Big Decision!!

lifeafter2am · Feb 12, 2008

Trenton Romulox said:
Only gold lenses?! Whoa, buddy, get the D300 then :]

Don't let your lens collection lock you into a system, until you've bought only top-of-the-line lenses, then I'd say you're not completely locked into a system. And besides, you could sell your Canon lenses and at least get something back for them. Let us know what you decide on. Good luck with this decision, I know it's a tough one.

I lost EVERYTHING, so I don't have to sell anything. Everything was insured, and I am now just waiting for a check. I am probably going to end up getting the D300, it just seems more my speed of camera. Plus all you D300 shooters are getting me excited! lol. :mrgreen:

Trenton Romulox · Feb 12, 2008

lifeafter2am said:
I lost EVERYTHING, so I don't have to sell anything. Everything was insured, and I am now just waiting for a check. I am probably going to end up getting the D300, it just seems more my speed of camera. Plus all you D300 shooters are getting me excited! lol. :mrgreen:

I'm sorry to hear about your equipment man, but at least it was insured. A family in my town just lost their house and all their stuff (none of them were home when it happened) to a fire, and the insurance company is trying as hard as they can to not have to pay the family anything, damn shame. That's neither here nor there, so yeah, us D300 shooters are an elite group, or so I like to tell myself. I sort of bought mine on an impulse, to be honest, and it was a great impulse. Make sure to share the awesome images you'll take with it. :]

leila · Feb 12, 2008

Found this:
Make sure you know everything before you buy. I think the Nikon would be a better choice, as this product is superior technology than the Canon D40.

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=+2]Minor D300 Blunders
[/SIZE][/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Ken Rockwell
The only blunders of the D300 are merely trivial annoyances. The hackers haven't discovered any vast-conspiracy-style flaws like the banding of the D200 or the blinking green lights of death of the D70. (Nikon fixed all those under warranty.) [/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]1.) Auto ISO is still partially defective in manual exposure mode. It doesn't automatically deactivate when you go to manual exposure! You have to go to the menus to turn it off in manual exposure, otherwise the D300 tries its best to screw with your manual exposures. The D300 needs an additional menu option labeled "Deactivate Auto ISO during Manual Exposure?"[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]2.) Continuous advance modes do not work with the built-in flash. That's right, every D300 is defective by design such that you only get one shot in the Cl or Ch modes with built-in flash! [/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]I didn't believe this when I read it on page 175 of my USA manual, but I kid you not: I only get one shot in C advance modes with built-in flash. It works OK with an SB-400, SB-600 or SB-800. A nice touch which doesn't quite make up for the built-in flash fiasco is that the in-finder bar graph now shows by how much the ambient light is underexposed when you get darker than the slowest flash sync speed. [/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Nikon probably did this to prevent pros from melting the pop-up flash from overuse, but Nikon should have fortified the circuitry, not locked us out from using it. [/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]3.) The Fn button can only be programmed to do half of what it does on the D200. Specifically, on my D200 I have it set for flash exposure lock and hold, and to allow me to enter the focal length and speed of manual focus lenses for matrix metering. On the D300, I only can get one of those functions and have to trudge through menus to get the other function. [/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]4.) Manual lens data now only can be entered though deep menus. Once entered (only 9 lenses maximum, and each setting on a zoom takes one memory) you might be able to select among them with the Fn button, but forget easy, instant direct adjustment as you change lenses as you can on the D200. The D300 is similar to the F6 (10 memories), but the F6 makes better use of the Fn button.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]5.) Custom function e4, modeling flash, is still set ON by default. This can cause blindness since it fires off a long, unexpected burst of flash when you hit the depth-of-field button. The first thing I did on my D300 after I cranked the saturation all the way up was to set e4 to OFF. (page 298, USA manual.) [/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]6.) I'm really reaching for this one, but the AF sensor indicator on the top LCD always shows the center sensor or group, regardless of which are actually selected. Press the "info" button and it displays correctly on the rear LCD. [/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]7.) You know the D300 is an amateur camera because the annoying moron BEEP is ON by default. In the professional D3, the annoy-everyone beep is off by default.

http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/d300.htm
[/FONT]

lifeafter2am · Feb 12, 2008

Yeah I read that review. Trust me, I have scoured the internet before coming here. Thank you though!

leila · Feb 12, 2008

I'm looking into a Canon D40 as an upgrade from Rebel XT and I came across this article. I thought of you...

Nikon D300 vs Canon EOS 40D: A Hands-On Workout

Although the technology-showcase D300 ($1800) costs 50 percent more than the EOS 40D ($1200), American Photo contributor Jonathan Barkey found them to be more evenly matched than he expected.

