The D300 is Here!

[deckcadet]

Okay, so my shiny new Nikon D300 has arrived! I was not expecting it in the first shipment, but Wolf came through for me.

Unboxing photos:

[Old Timer]

Great now let see those first pictures. I can't wait to get your take on the D300. I have only had the D200 (love it by the way) since April but I can see a 300 in my future.

[another view]

Second shot - caption should read "whoaaaaa...."

Very nice!

[MJS]

Funny part was he called this morning warning me of his visit back to my studio, at that point I mentioned he was probably just coming to show off the D300 which he claimed he didn't have yet. He stopped at Wolf on the way over and brought the new toy into the class/studio and opened it up in front of me and you saw the pictures. He's out on campus with a group of the wannabees getting the first shots right now. Start planning, you'll want the 300. The screen, 3200/6400 ISO and 51 point AF will be worth it. I think I'll be shooting my 200 till the wheels fall off but would love the 300. I'll probably loan him a background, alien bee and octobox to get some other product shots over the holiday.

[Speed]

Rub it in!

Hehehe.

Congratulations buddy!!! While the upgrades from the D200 to the D300 aren't enough to make me buy one, they are significant enough to make me want one.

And the D3....

Don't get me started!

[mjs1973]

Dumb question time. What's with the plastic cover on the rear LCD screen? Is that just a safety cover that Nikon puts on it's bodies to protect the LCD screen, or does it have another function?

[Frog]

Look at the size of that lcd!
And flash bracketing..... frog starts wondering if he can get his wife to take a second job?

[jeffp]

Dumb question time. What's with the plastic cover on the rear LCD screen? Is that just a safety cover that Nikon puts on it's bodies to protect the LCD screen, or does it have another function?

Yep, just a protective cover. My D80 came with one.

I am very jealous of the D300. I am going to be upgrading from the D80 eventually when I can find my way in somewhere and get it ordered since I didn't get to preorder it.

edit: Well, just this second i put in my order with B&H. hopefully im not too far down their list

[Xia_Ke]

Alright Harrison, just put the camera down, wipe off the drool from your chin, and step away...LOL How's the new camera treating you? What is your initial impression of it?

[Frog]

Its on digitutor now,(drool). http://www.nikondigitutor.com/index_eng.html

[Loupey]

Too bad it's a Nikon You can't expect Canon people to be too impressed can you

Seriously, happy shooting and let us (OK, Nikon people) know your results!

[deckcadet]

The camera is fantastic.
I'm reasonably certain it's possessed by the devil as well. Somehow it managed to track the foot of someone just outside the edge of the frame. The foot was the only part inside the image area, and outside the focus brackets.

Wow.

I'm about to upload some images... stay tuned!

[deckcadet]

Too bad it's a Nikon You can't expect Canon people to be too impressed can you

Seriously, happy shooting and let us (OK, Nikon people) know your results!

Would you believe that not only does it have a working autofocus system

but that its DX 12-megapixel sensor seems to do pretty nicely at high ISO?

I shot what could only be considered the ultimate torture test of high ISO. ISO 6400 (Hi-1.0), 1/25s f/2.8 under distant streetlight sodium vapor lighting. Shot RAW, opened with Capture NX. By default, if you turn high ISO noise reduction on in camera (I use low or off instead of normal or high), it will be applied in the base adjustments step in NX. I turned it down a bit from its normal setting (which is less aggressive than it is for the D200 at 3200).

I then compared it against another torture test shot...Canon 1D mark III, ISO 6400, f/1.4 1/50s under colored incandescent light. In camera (aggressive) NR on.

The winner?

Not quite. The Nikon image literally lacks chroma noise altogether. At 6400. on a 12 megapixel DX chip.
The Canon image is loaded with chroma noise that at 6400 doesn't clean up nearly as well as that camera does normally.

The Nikon image does have more luminance noise though. Both have a light 'speckling' that only happens at 6400 for either camera.

Overall, I'd call it a draw. I haven't shot enough to assess detail retention at 6400, but I'm going to say I think I might be just about as comfortable using 6400 as I was with the mk3.

Aside from High ISO...

The focus system will never cease to amaze me. Nikon wasn't joking about the scene recognition system. The torture test shot? It was a shot of my father. In that low light, I activated auto AF area selection (51 point). 3 points lit up: one over my father's left eye, two over his right eye.

It also worked wonders earlier in the day. It finds faces, eyes, things you WANT to focus on.



The LCD screen is just fantastic. I'm used to the previous standard, the 2.5" 230,000 dot 320x240 LCDs that have been found on the Nikon D200, D2Xs, D80, D40, and D40x, and (with worse rendering algorithms IMHO) in the canon MkIIN, XTi and 30D.

For me the 40D and 1D mark III LCD was very disappointing... same resolution but even bigger. The D3/D300 LCD is incredible. I'm pretty sure its pixels per inch resolution is equal or better t the computer screens I use every day. I can judge critical sharpness and DOF at 100% with this thing.

The menus are very well laid out. Live View mode seems to work well also. I used the 'tripod mode' contrast detection AF in low light (stationary subject, handheld camera) and it was pretty quick.

Metering is spot on. Nikon used to have the cameras meter to preserve highlights, so I'd use the fine tune exposure custom setting to shoot a bit 'hot'. Doesn't seem to be necessary in this camera.

Battery life seems improved over the D200 as well. Build and fit and finish also seem to have an intangible edge as well. Ergonomics just get better and better.