Is the Nikon d300s right for my needs?

[adam_nash2]

Hello all,

 

I have been doing some considerable research on the net and there are many comparisons between the Nikon d300s vs d7000. Whilst

the D7000 seems to have to he slight edge on IQ, dynamic range and ISO sensitivity I have actually not managed to find any side-by-side

image comparisons. I have just bought the d300s along with an 18 - 200 Nikkor lens for an upcoming trip to Chile where I will be shooting

fast moving wildlife as well as high ISO shots of the night sky/ sunrise/ sunset. I believe I got a good deal on the setup $1700 with

additional battery and grip but I'm now wondering should I sell the body and get the d7000.

 

I am by no means a pro and this is my only camera so it needs to earn its place. The d7000 seems to have the edge on IQ but will I

REALLY notice it?

[Two23]

<p>For fast moving wildlife, you made the right decision. For the night stuff, you will get by. If you really want to get into night stuff, get a Sigma or Tamron 18-50mm f2.8. I'm a night shooter and have been using the D300 for years, and now also a D5100 (same sensor as D7000.) the D5100 handles night a little better, but the d300 handles fast AF better than the D5100's improvement with night shots. We all await a D400.</p>

<p>Kent in SD</p>

[kohanmike]

<p>When I decided to buy a new camera, I looked at the D7000 and D300s, but when I saw that the D7000 had the dial on the top left that I so often bumped on my D70s at just the wrong time, and that the D300s has a faster frame rate, autofocus, and bigger buffer, I didn't think about it, I went for the D300s. I find it to be excellent at ISO 1600, and it's definitely fast, where I used to miss shots with the D70s, I get far more keepers now. I couldn't be happier. I actually bought two refurbs for $1250 US each to replace my two D70s bodies, I shoot events and concerts. (Kent, isn't it a 17-50 f/2.8.)</p>

[elliot1]

<p>You can view side-by-side comparison shots here:</p>

<p><a href="http://www.imaging-resource.com/IMCOMP/COMPS01.HTM">http://www.imaging-resource.com/IMCOMP/COMPS01.HTM</a></p>

<p><em>"...</em><em>but will I REALLY notice it?"</em> Unless you are making poster size prints or doing extreme crops, probably not. And even then, the differences would not very noticeable.<br>

<br>

The 18-200mm is a good general purpose lens. Whether it is the best choice for "fast moving wildlife" depends on how far you will be from the subjects and how large the prints you make will be. And how critical you are. Keep in mind that 200mm may not quite long enough for wildlife unless you are really close to the animal. You may want to consider a second lens, a 300mm or 400mm lens. What will you be shooting and how far away will you be from your subjects?</p>

<p>Also, for low light shooting, you may want to consider a fast aperture prime lens, like a 35mm f1.8 or 50mm f1.8. These will help you keep your ISO lower and give you improved results.</p>

[Wouter Willemse]

<p>The D7000 is markedly better at high ISOs. On the other hand, the AF on the D300 is better, but the 18-200 will mostly eliminate that difference... it's no speed demon in any way. So, maybe you should reconsider more which lens you need, rather than the body.</p>

[CvhKaar]

<blockquote>

<p> high ISO shots of the night sky/ sunrise/ sunset<br>

Also, for low light shooting, you may want to consider a fast aperture prime lens, like a 35mm f1.8 or 50mm f1.8. These will help you keep your ISO lower and give you improved results.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Hmm, how will a fast lens help for these subjects ?<br>

In my thinking these subjects are not realy shot "wide Open" <br>

- Tthe night sky will require longer exposure anyway, wide open will not give you the sharpest stars ( unless using a nokt nikkor) <br>

- Sunrise / susnset wide open is also problemating, no DOF, and loads of flair /CA, and risk of overexposing ( if the sun is in the shot anyways) . </p>

<p>Not saying fast lenses are bad or useless , au contraire, but not to buy for speciffically these subjects i would think..</p>

<p> </p>

[elliot1]

<p>CPM, I was referring to general LOW LIGHT shooting where a fast lens to keep the ISO down is always preferred by me over a slow lens and high ISO regardless of the camera body. I wasn't referring specifically to shooting situations that would require long exposures and camera support of some kind. In any case, I believe both the 35mm f1.8 and 50mm f1.8 will render better/sharper results when stopped down a bit over the 18-200mm. Whether you would see a difference or not depends on print size and technique.</p>

[adam_nash2]

Some great guidance here.

