WOW! | Nikon D300 DX 12.3MP Digital SLR Camera (Body Only)

The perfect photographer's camera | Nikon D300 DX 12.3MP Digital SLR Camera (Body Only)

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	• Nikon D300 DX 12.3MP Digital SLR Camera (Body Only) Nikon Nikon, 2008 average customer review:based on 147 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Nikon D300 Deserves Its Accolades: A Genuine Classic

In my opinion, the effusive accolades given to this camera were well earned. I was skeptical until I used it. After all, there are lots of good cameras to choose from: Fujifilm, Olympus, Pentax and Sony, not just the leading duo Nikon and Canon. In fact, this review includes good alternatives to the D300 for prospective shoppers of mid and high-end DSLR cameras. I will begin with Nikon's D300 since it was the best choice for me. You are more important than the tool. But if you want to make the best photographs you can and enjoy doing it then the tool can make a difference in assisting you. Some tools are also easier to use and some are built to last longer - camera bodies are no exception - you see the difference in the price tag. The Nikon D300 does not just do more, it does more that you choose it to do in customizable features. It is no longer almost exclusively a question of optical glass configurations determining everything we see that matters when the D300 camera body assists them by doing things as fundamental as "correct" chromatic aberrations and inherent distortions of individual lenses. This camera, which borrowed so much from the flagship Nikon D3 has really pushed the envelope.

There are very good alternatives right now. For those wanting exemplary image quality with much of what the D300 offers but for significantly less money: Canon offers the popular Canon EOS 40D 10.1MP Digital SLR Camera (Body Only) and Nikon now has attractive pricing for its popular D200, the fine camera that the D300 updated in late 2007 Nikon D200 10.2MP Digital SLR Camera (Body Only). It has also earned many loyal followers and has a very solid build.

But once in a long while something extraordinary is designed that stands out from a very distinguished and competitive field. I am not regularly gonzo over gear. I will simply address the current field with options for your consideration while your money is still in your pocket. Thinking about the history of photography does not involve ranking accomplishment by merely which tools, the means that were used. But we do each need to make our personal choice. Any of the cameras mentioned here should make you very happy. Only you will know which one in particular matches your needs and desires.

The performance and potential of the D300 camera make it stand out to me. I have less work to do in image editing and the quality of the capture is the best I have seen. There are lots of places to read in detail about all its features including those shared with Nikon's outstanding premium camera, the D3. The D300 is not cheap but is durable and Nikon has been generous for what it offers and for what you can deliver with it. That is its most compelling case, its quality, performance and value. I realize praising engineering is not exciting reading - despite that being Nikon's historical strength - but it is their breakthroughs that I value most in the D300. That includes an entire series of triumphs in interrelated areas including color, tonal nuance, metering for better exposures and more extensive creative controls where you actually get to apply your intelligence and talents. Automated everything is also available but if you are exclusively shooting like that particularly in JPEGs there are many other good cameras to consider buying that will do that well for far less money beginning under $500 including a zoom lens like Nikon D40 6.1MP Digital SLR Camera Kit with 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G ED II AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor Lens. In fact all well known brands offer much better cameras than you might expect for their price at the so called entry level but that is another topic. You may be upgrading from one to the D300. That is not a subtle leap beginning empirically and then simply holding each in your hands. It is just not fair or necessary to compare things so wide apart.

The D300's precision is amazing. It is going to spoil me regarding expectations in small camera photography. Want a closer look? Composing or fine tuning sharpening while looking at stunning color in "Live View" modes (yes, there are two) on the camera back's brilliant 3" scratch resistant monitor is not bad either. The ultimate measure is the quality of results as well as the creative options and degree of control. They could directly assist you with what you want to say, show, express. All cameras do that but I recommend this extraordinary camera because for some it might assist you in doing it better than with an alternative. That is a testable premise but with subjective criteria. Consider renting one if that is a reasonable option. Seeing really is believing in this case. Otherwise there are lots of other cameras to convince you that one will be right for you.

Test your options. For example, Canon offers an excellent body in the same price range, that can be a few hundred dollars more, it usually is not a large difference. The Canon EOS 5D 12.8 MP Digital SLR Camera (Body Only) offers full frame capture if we use 35mm film as "normal" coverage. By that I mean, in theory, it can use the same lenses you used in 35mm film photography. Just check to ensure your lenses do not have any vignetting problems, light fall off, in their new application. Canon has made many excellent lenses with conventional 35mm film coverage, super wide angle lenses that you might own that you enjoyed and do not want to duplicate with an expensive wide angle lens for digital capture. But be aware there are differences in coverage and they are not always obvious. The 5D's super chip is terrific but it does not have as robust a body or as modern electronics as the newer D300. There always seem to be trade-offs. Please refer to the many positive Amazon reviews in the link to see why the 5D has also won many followers since 2005. Using your older film based lenses with your digital camera is advantageous regardless of the chip as long as you have coverage and quality.

