Nikon D300

Now that the D300 has been out for almost a month, are there any reports of

teething problems, such as the banding issue that cropped up on some early

D200s?

The D300 was first released in the US on November 21, the day before Thanksgiving, so it has been exactly 3 weeks. I have had mine for almost 2 weeks and over 1000 exposures. No problems so far.

You might want to wander around in DPReview's Nikon forum at http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/forum.asp?forum=1039 bearing in mind that there's plenty of chaff among the wheat there. <p>Henry Posner <br><b>B&H Photo-Video</b>

I am sort of underwhelmed with this camera. I have 5 Nikon cameras and all pro lenses so am loyal to the product...but just don't see what the fuss is about. Maybe i got a bum one?

 

D-lighting, I get a orangy color cast in the shadows if there is the slightest warm tone.

 

Some images appear over-sharpened, with those little amoemba type artifacts. I have it set to default sharpening....shoot 14 bit raw with small jpg.

 

Focusing is the same as D200....fast but nothing special. I manual focus most of the time....even in action.

 

fps--i see no difference in the speed. The shutter is not as hair trigger as the D200. The shutter is very loud though compared to other nikons. ( I was shooting and someone asked if I could turn it off like a P&S lol)

 

ISO-- I do see a big improvemnt here....maybe 1-1 1/2 stops.

 

LCD--big improvement

 

File size-- big...in fact I think maybe too big which is why I see artifacts...maybe too much compression in jpgs. With the D200 I could print 24-30 with no problem so not sure 12 mp is needed. There is more detail in these files but artifacty on my screen. In all fairness I haven't printed a large file yet but I trash prints that show any evidence of digital arifacts. I sell prints so am picky.

 

Battery-- it eats them like the D200, which forces me to get a grip...that will set me back another 500.00 with the necessary battery, charger, cap, etc. I was hoping to use this camera to its full potential without a grip.

 

Exposure-- Really good...no blown highlights, but tends on the side of underexposure, wich is easier to work with. The matrix metering seems to work like center weighted at times.

 

I'm reluctant to use this camera as a main body at this point and for now it will be a backup. I've taken 500 shots with it....need to test it more which is frustrating.

 

Workflow-- this could be why I am less than thrilled. I don't want to upgrade to CS3 and have to use NX to open raw files (I do like the D lighting in NX!) but then have to reopen as TIF in CS2 which is very time consuming. Can't imagine doing an event this way.

 

Would i stil have bought it? yes, becuase of the one stop advantage...was tired of shooting at 200 iso and ready to buy a 5D

 

Just my opinion and experience :)

Melanie, if you use the MB-D10 grip, you can get 8 frames/sec on the D300. That is much faster than the D200 and even D2X. And you don't need to spend a lot of money on additional batteries. Simply use 8 AA batteries. I put 8 rechargable AA's there and the cost is like $20 to $30.

 

The D300 is a complex camera with a lot of new AF modes and features, so is the D3. It takes me time to learn how to use it properly. That is why I am only providing limited comments on it. See Thom Hogan's article, Rush to Judgment:

http://www.bythom.com/rush.htm

Different situations could give different focus performance. I have tested D200 vs D300 side by side, and found almost the same focus speed on both cameras, but the D300 more reliable specially at dim light (the D200 needed way more attempts to be in focus).

 

I have recently received my D300, can`t speak more about it. There are some little issues like that "hair" trigger (I agree with Melanie) but I know it`s matter of get used to the new camera.

I dislike the minimum 200 ISO on the D300. I would prefer to have a real 50 ISO setting; I need to use this camera at the studio. But if D300@200ISO results are better than D200@100ISO, no problem.

Shun, you can only get those 8fps with the MB-D10 if you go out and buy the ENEL4 battery, its associated charger and

the special end cap that it would need to fit in the grip. If you have a D2X, that has an ENEL4, but,

you would still need to find and buy the endcap. Myself, I was upgrading from a D200, and the grip can use its ENEL3e

batteries, however, you won't get the same fps. 5 maybe 6 ps at best with those batteries.<p>

 

I also noticed out of the box, the D300 tends to create images that are more sharp and handles contrast much better

than a D200. The loud sound the D300's shutter is consistent with those of the more professional bodies like the

D2X and the D2H.

