The Nikon Revolution

I now have a D30o to review in full. I hope this review will give potential buyers some help in making the decision of an upgrade or initial DSLR purchase.

You may now see a video of the D300 with some comparisons to the Canon 40D at:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=u3VEc9ulgSY

Evolution or Revolution?
I think some frustrated D200, D2H and D2X owners are trying to downplay the significance of the D300. Part of this is that the D300 has severely undercut the value of their cameras by a large margin. For those who manage a steady upgrade path, the D300 might present an annoying bump in the road. This is a camera that eclipses the top of the line D2X for 3000 dollars less. In addition to the value levels, the D300 also adds several "never before seen" features on a Nikon DSLR making it a breakout product in almost every respect. In forums and talking to current DSLR owners, non-adopters of the D300 will certainly be found trying to talk themselves into believing that the D300 is a marginal upgrade from previous models. It's not.

What is it?
The new Nikon D300 is a DX based DSLR camera that incorporates some of Nikon's latest features and features a new CMOS sensor. The D300 eclipses it's far more expensive brothers like the D2X at 1/3 the price!

Who's it For?
Nikon and a few other folks are busy calling the D300 a semi-pro model. If the D2Hs and D2Xs were pro cameras and this unit is better, how is it somehow ranked differently? This is just marketing nonsense. Make no mistake; the new D300 is a professional camera. Many shooters do not require the features of this camera (A D80 is fine for 95% of people and then some) unless they are advanced enthusiasts or working professionals. While a bargain, the price for the body is still 1799.00 in US dollars. Twice the price of a D80 and the crippled D40x (see my review of the D40 and D40x)

What's new?
The D300 has a whopping 6 FPS and if you add the optional power grip it will then jump to an astounding 8 FPS! The Nikon D300 also features a sensor cleaning system for the 1st time in a Nikon body. For those who wish to see higher quality direct to a monitor, the new body sas a HDMI out. Perhaps, along with the new sensor, the most surprising feature is the Nikon's live view system, allowing the shooter to preview in real-time, subjects prior to shooting. This feature, long a staple of point and shoot cameras, has been missing from DSLRs. If all of that is not enough consider the impressive 51 point Multicam 3500DX auto focus system. This may be the best AF system yet. Still not impressed? Consider that the D300 also sports a large 3 inch LCD screen that has triple the resolution of any competing DSLR on the market. Finally we have the 12.3 MP sensor which offers a marginal resolution improvement over the 10 MP sensors of the D80 and D200. The extra two MP is virtually meaningless to your photos. There are even more new features, but far to much to list here.

ISO ho ho ho! (UPDATED!)
Okay, due to pressure from Canon fans, many shooters have come to feel, with little reason, that shooting at high ISO's is what they need and want. It does come in handy at times, but most shooters don't require it. Nevertheless, better ISO performance is one of the measures of DSLR performance and it appears that Nikon has joined the ranks of ISO champs. My D300 has taken great shots at ISO 5000 and usable ones at 6400. You can shoot all day at 1600 and do quite well at 3200. Fantastic!dging this on a 3 inch screen. The "rumor" is that the D300 will be VERY usable at 1600 and pretty good at 3200!

Build and Handling?
Like the D200, this is a brick of solid ergonomics that Canon has yet to match. It actually surpasses the D200's feel due to even better control placement and bests the 40D in too many ways to go over. Head over to a camera shop and see how a D300 feels. It's fair to say that this unit has a 100% professional feel and controls are placed with impressive attention to the human hands. It also appears that Nikon has further improved the weather sealing on these. Well done.

What about Canon?
With Nikon's two new DSLRS, Canon has a lot of work to do. Amazingly, you'd have to pay 4500.00 for a Canon to match the D300's feature set, speed and focusing. And while those pricey Canons do have full size 35mm sensors, some early leaked samples from the D300 look like Nikon has extracted a lot more range from the smaller sensor. If you are just starting out, the D300 looks to be a far better deal than the Canon 40D and far faster than the 5D which is only 3 frames per second. Nikon hasn't just slipped a camera between the Canon line-up; they've sought to top them both and even challenge higher end models. The list of features on the D300 missing from the 40D is long, but if you can't afford the D300 cost or don't need those features, the 40D is great and sports about the same image quality.
Here is a list of some D300 features unique to a DX DSLR...

The D300's auto focus system has 51 point 3D tracking and a far more customizable auto focus system. They basically dropped their best AF module into this camera. I've used the 40D and the focusing is NOT as accurate. I know some owners will say it's fine, and I'm not saying it's bad by any stretch. It's just that the Nikon's focusing is better.

Nikon is famous for having pretty good metering and the D300 may be the best so far. I feel it's better than the 40D's metering.

Of course once we add the grip we have a faster frame rate at 8 frames per second.

The Nikon has two live view modes and you can focus in them, which the Canon can't do. The D300 is better for product shooting and macro work.

That rear LCD I spoke about is the best period and many people will be sold on this feature alone.

The very bright viewfinder of the D300 gives a 100% view of what you're shooting, while the 40D is missing 5% of the field.

You can set the D300 to change ISO automatically while holding your other settings. This feature is fantastic and the Canon doesn't have it.

The Nikon will control flashes wirelessly right out of the box, while the 40D won't.

The D300 will take a larger battery for extended shooting

The D300 will shoot above ISO 3200...going all the way to 6400. The canon stops at 3200.

The D300 can be manually adjusted to calibrate for lens errors and the camera will remember the lens and settings!

Get a Grip
Nikon's optional vertical grip will add more shooting time and the maximum frame rate of 8 FPS, BUT...the price adds 250 dollars to the cost. Now you can shoot 8 FPS with 8 AA batteries, but if you want the pro battery and charger for it you're looking at another 240 bucks. Ouch!

I hope this helps folks who are wondering if they should get on the waiting list for D300.

Cheers,

Capt RB