 

I have read that some people are find the wheel on the left hand side of the D7000 a disturbing deal breaker although my

thought on this was that having not had built up any habits it could be something easily avoided.

 

I will be shooting elephant seals from 1m away to circling condors way overhead and everything in between I guess. As

well as watfall sunsets etc.

 

I hear the advice on more specific and less generic lenses but after the purchase of the body and trip itself an all rounder

will have to do me on this one. Make the most of it by knowing its strengths and constraints.

 

Elliott, thanks for the site. From these images it really does seem the D7000 handles better and better as the ISO rises. I

would presume this is invaluable with night shots of the sky? Is there any way to pull the best out of the D300S in similar

situations withe a generic lens or is it wishful thinking and time to sell?

[ShunCheung]

<blockquote>

<p>I will be shooting elephant seals from 1m</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Adam, that is way way too close for photographing elephant seals. You will be putting totally unnecessary stress on the seals and potentially they can bite you as well. I would stay at least 5 meters away from elephant seals, if not farther.</p>

<p>The 18-200 super zoom would not be my choice as a wildlife lens. For one thing it is too short and too slow. It happens that the 18-200 was one of the lenses I had with me on South Georgia Island in late 2009, and in some occasions I used it to photograph elephant seals. It is very easy for me to pick out seal images captured with the 18-200 vs. the 70-200 or 200-400 because the ones with the 18-200 all have some color cast. I think it may be related to chromatic aberration on the long end.</p>

<p>For DX, I have upgraded from a D300 to a D7000 due to the D7000's superior high-ISO capability, and some extra pixels help a bit also. I do compromise on the buffer size and frame rate. Like Kent, I am also waiting for the successor to the D300S.</p>

[Two23]

<p>The 18-200mm will be OK as a general purpose travel lens. It will work for the seals (and I agree about backing off a little from these large animals.) The lens will work for sunset and night sky shots, but not excel. For condors in the sky all you will get are tiny blurs though. The reason we mention specific lenses is that it is the lens that determines what you can photo, and how well. You always start with what you want to photo, then pick lenses that will do that. You generally start thinking of lenses first, then camera. To photo condors up in the sky, the lens you'd need is very expensive.</p>

<p>Kent in SD</p>

[elliot1]

<p><em>"</em><em>...pull the best out of the D300S"</em> Shoot RAW, or at least RAW/JPG and get yourself some good image processing software.</p>

[adam_nash2]

Ha ha, yes I should probably clarify the elephant seal comment. They are actually in a town called Valdevia, they swim

upstream and harass fishermen at a local fish market so the local authorities have put up a railing the length of the

waterway to stop the torment (to the fishermen). I discovered it last year and was a great surprise.

 

Again I full appreciate your advice on the lenses but I'm going to have to start somewhere. Moving forward with more

pennies in the bank I surely will be purchasing more specific lenses tailored to the exact job in hand. However I believe I

have extracted the information that I was after. It appears I might be better off swapping for the D7000 as it seems to

better suite my needs.

[joseph_smith3]

<p>I think your choice of camera, the D 300s is excellent for the reasons already mentioned. However, I think you need to rethink your lens choice(s). I would recommend a 70-200mm f 2.8 for its excellent image quality and faster AF. Plus you can add a 1.4x tc to it extending its focal length. My wide angle zoom for my D 300s is the Nikon 16-85mm DX lens. And my low light (indoor) lens is the 35mm f 1.8 DX lens. Its AF is very fast and its image quality is superb. Another lens to consider is a 70-300mm lens, either one of the Nikons or the Tamron SP 70-300mm.<br>

Joe Smith</p>

[Peter_in_PA]

<p>The 18-200 for wildlife? Decidedly no.</p>

<p>That said, stay under 100 or 120mm and stay at f8 and you'll get usable stuff.</p>

[adam_nash2]

Joe I think your kit suggestions are bang on for my needs and I might be just be able to push the budget to accommodate

an extra lens if I sell the 18-200mm.

 

I think the 70-200 could work well with the 35mm f 1.8 for Chile.

 

Again are these still a better buy on the D300s rather than the D7000. I know I keep returning to the same old point but I

feel I have got it wrong once so I just want to be doubly sure to get it right next time around. With a bit of planning it need

not even be an expensive mistake.

