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Nikon D300 Digital SLR Review
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Review Summary
Reader Score: 8.34 (out of 10)
Review (Summary): "Nikon's D300 displaces the D200 at the top of the prosumer DX lineup, but it does not replace it. The D200 will live on. But D200 owners in particular will be especially drawn to the D300's new features. The camera's increased resolution, 14-bit A/D conversion, and a frame rate of six frames-per-second will pique their interest. ...
... If you need a great digital SLR camera and the price is no issue, the Nikon D300 will exceed your needs. Those requiring a faster frame rate and greater autofocus speed should consider a D3, provided they can handle the extra size and weight. ..."
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Other Reviews For This Model
| Review Site |
Review Score |
Date |
Link |
| NeoCamera |
9.00 |
03-19-08 |
Read Full Review
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| Review (Summary): "The D300 is Nikon's most advanced non-full frame digital SLR. This is a professional grade 12 megapixels camera with high-speed continuous shooting capabilities and very sophisticated focusing and metering systems. ...
... The image quality of the D300 rivals the best DSLRs with an emphasis on smooth low-noise images at the expense of some details at high-ISO. While colors and white-balance are oversaturated and warm by default, picture controls and custom white-balance are flexible enough to produce more realistic-looking images. ..." |
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| Review Site |
Review Score |
Date |
Link |
| Camera Labs |
8.75 |
12-06-07 |
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| Review (Summary): "The time-frame between models may have halved, but Nikon's certainly not skimped on the D300’s capabilities. It features a new 12.3 Megapixel CMOS sensor, 6fps continuous shooting, a new 51 point AF system, 3in screen with VGA resolution, 100% viewfinder coverage, Live View facilities, the option of 14-bit RAW file recording, anti-dust capabilities and an HDMI port for direct connection to HDTVs. ...
... There's no denying the Nikon D300 is a highly capable DSLR which will delight enthusiasts and satisfy the demands of pros looking for a backup or 'budget' body. Certainly no-one does ergonomics like Nikon and despite a handful of annoyances, it's also the most feature-packed DSLR of its class. But there's also no denying it's also comfortably more expensive than many rivals while not delivering significantly better image quality. ..." |
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| Review Site |
Review Score |
Date |
Link |
| DCResource |
8.73 |
12-14-07 |
Read Full Review
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| Review (Summary): "The D300 is a fairly large digital SLR, and it's built like a tank. Made almost entirely of an magnesium alloy, the D300 doesn't let you forget that it's an $1800 camera. The only part of the camera that really screams "cheap" is the plastic door over the memory card slot. The camera is weather-sealed, so the D300's ports, buttons, and dials are shielded from dust and moisture (this doesn't mean that you should go shooting in the rain, though). ...
... All things considered, Nikon has done a really impressive job with the D300. The made a lot of promises, and the D300 has delivered on them. It keeps up perfectly with its closest competition, the EOS-40D, and surpasses it in several areas. Whether you're upgrading from an older Nikon SLR, or want something "nice" for your first foray into digital SLRs, then the Nikon D300 is a camera that I can highly recommend." |
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| Review Site |
Review Score |
Date |
Link |
| byThom |
8.60 |
03-14-08 |
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| Review (Summary): "The question on everyone's mind has been singular: is the D300 really that good? Short answer: yes. However, I'll eventually get to a long laundry list of things that Nikon didn't get right on the D300. The basics and image quality are all there and top notch; it's only in the details that you find some rough spots, likely caused by the short time frame in which new designs are being produced these days. Personally, I would have preferred a six month wait and have all the wrinkles fixed, but I'll take what we got, because what we got is better than what we had, and not by a small margin. ...
... Here's a surprise (at least it was to me): the D300 has more dynamic range than the D200 and D2xs. Measurably more. Whereas most of the previous Nikon DSLRs all were in the 7 to 7.5 stop range of usable dynamic range, I'll put the D300 squarely in the 8 stop usable range, perhaps even a bit more than that, especially if you're shooting NEF (Imatest reports a full stop difference between a raw file converted in Lightroom and an in-camera JPEG, all else equal). Still not Fujifilm S3/S5 range, but clearly better than the D200. ..." |
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| Review Site |
Review Score |
Date |
Link |
| Photoshop Insider |
8.33 |
12-13-08 |
Read Full Review
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| Review (Summary): "I've spent the past two weeks, many hours, had two meetings with Nikon Professional Services staff, and taken thousands of photos with my new Nikon D300 and I'm ready to spill the beans and let you know what's hot (and what's not) about Nikon's new arrival. ...
Nitpicking above aside, the D300 is a much better, more fully featured update to the D200 than I had ever imagined it would be. How much so? Well, needless to say, I'm selling my D200 ..." |
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| Review Site |
Review Score |
Date |
Link |
| DPReview |
8.17 |
03-12-08 |
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| Review (Summary): "Just under two years since the D200 Nikon reveals the D300, the range of changes is so significant that it wouldn't be inappropriate to call it a 'compact D3' (less the full-frame sensor of course). From the top there's a new CMOS sensor with twelve megapixels, a new auto-focus sensor with 51-points (15 of which are cross-type sensitive), there's focus tracking by color, scene recognition, Picture Control presets, six frames per second continuous shooting (or eight frames per second with a battery pack), Compact Flash UDMA support, Live View (with contrast detect AF) and the mighty impressive 3.0" 922,000 pixel LCD monitor (oh and HDMI video output). It's an impressive list, the D200 was a fair step up from the D100, the D300 can be seen as just as big a step, certainly more than enough to make the competition sweat. ...