Hi Kevin,

 

Not sure how your using the grip, but i get 8 frames with double A's

and a battery in the camera.

John - I use an ENEL3e in both the camera and the grip. If you read the manual for the MB-D10 it tells you the same thing about frames per second being optimal on when using an ENEL4 vs the ENEL3e.

<I>Shun, you can only get those 8fps with the MB-D10 if you go out and buy the ENEL4 battery,</I>

<P>

Kevin, unfortunately, you are correcting the right information I provided earlier into wrong information. We have already discussed this very issue several times in this forum. Please check page 408 of the D300 manual:

<P>

<B>Frame advance rate: With optional MB-D10 multi-power battery pack and EN-EL4a/EN-EL4 or AA batteries or with optional EH-5a/EH-5 AC adapter: Up to 7 (Cl) or 8 fps (Ch).</B>

<P>

That is also specified on page 77 in the manual.

<P>

While I already have EN-EL4 batteries from my D2X, I don't have the battery chamber cover BL-3 to use those batteries with. I am getting 8 frames/second with AA batteries on my D300 + MB-D10.

<P>

Keep in mind that you need to choose to use the batteries in the MB-D10 first, before the EL-EL3e inside the D300 itself. That is in custom setting d11 (page 287). If you use the EN-EL3e first, you are maxed out at 6 frames/sec.

In my recent trip to Bosque del Apache, I used the D300 as the main camera body, and the D200 as a backup.

 

Shun is right in saying that this camera is complex and, thus, every change in setting, and any change in component combination (e.g., faster/slower CF card and, I am sure, the MB grip as well), would result in a different feel and/or different output. I did notice that the continuous frame/burst rate was faster than the D200 -- this was especially noticeable when panning the flying geese/sandhill cranes. For this type of fast-action, the effect of the corresponding speed of the CF card (266x vs 150x) was very evident as well.

 

Mary

Getting 8fps is possible using fresh AA's. The menu has to be set to shoot from the MB-D10. This camera shoots as fast as my D2x, if not faster. Plus, it can shoot the 8fps at the full 12mp. Something the D2x is not capable of. The grip is expensive, but worth every penny.

 

This is an awesome camera for $1800. The ability to crop 8 x 10 (5:4)in camera is one of the many features that I like. Out of camera jpegs look much better than those from my D2x. I would say this is some of Nikon's finest work to date.

Attached is page 77 from the D300 manual. So hopefully nobody will provide such wrong information to this forum again.

 

The D300 is indeed extremely responsive. At 8 frames/sec, when I touch the shutter release, frequently I get 2 quick successive frames instead of the 1 I intend. Again, both the D3 and D300 are packed with a lot of new features with thick manuals. Please spend some time to study them first.<div></div>

That's screamin' - 8 to the 3rd FPS.

 

I've had the same problem in Ch - trying to capture one exposure I often get two.

 

To distill down the complexity of this camera I have found the "My Menu" very useful.

AA will work in the grip, but if it is like like the D200 you will get only 1/10 the pictures.

I apologize for the oversight...however, I can't imagine that the 8 fps rate can be sustained very long with that setup. With freshly charged AAs in my MBD200 grip w/ the D200 as power, I typically could get only about 50-100 shots and then they had to be replaced. I can't speak to how long those would last in the MB-D10, however but I would think if the desire was to sustain an 8fps rate, using the ENEL4 would be a more practical solution if you were out taking 500+ pictures at a football or baseball game. Maybe its just me, but I couldn't see bringing a box of AAs with me to use on a photo shoot.

The D200's battery pack/vertical grip the MB-D200 uses 6 AA batteries or 2 EN-EL3e inside. The D300's MB-D10 uses 8 AA's, so that is one major difference. The MB-D10 is made out of metal and is quite heavy fully loaded.

 

Last Saturday, I went out and photographed birds at a local duck pond with my 500mm/f4 AF-S the entire time. In 2 hours I captured about 400 RAW files, filling up an 8G CF card. The 8 AA batteries seemed to have plenty of juice left as far as I could tell. I used 8 2500mAh NiMH rechargables.

