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Release Date
23 August, 2007
Product ID
44849801
Product Description
Introducing the D300 — A new 12.3 effective-megapixel DX-format CMOS image sensor, Nikon's original EXPEED digital image processing concept, Scene Recognition System and the new Picture Control System advance all aspects of system performance.
The Nikon D300 is a 12.3 megapixel high-end digital SLR designed to meet the needs of the advanced amateur and professional photographer. Nikon has positioned the D300 as both the class-leading DX body and a smaller companion body to the new D3 full-frame digital SLR. In the tradition of the F-series film camera bodies that made Nikon a household name, the D300 offers all of the features of a professional body at a fantastic price.
Strengths: Solid mag alloy body feels like a tank.
Nicely balanced ergonomic design handles well on long shoots.
WB-QUAL-ISO mode button is superb and better than the analog mode dials of other cameras.
Weaknesses: Memory Bank A, B, C, D.
For your piece of mind and sanity, forget about these. Don't even go there.
This is the equivalent of the C1 and C2 of the Canon mode and the equivalent of the U1 and U2 in the D7000.
But in the D300, everytime you change a setting, the whole bank changes to that setting! There is NO WAY you can LOCK a setting you have arranged!
Just use the A banks and forget about the rest.
Nikon should come out with a firmware patch to totally remove this Banks because it just creates confusion and frustration.
Bottom Line:
Basically a great all around camera camera to use for a long time as it has all the features one will ever need for the next 5 to 7 years sans the video mode.
It is the body of a D700 with the Full Frame sensor taken out and replaced by a 1.5 cropped APS sensor.
Love the sound of the graflex like snap of the reflex mirror. Estimated to let you hear that sound for at least over 150,000 times.
Strengths: Megapixels! I know it is more expensive than the D200 like the review above said, but the beauty is you can crop out so much 'noise' and blow up your cropped picture to a 10x14 or 16x20 without losing anything. Continuous shooting with a battery pack you can shoot 7-9 shots a second. I bought a DVD on the 'how toos' of the camera and once you get familiar with it, you will want to hold it all day.
Weaknesses: It is a bit heavy... Specially on summit day!
Bottom Line:
I took this beast up to the top of North America. Yes, all the way up to 20,320feet on top of Mount Mckinley and I am going to photograph a wedding in 3 weeks. From -40F to capturing a couple's love... this camera has rocked my world. I love it.
Strengths: 6 frames per second, ISO 1600 is moderately clean, can auto-focus AF-S as well as non AF-S lenses, can meter off of all sorts of lenses, easy user menus, sturdy billed, water resistant, fantastic battery life, and well built.
Weaknesses: The D300s has a dedicated LiveView button. Doesn't matter much to me, but that would be nice. Also, the focus points when looking through the view finder of the D300s seem better placed and slightly more accurate. On the d-pad on the back of the camera, the D300s has an "ok" button smack in the middle of the d-pad that I really wish the D300 had. Guess I should upgrade sometime soon? Lastly, on my body in particular, I've found that sometimes my M, S, C switch will wander or creep from "S" to "M". I usually pick up on this right away, and it's not the end of the world, but it's happened a few times.
Bottom Line:
I love this camera. I purchased it used in late 2009 from a private party who absolutely babied it. It was, and still is, in immaculate condition. The controls are perfect, the body fits in my hand "like a glove", and everything is easy to reach, easy to adjust. The camera takes awesome photographs, with usable ISO's up to 1250 or, in some circumstances, 1600, although I wouldn't go much higher than that.
I bought a nikon d300 camera from www.glad-shopping.com about a week or two ago and have so far been very pleased.The camera is a bit heavier, but you're moving into a more solid body compared to the intros and even the middle grade D90. The ability to use remote flashes and take easily 6fps shots without thinking is wonderful. The 3D tracking system if you adjust the autofocus refresh time is amazing.
Strengths: AF works well once you understand your settings. Sturdy/pro level results. Nice preview screen.
Weaknesses: AF is very hard to understand with all kinds of options which seem silly to me. Simplify it so that we can immediately get the idea. Pre-flash does not work with all settings nor does your focus point become visible at all settings. Menu seems overly complex and not intuitive. I don't trust the meter because I don'rt know what the Matrix is really doing. Therefore, I use an external meter and I leave the camera on M. The built in meter seems handy but you must learn to make tweaks with it for best results.
Bottom Line:
I moved up from a pair of D70s digital bodies to a pair of D300 bodies and I am glad that I did. This camera has a nice preview screen, the AF works better and I get better results with the SB-800 flash units. Higher ISO is also better as well as more dynamic range. I shoot everything in Nikon NEF. I import to Adobe Lightroom, tweak a few settings and I am good to export as JPG.
This camera handles well for my small hands and it has all of the features I need and more. I always shoot with the camera in M for control. I tweak my fill flash using the SB-800 with the D300 in M and I know what the camera is going to do. The camera will not over ride my tweaks when in M mode.
This camera was a lot of money for me but for the weddings it shines. I like the DX crop factor, being a people photographer, and it works well at the darker receptions. I never used Live View at all nor active D lighting because I don't need it. I don't use the fastest cards either and the camera writes fast enough for me to get a short burst if necessary without the SB-800 flash. Battery life is just fine. I carry a spare with me, even taking it to the beach.
Make no mistake about it. This is a pro levelcamera to me. Get a hand held meter and use it for consistent results.
