Nikon D300 vs Canon EOS 5D?

[themaze76]

IMO...go for the D300, I am a recent Nikon convert. I shot Canon for a very long time and loved them, but I bought a D80 about a year ago and traded up to a D300 last month. I have never had a camera that was so easy to get the results I was looking for. I truly believe that I have just opened a creative can of worms. Plus...you cannot beat Nikon glass.

 

[Village Idiot]

I think I was comparing it to my a D40 at 1600 ISO, both of which (5D and D40) I have shot with in the same dark environment with the less than flattering noise.

Regardless, the AUTO ISO feature is not useless, it's actually a huge benefit, something the above poster mentioned you aren't addressing.

None of this is neither here nor there.

I personally feel the 5D has poor low-light capabilities, and I still assert that the D300 would have better low-light capabilities since I feel that my lower-on-the-sensor-evolution-pole D40 has comparable abilities as the 5D.

But I might be wrong, it might be the glass I was shooting with on both when I tried them.

The conclusion is still the same to the OP, wait for the fall, if you can, and see better price reductions on the 5D since the 5D MK II should be out, which might lend to better reductions on the D300, all around Q4 time-frame (read: Christmas sales!)

Happy shopping to the OP. . .

It's probably how you were shooting with the 5D. Search low light and 5D and you'll find a ton of praise for it's high ISO abilities. If you bothered to check the Ken Rockwell link, you'll see how the d40 looks like ass in comparison to the 5d and even the d300 doesn't retain as much detail at the higher iso.

 

[Mav]

Tastes Great!!

Less Filling!

 

[manaheim]

FULL FRAME VS. NOT

Just an important thing to consider when buying any Nikon partial-frame camera. (D100, D200, D300, D70, D80, I assume the D40/50/60s also)

There is one non-religious thing here, and that is quite simply that the full frame allows you to get a wider shot.

For SOME people (i.e. me, who interestingly has a Nikon D300 and should probably be running Canon) this is absolutely critical... and I'm not talking about "omg I wish I could get more of this beautiful landscape" critical... I'm talking about "Crap, I can't get even 1/2 of this hotel room in this shot" critical.

Just something to keep in mind.

BTW, I'm not poo-pooing the D300. I love my cam, it's just this is a clear technical limitation of the partial sensor cams.

 

[Mav]

Chris, that may have been true several years ago about being able to get wider shots on full-frame, but today there's a full fleet of ultra-wide and even fisheye lenses available for crop body DSLRs. Canon EF-S 10-22, and Sigma 10-20 HSM lenses are about the widest they go. Sigma also has a 10mm fisheye in both Canon and Nikon mounts, and Nikon was the first to introduce a fisheye for crop bodies back several years ago. I just picked up a Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 fisheye for DX Nikons and have had the 10.5mm Nikon fisheye and they're both outstanding lenses.

I think full-frame cameras and the full-frame lenses will probably be a tad sharper at the edges than a crop body ultra-wide since it has to get squeezed down more, but there are plenty of ultra-wide options for 1.5/1.6x DSLRs nowadays. Even Olympus has some nutty 7-14mm lens I think for their 2.0x DSLRs if you have about $2k USD to spend.

 

[manaheim]

Chris, that may have been true several years ago about being able to get wider shots on full-frame, but today there's a full fleet of ultra-wide and even fisheye lenses available for crop body DSLRs. Canon EF-S 10-22, and Sigma 10-20 HSM lenses are about the widest they go. Sigma also has a 10mm fisheye in both Canon and Nikon mounts, and Nikon was the first to introduce a fisheye for crop bodies back several years ago. I just picked up a Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 fisheye for DX Nikons and have had the 10.5mm Nikon fisheye and they're both outstanding lenses.

I think full-frame cameras and the full-frame lenses will probably be a tad sharper at the edges than a crop body ultra-wide since it has to get squeezed down more, but there are plenty of ultra-wide options for 1.5/1.6x DSLRs nowadays. Even Olympus has some nutty 7-14mm lens I think for their 2.0x DSLRs if you have about $2k USD to spend.

Yeah, you're absolutely right that there are a lot of options out now that really make this a lot less painful than it was. I just picked up the Sigma 10-20mm to replace my Nikon 18mm 2.8. There is no question a huge difference in usability for the wide shots... but the fact is I could still get more out of a lens like that if it was full frame. Not this particular lens, of course, but I assume you see what I mean... if I didn't have the partial frame, a 10mm lens would be... a 10mm lens! Vs. the 13-15 that it winds up being. Is 3-5mm a lot? Seems like not, but then with what I do every little bit really makes a difference.

Again, not a concern for everyone, but definitely something to evaluate when you're in the middle of deciding just what camera to buy.

Great points though, thank you for making them.

 

[Village Idiot]

Chris, that may have been true several years ago about being able to get wider shots on full-frame, but today there's a full fleet of ultra-wide and even fisheye lenses available for crop body DSLRs. Canon EF-S 10-22, and Sigma 10-20 HSM lenses are about the widest they go. Sigma also has a 10mm fisheye in both Canon and Nikon mounts, and Nikon was the first to introduce a fisheye for crop bodies back several years ago. I just picked up a Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 fisheye for DX Nikons and have had the 10.5mm Nikon fisheye and they're both outstanding lenses.

I think full-frame cameras and the full-frame lenses will probably be a tad sharper at the edges than a crop body ultra-wide since it has to get squeezed down more, but there are plenty of ultra-wide options for 1.5/1.6x DSLRs nowadays. Even Olympus has some nutty 7-14mm lens I think for their 2.0x DSLRs if you have about $2k USD to spend.

All I have to say to justify UWA on a 5d. 16-35 f/2.8L. Great lens.

 

[KD5NRH]

However, it's an established fact that owning a Nikon will improve your sex life.

Kinda like prison...every time you need another accessory...just make sure you have plenty of KY.

 

[peterbj7]

I personally feel the 5D has poor low-light capabilities

Have you looked at www.cambridgeincolour.com?