d300 vs d80

[Frog]

I know the d300 has many more features.
I'm trying to talk myself OUT of buying one, though, as I do like my d80

I'd appreciate someone who has access to both posting a shot with same lens and settings so I can see that its not worth the 1800.
Of course I probably could get 800 for my d80 maybe??

Talk me out of it :mad2:

[Grandpaw]

I know the d300 has many more features.
I'm trying to talk myself OUT of buying one, though, as I do like my d80

I'd appreciate someone who has access to both posting a shot with same lens and settings so I can see that its not worth the 1800.
Of course I probably could get 800 for my d80 maybe??

Talk me out of it :mad2:

Frog, this is my view on it. First of all if you had the D300 what advantages would you HAVE USED in taking the pictures you have taken over the last year? Probably not many. As far as getting $800.00 for your D80, well I bought mine for under that brand new. As far as spending money would you have benefited more by purchasing a new lens? If you get the D300 would you be doing it justice using the lens you have now or would you still have to purchase a lens also?

For my money I would invest in some better lens and if you had to get the D300 wait untill it is a proven model and the price comes down. You will only benifit from getting the D300 if you have an equal lens to go on it. Just my opinion.

If it were me I would keep the D80 and spend money on a lens, Jeff

[deckcadet]

Frankly, the D300 is a camera that is probably unnecessary for your needs, Frog.

It is also going to show every weakness in your lenses, and being honest here, an 18-135 and 70-300 (unless it's the AFS VR ED version) are not going to give you great results on the D300.

Rather than spend $1800 on the D300, I'd think about adding a few new lenses. Worry about a body upgrade once the D80 replacement comes out at a more agreeable price point.

I'll be lucky to get $850 for my remaining D200, and that camera has under 5,000 clicks.

[tekkamaki]

Rather than spending $ on an outdated Nikon system save your cash and buy a new Canon system when your are ready, or better yet shoot with what you got and keep your cash for other toys.
Nikon has gotten further and further behind Canon in recent years. I know I shoot for a living.

[deckcadet]

Rather than spending $ on an outdated Nikon system save your cash and buy a new Canon system when your are ready, or better yet shoot with what you got and keep your cash for other toys.
Nikon has gotten further and further behind Canon in recent years. I know I shoot for a living.

Excuse me?

This is probably the most patently false statement I've ever heard.

Canon has already been leapfrogged in the semi professional market- yet again- and Nikon has released the D3 which is offering even better image quality than the Canon 1D mark III. a direct competitor to the 1Ds mark III that won't have focus issues and will also probably avoid mushy greens is expected in the 1st quarter of 2008. Nikon's D series DSLRs have been ranked #1 by J.D. Power and Associates this year, and in terms of overall sales they've actually been outselling Canon in many areas- japan included.

I shoot professionally as well, and have done so with both Canon and Nikon systems. And having used both, I can very confidently say that your claim is not supported by fact.

[Frog]

Don't worry, I'm not going to go Canon, though I'm sure its a fine system.
Mostly I want to know if the image quality is that much better than d80 given equal situation. Right now what impresses me is the lack of noise at high iso as I do tend to find a lot of low light situations where flash is not an option.
Better glass is in the near future, too.

[Franglais]

I know the d300 has many more features.
I'm trying to talk myself OUT of buying one, though, as I do like my d80

I'd appreciate someone who has access to both posting a shot with same lens and settings so I can see that its not worth the 1800.
Of course I probably could get 800 for my d80 maybe??

Talk me out of it :mad2:

It was even more difficult for me comparing the D300 with my D200. If I were you I would wait for a few months and see if Nikon updates the D80 with D300 components.

The D300 has many more features than the D80 but that's not going to show in a test where you shoot a scene with the same lens and settings. The image downsized to fit on Internet would probably look pretty much the same. I haven't really noticed a difference compared with the D200.

Finally I did go for the D300 - but I still use the D200 as well. The advantages so far compared with the D200 :

- the sensor cleaner means I can change lenses without worrying too much about getting dust of the sensor
- exposure accuracy is even better than before. I can use the JPG's straight out of the camera
- the in-camera "Active D-Lighting" feature is the same thing as what I usually do in post-processing RAW to correct for contrasty lighting
- the way the autofocus points light up all over the frame when they are in focus is smart
- Auto-ISO now goes up to 3200 ISO

[BlaBla]

Hello there,

i want to know if any1 have tried the D300 Nikon and could me good reasons why not to buy it.
cheers

[Franglais]

Hello there,

i want to know if any1 have tried the D300 Nikon and could me good reasons why not to buy it.
cheers

I have had the D300 for about 3 weeks. Can't find anything to criticise so far. It's another leap forward in camera technology.

