The Nikon D300 – My Thoughts
As I mentioned in a previous post, I got my hot little hands on a Nikon D300… it has been out in Canada for the past week and there is a lot of talk about what this camera can/cannot do.
Some people might be disappointed that I will not give a full review of this camera – there are people such as Phil Askey (of DP Review) who do an excellent (and very thorough) job of reviewing cameras. Instead, I will give you my initial impressions.
Before I start, I would like to state that it takes a long time to master a piece of photographic equipment – especially something as sophisticated as the Nikon D300. I cannot begin to imagine the years of R&D that must go into something like this. And I suspect it will take most photographers (including yours truly) years to master this camera. We are at a point now in photography where we are constrained only by our imagination, not our equipment.
Some people call the D300 an upgrade to the Nikon D200 (another excellent camera). Some people even call the D300 the “little brother” to the excellent Nikon D3. Call it what you want, the D300 is no slouch and Nikon means business with this camera – from both a feature and price perspective.
You can read the D300’s feature list here.
What I Like
- Nice big viewfinder – 100% coverage
- 6 FPS is plenty fast, 8 FPS if you use the external grip
- Auto Focus (AF) is lightning fast – the CAM3500 module is nothing but superb and accurate. I am still figuring out all of the AF modes (and will be for some time). It is as accurate, or even more so than the CAM2000 AF on my D2 bodies. I honestly believe I could AF on anything in a dark cave with this camera.
- 3D AF tracking is simply amazing.
- Colour acuity is excellent
- 12 Megapixels is a lot of data and the CMOS sensor does a great job capturing images
- High ISO is not an issue anymore. I can comfortably shoot at ISO 1600 and get an excellent image. ISO 3200 is perfectly useable. This is about 1 stop better than the D200 and about 2 stops better than the D2X. I must admit that I was surprised how well high ISO images turned out from the D300 and how much detail was retained.
- Nikon’s iTTL and CLS are superb, as always.
- The 3 inch rear LCD is gorgeous. Clear, crisp and really easy to read.
- Nikon got rid of those pesky little caps for the 10 pin remote and PC sync connector. I was always losing them on previous Nikon bodies.
- Well built – like a tank.
- The JPEG engine using the XSPEED processor appears to do a really good job.
- Auto White Balance (AWB) is better than on previous Nikon cameras.
- Battery life is greatly improved over the D200 – about twice the battery life.
- The menu system is child’s play. It is so easy to use and understand.
- Using UDMA Compact Flash cards, write times are wickedly fast. I have yet to fill the buffer while shooting. It may never happen with this camera.
- Love, love, love the ability to “fine tune” the AF with up to 12 lenses. You can adjust for back/front focus really easily now.
What I Don’t Like
- AWB tends to be “yellowish” in artificial (specifically, tungsten) light. You can adjust this easily.
- I still think Capture NX sucks. At least Nikon isn’t charging for this.
- Noise Reduction (NR) can get aggressive in JPEG, but you can turn this down (or even off).
- Nikon changed the button layout on the back of the camera from the D2X and D200. I liked the old layout better – why did they mess with perfection?
- Matrix metering sometimes runs a little hot at times. My guess is that Nikon did this to keep noise down in the shadows. But then again, it is matrix metering. I also suspect the high ISO values in the camera are underrated, but I have no evidence (yet) to back this up.
Final Thoughts
I’ve probably missed a few things, but overall, Nikon has done an excellent with this camera and will sell a ton of them. Many people have asked me whether the D300 will replace my Fuji S5’s (also an excellent camera) in my wedding work.
In a word, NO.
The Fuji S5 is still the undisputed Dynamic Range (DR) king and I love the colour it produces. That DR gap is getting smaller, however, with both Nikon and Canon racing to introduce new cameras into the marketplace. The D300 is no doubt a better camera from a feature perspective, but in the end, it boils down to Image Quality (IQ) for me. Both camera’s IQ is superb, but for different reasons.
The S5’s IQ best suits wedding photography as the skin tone, colour and DR are excellent. I could, however, easily photograph a whole wedding with a D300 and still have beautiful images for my clients. For now, I will use my D300 for landscapes, large groups, low light situations and images where I need maximum resolution. For portraiture and wedding work in good light (as the S5′s AF hunts a lot in low light), I will use my S5’s.
I may post more about the D300 as I gain more experience with it. I now own cameras that will challenge my creativity for years to come.
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nice review, please give me a D300 for christmas
!
Thanks for the comments on the D300. Been a long time admirer of your work. I am starting out as a wedding photographer – should I get the D300? All I have is the Canon Rebel and the kit lens so I don’t have much money invested in camera equipment. People are telling me to get a proper camera and lens (and maybe a flash) before I start photographing weddings. If I get the D300, what lens should I buy?
