Needs an honest opinion. Pre-purchase jitters.

[domromer]

For the past few weeks I've been thinking of upgrading from the D80 to the D300. I know the D300 has faster autofocus, more accurate metering and better build quality. But in terms of actual image quality will I see a difference between the D300 and my D80? Most of you guys have seen the pics I take 90% are landscapes. So the fast focus and build quality is nice, but what I care about the most is the quality of the final image. Most pics are shot on a tripod with a remote, so 6fps isn't a real big concern.

So I'm a bit torn. If I'm not going to see a real jump in image quality then I might as well wait for the new version of the D80 or the next D300.


Your thoughts?

 

[Iron Flatline]

You do not need the D300. If landscape is your thing you might want to go wider, and as such it might make sense to save up for the D3 so that you have a full-sized frame. None of the things you point out are really mission-critical for the kind of shooting you do.

In my opinion* the hardest thing about landscape photography is not the shooting, it's the printing. Focus on getting a good printer, and acquiring the skills to use it.

* Obviously it is "my opinion", I'm the one who wrote this thread... but on the Internet people need to see a disclaimer lest they think the writer is stating a fact. "Facts" can only emanate from "Pros" and other web sites (link required.)**

** Obviously I meant that last line satirically. On the Internet, "satire" (as a sub-genre of "humor") requires a smiling emoticon. Herewith then I provide the following smiley: :???:

 

[JerryPH]

LMAO! Talk about covering your ass!

Sincerely, I would not think that the D300 would offer you THAT much of an improvement. Would it improve? Yes, but likely not phenominally.

You can do what I am doing... that is to wait and see what the next iteration of the DXXX release offers you over your D80.

... and during that time, start saving for a D3.