DxOMark: Nikon D7000 vs. D90 vs. D300s

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Source

Nikon D90 Vs. Nikon D300

Source: QQQQcon YouTube Website
Additional Information: Ken Rockwell On D90

Eddy Winner: Nikon D300

Eddy Winner: Nikon D300 Digital Camera
By Christopher Breen
Macworld.com

Excerpt:

"This 12.3-megapixel camera stands out for many reasons. To begin with, its 14-bit sensor and image-processing engine provide excellent image quality. It’s also a champ when it comes to low-light shooting, allowing you to use settings as high as 3,200 ISO and still get excellent results. When you first pick up the camera, you notice its solid build, and all of its important controls -- ISO, white balance, exposure, shooting modes, and focus settings -- are easy to access with the touch of a button, switch, or dial.

"In case you need more than those controls, the menus are packed with a nearly endless complement of options. Switch the camera on, and you’ll be dazzled by the D300’s bright and crisp three-inch LCD display, which not only provides detailed information about your images and camera but also can also be used as a viewfinder (in Live View mode). For shooters ready to move up from entry-level DSLRs, the D300 is a great next step."

Nikon TV Ad

TV Ad Featuring Ashton Kutcher and the Nikon D60 (and D300).

New Firmware For Nikon D300

Nikon has today announced a firmware update for the D300, taking it to v1.10. The update improves focus performance in dynamic-area AF mode contrast-detect mode in live view but also looks at a whole range of other issues.

Download Firmware Update For Mac

Download Firmware Update For Windows

Scott Kelby On Nikon D700

Excerpt:

Things I Really Liked:

* Besides the really obvious stuff (like High ISO and Full Frame, and the inclusion of a pop-up flash for triggering wireless flash), I really like how you access the memory cards -- there’s no annoying memory card door button to push first -- it’s just a simple slide of a panel (more like you have on some Canon models)...

* I like that you can use the same batteries as the D300...


What I Didn’t Like:

* I could only come up with one thing that I didn’t like about the D700, but to me, it’s pretty significant. I don’t like the feel of the shutter. To me, it feels soft and kind of mushy (compared to either the D3 or the D300)...

* There is one more issue, but it’s not a D700 issue; it’s a full-frame issue. The problem with the D700 is the same problem as with the D3; to really experience the full frame sensor advantage, you really have to have lenses that were made to take advantage of the full-frame sensor. If not, and you put DX format lenses on the D700, you get a 1.5x cropped image that’s only around 5 megapixels. If you have a lens like Nikon’s 70-200mm f/2.8 VR lens, then you’re in luck -- it works great with full frame, and doesn’t do the “DX Crop” thing. However, if you have the popular 18-200mm f/3.5 - f/5.6 VR lens, then your image will be cropped down to 5-megapixels. Hey, better you hear it from me, than learn it the hard way. I guess what I’m trying to tell you is this; you’re probably going to need more than just the D700 body. You’re probably going to need to buy a lens (or two) to make it worth your investment. If you shoot portraits, the incredibly crisp new 24-70 f/2.8 FX lens runs around $1,700. If you shoot landscapes, Nikon’s fabulous 14-24mm f/2.8 FX lens costs around $1,550. In short; you’re going to need the money you save from not buying a D3.

The Bottomline:

The D700 just takes a better looking photograph than the D300... The new sensor, the autofocus, the low noise -- it all adds up to photos that just beat the D300...

Then, who should buy a D700? It’s for anyone who wants to shoot handheld in low light (at higher ISOs than you would ever consider with a D300, like 6400 ISO). It’s for anyone who really wants the advantage of shooting with a 35mm-sized full-frame sensor, and it’s for anyone who just wants better looking images than they’re getting now with a D300 or lower...

Read Scott's complete review here.

Nikon Digital SLR Comparison Guide

Nikon Digital SLR Comparison Guide (pdf)

Nikon D3 & D300 Firmware Updates

From http://www.dpreview.com/

"In addition to the announcement of the D700, Nikon has revised the firmware of the D3 and D300. The latest D3 firmware adds new function button customization options though not the ones featured on the D700. In addition to these and a virtual horizon in live view mode, Nikon has also addressed the problem that some users experienced in which the battery indicator would incorrectly register an empty battery. This problem, which has come to be known as 'Dead Battery Syndrome,' has also been addressed in new firmware for the D300.

"D3 firmware makes improvements to AF and Auto White Balance mode, as well as correcting for the battery indicator errors. Many of the other changes are subtle tweaks to menus and behavior, such as the decision to only all auto-rotate of images in playback mode, not in the review image that appears after shooting (as the camera must already be in the correct orientation to have taken the shot).

