Nikon D300?

[chip007]

I currently have a Nikon D100 and am thinking of upgrading to a D300. What are your thoughts, good and bad?

 

[handicap18]

The D300 is one of the best camera's out there right now. It has just about all of the features of the Nikon D2Xs which is a $3000 body, in some ways it is an upgrade from the D2Xs. The D100 was a great camera when it came out. There have been A LOT of improvements since the D100's release. Noise control is vastly improved, auto focusing is better and the meter system is better among others. If you can afford it do it. If your happy with the D100 and don't think you've out grown it, then stick with what you have.

I hope to upgrade from my D50 to the D300 at the beginning of next year (need time to save up).

 

[TinksDH]

Do it!!

I hope to upgrade from my D50 to the D300 at the beginning of next year (need time to save up).

Ditto! There are a couple of folks on here who have just upgraded - I expect them to chime in soon!

 

[YesDear]

I currently have the D200. I do not plan to upgrade to the D300. I have played with one and do not see the need for the money. If I had a D100, I would either consider the D300 or a deal on a D200. Still a great camera.

I would give several body parts for a D3. I have a friend who has one and it is nothing but amazing. I am sure the technology will filter down to other models over time.

The problem I have with Digital SLR's, though I understand is that technology is increasing, that the become obsolete before they wear out. I still have my 30 yr old F2 that works as well today as it did then. Just no one uses film anymore!!!

 

[Geoff_M]

The D300 absolutely rocks! My D2h has moved to "emergency use only" status after buying the D300. Read the review on the DPReview web site... it's "dead on".

 

[fitzperry]

Never shot with a D100 so I can't speak to that specifically, but my initial impression after a couple of weeks with a D300 is that it was well worth the upgrade from my trusty D70. The autofocus system is amazing. Metering is much improved. And the high ISO performance rocks. It's not that there is no noise, but the noise I've seen is much finer; I think it looks more like film grain than the splotchy sort of noise I would get with the D70. Also, the D70 tended to lose a lot of detail at high ISO's and the colors really suffered. Not so with the D300. I'm having fun playing with all the custom settings and getting the results I want at least part of the time. It's a substantial expense and there is definitely a learning curve when it comes to getting the most out of it, but the D300 really is a lot of camera for the $$.

 

[chip007]

Thanks folks!!!!

 

[AZ JazzyJ]

I have a D100, a D70x, and a D200 all of which I love. When the D300 came out I really didn't think that it would be that different than the D200 and therefore I would not upgrade. But after playing with one I could see where the D300 really did make sense for my shooting style and type of photography. I love it. Last weekend I spent time at Chase Field shooting the Arizona Diamondbacks versus the Colorado Rockies spring training game. I had the D300 and my daughter was shooting the D100. This was the first time I've really had those two cameras on the same shoot at the same time. She was struggling a little and asked if we could trade cameras for a half inning so that I could check to make sure the D100 was working correctly. Looking back I am not sure that wasn't a ploy by her although she did have some conflicting menu settings that were causing her problems. While the D100 felt great and the controls were in a natural position for me (discounting that no one makes a left-handed camera), I really missed the advanced metering of the D300 and the larger LCD makes it so much easier to check out photos in the field. The real clincher though was the noise reduction. There are some areas of Chase Field that can be filled with shadow requiring the use of a much higher ISO. The D300 performed light years ahead of the D100 (pun intended). There was just no comparison. So for me the D300 was an invaluable upgrade that I am really happy I made. Like Geoff_M, my former favorite camera (in my case the D200) has been relegated to emergency back-up camera and I shoot almost exclusively with the D300.

Not necessarily on topic but related, I took the D300 with a 70-200mm f/2.8 VR lens on Friday to cover the Diamondbacks vs. Rockies. This is my typical lens for the work I do. I was lamenting that this particular lens was making it impossible to shoot some of the new features of Chase Field (in particular the new JumboTron since I could not fit it in the frame from any vantage point I could find). After cursing that I chose to pack light rather than bring a secondary lens I decided that I would try something different at the next game. On Saturday I was back at Chase Field for the Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Monterrey Sultanes (Mexican League Champion) game. For this game I took the 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 VR lens just to see what would happen. The extreme wide angle was great for panoramic shots of the field and was especially helpful for shooting the new high-definition JumboTron but once the game action began the lens just was not fast enough even at high ISO to be my primary lens. So as much as I hoped that I could get away with packing light it looks like I'll be carrying my bag with the 17-55mm f/2.8 and the 70-200mm f/2.8 and I may pick up a 1.7x Teleconverter for catching the reaction of people in the stands that are beyond what I can reach with the telephoto zoom. I'm still happy with the 18-200mm and I can still see where that would be a great walk around and vacation lens. But if anyone is looking at one for sports photography no matter what the sport, that lens may be a challenge if you find yourself shooting in low light or need more depth of field control.

 

[tjl1388]

Single greatest camera I have ever shot with. Like the above poster I would sell a kidney and a half for a D3 but since reality is what it is, the D300 is amazing.

I rented one from borrowedlenses.com for our Feb. trip and it was worth EVERY PENNY!!! The pics are in the link in my sig below.

I suggest renting one before you buy...shoot the daylights out of it for a weekend and go from there.