[tsypkin]

<p>The 70-200 mm is a great lens, but do you want to carry it around? It weight 3.39 lb (1.54 kg) -- and if it is stolen, you've lost more than $2,000.</p>

[panayotis_papadopoulos]

<p>Which type of format you use mainly during shooting? If it is jpg then D7000 is your choice. If you're looking for fast action the D300s is better. High ISO of interest? Low light handheld photography? D7000 is your answer<br>

Better and faster AF? D300s is the answer. Printing big or need high resolution images...get the D7000. Interested in fps?...get the D300s. Finally D300s is less demanding "on glass" than the D7000. Pick your poison, the decision is yours, good luck!</p>

[owen_omeara]

<p>I own a d300 and a d7000. Initially I favored the d300 because of its size and weight. I use a 17-55 2.8 and the camera counter balanced it weight better than the d7000 did. As I got used to the feel of the d7000 in my hands I shifted in that direction and I almost never use the d300 now. I agree that the autofocus on the d300 is a bit better but the image quality I get with the 7000 and its much superior high ISO performance have moved the d300 to the backup position in my bag. <br>

If you treat your cameras roughly then the d300 is a better bet. Its build is superior.<br>

They are both great cameras but I favor the 7000.</p>

<p>-O</p>

[ted_raper1]

<p>Shun, I also use a D300 (not the S) and am patiently waiting for its replacement. I know you are bound by the Nikon NDA, but do you by chance have any predictions, or a rough idea, of when the D300s replacement will come out? I love my D300, but have already decided to stick with DX equipment and likely will replace the D300 with its successor. </p>

[adam_nash2]

<p>So I have decided to sell my D300s in favour of the D7000 which in time i presume i may replace with the fabled D400 at some point when and if it lands.<br>

So a new question arises with able to start afresh with my predetermined goal already outlined earlier. What lens will get the best out of the D7000's increased pixel density. Unfortunatley breaky the bank with a +$2k zoom lens isnt really an option.</p>

[ShunCheung]

<blockquote>

<p>Shun, I also use a D300 (not the S) and am patiently waiting for its replacement. I know you are bound by the Nikon NDA, but do you by chance have any predictions, or a rough idea, of when the D300s replacement will come out? I love my D300, but have already decided to stick with DX equipment and likely will replace the D300 with its successor.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Actually I am currently not under any Nikon NDA, so I can post whatever I think, but that also means I have no insider information, just personal opinions.</p>

<p>As we know, Nikon can no longer sell any EN-EL3-based cameras inside Japan since November, 2011 due to a Japanese safety regulation change. Therefore, it was obvious that both the D700 and D300S should have been replaced before that, but the earthquake in Japan and flood in Thailand delayed everything.</p>

<p>Clearly Nikon's priorities for 2012 are to get the D4 out for the Olympics, which has a fixed schedule and the D800 is also out. Since Nikon announced the D3200 in April, production in Thailand is now back to normal. Given that Nikon only announced the D5100 in all of 2011 instead of the usual 3, 4 new DSLRs, expect unusually many announcements in 2012 as those that were delayed in 2011 got pushed into this year.</p>

<p>As I have said several times before, I would expect new camera announcements after the attention to the Olympics is over but before Photokina in Colone, Germany begins on September 18. Therefore, expect a lot of new camera and lens announcements in the one-month period from mid August to mid September, not only from Nikon but also from everybody else. We have already seen leaked images of some "D600" that is supposed to be FX, and hopefully we'll see some "D400" either before Photokina or perhaps next year. Given how successful the D7000 is, Nikon maybe under less pressure to introduce the D300s' successor. Moreover, the initial batch of Nikon 1 mirrorless camera system is almost a year old. Nikon 1 is still lacking lens selections. I hope that Nikon will beef up that system as well.</p>

<p>I wouldn't expect everything to be announced between mid August to mid September. I would rather not speculate too much here as that will only generate a lot of disappointment, but if you planning a purchage but what is currently available is not exactly what you want, like the D300S, D7000, and D800 are not for everybody, you might as well wait another 6 to 7 weeks instead of getting yourself something that is not quite right.</p>

<p>In the case of Adam the OP here, he has the dealine of a Chile trip so that perhaps he can't wait much longer. However, I think either the D300S or the D7000 can do a good job. I prefer the D7000 for reasons I already provided, but IMO his bigger limitation is the lens rather than the body.</p>

<p>And finally, elephant seals are wild animals. I don't know his exact setting, but there are risks if you are as close as 1 meter from them. However, I am sure he'll keep safety in mind when he photographs.</p>