If you are already a Nikon user, note that the Nikon D300's chip like in the vast majority of cameras has a narrower coverage than the 5D and D3. Thankfully all Nikon lenses are backwards compatible with few caveats. Note that professional lenses tend to be larger, heavier and are more expensive but for good reasons like larger coverage, performance, speed and build such as the outstanding Nikon Zoom-Nikkor - Telephoto zoom lens - 70 mm - 200 mm - f/2.8 G ED-IF AF-S VR - Nikon AF-S. For most situations carrying gear, I like the trade off in the lighter weight DX lenses the D300 uses like the surprising performer for the cost Nikon 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5G ED IF AF-S DX Nikkor Zoom Lens. They suit the format's size and portability advantages that make them appealing where larger formats would be logistically problematic. However, if the full coverage sensor is critical you would need full coverage lenses and move up to the highly praised Nikon D3 12.1MP FX Digital SLR Camera (Body Only) which is three times the cost of a D300 (street price, with Nikon USA warranty). Moreover, you can spend even more on the equally excellent top of the line Canon EOS 1Ds Mark III 21.1MP Digital SLR Camera (Body Only) or the first rate Fuijifilm camera, Fujifilm IS Pro Body Only, 12.3 MP Digital SLR Camera with Nikon F Lens Mount, with Pro Body Kit or the impressive, smallest mid-format camera, the Mamiya 645AFD III that is $10,000 (list). It has a Phase One digital back.

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WOW!

OK, after reading all the online reviews and professional reviews and stewing over it for a few weeks I jumped on this one with the "kit" 18-200 VR lens. I am not a pro, although I have considered doing some pro work, but I take my photography seriously. My subject is mostly family/grandkids and local scenery. I am constantly experimenting with settings and never used the standard icon selections on the mode dial on my D50, so this camera seemed a natural upgrade to me.
First, I am absolutely enthralled. This is an absolutely fabulous equipment combination. There seem to be few settings, options, or configurations that I could have dreamed of that would have made me happier. Things I love:
The 18-200 VR lens; I have taken pics at 1/30 of a second at full 200mm zoom that I wouldn't have thought possible. It really does prevent most motion blur. Besides the actual camera this was the best part of my purchase. I rarely miss a shot for need of changing lenses, my former lenses being an 18-55 and a 55-200. With the flexibility of the camera itself and my second lens being a faster 30mm f1.4 this is pure photography fun for me. I know that some pros have dissed this lens as being less than pro, with distortion at certain extremes and some blur in the midrange 135mm. For the photography I do this is not important. When I do notice some distortion it's not important and I have not seen any blur, though I may not be looking close enough.
Auto-ISO: Still playing with this feature but the cool thing is that you can set it the minimum shutter speed you want and it will step up the ISO to keep that speed when needed. 1/30 seems a good speed with the VR lens, though there is sometimes subject motion blur (not camera motion blur), but this is also fun to play with. It can always be bumped up to 1/60 or more.
External controls: Most of the commonly-changed options are at your fingertips which means you don't need to visit the menus as often. I have a friend with a D40x and most of the options are in menus and my D50 has some on external buttons. The D300 seems to have a good balance. You very clearly could not have put all the menu items on external buttons on this camera!
Speaking of menus; I have a great fondness for the help feature available on this and on my D50. Not sure of other maker's cameras but if you don't know or don't remember a feature the help button will nudge you.
The customizable individual lens focus adjustment feature is the cat's meow. My aforementioned Sigma 30mm lens has never focused properly and I was able to quickly adjust this in-camera. Henceforth, all my pictures taken with the Sigma lens will at least be properly focused!
OK, one of my favorite features; the intervalometer. Ooooo, Ahhhh. It can be used by itself or with multi-exposure. By itself you can set it up to take pictures at whatever interval you like. This can be great fun. I set it up on a tripod at our reunion to take a picture every minute while we were playing cards, even catching my brother with Easter eggs over his eyes. This almost makes up for the lack of an infrared remote capability, though I guess they could not have included everything and to be fair, it is available with external added equipment. Multi-exposure is also pretty cool. More stuff to play with.

