By building a camera monitoring of hot, how to turn the heat? When the envoys Nikon D200 a couple of years ago, his combination of speed and photo quality blew away the competition limited, and always a powerful, relatively cheap alternative to the Nikon then top-of-the-line D2X. The D300 is facing a much more crowded field. Not only take in its venerable predecessor and now cheap, but also a package of long-evil SLRs only at or below its price: the Canon EOS 40D, the Sony Alpha DSLR-A700, the Olympus E – 3, and the Pentax K20D.
Nikon offers a body of the box only D300, as well as two teams: one with a 18mm-135mm DX f/3.5-5.6G ED AF lens (27mm-202.5mm equivalent with the camera factor 1.5xy crop) and one with a DX 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR lens (27mm-300mm equivalent). I tried the latter kit, and also used the camera with two non-DX lenses: a preproduction version of the 14-24mm 2.8G ED and 24-70mm f/2.8G ED IF.
For the most part, Nikon sticks with the tried and true body design and interface of the D200, with its smart controls put in place. The dust resistant body and weighs a hair over 2 pounds, and feels as solid as a small tank. The viewer is bigger and brighter, with a coverage of 100 percent. There are some behaviors I am not fond of, like the measurement difficult to manipulate the dial (discussed in more detailed analysis of my design) and sometimes problematic AF-mode navigation (mentioned below) but finding the camera operation and convenient liquid. Nikon takes over the ultraflexible user settings menus, which consists of two banks – shooting settings and custom configurations – with four slots each nameable.
Although the format DX (23.6×15.8 mm), 12-megapixel CMOS sensor is new, D300 retains the series of other functions that made the D200 so powerful, plus some high-profile improvements. In particular, the D300 increased to 51 with 15 points AF cross type sensor, which contributes to the new 3D camera tracking 51 points dynamic area AF mode, and replaces the Group Dynamic AF of his predecessor. In essence, the D300-1005-point 3D Color Matrix meter double duty, eating low-resolution digitized version of the scene for the new Multi-Cam 3500DX AF tracking module for analysis. (You can see an interesting simulation video on YouTube.)
Based on the description (and suggested use in the manual), the tracking mode 3D looks like an optimal solution for shooting well-defined themes – those with a strong contrast of colors in relation to the background and they occupy a large percentage of the scene – - staying within the frame. And in outbreaks at local dog run, worked better for the portrait-type situations, which are tracked dogs’ wildly in motion, while the chiefs themselves remained relatively steady, within the frame. However, by gunfire when the object is moving too quickly to keep the viewer – as with most other dogs to run shots – Nikon suggests the use of 51 points without AF dynamic monitoring in 3D. That works relatively well. (You can also choose 21 points or nine points without 3D.) However, I miss the group AF-visual feedback provided by the D200. (Editor’s Note: The original version of this review had a complaint about misleading not be able to allocate these custom buttons, in fact, you can assign the exchange between different modes of FA multipoint a custom button and dial combination.)
Like the 40D, the D300’s Live View supports the autofocus mode, but the D300 uses typical of many also-mirror-change application that makes it much less useful than it could be. There’s actually a flow chart in the manual that explains the series of steps it takes to shoot in Live View – with a tripod can be used contrast AF, which does not require constant flippage mirror. It is neither complicated nor the shooting experience that one should expect.
Like Canon, Nikon lenses has invested heavily in technology-based optical image stabilization, so it lacks the D300 sensor in the body of the working day stabilization Sony, Pentax, Olympus, Panasonic and offer. That is not much if you already have an investment in VR Nikon lenses or do not really use / care about stabilization. But if you care about and to make its first dSLR purchase, or move from the contemplation of another brand, then you do not discount its importance, the fact that both teams require a choice between non-VR and VR lenses that foreshadows future elections Lens’ ll have to do.
Other increases over the D200 includes an upgrade to a 3-inch LCD screen with a 170-degree viewing angle, a stop exceeding the scale of sensitivity to an effective ISO 100-6400, adding 14-bit raw mode, and an HDMI connector for optimal production of high-definition television. Before going into production, dropped the capability Nikon Virtual Horizon (which will not make it into the D3). Nice extended features of the D200 includes built-in wireless flash control; selectable 6mm, 8mm, 10mm, 13mm or center field to center-weighted metering, and a shutter speed range of 1 / 8000 to 30 seconds. (For a complete list of features and capabilities of the D300, consulting the manual in PDF format.)
There is nothing to complain with the D300 of the speed – despite offering average yield of its kind, the D300 it belongs to a class pretty zippy camera, which outpaced the D200 in a few tasks. CNET Labs’ tests show that wakes up and shoots nearly instantly, at about 0.1 seconds. By virtue of good, high-contrast lighting, focuses and shoots a little less than half a second, rising to 0.9 seconds in dimmer conditions. Normally, captures images consecutive in the same half a second, edging up to 0.6 seconds with flash enabled. And what that offers a fast 5.8 frames per second for high-speed burst. (We tested without the optional battery grip, which increases the speed at 8fps.) Nikon traditionally offers excellent low-light focus on the performance of its digital SLR, and the D300 is no exception. Even shooting a black cat sitting in the shade of a dimly lit apartment proved no problem.
$10 off any $75 purchase at Abe’s of Maine. Use code LOYALTY10 on any products and save.
Related posts:
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
Interesting read. There is currently quite a lot of information around this subject around and about on the net and some are most defintely better than others. You have caught the detail here just right which makes for a refreshing change – thanks.