Order Nikon D300 DX 12.3MP Digital SLR Camera (Body Only)
Saturday, October 3, 2009
by Smith
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Nikon D300 DX 12.3MP Digital SLR Camera (Body Only)
This is the perfect camera for an advanced amateur.
The main strengths are:
(1) the excellent ergonomics and design: the camera controls are perfectly laid out. This makes the camera feel very fast and responsive. Everything about the camera is designed to allow you to change settings quickly and effortlessly. An example: the auto-ISO feature changes completely how you shoot in quickly changing lighting. Think about shooting sports in a stadium where half the field is covered in shadow - with auto-ISO you can set your parameters and then forget about the camera and just worry about catching the action. It also features endless customization which is great when you have to live with your camera day and night - if something in the interface annoys you, just change it to what you like.
(2) 100% viewfinder: a pleasure to use. Framing is perfect and the size of the image seems huge. No, it's not like an F6 or D3, but it is the best cropped-sensor viewfinder to date. You can buy a magnifying eyepiece that gives you a bigger view at the expense of eye relief.
(3) picture controls: allow you to dial in settings in-camera and create great looking JPGs without any post-processing.
(4) built-in GPS support is wonderful: I am able to geotag all my photos on trips and display them on Google Maps when I get home. This is also an essential tool for surveying or scientific work.
(5) live view: perfect for macro and landscape work. It is designed to be used on a tripod for slow and methodical pictures, not for over-the-head grab shots on NFL sidelines.
(6) The camera can use pretty much all Nikon glass made since 1959. I take great pleasure in using a 40 year old Nikkor 28/3.5 to shoot infrared on the D300.
(7) The CAM3500 is truly amazing - I have only begun to appreciate it. I recently used the 3D focusing to track tiny cave swallows against a cliff wall. I watched the focus point dance all around the viewfinder as it perfectly tracked the tiny birds. Wow!
The main weaknesses:
(1) NEF (RAW) image quality in Lightroom is very good, but to get the very best skin tones and overall quality you still must process in Capture NX, which is clunky.
(2) this is NOT a good camera for a beginner. You will quickly become frustrated with the complexity. The camera is like a manual transmission car - it leaves all the decisions up to you, so you can't rely on it to "think" for you. If you are new to photography you will be much better served by a more consumer-friendly Nikon or Canon body.
Bottom line: after a few weeks of getting the D300 dialed in to your liking, you will quickly forget about the camera completely and concentrate on your images, which is, after all, the whole point.Get more detail about Nikon D300 DX 12.3MP Digital SLR Camera (Body Only).