I can think of two reasons not to buy the D300:

1. Nikon will probably do like they did with the D200 and the D80 - come out with an advanced consumer model with similar features at a fraction of the price, a few months after the release. It depends on whether you need the pro features
2. Nikon is rumoured to have a competitor for the Canon 5D in the pipeline (i.e. FX format sensor). It would probably be more expensive than the D300, but if you need even higher ISO then why not?

[BlaBla]

oh ... thank you franglais

[Frog]

Thanks franglais, also.
I'll wait until my photos get better on purpose and try to figure out which 'professional' lens I might want to aim for.

[MrEastSide]

Rather than spending $ on an outdated Nikon system save your cash and buy a new Canon system when your are ready, or better yet shoot with what you got and keep your cash for other toys.
Nikon has gotten further and further behind Canon in recent years. I know I shoot for a living.

I know this topic is a a little old, but I was just reading through it and this made me laugh very hard. Thank you.

[Frog]

I think its called self verification. Don't worry, I'm sticking with Nikon thought the d300 might be a bit into the future.

[elrosarino]

I agree with Mr.Franglais opinion, I have both B80 + D300.
D300 also have new CMOS 12.1 megapixels, 3' screen, EXPEED system (similar to top line D3), auto focus live view, etc.

[jorger101]

Hello Frog

I cannot talk you out of buying the D300 because I too have a D80 and contemplating a D300. I like the new features in the D300, but I would still keep my D80 as a backup.

[steve1624]

I got the d300 on the first day it was available back in November I would have to say I love this camera. The only issue I have had so far is with Apple and the lack of NEF support for this camera.

[deckcadet]

Steve, OS X 10.5.2 is on the way and has support for D300 and D3 NEFs in quicklook and all apple applications using Core Image.

[steve1624]

Great I know apple will support the D3 and D300 NEF files when they get around to it. It has just been a long wait. I actually reverted my MBP from leopard to Tiger so I could use my NEF file with Nikon NX. I've been using Aperture for some time and I don't want to change to something like Adobe Lightroom that has supported the D300 NEF file from day one.

Do you have a link to a specific article stating the release of 10.5.2 or are you in the dark like most of us on the release date?

[Squidward]

Frog, I've decided not to buy the D300 and I'm coming from a D70, not the D80. I had asked myself what was it that I did not like about the D70 and the only thing I could think of was the slow continuous frame rate on my particular D70 at about 1 FPS. It turned out that this was the direct result of turning on the Noise Reduction for long exposures. As soon as I turned this off I was at 3 FPS! I no longer have any complaints about my D70!

So, the flip side to this debate, for me at least, is, what can the D300 do that my D70 cannot?
Higher megapixels (twice the megapixels but that only improves the image quality by about 40% - my buddy recently blew a picture I took in Fine/Large JPEG to 24X36" and he said that it looked fantastic without the pixelation that we thought he would get! Do I really need larger file sizes?)
Faster handling (higher frame rate and quicker overall handling but I don't do sports photography so the speed isn't something I will use often)
More sensors for the autofocus system (I know how to use the AE and AF-L buttons and I know the limitations of my camera's autofocus system - namely the five sensors - and I know how to work with them effectively)

If I have the spare cash laying around and I have all the lenses I need and none of my other hobbies are draining my pocketbook, I may consider getting one but I may as well wait for the D400 and see if that camera is such a vast improvement over my D70 that I have no choice but to upgrade.

[Frog]

Good points squidward. I'm sticking with my D80 for at least a year. Fine camera and heck, I don't know how to use all of its features yet so why should I want one with more features?

[Harley Guy]

Frog,
Look, I've been doing research for the last 2 weeks on Nikons, you can buy the D300 (body only) for $1099.00. (usa warranty). don't know where everyone is getting the $1800.00 price from. I don't know what the rules are on this forum about posting any particular place to get it but there should not be a problem with telling you how I found the prices, go to www.mysimon.com & that web site gives you price comparisons & you will find it.

[Frog]

The only d300 listed there starts at 2199.
If a place advertises 1099, you'd be very wise to check the place out in our dealer feedback or at reseller.com

[Telecorder]

http://www.resellerratings.com/store/1_Way_Photo

http://www.resellerratings.com/store/Broadway_Photo

Good luck getting it delivered from either 'low priced' site...ut:

[deckcadet]

The USA minimum advertised price at this point for the D300 is $1799.95.
Some dealers might sell a little below this, but if it's less than $1549 or so at this point you can bet on it being a scam.