Switch from D300 to D700 - better quality images?

Chloe · Jul 12, 2011

I have been doing product photography with a D300 (hard to believe) since it hit the market. Even though it's not a professional level camera the D300 has been a real work horse and money maker. I think the image quality is lacking when shooting black and very dark colored product, matte or gloss, big or small. Wondering if anyone can tell me if switching to a D700 with the FX sensor would really make a difference for sharper, cleaner detailed images. I notice noise at low iso's when shooting really dark product with the D300. It's not detectable unless you know what you are looking for but never the less I see it. I read so much conflicting info on the net. It's the lens, it's the lighting, it's the operator....I have exp with lighting, props, lens, just want to know if anyone has used both and knows if there is a big enough difference in image quality to justify the $2,600 price. I do not have dx lenses so that isn't an issue. I read in one article there isn't enough difference in mage quality to justify the price and another that said the complete opposite! Like to hear from someone who has actually used both.
Thanks

Garbz · Jul 13, 2011

If you're having problems shooting a specific item with specific colour it does sound more like an operational issue rather than a hardware issue.

You're seeing noise at the lowest ISO setting? Really? May be worth checking what you're doing in post production or learning to "shoot to the right" as they say. If you're pulling significant noise from a D300 frankly you're doing it wrong, and it's likely that a D700 won't fix your problems either.

One thing I am questioning though is your sensitivity on the matter. Sharpness? Noise? I have never seen a case where this was relevant in product photography with by far the vast majority of images ending up in a situations where the quality of the camera wouldn't even have made a difference. e.g. A full page spread in a magazine, image on a website etc. Product photography didn't start with the D700, and the quality of the images for products doesn't appear to have changed in the last 5 years at all.

In summary yes the D700 does product better images. In perfect conditions expect the quality to be .... slightly better. Expect it not to make a difference to sales though.

Kerbouchard · Jul 13, 2011

It's all releative, some people have the same complaints about the D700 as you do about the D300...most specifically, banding in underexposed areas. Those people wonder if upgrading to a D3X would make a difference.

Since you already have lenses, already have lighting, know which type of photos you shoot, maybe consider renting a D700 and actually try it for a few days to see if you think it is worth it?

As far as deeper blacks and less shadow noise, yes, a D700 does handle both of those better than the D300. Is it enough to justify an upgrade for you? I don't know.

molested_cow · Jul 13, 2011

I don't think it matters for product photography. You have the option of shooting on a tripod and can set the ISO to as low as you want. To me it sounds more like lens issue.

kundalini · Jul 13, 2011

molested_cow said:
I don't think it matters for product photography. You have the option of shooting on a tripod and can set the ISO to as low as you want. To me it sounds more like lens issue.

I have both the D300 & D700, sounds more like a lighting issue to me.

tirediron · Jul 13, 2011

kundalini said:
molested_cow said:

I don't think it matters for product photography. You have the option of shooting on a tripod and can set the ISO to as low as you want. To me it sounds more like lens issue.

Click to expand...

I have both the D300 & D700, sounds more like a lighting issue to me.

Ditto and ditto! :thumbup:

Chloe · Jul 13, 2011

This issue has always driven me nuts, and I have to shoot a lot of solid black product next week so I rented another D300 this morning and problem gone. I'll take mine when I return this one and see what (if anything) can be done. If I have to change cameras I'll probably just go to the D700.
I am still interested to see if a FX format would have a noticeable difference. For product images I can usually get outstanding images with my mid level D300, but I never liked the noise in the dark products, it's not a lot but some of the images end up in high end print so it matters. It's not hard to fix in ps but still shouldn't need too. Now I won't have too! Wish I would have tried another camera yrs ago.
I appreciate all of the responses.
Thanks