Some observations; if you have an event coming up get the camera early and play with it. I was still figuring out the settings when I went to a family reunion and took 1500 pictures. Many of those were multi-shots of the same subject so I dumped the extras and ended up with around 500 good pictures. I took some group pictures and some were blurry because I misunderstood a feature or two.
I take a lot of profile pictures and the only way to properly focus on these is to spot focus on the nose or eye. I would have liked a feature that recognizes a profile and focuses properly without changing settings. I guess that is asking a lot! Maybe in the next generation.
The weight of the device is off-putting for some, though not for me. I have big hands and the camera fills them nicely and the "balance," the way it feels in one's hands when it is turned different directions, feels just right to me, similar to the way a well-balanced 18v cordless drill feels. Though heavy, the weight is evenly distributed and it can be turned and manipulated without strain, at least not for me.
The battery life for me has been less than the 1000 pictures others have been getting. More like 500 or a little more. I'm not sure if this is because of the VR lens because I have not used my Sigma much yet. 500 is still a lot and I am not unhappy with this.
The only other "issue" if you can call it that is the front aperture dial; My finger sticks to the rubber around it which makes it more difficult to turn it. Just a nit-pic (pun intended) and something I will get used to.
Overall, I can truthfully say I love it. It doesn't get much better than this!
JCF

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The perfect photographer's camera

This is the perfect camera for an advanced amateur.

The main strengths are:
(1) the excellent ergonomics and design: the camera controls are perfectly laid out. This makes the camera feel very fast and responsive. Everything about the camera is designed to allow you to change settings quickly and effortlessly. An example: the auto-ISO feature changes completely how you shoot in quickly changing lighting. Think about shooting sports in a stadium where half the field is covered in shadow - with auto-ISO you can set your parameters and then forget about the camera and just worry about catching the action. It also features endless customization which is great when you have to live with your camera day and night - if something in the interface annoys you, just change it to what you like.
(2) 100% viewfinder: a pleasure to use. Framing is perfect and the size of the image seems huge. No, it's not like an F6 or D3, but it is the best cropped-sensor viewfinder to date. You can buy a magnifying eyepiece that gives you a bigger view at the expense of eye relief.
(3) picture controls: allow you to dial in settings in-camera and create great looking JPGs without any post-processing.
(4) built-in GPS support is wonderful: I am able to geotag all my photos on trips and display them on Google Maps when I get home. This is also an essential tool for surveying or scientific work.
(5) live view: perfect for macro and landscape work. It is designed to be used on a tripod for slow and methodical pictures, not for over-the-head grab shots on NFL sidelines.
(6) The camera can use pretty much all Nikon glass made since 1959. I take great pleasure in using a 40 year old Nikkor 28/3.5 to shoot infrared on the D300.
(7) The CAM3500 is truly amazing - I have only begun to appreciate it. I recently used the 3D focusing to track tiny cave swallows against a cliff wall. I watched the focus point dance all around the viewfinder as it perfectly tracked the tiny birds. Wow!

The main weaknesses:
(1) NEF (RAW) image quality in Lightroom is very good, but to get the very best skin tones and overall quality you still must process in Capture NX, which is clunky.
(2) this is NOT a good camera for a beginner. You will quickly become frustrated with the complexity. The camera is like a manual transmission car - it leaves all the decisions up to you, so you can't rely on it to "think" for you. If you are new to photography you will be much better served by a more consumer-friendly Nikon or Canon body.

Bottom line: after a few weeks of getting the D300 dialed in to your liking, you will quickly forget about the camera completely and concentrate on your images, which is, after all, the whole point.

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Very easy using camera

Very easy to make the setting on P mode using the buttons and most of the setting can be made using the buttons.

A custom setting is very easy and can be made fine adjustment later.

Most of all, I like the fine adjustment of White Balance in the menu and can be taken illusion photo by using this adjustment.

Very low noise at higher ISO setting.
I took group of about 150 dance recital photo first time in the theatre yesterday.
I have to make quick move to take the photo because of prohibited photo taken, but result are very good using manual focus and ISO setting at 1600 without flash.

No need to use daytime flash by using D-Lighting system and can be set before taking the photo or make a adjustment after photo taken.
The result is much better quality than the using the Nikon software D-Lighting adjustments.

The only thing I like to have is a 35mm size sensor like D3 model.

The other future did not try yet but I give five stars for the picture quality and true colors.

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I Upgraded from A D50 what an upgrade!

I wanted to upgrade from my D-50 and seriously thought about a D-80 and then when the D-60 came out looked at that. This is more expensive than the D-50 (which I love - but is going to my daughter) or the D-80 or D-60, but what an awesome camera.

The metering system is fantastic. I use it to shoot a lot of sports, high school football games and Yankee games. Its fast, it takes beautiful shots even at night from the outfied.

It also takes every Nikon lens.

What more can you ask for. If upgrading from another Nikon this this is the camera to get.

Bill

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