Thanks. Jerry.
Jerry,
Your Rebel is a fine camera, however, it might limit your options as a wedding photographer. I know you don’t have a lot of money invested in camera gear – my suggestion would be to go to your local camera store and try out a Nikon D300 (or a D200 if you want to save some money, it is a very capable camera) and a Canon 30D or 40D. See how each one feels to you. Take a few sample shots (don’t forget to bring a CF card along to record images for analysis later) and see which camera you like the best.
I would also recommend you determine your budget ahead of time too.
Remember, whether you buy a Nikon or Canon camera, you are buying into a “system” – both companies produce fine products and have different strengths. I cannot emphasize enough that you need to purchase a camera system that will let you photograph things the way you want to. A camera is only a tool – choose one that lets you do what you want it to.
As to lenses – that is a big question. Your “kit” lens would make a good backup lens (if you stay with Canon), but I would invest in better lenses (“glass” as we say in the industry). Start out with a “fast” (f/2.8 ideally) midrange zoom lens (like a 17-55 lens on a cropped sensor body) and add other quality glass from there. Both Canon, Nikon (and other companies like Tamron, SIgma and Tokina) have excellent options.
All the best,
Roel
Wonderful read. Thanks for the time to detail your thoughts on the D300 to date, and your comparison to the FujiFilm S5. I do like the fact Nikon has included the option to fine tune the AF system with 12 individual lenses. Tweaking back and front focus issues for mulitple lenses will make a LOT of nikon shooters very happy.
c
Jerry,
I’m not Roel, but I’d like to chime in and say; if you’re starting out in wedding photography, then invest the good glass first. You’ll have your glass with you as you upgrade your bodies, whether it be Canon or Nikon. You may have an XTI now, but getting a second xti and some good glass might be better money spent than getting a single good body (40D or 5D). …or 2 used Nikon D80′s or a D200 and D70.
Always carry to camera bodies, one being a back-up if not a second body. Better safe than sorry.
c
Craig brings up some excellent points. I wrote a post on this a while back… you might want to read it:
http://roelphoto.com/blog/2007/01/can-you-recommend-a-good-wedding-photography-book.html
Having used the D200 for weddings along with a D2Hs for low-light, I’m looking forward to dealing with just one body type in a pair of D300s. But the D3 looks tempting, too. Do you plan to venture into the D3 waters? I would love to see a FX sensor in a D300 class body with the same layout of controls, etc. I will probably wait for such a creation.
Nice work; we’re just across Lake Erie from each other.
Carl – Thank you for your post. The D3 is certainly tempting, but for my style of shooting and application, the D300 is more than enough camera. In fact, I could buy two D300′s and a nice lens/flash for the price of a D3! Doesn’t mean that a D3 isn’t in my future – if I started shooting sports, need to shoot in a dark cave or won the lottery, then a D3 is a serious consideration! In any case, the D300 is a lot of camera for the price. Happy shooting!
Excellent work Roel, and inspirational to some of us less experienced, greener photographers.
My question is about group shots at weddings, do you have favourite poses or set ups that you tend to use for larger groups, or is it really something that comes to you during the creative process of shooting the wedding ? This is my 2nd full wedding that I’m shooting (for a friend of a friend), and would like some ideas around the arrangements to use for a group of 10.
Richard – Having a few years of experience, posing now comes quite naturally to me, and that took a lot of practice and patience. If you stuck trying to figure out how to pose large groups, my suggestion would be to spend some time assisting an experienced photographer for a season. That way, you can learn the ropes and glean a few ideas to using in your wedding photography practice. Basic posing skills are a must for any wedding photographer.
For someone who is interested in Portrait Photography, would you recommend the D300, D2Xs or the D3?
Naomi – All 3 of those cameras are capable of producing beautiful portraits – the questions I believe you need to ask yourself are: (1) What is my budget? (2) Do I shoot in low light? (3) Am I invested in DX lenses? The answers to those questions will determine which body to get.
Roel, a couple of questions. Are the wedding shots on your website from your Fuji S5 ? And how large a print can you get from them. I am photographing my sisters wedding in August, and am going to buy either the D300 or the S5 for the job (I already have a d80 and other bits – so a great excuse to buy another camera). After that, I will mostly use it for mountaineering photos. Great photos by the way, and a useful write up. Thanks.
Most of my wedding images last season (2007) were taken with the S5. It is a very capable imaging machine if used properly. The D300 is excellent too – for different reasons I outlined in my mini review. I have no issue printing 20″ x30″ prints from S5 at low ISO (say 400 and under). At higher ISO’s, there is aggressive noise reduction and hence some smearing of detail. I have printed ISO 1600 shots at 13″ x 19″ which looked great but I would hesitate to go larger than that.
