Anyone own a Nikon D300?

[AbbyPan]

A friend of mine really wants to upgrade to the D300. Any of you experts know the advantages/disadvantages of this camera?

Also, I saw there's a d700 out and I'm wondering is it just worth it to wait for that $$ to go down?

A couple of friends were thinking to chip in and help him get the camera, since he's pretty good, but I'm a dummy when it comes to all the photo lingo and would love to get some good advice from the experts.

Thanks for any help you can give!

 

[drcandon]

The D300 is a great camera, and as a DX sensor camera it is probably near the top of the heap...( as compared to Canon or Sony- also good cameras)

The D700 is an FX or full sensor camera and as such can use DX style lenses but functions at full form with FX lenses ( usually more expensive)..

There are a few really good sites like Digital Camera review, Thom Hogans etc etc that have indepth reviews for both.

There are enough similarities and differences between the two that don't allow for easy comparison. It is probably better to compare the d700 and the d3 and the D300 and the D200.

Read the reviews from the experts then form and opinion based on exactly what this person wants to do with a camera..

There really is "getting too much camera"..

I still shoot with an older D70 as well and still get some amazing shots from that one.

 

[AbbyPan]

Awesome, thank you!

Right now he has a Nikon D40 and is really trying to get rid of it. The way he explained it is, that the new Nikons are much easier to use and the quality is even better, specifically the D300.

 

[drcandon]

If he is coming from a D40..has he considered the D90..it is getting some great reviews ..it has most of the "guts" of the D300..is a lot lighter and smaller..it has a plastic internal body as compared to the metal on of the D300/700, but as all reviewers have said, Nikon has done a very good job sealing this body as compared to the older Nikons...just a thought...

 

[dmccarty]

I bought a D200 and sold all my film cameras( ). Kinda painful selling them but it was time to move on.

I'm very happy with the D200. Uses all of my "old" film lenses. The FX sensor has its good points and has its bad points. Just depends on what you need and are doing. For me the good and bad just wash out.

I want the D700 because of the ability to take great photos at high ISO settings. I have taken 800 speed film and pushed it to 1600. Not real pretty. UGLY. But the light was so bad that is what had to happen to even try to get the photos. A 1600 or even 3200 ISO setting with the D700 seems to produce good photos from what I have seen on some of the photo web sites. There is a site where you can compare the same photo taken with different cameras. The difference between the D200 and the D700 at higher ISO settings was very obvious to me.

I'll get a D700 one day. As soon as I have enough money and the price drops.

Later,
Dan

 

[AbbyPan]

Oh you guys are making me laugh

I have to read the "Photography for dummies" book to understand some of the photo lingo, seriously.

Anyway, I think my friend wants to go pro and so I think that's why he's bent on getting the D300. I have to say that reading your advice, I may get the D70 for myself, lol. Right now I've just been using a canon powershot that we've had for the past 2 years and I think its time we get something with more features...we've got many Disney trips ahead of us.


Dmccarty- i hear ya. When i first saw the price I almost fell off my chair.

 

[My2Girls66]

Oh you guys are making me laugh

I have to read the "Photography for dummies" book to understand some of the photo lingo, seriously.

Anyway, I think my friend wants to go pro and so I think that's why he's bent on getting the D300. I have to say that reading your advice, I may get the D70 for myself, lol. Right now I've just been using a canon powershot that we've had for the past 2 years and I think its time we get something with more features...we've got many Disney trips ahead of us.


Dmccarty- i hear ya. When i first saw the price I almost fell off my chair.

Once your friend gets his new camera you may be able to get a D40 cheap

 

[H.E. Pennypacker]

As others have said, the big difference between the D300 and the D700 is the DX-sized sensor versus a full-frame (FX), 35mm equivalent sensor. There are advantages/disadvantages of each. Advantages - true wide and ultra wide-angle lenses. Put a 15mm on a D700 and it's still 15mm. Disadvantages could be on the long end. Put a 300mm on a D700 and it's still 300mm. Put it on a D300 and it's now 450mm (in 35mm equivalents) thanks to the 1.5x crop factor. But, you could make the argument that you could just crop the 300mm image from the D700 in post processing, and voila, it looks just like the 450mm image from the D300.

For me, I went with the D700 as an upgrade to my D70s because I had more "full-size" 35mm lenses from my film Nikon N90s than I did DX lenses from my D70s. You can put a DX lens on a D700, but it automatically crops the sensor, so you go from 12.1 megapixels down to around 6. Kind of defeats the purpose of a full-frame sensor. So, if you have a D40 and a lot of DX glass, you should probably look at the D300 or D90.