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D300S: First impressions of a guy that doesn't know a lot.
So for some reason, I decided I needed to upgrade my D90. Don't get me wrong the D90 was an awesome camera. But there is something about the metal body and weather sealing of the D300 that I really like. I seem to always be shooting outside, and the conditions are not always favorable. So in the back of my mind I wished I went with the D300 from the start. But there was no significant performance gain to get one. Some say the 300 had less performance than the D90. So I didn't feel the urge. So enter the D300s. A few upgrades here and there tempted me.
What I notice is this:
First off. The body feels tough. And everything is solid. Not that the D90 was not solid as hell for a plastic camera. This thing just feels like a pro camera. And then there is the sound. Not that it is important. The shutter on the D300s just sounds serious. It is louder and lower sounding than the D90. And at full speed 7fps it sounds like a machine gun.
The next big one is the autofocus system. Not noticeably faster than the D90 with my AFS lens but it does seem much more accurate. I shoot a lot of pics of motorcycle trials. The movement is fast and then slow. So tracking is important and can be challenging. The way the D300s allows you to group your focus points is really nice. I found the 21point center grouping to be great for trials. This past weekend I had more shots in VERY sharp focus. The crops at 1:1 are just plain sharper with less noise.
Playing with it inside the house I am seeing less noise up at ISO 3200. Is it less noise or is it the awesome autofocus again yielding a sharper shot. Either way, it is an improvement over the D90 in low light. I am sure there will be lots of comparisons on this subject in the coming months.
The bigger heavier body balances my bigger lens better too. The 17-55 2.8 is my main lens and it is an anchor. And my other favorite weapon is the 80-200AFS. That thing seems to weigh about 8lbs. I didn't think it would help so much but, it does. My girlfriend noticed it the most. I though she wouldn't like the heavier weight. But she said it was better balanced and easier to hold.
And last thing is the controls. It has switches and buttons for everything. Going to the menu will be a thing of the past for me.
It looks mean, sounds mean, and focuses incredibly. I like it.
What I notice is this:
First off. The body feels tough. And everything is solid. Not that the D90 was not solid as hell for a plastic camera. This thing just feels like a pro camera. And then there is the sound. Not that it is important. The shutter on the D300s just sounds serious. It is louder and lower sounding than the D90. And at full speed 7fps it sounds like a machine gun.
The next big one is the autofocus system. Not noticeably faster than the D90 with my AFS lens but it does seem much more accurate. I shoot a lot of pics of motorcycle trials. The movement is fast and then slow. So tracking is important and can be challenging. The way the D300s allows you to group your focus points is really nice. I found the 21point center grouping to be great for trials. This past weekend I had more shots in VERY sharp focus. The crops at 1:1 are just plain sharper with less noise.
Playing with it inside the house I am seeing less noise up at ISO 3200. Is it less noise or is it the awesome autofocus again yielding a sharper shot. Either way, it is an improvement over the D90 in low light. I am sure there will be lots of comparisons on this subject in the coming months.
The bigger heavier body balances my bigger lens better too. The 17-55 2.8 is my main lens and it is an anchor. And my other favorite weapon is the 80-200AFS. That thing seems to weigh about 8lbs. I didn't think it would help so much but, it does. My girlfriend noticed it the most. I though she wouldn't like the heavier weight. But she said it was better balanced and easier to hold.
And last thing is the controls. It has switches and buttons for everything. Going to the menu will be a thing of the past for me.
It looks mean, sounds mean, and focuses incredibly. I like it.
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Sounds awesome. I find myself in the same camp. I have a D90 and love it. Problem is, my wife loves it, too, and we find ourselves often both wanting it at the same time. So, I'm toying with getting another body. My wife pretty much uses green-button mode all the time, but she's experimenting a little bit with taking control. Plus, she really likes the feel and weight of the D90. Considering she doesn't really use the functions of the D90, I'd thought maybe a D5000 would be a good body for her, but after playing around with it a bit, we really noticed a difference in how that body feels and operates.
So that means I'm thinking of perhaps another D90, or stepping up to a D300s or used D300. Cost (and ability) wise, another D90 makes a ton of sense, but I can't help but be seduced by the D300s.
What caught my eye in your analysis is the comment about the buttons... When I look at the two cameras side by side, what am I missing? It looks like the D90 has almost, if not all of the same controls on the body itself as the D300s. There may be a combination of a button press and thumbwheel turn as opposed to a switch, but it seems like most everything is out there for you without digging through a menu. Can you give me some examples of what you mean when you say going to the D300s has made it easier to access various controls? In fact, the main difference I see with regard to controls is that the D90 has a dedicated bracket button and as far as I can tell, the D300s doesn't, or at least the D300 didn't, and I don't know if it's been put back. I totally understand the difference in build quality, weather sealing, etc, and I would see those as good reasons to upgrade (along with the better performance), but I'm just curious how the controls are different because to me it seems that just about everything the D300s has an on-body control for, the D90 does as well.
Enjoy your new camera, you can color me green!
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For buttons/ switches.
- When I hit the menu button it goes directly to the self timer page to change your timers. For some reason I do this a lot.
I am sure I am forgetting stuff too. This is just the stuff that sticks out for me.The one thing that really pisses me off is the fact that the D300s does not have IR and cant use the little wireless remote the D90 used. I just assumed it would work, why not? On top of that the Nikon wireless remote for the D200 on up is $200. That is ridiculous. I thought the little wireless remote was very convenient, although not the most reliable. I missed many hummingbird shots because I wasn't in just the right position to trigger it and sometimes took a bit of fiddling with to trigger. But it was simple and tiny and I didn't need to hook anything up. I used it all the time. But I can see the need for something more reliable, why not have both? After a bit of hunting I found there are a huge variety of wireless remotes available from Hong Kong land. I ended up getting a Phottix Cleon. It was only $35 shipped. The range claims 100 meters! 100ft would be fine. Cool, but you need to hook up a receiver to the 10pin port on the camera. So it is just more crap to set up and carry around.
Plus the D300 opens a new world of AI/AIS lenses for you. Bargain lenses with excellent quality. Almost half my stable is AI now. Love them.
Nikon D700, D300, D80 and assorted glass, old and new.
My canon shooting buddies stopped hanging out with me when I got a D300 about 2 years ago.
What I notice is at any ISO the 1:1 crops are sharper. I think this is just the auto focus system.