Just a small question please. What manufacturer would you standardize around for producing excellent results primarily indoors under artifical lights where flash is not an option. (ie hockey arena, basketball etc,)
Thank you
Ron – I’ve seen great indoor results (under artificial lights) with both Nikon and Canon. The key, I believe, is to (1) nail the exposure and (2) use custom white balance. I am not a sports photographer – and these are always considerations most pros use, no matter what the lighting situation.
I am new to photography and I’m thinking about buying a D300 this week. It’s gonna cost around $2250 with 18-200 lens from Sammy’s in L.A. Is this a wise buy? I wanna get into photog since I’m a DP in the film industry and have a decent eye. Is the D300 a killer camera or what? I have heard nothing but great stuff about it. Generally how long would it take a newbie to understand how to use the D300? I appreciate your feedback and suggestions.
I can’t help noticing Roel’s wonderful comment about Fuji dSLR. I’m from Malaysia and probably the longest user for a Fuji S2 and S3 Pro. Everyone going for upgrades by upgrading from a D200 to D3 or D300 and D700. Still, I’m still stuck with S2 and S3 pro. Why? Check out my blog at http://fotomalaysia.blogspot.com
I shoot with JPEGs since 2002 and never user RAW to take any of the pictures (i’m sure fuji user will know why) but I am very comfortable with it. Currently I’m thinking of getting a S5 pro body since the price drops drastically. I owned one for 2 months and sold it off as I was disappointed with the sharpness quality (that’s probably I didn’t study the camera functions well). As you know, many photographers bought these fuji cameras but they end up selling it away because of it’s speed. For wedding photography, these isn’t an issue unless you take sports photography.
Roel, one question. I usually shoots bride doing make-up in low light. I take uses a 50mm 1.8F lens on my S2 Pro (white balance excellent!) but at 1/10 sec. It’s too slow as I was using only ISO 400 to take it. For S5 Pro, I plan to use it the same way but is ISO 1000 comparable noise to ISO 400 on S2 Pro?
With JPEG on the S5, the noise reduction (NR) is quite aggressive… so at ISO 1000 on the S5, you will get a great image but if you are a pixel peeper, you will see some “smearing” from the NR. Having said that, if you are printing the images, don’t worry about it.
What do I mean by that? I shot a wedding image at ISO 1600 with a 50mm f/1.4 lens using an S5. When I was pixel peeping, I noticed the NR… then I printed the image at 13″x19″. Let me tell you, it printed beautifully. So, with the S5, I would be comfortable shooting up to ISO 1600 in JPEG… it is that good. NOW… for wedding formal shots, I try and stay at ISO 400, but is a personal preference of mine.
Hi Roel,
That sounds good to me shooting at ISO 1600 on S5 using 50mm 1.4. Well, this has been bugging my mind for months as I love Fuji so much that I couldn’t bear to part with it. With the competitors – EOS5D MKII, D700 and D3 are up, I couldn’t keep the fuji bodies away and switch to those. Why? The color tones again!
I have been using ISO 400 for both my S2 & S3 and having taking wedding reception at night, the background looks awful and the noise starts to shown on my screen for the background, that’s when I really have to find an alternative. What do you think on this for S5 pro?
There’s no denying Fuji has great colour… and if you need a “decent” ISO 1000 to 1600, the S5 is quite good. Having said that, the 5D is still better at those ISO ranges… and quite frankly, the Nikon D3/D700 is unbelievable. IMHO, ISO 1600 on a D3 looks like ISO 200 on the S5. It *is* that good, but it comes with a hefty price.
Used S5′s are going for a really great price, so if you think you do not need higher than ISO 1600, then I say go for it. My only gripe about the S5 as a reception camera is that the AF does hunt quite a bit in low light.
Thanks for your advice Roel. I think I will settle for a S5 Pro body and a D700. Having both would really make a great combo. Yes, it’s a heafy price to pay but for a little investment now, it’s better than using my current old camera bodies. Hopefully by next year, Fuji will come out with a better dSLR. Hopefully…
Hi Roel, it’s me again William. I purchased the S5 Pro for RM 3250 (approximately USD 980) last week. I tested it at an Indian/Chinese wedding and the results were awesome! I haven’t seen anything like it. I loved the color, the saturation and the noise. Its amazing! My colleague, who is using a D3 for a chinese wedding, could not match the color produced by this awesome Fuji camera!
I have faith in Fuji and they never let me down. I will be posting some of my pictures in my blog (http://fotomalaysia.blogspot.com) soon once I settle down with some of my work. And yeah, wanna share my joy wit the rest of the friends here that I was awarded with an Accolade of Execellence (Honorary Mention) from WPPI for the 2nd half of 2008 competition. That picture was taken with S2 Pro. Old camera works as good as new ones but photography techniques and style weight more than anything else.