Nikon D300 12.3 Megapixel Digital SLR Camera Body Only

D300, another winner from Nikon

Strengths: 51-point AF focus, Auto Focus Fine-tuning, High Resolution LCD, Low noise at High ISO

Weakness: None so far. Maybe price? But with all the new features I won't complain

Had D300 for about 10 days. Just love it. I had Nikon D70, D80, and D200 before. This is definitely the best. First Impression: solid build, but not too heavy. Almost the same size and weight as D200, much bigger and heavier than D80 and D70. If you used any Nikon DSLR before, you will feel right at home with all the controls. Except the magnify button, which positioned differently from both the...
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Had D300 for about 10 days. Just love it.

I had Nikon D70, D80, and D200 before. This is definitely the best.

First Impression: solid build, but not too heavy. Almost the same size and weight as D200, much bigger and heavier than D80 and D70.

If you used any Nikon DSLR before, you will feel right at home with all the controls. Except the magnify button, which positioned differently from both the D80/D70 and D200, I often push the wrong button for the first couple of days. Other controls are quite similar to D200.

The most impressive thing comparing with D200 and D80 side by side is the big LCD screen, very sharp and clear; sometimes I suspect that it may mislead you. With the magnify button, you may easily zoom in to view the sharpness.

I haven’t got enough time to tweak all the settings, but the jpeg coming out from the default settings is much better than D200. But for the raw files, you need latest Nikon Captures NX to edit the files, right now D300 comes with only an activation key code, you may download Captures NX from Nikon website.

ISO started from 200 (native ISO), but you could go lower without gaining any picture quality improvement.

The high ISO photos have much better noise control comparing with D200 and D80. In a theater, I took some pictures at ISO 1600, and the print out of 8x10 shows very little noise.

A new feature is called Live View: you may use the LCD screen for composition and focus, taking pictures just like a point and shoot camera. But not exactly, since there is a mirror in the way. You need to click the shutter first to get the mirror up after you set the camera in Live View mode, then you click again to take picture. In theater, I wanted to take picture without raising the camera to my eye level, so I won’t attract too much attention. That was one the situation the Live View could be useful, but I wasn’t very successful. I had hard time to focus. Maybe for macro work or some other better lighting situations, Live View could work better.

One thing I like most about the D300 is the new focus system. It has 51 focus points. In the view finder you only see one, which is the current focus point, but you can manually change to any one of the 51 focus point, you feel that you may move it to any point within a large area. The focus is fast, and accurate. When testing again D200, the D300 could lock focus on objects with less contrast, while D200 couldn’t.

Other thing I like very much is the auto focus Fine-Tuning function. The camera can fine-tuning for up to 12 different lenses. One of my lenses back focus badly, all pictures from it are soft. After some simple steps from D300 Fine-Tuning menu, now the lens becomes one of my sharpest lenses.

By jnpn - Dec 11, 2007

Great camera, absolutely worth the money

Strengths: 3 inch high resolution LCD; Great High ISO IQ

Weakness: None so far

I had a Nikon D70 used for 3 years, then bought D300 just before last Christmas and took a lot pictures during holidays. I love this camera so much! The biggest improvement is the noise control at high ISO. Compared to D70, D300 provides a very smooth and even noise at 800 ISO and above. I was very hesitate to use 800 ISO with my D70 but now even 1000 ISO is very pleasant. The 3" high pixel LCD...
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I had a Nikon D70 used for 3 years, then bought D300 just before last Christmas and took a lot pictures during holidays. I love this camera so much! The biggest improvement is the noise control at high ISO. Compared to D70, D300 provides a very smooth and even noise at 800 ISO and above. I was very hesitate to use 800 ISO with my D70 but now even 1000 ISO is very pleasant. The 3" high pixel LCD is really exciting also! It shows a lot more details and reviewing pictures becomes a joy.

By sinpa - Jan 24, 2008

Nikon D300 -- Very Pleased!

Strengths: Handling; 12.3 megapixel sensor; 3" color monitor; LiveView; 51-point auto-focus; Scene Recognition System; D-Lighting feature; sensor cleaner; build quality; compatibility with most Nikkor lenses

Weakness: None so far

I love this camera! I recently purchased the Nikon D300 as my first digital camera. I also own two Nikon 35mm film cameras -- a Nikon F100 that I purchased five years ago and a Nikkormat FTn that I purchased in the late sixties. Although I am still learning its multitude of features, I am very pleased with the performance of my D300 so far, and am glad I made the purchase. The following is a...
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I love this camera! I recently purchased the Nikon D300 as my first digital camera. I also own two Nikon 35mm film cameras -- a Nikon F100 that I purchased five years ago and a Nikkormat FTn that I purchased in the late sixties. Although I am still learning its multitude of features, I am very pleased with the performance of my D300 so far, and am glad I made the purchase. The following is a summary of my impressions relating to some of the D300's features. Of course, a brief review cannot cover all of its great capabilities.


Handling: The D300 is similar in size and weight to my other Nikon cameras and feels "just right" in my hands. It is by no means a lightweight when compared with other cameras, but I feel that the camera's extra heft contributes towards more stability when shooting. The features and control layout are similar to my F100, so my learning curve is not as steep as it might otherwise be. The viewfinder provides a large, beautiful optical image, and works together with the information panel on top of the camera to provide all the needed shooting information. Shutter release response is instantaneous, as you would expect from a quality DSLR.