That would still mean I would need to obtain and carry with me sixteen AA batteries minimally - 8 primary and 8 backup. On some Sundays in the fall, I have covered 3 and sometimes 4 consecutive football games back to back. That is simply way too demanding to use AA batteries. I just never considered using AA batteries on a professional shoot. I might throw some in my bag for a case of an emergency. For me, it would be more practical to use the ENEL4 to sustain the 8 fps over a long period of time. Which would mean, having to get one ($80), a charger ($120) and the BL-3 chamber cover ($35).

Kevin, may I suggest you to run you own tests before drawing so many conclusions, which seem to be quite inaccurate to me. As I said, I shot 400 images with one set of 8 AA's and the battery indicator was still full. I would imagine that I could have shot a lot more frames with them, but unless I test them, I cannot provide any number.

 

Personally, while I already have 3 EN-EL4 batteries and a charger, I probably will not buy the BL-3 cover because traveling with AA batteries and charger is still a lot easier, as I'll need them for other accessories such as flashes, etc. However, the EN-EL4(a) batteries do last a long time. Once I tried it in a similar situation on my D2X over 2 days and perhaps 1000 shots, the indicator was like half full, but of course the D2X is a totally different camera.

my experiences with AA batteries have not been as favorable as your experience suggests. i personally will not not use them. i also would not have the time to charge so many.

D300 camera of the year against stiff competition...

 

http://www.popphoto.com/cameras/4857/the-camera-of-the-year-2007.html

 

I'm in love with mine.

 

As Shun stated, it's a complex cam and is VERY customizable. It's not for the feint hearted

who doesn't want to get their hands dirty and try out the many customizable options.

 

Good luck with your decision.

If anyone shoots 4 football games in a day I would think this person is a pro therefor

expending 235 USD in the option parts is just part of the trade. The camera is a tool and

and having the right tool makes the job easy and better. for other people does it make a

big difference shooting 6 fps or 9 fps? if it doesn't I don't see the problem but if it is really required just buy the optional parts and don't complain too much about it.

 

Myself i don't see really what the big fuss is about this camera. I don't have one so maybe

that is why but if you really want to know the cons of the D300 & D3 wait until the

replacements of these 2 cameras come out and then you will be hearing how the new

cameras are much better than these 2!

 

thank you! Rene'

The D300 is perceptibly faster at both focusing and fps than the D200 even without the MB-D10 (which I haven't purchased yet, but it's on the list of things I want). The shutter does require a firmer touch than with the D200; that may be a good thing once you get used to it as it helps to prevent accidental actuations. I need to go back and look at what the D200 can do using its "Dynamic-area with closest subject priority" AF mode compared to using the D300 with its "Auto-area AF"; but it appears that the D300 is a vast improvement in capturing birds in flight that had previously eluded me using the D200.

 

I just did some testing tonight and I took 544 shots and used about 25% of the battery -- so the camera does appear to use half as much juice as the D200. I prefer not to lug a grip around on the camera when I'm not using it for sports and in need of the 8 fps; so a better solution for me is to just pack extra EN-EL3e batteries (which are much cheaper and reasonably convenient; I find that swapping batteries is no more of a hassle than changing CF cards).

 

The D300 has a smaller buffer than the D200, but much faster write times. By setting the D300 to 5 fps (the same as the maximum fps for the D200) I got 14 shots shooting in 12 bit RAW before the buffer was full using my less than state of the art CF card, whereas my D200 went just over one second longer and stuttered at 20-21 RAW shots. However, pressing the shutter down continuously for 1 minute I got 66 shots with the D300 (using compressed 12 bit files) compared to 48 shots with the D200 (using compressed RAW files). The write speed for the D300 using the CF card I have works out to about 14 MB per second compared to just under 5 MB per second for the D200. Bottom line is that the D200 has a longer continuous burst and both cameras can accomplish about ten 1 second bursts every minute (D300 @ 6.5 fps and 12 MP; D200 @ 5 fps and 10 MP).<div></div>

rene' villela - you are missing the point, which is, people who are upgrading from the D200 who have ENEL3e batteries and think they only have to buy the D300 and its associated grip and voila they get 8 fps will be disappointed to learn they also have to go out and buy the ENEL4 battery, its charger and end cap to get that. Or charge a stack of AA batteries.