hello all, D300 for beginer ?'s

[advs1]

hello all, as the title states, I am new to the world of DSLR cameras. but since my wife is buying me a camera for my birthday, i think i like the D300 by nikon. i am a little worried it is too much camera for a newb? i have looked at almost every website and am very thankful i found this site as it helped me from making a big mistake with regards to whom i am buying from.

any how, i have a professional auto detailing business and would like to expand my ability to take better before pictures of cars i work on. i have a simple point and click right now, but seeing other more experienced detailers using DSLR cameras and coming up with great pictures, i want to up my game so to speak. the main use will be for close up pictures of paint condition on cars before i correct the paint and full pictures after. i would also be using the camera for family, vacation and maybe just to get creative. i did attend art center college of design in pasadena so i have an art back ground. i am getting the camera used, but it looks new and has a US warranty.

any and all input would be greatly appreciated.

[Frog]

The d300 is a great camera(so I hear) but for what you are wanting to use it for, you can get very good results from something less expensive.
What you will want with whatever you get is a very sharp lens and I hope someone with more expertise than I will respond as to what lenses will work best.
The alternate thought process is to go ahead with the D300 and a sharp lens for the work camera and then if you start getting creative with photography and want more out of it, you'll have one of the best cameras out there for that.

[deckcadet]

A D300 would be overkill for your needs. you would have literally no realized advantage from using it over say a D90, which uses the same sensor. High end cameras like the D300 aren't as 'newbie friendly' as the consumer grade cameras below it.
With the money you save on the body, you can get a better set of lenses and accessories that will make a visible difference in your photos.

[Grandpaw]

My thoughts on this would be to consider the Nikon D90. This camera will give you high quality photos and also give you the ability to take HD videos of the family. I have the Nikon D80 and think it would also serve all your needs for quite some time. Remember you need to have money available for lenses, flashes, Tripods and other accessories after purchasing the camera body you choose. I would think that the amount of use of your camera at your business would be limited and that most of your picture taking would be of the family and creative aspects of photography. My vote would be for the Nikon D90, Jeff

[Len J]

How committed are you to photography?

D300 is a great camera.....I have one.....but it takes a lot of time to fully utilize it's capability.

(It also has no scene modes (if that is important to you).).

D300 is a sophisticated tool for taking photos.........only you can decide how much you want to invest of your time in mastering it.

Len

[advs1]

ok well i bought one anyway! hehehe it was a gift from my wife for my birthday next friday. guess now i have to read and practice. i was playing with it tonight and took some pictures of my daughter. i must say, it takes awesome pictures

[Frog]

Cool.......it does have the auto functions so you can learn the complex stuff gradually.
There's lots of good 'how to' threads here and we don't mind answering questions.

[advs1]

Cool.......it does have the auto functions so you can learn the complex stuff gradually.
There's lots of good 'how to' threads here and we don't mind answering questions.

honestly i havent even started playing with the features yet. just the few i knew about and it took pics of quality i am not used to. here is one of my daughter

[Frog]

Don't know if you know but there is a great Nikon site called digitutor. You can scroll through all your cameras functions and its much easier than trying to read the manual.

http://www.nikondigitutor.com/index_eng.html