By Jonathan Barkey, American Photo Contributor
January 2008

Click photo to see 100% pixel comparisons of images shot with the Canon EOS 40D and the Nikon D300 digital SLRs. While mid-priced DSLRs from competing manufacturers may excel in different ways, these semi-pro models from Canon and Nikon give you a winning combination of speed, image quality, extensive lens/accessory systems, and an upgrade path to their top-drawer professional brethren.
Of course, pitting the two against each other isn't entirely fair, since the technology-showcase D300 ($1800), a junior version of Nikon's tour-de-force flagship D3, costs 50 percent more than the EOS 40D ($1200), which has evolved from humbler "prosumer" models. Still, we found them to be more evenly matched than we expected, based on our evaluations in the key areas detailed below.

Article:
http://www.popphoto.com/cameras/5062/nikon-d300-vs-canon-eos-40d-a-hands-on-workout.html

Comparison Pictures:
http://www.popphoto.com/gallery.asp...ry_id=1359&page_number=1&seq=2&cnt=2&slide=on
sorry just changed, it was the wrong link

Trenton Romulox · Feb 12, 2008

HAHA, I love this:
"7.) You know the D300 is an amateur camera because the annoying moron BEEP is ON by default. In the professional D3, the annoy-everyone beep is off by default."

It's always good to judge a camera by its default audio settings. Was that review from Ken Rockwell or something?

lifeafter2am · Feb 12, 2008

You weren't at Harmon Photo today were you? There was a girl there looking to do the same thing. lol.

lifeafter2am · Feb 12, 2008

Trenton Romulox said:
HAHA, I love this:
"7.) You know the D300 is an amateur camera because the annoying moron BEEP is ON by default. In the professional D3, the annoy-everyone beep is off by default."

It's always good to judge a camera by its default audio settings. Was that review from Ken Rockwell or something?

Such an amatuer camera with all the "scene" shooting modes! lol.

leila · Feb 12, 2008

lifeafter2am said:
You weren't at Harmon Photo today were you? There was a girl there looking to do the same thing. lol.

Nope.

Trenton Romulox · Feb 12, 2008

lifeafter2am said:
Such an amatuer camera with all the "scene" shooting modes! lol.

The first thing I did when I opened the box was set the camera to manual mode. Haven't changed it back off 'M' since.

If I were to categorize the D300, I'd say it's a semi-professional or professional backup camera. I love my D300, but it's not at the level the D3 is, but it's pretty close. The body is built as well as a professional body though, in my opinion, except the lack of vertical grip, but that's nothing the vertical grip (MB-D10) can't fix. I mean, even if the camera is categorized as prosumer (which I've yet to see the D300 labeled as), it's certainly more than capable of producing professional results, paired with good lenses and of course a good photographer.

There is only so much words can say about the D300, you've really just gotta get some good shooting time for it all to really sink in.

kundalini · Feb 12, 2008

It seems that liela is a die-hard Canon user judging by the two posts put up. The first read like there were unresolved issues from that individual and I havent read the links on liela because I could care less. Pretty much as I could care less of your decision because whatever you decide is due to your own research, testing and personal convictions. The camera you finally decide to hold is inconsequential to me. I just hope that whatever your decision, your are at one with the camera. I can empathize your position and will say that this Nikon shooter is quite willing to have a day out, regardless of the badge on your camera.

lifeafter2am · Feb 12, 2008

I am about 99% sure that I am going to pick up the D300! I agree that it seems like more of a semi-professional than the 40D does. I would definitely be picking up the grip, mostly because I want the 8fps.

lifeafter2am · Feb 12, 2008

kundalini said:
It seems that liela is a die-hard Canon user judging by the two posts put up. The first read like there were unresolved issues from that individual and I havent read the links on liela because I could care less. Pretty much as I could care less of your decision because whatever you decide is due to your own research, testing and personal convictions. The camera you finally decide to hold is inconsequential to me. I just hope that whatever your decision, your are at one with the camera. I can empathize your position and will say that this Nikon shooter is quite willing to have a day out, regardless of the badge on your camera.

Well thank you! You in Florida or just flying here to shoot?

Trenton Romulox · Feb 12, 2008

lifeafter2am said:
I am about 99% sure that I am going to pick up the D300! I agree that it seems like more of a semi-professional than the 40D does. I would definitely be picking up the grip, mostly because I want the 8fps.

Yeah, I've shot some hockey since getting my grip for the D300, and I've gotta tell you, 6fps was great, but 8fps is ridiculous. Next game I'll shoot in JPEG basic just to see how great of a burst I can score.

Oh, and I see that that the list of 7 things was in fact from Ken Rockwell...go figure. I mean, I use that guy's site for reference now and again, but he always whines about the most trivial things. His photography isn't even that good. Not that mine is good either, but I'm not a professional, nor someone who has been shooting for very long HAHA. I also don't speak as if I know everything. Or maybe I do, but at least I don't have a website for it HAHA.