Sell (2) D2h & 1 D200 body for another D300?

[jorgemonkey]

I recently picked up a D300 to use mostly as a portrait/wedding body but also as a backup for sports. I used it at a MTB race a couple weeks ago & fell in love with it for sports. Now I'm debating on whether I should sell some of my current gear to fund a 2nd D300.

Here is a list of what I'd be selling:

2 D2h bodies that are well loved, and some dings/brassing. I have 4 batteries & 2 chargers, so I'd either split them up evenly or sell all in one batch. Other accessories include a box & manuals for one.

1 D200 body, that is in new/like new condition. Since its been my portrait/wedding body its been clean & well taken care of.

Some pros of the D2h bodies is I use them for sports only, and for my freelance job I shoot jpg, my won I shoot raw. Those 4mp raw files are nice little files & don't take up much hard drive space. Depending on the situation I love the noise of ISO 800 -1200. For the most part I don't shoot that high though. Cons are the higher ISO isn't that great it most situations.

The D200 I love, but I don't see a need for having a D200 & 2 D300 bodies. Plus the extra $$ I'd get from it would be about enough to cover the purchase.

Thoughts? Suggestions?

[Dougjgreen]

I wouldn't recommend getting a second identical DSLR, unless you really just seriously need a backup. If I were you, I'd recommend one of 3 choices: Get a D90 as a light weight travel body, that will deliver basically the same IQ as your D300, although at slightly slower burst rates and with somewhat simplified AF. Keep your D200 as a second body - they are plenty fast and plenty rugged, they just lack the high ISO performance of the D300 and D90.

Or, splurge on a D700. It can still shoot in high speed crop mode at essentially the same speeds as a D300, although you're getting 6 MP images in that mode. And take advantage of the spectacular high ISO performance of this body.

If it were me, I'd get the D90. If it were me and I won the lottery or just got an inheritance, I'd get the D700. But then again, I'm not shooting sports professionally.

[jorgemonkey]

What rules the D90 out for me is the other D300 would be is the lower FPS as this will also be used as a sports camera. Also I would have to buy a few SD cards as well.

[Dougjgreen]

What rules the D90 out for me is the other D300 would be is the lower FPS as this will also be used as a sports camera. Also I would have to buy a few SD cards as well.

Well, for $50, you could get a handful of 4 to 8 GB SD cards. But I can appreciate it if a 4.5 FPS camera is not fast enough for your application. As I said, I don't shoot sports professionally, so I can certainly defer to your understanding of your own needs.

[Franglais]

What is it that you like about the D300 for sports? I can think of several possibilities compared with your other material:

- wide-area 51 point autofocus system
- better high ISO performance
- 12Mpix

If it's the autofocus system - which I find to be very good - that combination of 51 zones covering most of the field is only available on the D300. The D3/D3x and D700 have the same system but concentrated in the middle. The D90 has the same 11-point system as the D200.

The D300 has been out for almost 18 months now, which probably means there's a new camera coming out in the next 6 months or so. If you're in no hurry it might be interesting to wait for a while.

[jorgemonkey]

There is a few things I like better about the D300 over both the D200 & D2h. The huge LCD screen is very nice, especially over my D2h. The AF on the 300 is fantastic. At the bike race I shot the only OOF images I had were user error (aka forgetting where I set the AF point).

After thinking about it today and getting an offer for one of my D2h bodies I think what I'm going to do is:

- Sell the better D2h
- Pick up the D300 battery grip plus 1-2 EN-EL4 batteries. My current ones are old, and I'd be able to use those batteries in the D300 & D2h.
- Keep D2h #2 and use it for my freelance job since those 4mp D2h files are a good size for them. It would also be kept as a backup body in case I need one, or to lend to a photog who is starting out & learning.

That should hold me over til hopefully sept/oct and I'll see if any new bodies have come out or have been announced which should lower the current price of the D300.