D700 vs D300

[dan_south]

<p>James, as you can see there are strong arguments either way. It comes down to a personal choice. I like full-frame cameras, personally, but I'm a relatively large person with large hands and I had plenty of full-frame compatible lenses left over from my F100. Even so, I have considered purchasing a DX camera (perhaps a D90) to carry for the extra reach when it's warranted. My D700 is far superior to my old D200, but they're also from two generations of technology. The D300s is a far better camera than the D200, and it also enables you to shoot video and use two memory cards simultaneously - very useful features in my humble opinion.</p>

<p>Hopefully, you can spend some time with both cameras before you have to make a purchase decision.</p>

[jack_larson1]

<p>I have both cameras. If I were a wildlife photographer, I would go with the D300.</p>

[tholte]

<p>"Just as a counter-point for those are pointing towards the D300 direction, I wonder why Art Wolf continues to use the FF cameras for his nature works, including birds and wildlife." Pretty simple answer, he makes a lot of money doing what he does and can afford the best lenses Nikon has to offer so he really doesn't need a D300 for the longer reach. Nikon also gives him a lot of equipment to use and pays him to use it. If James or any of us had that kind of gig, I think we would all get a D3S or D3X and get the long tellies to go along with it.</p>

[eric_arnold]

<blockquote>

<p>I am afraid that the only thing you have demonstrated is that it is completely possible to produce unsharp images with an expensive camera such as the D3.</p>

 

</blockquote>

<p>ouch.</p>

<p>as for myself, i wonder about the wisdom of shooting both cameras at ISO 3200, where the D3 has a clear advantage. i would think at lower ISOs the differences would only be apparent if printing extra large.</p>

 

[2dhouse]

<p>DX Please. No brainer! Shun has said it ALLLLLL every point needed to make, wildlife = outdoors = great lighting = no need for high ISO etc.. D300s gives that awesome range no brainer. I use a D3, D3s, and I have my D300 always handy for a sports shot that's out of reach of the FX sensors.. the crop makes no sense when all you want is reach, in fact when shooting sports I tend to have a mid-range zoom on the D3s and a telephoto on the D300 so as to be sure to take advantage of that extra boost in range whenever I can. My events tend to be outdoors so I can happily say that not only would a D80 give me the ISO I need, but the D300 is easily more than enough ;).</p>

<p>Not a question about money, it's all just mathematics.</p>

<p>Dave</p>

[peter_lawrence]

<p>And one more advantage of a D300 or D300s over a D700 is that the D300(s) have a 100% viewfinder like a D3(s). The D700 does not. Once you use a DSLR with a 100% viewfinder, you won't want to use one with anything less.</p>

<p> </p>

[kiatchun_sin]

<p>Shun: Using flash in the dark does help (at times, depends on what the subject)... but flash is not the ultimate solution itself. There are plenty of obstacles along the way, and shadows can be problematic. How far can a flash go anyway? You can't make the jungle into a studio. Maybe in the zoo, you can.</p>

<p>You can bring as many artificial lighting equipments into the wild life (depends how much you can afford to pay ppl to help you carry / protect your equipments) but in the jungle, mobility is another issue to consider. Don't forget, photography equipments are not the only things you want to carry with you in the wildlife.</p>

<p>Animals in general, don't like flash. They don't behave NATURALLY when flash is used. You can probably try, but it's probably a one-off shot, before they begin to behave unnaturally to protect their herd/family, run away, or even charge back and attack you.</p>

<p>DX has some advantages, but FX also has its place. The OP has not mentioned in detail, what type of wild life he intends to shoot besides birds. Is it worms, insects, wild cats, lions or elephants or frogs? Wild life photographers normally bring both DX & FX with them.</p>

[steve_phillipps]

<p>Agreed DX for wildlife - you never seem to have enough reach.<br>

Having said that, for anything else full frame is so nice - and in use I find the D3 for instance to be on a different planet to the D300s - don't know why, it's just so much nicer to use.<br>

Steve</p>

 

[ShunCheung]

<p>Kiatchun, just about every good wildlife photographer uses flash in jungles. I suggest you do some research on this subject.</p>

<p>And I'll repeat again, the D700 merely gives you one extra stop of high ISO results over the D300. I have both cameras and have also tested the D3S, which gives you yet another stop, but even with the D3S you'll still need to use flash when the quality of available light is too poor.</p>

<p>I in fact use both formats. However, in this case the OP needs to choose between the D300 and D700. But once the OP mentions birds, the choice becomes obvious.</p>

[sandor_a._feher]

<p>I have both. For wildlife go for the D300. You need the 1/2X multiplier.</p>

[arthuryeo]

<p>Shun said:</p>

<blockquote>

<p>Keep in mind that Canon never had an APS-C sensor DSLR similar to the D300/D300S until just a few months ago, namely the 7D. Since its introduction, the 7D has been very popular among wildlife photographers that use Canon.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Correct me if I am wrong but I thought every other EOS DSLR are cropped sensors except the 1Ds and 5D, albeit they may not be exactly APS-C size.</p>

 

[ShunCheung]

<p>Arthur, all Canon DSLRs except for the 1D, 1DS and 5D series use APS-C size sensors. I used the term APS-C instead of DX on purpose since the Canon sensor for those cameras is slightly smaller than 16x24mm for Nikon. The Canon 1.6x and Nikon 1.5x are all considered APS-C formats.</p>

<p>My point was that prior to the 7D, which was introduced in the fall of 2009, Canon never had any APS-C sensor DSLR that could achieve 8 frames/sec and with Canon's top-of-the-line AF. Therefore serious sports and wildlife photographers tend to use 1D and 1DS series cameras. The addition of the 7D has somewhat changed the picture though. I noticed that a lot of wildlife photographers using Canon are now using the 7D, confirming that a lot of people prefer the samll sensor for wildlife photography.</p>

 

[james_dunbar]

<p>Thank you all for your advice. You all have been most helpful. I think I will go with the D300 all things considered.</p>

[ShunCheung]

<p>James, we are glad to help. Would you consider a D300S instead of a D300? I think video capability and dual memory cards are desirable advantages to have.</p>

[james_dunbar]

<p>Yeah I was going to go for the D300s. Keep me from getting new memory cards.</p>