX-format image sensor. Key highlights of the D7000 include Full 1080p HD video with full-time autofocus and manual exposure control, an ISO range of 100-25600, the widest of any Nikon DX camera, a new 2,016-pixel 3D Colour Matrix...

Price is just as critical as any other element and the D7000's initial RRP is towards the top-end. To explain: Canon's 7D plus 18-135mm lens available for around ￡100 more and Canon's highly competitive 60D is some hundreds of pounds cheaper at the time of writing.

Fantastic AF system; excellent picture quality; great battery life

A little expensive; screen could be higher resolution; kit lens doesn't show camera's full potential

The D7000 is fairly hard to find fault with. The new 39-point autofocus system is fantastic, highly customisable and delivers continuous shooting results at up to 6fps to almost the same standard you'd expect from a higher-classed DSLR.

Excellent 39-point AF system; very long battery life; superb picture quality and high ISO standard

Quite pricey; kit lens only reasonable; screen resolution not pushing the boundaries; internal buffer could be larger

Rather than a genuine replacement for the D90-which is in theory going to see out its days at the end of the year-or a way out for the D300s, the D7000 is carving out its own niche

Great build quality; 100% viewfinder; Excellent control of electronic noise up to 3200 ISO; Burst mode reaches 6 fps and autofocus is fast; Stabilised kit lens a real all-rounder; Wireless control over external flash

Video mode not quite up there and autofocus could still be faster; Normal quality JPEGs lack a bit of oomph; Fixed LCD screen; No headphone output to listen back to sound; Capture NX2 software sold separately but the best way to enjoy RAW photos

Nikon's D7000 allies rugged build quality with all the bells and whistles expected of a mid-range digital SLR. All things considered, it's a thoroughly competent camera.

Robust build quality; Quick and responsive; 1080p video recording; Generally competent performer

Heavy; with or without a lens attached; Handgrip could be more comfortable; Occasionally overexposed highlights

Generally camera manufacturers tend to follow a well-defined update path and it's usually pretty clear which model is meant to be replaced by a new one. With the announcement of the D7000 Nikon has - to a degree - broken with this pattern.

Good detail and dynamic range (even better in RAW; Exceptionally low shadow noise in RAW files; Arguably the best high ISO performance of any current APS-C DSLR; Good build quality and handling; Maximum ISO of 25,600 st full resolution; 1080p HD video mode with basic editing built-in; Efficient...

Tendency to overexpose in bright sunshine/high contrast situations; ISO button is poorly positioned; and cannot be assigned to any other control point; Ditto white balance: poorly positioned; cannot be re-assigned; Exposure mode dial slightly loose; and easily knocked; Shooting mode dial can be...

The Nikon D7000 is the company's latest mid-range DSLR. Announced in September 2010, the D7000 technically replaces the enormously popular D90, although that model will remain on sale while stocks last. The new numbering clearly positions the D7000 above the D5000, with the D3100 below both.

Great quality across its sensitivity range; Viewfinder with 100% coverage and VGA screen; 6fps continuous shooting at all quality settings; Dual memory card slots; 1080p video with AF; manual control and mic input

Continuous buffer limited in depth; Metering frequently over-exposed in bright conditions; Continuous movie AF indiscreet in use; Back-focusing error on our sample kit