The D300
Posted 03-24-2008 at 07:09 AM by Nikonfreak
So let's go ahead and skip the formalities. The specs are available all over the place so you don't need to know that the camera is a 12 megapixel body with a Sony sensor ... yada yada..
You want to know whether or not you should own this camera and why...
What's the easiest way to put this... IMO, with this body out there, there is no reason to even think about a used D2x if you're upgrading from a D100, D200 or perhaps even a D2x...
Get one of the D300 bodies. Get two of them for what you'd spend on a used D2Xs. The camera is good...Really good and many of the upgrades make it worthwhile.
This camera will do most of what professional photographers will demand from it. There are a few things it will not.
Noise is very well controlled at higher ISO's. If you know me, you know I shoot quite a few concerts. I am one that rides the ragged edge of disaster when it comes to my concert work.
I'm not the "Set it at 1600 and blast away" guy. There are plenty of those out there. I want colorful, well saturated images that ride the edge. I don't want flat, dull, lifeless images that I have to spend a hell of a lot of time working.
The first gig I took the D300 to was Premios Fox Sports in Miami. (Fox Sports Awards).. I have to say the images blew me away. I used to be comfortable with the D200 going to ISO 800 (clean) and sometimes I'd punch up to 1250 and take my lumps with some noise, but the D300 is beautiful up to 1600. It's excellent. Truth be told I stick to below 1250 even now whenever possible but it's leaps and bounds above the D200. You get probably a full stop to a stop and a half (if you don't mind chancing it) to play with. That's something to cheer about.
Color seems to carry through higher ISO's better than the D200. I was blown away by my first event pics and what they looked like straight out of the box.
I took the pictures back, downloaded them after promising that I wasn't going to shoot any more events with brand new camera bodies...but then I saw the pictures... I spent ZERO... ZERO... ZERO time tweaking the images from the show. No noise reduction, no alterations, no brightening, no level adjustments, Nothing. The clients said they were the best looking images they'd rec'd from anyone... period. I dumped my three D200 bodies on ebay and replaced them with three D300's.
AF.. What can be said here? The AF system of the D300 is a huge improvement over the D200 and it's an improvement to the D2X.. The D3 has the same AF system... period. This alone is worth the upgrade from a D80, D100, D200 or D2x. I can track with confidence (try that on the D200).
As I write this, I am contemplating a D3 body. If that body is really as good as folks are saying, and it's low light capabilities a full stop better than the D300, then I might welcome a D3 into the fold and couple that with a 14-24 f/2.8 lens.
Will the DX format continue? Yes. I don't believe that there is reason to believe that anytime within the next 2-4 years, Nikon will discontinue the DX format. The DX format is what's out there for consumer model DSLR's and they do a fine job. With that in mind, I know I may go the route of the D3 camera body. It's good enough IMO to where I may not swap that body out in two years as I have with the D100, D200, and now having the D300 body. The D3/D300 bodies are giving me pause in the upgrade madness that has seemed to swallow us up during the past five years or so.
For the working professional though, this presents a problem in that you might carry DX and FX lenses. This takes up a bit of space in the camera bag, especially when some lenses may overlap more than you'd like. It poses some unique issues if you want to carry a D3 and a D300 as I'm contemplating. Although with a wide lens (14-24 f/2.
I would have wide again... but would I still keep the 12-24 f/4 Nikon and how often would I reach for it. I have no desire to collect lenses. If I don't use them, I prefer to sell them (Though I have regretted getting rid of a few lenses).
I've done my best in the past to avoid adding too many DX format lenses to my bag, thinking ahead to an eventual FX sensor body.
I have to agree with Thom Hogan (bythom.com) in that we are probably getting closer to a time frame where we can get a body and go out and shoot and not worry much about new product introductions. I think Nikon will be coming out with a higher megapixel body as the flagship as well so I'm keeping my eyes on the horizon.
Julio
www.juliosantanaphotography.com
You want to know whether or not you should own this camera and why...
What's the easiest way to put this... IMO, with this body out there, there is no reason to even think about a used D2x if you're upgrading from a D100, D200 or perhaps even a D2x...
Get one of the D300 bodies. Get two of them for what you'd spend on a used D2Xs. The camera is good...Really good and many of the upgrades make it worthwhile.
This camera will do most of what professional photographers will demand from it. There are a few things it will not.
Noise is very well controlled at higher ISO's. If you know me, you know I shoot quite a few concerts. I am one that rides the ragged edge of disaster when it comes to my concert work.
I'm not the "Set it at 1600 and blast away" guy. There are plenty of those out there. I want colorful, well saturated images that ride the edge. I don't want flat, dull, lifeless images that I have to spend a hell of a lot of time working.
The first gig I took the D300 to was Premios Fox Sports in Miami. (Fox Sports Awards).. I have to say the images blew me away. I used to be comfortable with the D200 going to ISO 800 (clean) and sometimes I'd punch up to 1250 and take my lumps with some noise, but the D300 is beautiful up to 1600. It's excellent. Truth be told I stick to below 1250 even now whenever possible but it's leaps and bounds above the D200. You get probably a full stop to a stop and a half (if you don't mind chancing it) to play with. That's something to cheer about.
Color seems to carry through higher ISO's better than the D200. I was blown away by my first event pics and what they looked like straight out of the box.
I took the pictures back, downloaded them after promising that I wasn't going to shoot any more events with brand new camera bodies...but then I saw the pictures... I spent ZERO... ZERO... ZERO time tweaking the images from the show. No noise reduction, no alterations, no brightening, no level adjustments, Nothing. The clients said they were the best looking images they'd rec'd from anyone... period. I dumped my three D200 bodies on ebay and replaced them with three D300's.
AF.. What can be said here? The AF system of the D300 is a huge improvement over the D200 and it's an improvement to the D2X.. The D3 has the same AF system... period. This alone is worth the upgrade from a D80, D100, D200 or D2x. I can track with confidence (try that on the D200).
As I write this, I am contemplating a D3 body. If that body is really as good as folks are saying, and it's low light capabilities a full stop better than the D300, then I might welcome a D3 into the fold and couple that with a 14-24 f/2.8 lens.
Will the DX format continue? Yes. I don't believe that there is reason to believe that anytime within the next 2-4 years, Nikon will discontinue the DX format. The DX format is what's out there for consumer model DSLR's and they do a fine job. With that in mind, I know I may go the route of the D3 camera body. It's good enough IMO to where I may not swap that body out in two years as I have with the D100, D200, and now having the D300 body. The D3/D300 bodies are giving me pause in the upgrade madness that has seemed to swallow us up during the past five years or so.
For the working professional though, this presents a problem in that you might carry DX and FX lenses. This takes up a bit of space in the camera bag, especially when some lenses may overlap more than you'd like. It poses some unique issues if you want to carry a D3 and a D300 as I'm contemplating. Although with a wide lens (14-24 f/2.
I would have wide again... but would I still keep the 12-24 f/4 Nikon and how often would I reach for it. I have no desire to collect lenses. If I don't use them, I prefer to sell them (Though I have regretted getting rid of a few lenses).I've done my best in the past to avoid adding too many DX format lenses to my bag, thinking ahead to an eventual FX sensor body.
I have to agree with Thom Hogan (bythom.com) in that we are probably getting closer to a time frame where we can get a body and go out and shoot and not worry much about new product introductions. I think Nikon will be coming out with a higher megapixel body as the flagship as well so I'm keeping my eyes on the horizon.
Julio
www.juliosantanaphotography.com
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