... The D200 was a big step forward for Nikon, the 'baby D2X' certainly gave the competition a thing or two to think about. Its big problem was the fact that Canon was still a generation ahead in the noise stakes, managing to consistently deliver clean images despite megapixel jumps. With the advent of the D300 however Nikon has conclusively removed this disparity and if anything stepped ahead of Canon (mostly thanks to its chroma based noise reduction delivering more film-like grain rather than color blotches). ..." |
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| Review Site |
Review Score |
Date |
Link |
| Photography Blog |
8.17 |
12-20-07 |
Read Full Review
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| Review (Field Test): "Dutch wildlife photography Jan Vermeer recently made an epic journey through the icy wastelands of Antartica, accompanied by Nikon's brand new DSLR, the eagerly-anticipated D300. In our exclusive English report, Jan shares his experiences of using Nikon's prosumer DSLR camera in such an inhospitable climate, photographing the Emperor Penguins of Snow Hill Island. A passionate advocate of the Nikon D2X camera, this was Jan's first hands-on test of the new D300 - find out how it performed in one of the most beautiful and most hostile parts of our planet. ...
... My first day on the ice with the new Nikon D300 at the ready goes surprisingly easily. The camera is easy to operate and lies well in the hand. Despite two layers of gloves, I am still well able to operate the controls. Fortunately, the control buttons remain unchanged in respect to those I am familiar with on the D2X. ..." |
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| Review Site |
Review Score |
Date |
Link |
| PC Magazine |
7.67 |
05-04-08 |
Read Full Review
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| Review (Summary): "... With a ton of features and terrific image quality, the D300 stands out as one of the best D-SLRs you can buy. Among the new features are a big 3-inch LCD, a 51-point autofocus system with 3D tracking, two live view modes, and enough manual settings to fill a 421-page user manual. Although the D300 is still a little expensive for this category, the image quality alone is well worth the cost. ...
... Using a DX-format CMOS image sensor, the D300 produces exceptional images. My daylight and flash still-life shots were superb, with accurate colors and more than adequate flash coverage. Shadows were true to life, with no under- or overexposure. ..."
Also view Video Review |
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| Review Site |
Review Score |
Date |
Link |
| Photo.net |
7.59 |
02-19-08 |
Read Full Review
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| Review (Summary): "The Nikon D300 is a digital single-lens reflex (SLR) camera designed for professional photographers and serious amateurs. The model number suggests that it is the successor to the Nikon D200, $1700 (review), which was introduced in 2005 with a metal chassis, weather sealing, a large viewfinder, and metering capability with all Nikon manual-focus lenses with auto indexing (AI) since 1977. The Nikon D300 retains all of those features plus a number of significant improvements such as Nikon's new auto focus (AF) system, 8 frames per second (fps) capture rate with the optional MB-D10 battery pack, live view, and automatic sensor cleaning. ...
... For about $3000 less (over the D200 which it replaces), the D300 offers Nikon's current best AF module, which is also featured in their top professional model, the D3. With the Multi-CAM 3500 and the ability to capture 8 fps, the D300 also replaces the D2H and D2X as Nikon's top DX-sensor DSLR suitable for action and sports photography. ..." |
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| Review Site |
Review Score |
Date |
Link |
| CNET Reviews |
7.50 |
02-13-08 |
Read Full Review
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| Review (Summary): "When you build the follow-up to a hot camera, how do you turn up the heat? When Nikon shipped the D200 a couple of years ago, its combination of speed and photo quality blew away the limited competition, and provided a powerful, relatively inexpensive alternative to Nikon's then top-of-the-line D2X. The D300 faces a far more crowded field. Not only does it take on its venerable and now lower-priced predecessor, but also a cluster of far-from-shabby dSLRs just at or below its price ...
... Although the lack of in-body stabilization can be a big liability for certain users, and its interface not quite as streamlined as I'd like, these negatives are more than offset by the great performance and class-leading photo quality delivered by the Nikon D300-earning it an Editors' Choice." |
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| Review Site |
Review Score |
Date |
Link |
| LetsGoDigital |
6.91 |
03-24-08 |
Read Full Review
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| Review (Summary): "... The high quality housing is almost identical to that of the D200. Of course it is made weatherproof to enable the photographer do his job in deserts or during some rain showers. The viewfinder is further improved and offers 100% view at a 0.94x enlargement. Naturally the D300 works entirely with the extremely advanced Nikon i-TTL flash system. The shutter has been guaranteed up to 150,000 pictures. ...
If you were to ask me what I found the most important camera of 2007 I would definitely place the Nikon D300 at the top, without a single doubt. A spot that the camera could possibly only share with the Nikon D3. The new Nikon D300 is a beautiful work-horse and meets the requirements of the professional photographer. ..." |
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| Review Site |
Review Score |
Date |
Link |
| Digital Camera Info |
----- |
04-22-08 |
Read Full Review
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| Review (Summary): "The 12.3-megapixel Nikon D300 updates the older D200 with more resolution on a new CMOS sensor that promises improved noise control. The D300 is the first DSLR in Nikon’s line to include dust reduction, and sits between the $999 D80 and the $3,499 D2Hs. It has an awesome 3-inch live view LCD screen, as does the pro model D3, with some of the best resolution on the market - 921,000 pixels. ...
... The autofocus system is straight off the pro Nikon D3 and is amazing. It has 51 points and is the fastest we’ve seen. The Nikon D300 is well suited for sports shooting with its 6 to 8 fps Burst mode (depending on whether the battery grip is attached), and quick predictive autofocus tracking. ..." |
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