Nikon D300 to keep or upgrade

[Parkersdad]

I currently have a Nikon D300 and a Nikon D80. I am trying to decide if I should keep those cameras or buy a newer Nikon? My focus will mainly be on wildlife photography. Thanks for any help

 

[Dave442]

For wildlife I say upgrade to the D500 with the 200-500mm lens. I have a couple D200 bodies and the D500 is a logical upgrade. Low light conditions in the woods is usually the biggest issue I have with wildlife.

 

[astroNikon]

I agree with Dave
The D500 would be a gigantic upgrade. And a more modern faster AF lens will definitely help too such as the 200-500 although you don't mention what len(ses) you use.

 

[KmH]

The Nikon D300 is fully capable for wildlife photography.

If there is some D300 performance aspect you feel is lacking - upgrade.
Otherwise there is no need.
There was no D400, so the D500 is the next step up.

For myself, a D300s suffices for the types of photography I do.

 

[jaomul]

As said above, upgrade if your d300s is lacking. Most point at the d500, I'd suggest if 6fps is enough look at the d7200

 

[Derrel]

Sensor quality from the D300 or D300s generation compared to what sensors in the newer-generation cameras sensors can do is quite different. In my opinion, the D300 is not in any way "fully capable"...it's severely lacking except under well-lighted conditions and at lower ISO levels. Seriously...the D80 is the same...I know...I still have a 12-Megapixel, $5,000 Nikon D2x...the sensor capability, the resolution, the ISO capabilities, the dynamic range, etc..--all of the sensor metrics have been HUGELY improved-upon in the D600 and newer D610,and the D750 and the D800 and newer (D800e,D810,D850) cameras.

I would upgrade. Without any doubt. Not so sure about the D500: it fires fast, but the image quality, and the higher-ISO capabilities of the camera are not impressive to me. Full-frame has higher image quality once the ISO hits 400. "Wildlife" means many things...if you want BIF, firing rate is one thing...if you're shooting elk, resolution is more critical than frames per second.

 

[Derrel]

Nikon D7200 vs Nikon D80 vs Nikon D300 | DxOMark

 

[Parkersdad]

Thanks for the replies. I’m not even close to a professional and right now do not want to spend the money so I probably will stick with the D300 for a little while to get my feet wet again. I did photography for a long time and then put it down for about six years. Now I’m starting over.

 

[Dave442]

In that case just pick up a couple new batteries and keep using the D300. The bad news is the D300 used price has dropped a lot in the past six years, the good news is the D800 prices have dropped a lot in the used market.

 

[goodguy]

Another vote for Nikon D500, just get it!