Nikon D300 Review

Another new addition to my little camera family has arrived this week. I mentioned earlier that I was also looking into a higher grade professional camera. Well after months of research (and waiting for the perfect sale price somewhere) I finally decided on the Nikon D300 DX 12.3MP Digital SLR Camera (Body Only). Since I already had two lens (I really love my Nikon 55-200mm f/4-5.6G ED IF AF-S DX VR Zoom Nikkor Lens) I decided to look around for the body only. Amazon has the camera for an amazing price (click the click to see more details), it was truly the best deal I could find out there on the body only, but other places like Costco (who has a really good return policy in case anything should go wrong) also sells the D300.

So here are the pros of the Nikon D300…
• 12.3-megapixel DX-format CMOS sensor
• It is fast, super fast! If you are using an entry level DSLR like the D60 you will be blown away by the speed of focus and shutter in the D300.
• Live view- which is a nice feature to help you compose the shot.
• 51 –point auto focus!!! Yes it truly does offer 51 points of auto focus and it makes all areas of the photo cleaner and more accurate. This is one of my favorite features of the Nikon D300.
• Dust Reduction Sensor
• Customizable settings within the Picture Control Settings. You can adjust the saturation, hue and white balance for each different setting to fine tune your shots.
• Active D-Lighting to help with better tones and shadows…very nice feature that truly makes a difference. • Magnesium-alloy construction- This camera looks and feels tough.
• For more on the features and specs you can visit Nikon’s D300 website.
• The battery is awesome! After a couple of days of shooting at 800 shots I still have battery life. I cannot believe it!
• At $1500 (Amazon deal) for the body he really is very reasonably priced for a pro DSLR

A couple of downsides to the D300:

I love the D300 and it is hard to come up with any negative things about the camera, so far it has been a dream. But here are some things to consider before purchasing.

• This is a professional grade camera and many of the settings you need to do manually. If you are an amateur or just a hobbyist you may consider buying one of the entry level DSLR before buying the D300. Try the Nikon D60 10.2MP Digital SLR Camera with 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G AF-S DX VR Nikkor Zoom Lensfor a good entry level Nikon DSLR.
• The menus are a little hard to navigate at first, but once you know where everything is you can change things quickly and with ease.
• He is a big boy! This camera is heavy (but don’t we expect that from professional cameras anyway)

Some of my early shots with the D300: (I am still adjusting the settings but you get the general idea)