Sensor: The D300 uses a DX-format 12.3 megapixel CMOS sensor with an ISO range of 200 to 3200. (According to the manual, you can go as low as ISO 100 or as high as ISO 6400, but the results may show degradation of picture quality.) Several different combinations of file types, file sizes and image qualities are available through the D300's easy-to-navigate menu system. The DX-format sensor size results in approximately a 1.5X focal length multiplication factor compared to 35mm film cameras. Thus, my 28-105mm lens that I bought for my F100 now provides the equivalent performance of a 42-158mm lens when mounted on the D300.


Monitor: I've found the D300's large 3" color monitor to be bright and clear, making image review, in-camera editing and menu navigation a pleasure. The monitor can also be used as a "LiveView" display in two modes, Hand-Held and Tripod. Hand-Held mode is intended for moving subjects, while Tripod mode provides greater focusing precision for static subjects. I've not yet explored the LiveView capability.


Autofocus: The D300's 51-point autofocus system makes focusing operations quick, accurate and flexible. You can manually select a single point or groups of points. There is also a mode where all 51 focus points are used and the camera selects the ones most relevant to the scene, such as recognizing and homing in on a human face. There is also a 3D tracking capability with automatic focus point switching to lock onto and track a moving subject.


Built-In Intelligence: The Scene Recognition System evaluates subject and scene conditions prior to shooting to provide more accurate exposures. D-Lighting brings out details in otherwise over-exposed areas of the frame. This can be applied while taking the image ("active" D-Lighting), or after the fact in the image editing mode. So far I've used only the edit version, and it seems to work well. The "active" D-Lighting should work even better.


Sensor Cleaner: The D300 is the first Nikon "pro-sumer" camera to provide a built-in sensor-cleaning capability. I've not had to use this feature yet, but it is reassuring to know it is there.


Build Quality: The D300 is ruggedly built, with magnesium-alloy construction and added dust and moisture sealing. It is designed to withstand the rigors of professional use. As such, I expect to get many years of enjoyment out of it.


Lens Compatibility: The D300 is compatible with Nikkor F-mount autofocus lenses, including ones made specifically for DX-format DSLR's as well as those designed for 35mm film cameras. The D300 also works with non-CPU AI Nikkor lenses. This should be helpful for those who already have an array of autofocus and manual Nikon lenses.


Cost/Benefit: At $1800 (U.S.) the D300 is more costly than other consumer-oriented Nikon DSLR's, all of which are reported to deliver excellent image-making performance. The D300 features a higher level of capabilities and ruggedness than these other cameras. It is up to the purchaser to decide whether these are worth the added cost. For me, they were.


Hope this helps.

By photomaestro - Feb 14, 2008

Love My D300 !!

Strengths: 3" LCD, Live View, Great Feeling Camera, Customization of Controls, etc.

Weakness: None so far.

I originally shot with 35mm cameras in college and moved to digital with the D80, which I kept, even after switching to the D300 a few days ago. The difference in technology from even a great camera like the D80 is incredible. I'm sure D200 users won't be as shocked as I was, but I was definitely impressed. The D300 is incredibly well built, rugged and solid feeling. Ergonomically it feels...
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I originally shot with 35mm cameras in college and moved to digital with the D80, which I
kept, even after switching to the D300 a few days ago. The difference in technology
from even a great camera like the D80 is incredible. I'm sure D200 users won't be as shocked as I was, but I was definitely impressed.

The D300 is incredibly well built, rugged and solid feeling.
Ergonomically it feels perfect in my hand and the dials and
functions are very easy to use. There’s a lot to learn as you can
customize this camera quite a bit, but like anything else, once
you've practiced it a few times, it's pretty simple.

The viewfinder is big, bright and makes composing shots a
snap. The 3” LCD is truly remarkable and is huge, crystal clear
and better than anything I've seen. The Live
View is really cool, too. It allows you to use the LCD to frame or compose shots
without looking through the viewfinder, although I imagine the majority of my photos
will be taken using the viewfinder. It’s also especially useful for macro shots.

The autofocus is very fast and accurate, and the metering on the
D300 is absolutely perfect. I've never had a camera take
photos in extremely low lighting so effortlessly. Aberration is REALLY
cut down with this camera, as is noise. You really have to make
an effort to get any noise even at higher ISO levels.

I also have several Nikon lenses, but the 18-200mm with VR works flawlessly
with the D300. Overall, this is perfect for someone that wants to expand their capabilities
with equipment that can do just that !! Good job, Nikon !!

By topcat84 - Dec 5, 2007

Nikon d300 with 18-200mm vr and 70-200 f.28 vr.

Strengths: fast, accurate, handles color and CA quite well. 3d Tracking is awesome! in some instances I love how the saturation is handled and how it can be overblown to really make the colors pop.

Weakness: i'd get rid of live view. doesn't belong on a dslr in my opinion. also I don't like the fact the you HAVE to use the ac adapter or the battery grip AND the new EN-el4a (or 8 AA's) to achieve the 8 FPS

I am not going to repeat all the previous reviewers info, but i will say this. if this isn't gods gift to photographers, then it is really close! Highly Recommended camera for those who really want to learn how to use a camera!

By AffectivePhotography - Jan 20, 2008