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Any Major Nikon D300 Defects? (When will Nikon fix the d300)


alex_p._schorsch

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I was decided to buy a d300 but have been reading a lot of horror stories

abbout "depleted battery syndrome" and wobbly mounts. It seems that the d300

has some intrinsic design flaws. I can't recall of any other camera generating so

many problem. What is the general opinion about this camera? Do you think that

Nikon will launch a new d300b with modifications solving the problems? Should I

wait to buy or just go back to Canon?

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Can you establish that these are problems in significant numbers for D300s? I haven't had any trouble so far with mine. The mount has been fine, and the battery life has been excellent. I've heard that some folks have had a battery issue specifically when using the 70-200VR lens, which I don't own, but aside from some complaint threads on dpreview, I haven't seen it discussed much.
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I'm not sure what planet you're living on, but here on earth, there has hardly been any other digital SLR that has received as much acclaim as the D300 ever (except for the much more expensive Nikon D3). To quote from the conclusion of the test at dpreview.com: "There's simply no better semi-professional digital SLR on the market."

 

Don't believe anything you read on the internet.

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I'm sure in every thousand units sold there must be 1 with a problem but so far there is nothing that can be generalize as a major problem. Batteries are a complete different story from the cameras.

 

About horror stories I've never heard even 1 so far.

 

About a new model, most probably YES a D400 in about 2 years and everybody will be waiting for it!

 

Rene'

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If you can't believe anything you read on the internet, you should maybe not believe all the acclaim given to the d300. I was sold on this camera and it seemed to be my "dream camera". Seeing as though I live on the PLANET EARTH, I have seen so many complaints of d300 camera failure that I am now having misgivings as to whether I should invest a few thousand dollars in this system.
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I have had absolutely no problems of any kind with my D300.

 

In early January, I put mine away after shooting with it for 4 weeks in Japan with batteries in the base. They did not need to be recharged during the time I used them (the weather was cold) and I do use the 70 - 200 VR. Four weeks ago, I got the camera out to prepare for a trip and the batteries still showed a full charge. The mount is solid.

 

You tend to only hear from the exceptional few who have a problem. The hundreds of thousands of us who don't, don't run through the streets shrieking, "eureka! I have no problems."

 

Conni

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Of course, beware of the dreaded "Bristle Syndrome", or getting slivers from a wobbly handle.

 

If I read correctly, you say you already have purchased one. If you are not experiencing the "problems" you describe, what the heck is your beef? The D300 is an exceptional camera, extremely well-built. Attached is a jpeg I shot with a D300 over the Atlantic Ocean last week. Normally I use a Pentax 67 for these, but there was too much turbulence in the air. The D300 created awesome results, and handled every difficult situation a threw at it.

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No problems with mine and it lives with the MB D10 on it. I do not find the base to be wobbly at all.

And I guess you don't remember the banding problems of the D200 and the wobbly battery grip. Or how about the AF problems that canon has had with the 1Ds mark what ever?

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You're right - DON'T buy the D300. Go back to Canon.

 

Maybe if there are enough people like yourself who believe that it isn't a great camera - the price will go down when I buy another D300!

 

IMHO - the D300 is one of the BEST purchases that we have ever made for our photography business! Not a single problem here. Fantastic images all the way up to ISO 3200 - excellent battery life - and the best automatic white balance I have ever seen on a DSLR. We are already planning on buying another one to replace our second body (D200).

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Alex, I was hesitant at first before I bought my D300. I finally gave in after trying one out for myself. My camera is absolutely perfect in every way! It has operated flawlessly (I have taken close to 20,000 images) and I am getting better results than I ever expected. I am especially pleased with the speed and accuracy of the auto focus system.

 

I have found most problems reported are usually operator error. Obviously not every camera fabricated by Nikon is perfect, but one or two bad apples do not spoil the whole bunch.

 

 

I believe the "depleted battery syndrome" occurs when EN-EL4(a) generic batteries are used - generics don't work.

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Alex, I'm not sure if you noticed- but people tend to complain more than give credit. So it usually seems that you'll see more negative comments, simply because those who are really satisfied with their equipment- don't write about it on 5 different forums...

 

And adding to Jorgen comment: don't trust everything on the web. At the same time DPReview is very reliable source on info, which I would definitely say-you can trust them.

 

That's just my opinion.

Good luck with your choices!

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I havent got a D300 and dont plan to buy one as my budget is low :-(.

However from what I have read,this is about the best dslr made by Nikon up to date.

So many great innovations and improvements on earlier models.It has to be a winner !

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Alex, I don't use JD Powers as a guide for anything. I believe Nikon is making approx 70k units per month. I suspect most of these are in use. How many complaints have you documented. Are they by different users. Is it a user error? I do believe people will complain about something but hardly ever praise anything. Just like the news, its not want gets attention. I felt good enough about Nikon and B&H to buy a used D200 last year (I am very happy with it). If you buy a new D300 from a good source and do have any problems I have no doubt that the store and or Nikon will make it good. It seems to me they have a long term plan to stay in business making cameras etc while making money.
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I really like my D300 but I was wondering and this may be in another thread about typical battery consumption with the use of two EN-EL3es

 

I have the battery grip the MB-D10. I have notice that after I charge the batteries and start to use the camera that very shortly the charge indicator decrease by one bar. After shooting with it for like 6 to 8 hours I am down to one bar. Is that pretty normal? I am not using live view or VR for the most part. I just know when I had a canon with the grip it never left full charge for days so I really don't have any other comparison . So I thought I would ask people that use it. Also is there another more powerful battery grip that takes different batteries for this model??

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"I can't recall of any other camera generating so many problem(s)."

 

Seriously? There were many, many, many more problems with the D2H and D70 releases. There were even well documented issues with early D80s that Nikon acknowledged.

 

Not to mention the issues with the new Canon 1D Mk.III and focusing problems. The Leica M8 had some severe issues (and still does).

 

Compared to any of the above, the D300 has received hardly a single mention of a problem.

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I have a couple friends with D300 and they love them; a matter of time before I make the plunge.

 

The price is coming down too. I saw the body with the 18 - 200 for $2,100 on Cameta Camera's ebay store and they have other comination kits to include battery grip, spare battery, etc.

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I got mine the day it was released, the Wednesday before Thanksgiving if I'm not wrong. As for the mount - - it's a solid as any mount I've worked with from Nikon since 1981 or is it 1980. I have no concerns with my mount & that's important to me with the big & heavy lenses I work with. Granted I know to handle my camera by the lens when I use the big lenses.

 

Battery issues. Well, I have to admit.... While I only used my first big pro battery in the grip I had no issues. Since I started working with the second battery I do evey now & then have the camera tell me a new battery's dead. I just turn the camera off & on again - - and it goes back to working like nothing has happened. I figure it's when I've managed to partially unscrew the grip so the contacts aren't 100%.

 

Past that - - the D300 is an amazing camera. Metering system is superior, sharpness is superior, speed, color, & handling is superior & just so that we have it clear.... In one week last week I took at least 2000 shots - - I'm well past 5000 shots on this camera which is where another shooter is running around on all the boards saying they break down. I just checked - - I have 11,103 actuations already on the camera - - it's a marvel to behold to me.

 

I'd personally say I have no issues with the camera & if fixing it means a new model..... Well, I guess Nikon can do that when they're ready to. At this point I know of nothing to be fixed on the D300 - - - So keep your hands off mine. ;)

 

JMHO

 

Lil ;-)

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