"The only D700 feature to appear is the addition of a visualization of the virtual horizon function to live view mode. Other than this, the new function button customization options are not as extensive as its new baby brother. The D3 changes add three more options that can be assigned to the Function, Preview or AE-L/AF-L buttons. The only completely original option is the ability to scroll between shooting menu banks (user-defined presets) with a button press and turn of the control dial. The firmware also separates the image area (FX/DX/5:4) option into two, so that you can choose to either scroll between all three image sizes or just between FX and DX."

D3 firmware v2.00 can be downloaded from the following links:
Mac
PC

D300 firmware v1.03 can be downloaded from the following links:
Mac
PC

More details about the D3 changes can be found by clicking here.

Scott Kelby On Nikon D300

Excerpt:

"Q. Scott. If it won’t get you into too much trouble with sponsors, what do you think is the best digital camera under $2,500, body only? I want to take up photography for the first time. So far, from what I’ve seen, the D300 looks best.

"A. My opinion is, of course, going to be biased because I’m a Nikon shooter, and I bought the D300 (no, Nikon didn’t give me one), so I think that pretty much tells you where I’m at. I think the D300 smokes, especially for the money, and (Nikon will hate me for saying this), I think it’s FAR superior to the Nikon D2Xs which was selling for around $5,000, body only, at the time the D300 came out (in fact, I sold my Nikon D2Xs after having my D300 for about two weeks). So, D300 -- that’s what I’d recommend to a friend (and have in many instances, and have gotten nothing but love in return)."

Original Link

Scott Kelby's Top Five List For Everything

Excerpts:

Five Cameras I’ve Been Really Impressed With:

1. The Nikon D3 (I think it’s the best DSLR ever made)

2. The Canon EOS 1D Mark III (If it weren’t for the D3, I’d be shooting this)

3. The Nikon D300 (Ridiculous bang for the buck)

4. The Canon 40D (A pro-quality camera at a great price)

5. The Canon G9 Point & Shoot (Probably the best point and shoot ever).

............

Five other software apps I use:

1. Apple’s iPhoto (for photo slideshows)

2. Apple’s Aperture (for making photo books)

3. Keynote (for slide presentations)

4. Toast (for burning CDs and DVDs)

5. Nikon Camera Control Pro 2 (for shooting tethered into my Mac)

Complete list.

DPReview: Nikon D300

Excerpt:

"The D200 was a big step forward for Nikon, the 'baby D2X' certainly gave the competition a thing or two to think about. Its big problem was the fact that Canon was still a generation ahead in the noise stakes, managing to consistently deliver clean images despite megapixel jumps. With the advent of the D300 however Nikon has conclusively removed this disparity and if anything stepped ahead of Canon (mostly thanks to its chroma based noise reduction delivering more film-like grain rather than color blotches).

"But that's just one aspect of the D300 story, almost everything else about this camera has been improved. Starting on the outside there's that stunning high resolution three inch LCD monitor, the usefulness of which shouldn't be underestimated (you'll find you get enough detail without magnifying as far), there's perhaps the best implementation of Live View to date with both contrast detect (like a compact camera, although not particularly fast) and passive auto-focus options, and there's HDMI output; a boon no doubt to studio photographers who can now provide live high resolution previews of a shot. And of course we can't talk about the D300 without giving Nikon credit for the superb build quality and robust 'go anywhere' feel the body has.

"On the inside Nikon has worked hard to deliver both better image quality and better performance; you get usable images up to ISO 3200, extended image parameter control, improved dynamic range, automatic CA removal (which immediately improves the performance of all your lenses), six frames per second continuous shooting (eight with the grip / battery combo), a new AF sensor, AF tracking by color and scene recognition. There are also an almost infinite range of customization options available, everything from how many AF areas are used to the size of the center-weighted metering circle to what happens when you hold the FUNC button and turn the command dial.

"My biggest problem writing this conclusion has been picking out the D300's weak points. The usefulness of Live View would certainly be improved with an articulating LCD monitor (although I'm sure Nikon would argue that this could compromise the integrity of the body), auto white-balance is poor in artificial light (although this isn't anything unique to the D300) and there's still no true mirror lock-up feature. But really, these few niggles are really the only things we could pick out as criticism.

"There is price, but sometimes the best products demand a premium and the D300 is no exception. Nikon's biggest problem now will be bettering the D300; it raises the bar to a new high, and represents the state of the art despite strong competition from the likes of Canon, Sony and Olympus. There's simply no better semi-professional digital SLR on the market."

Read complete review.

Nikon Issues Firmware Update For D300

Nikon has released firmware v.1.02 for its D300 Digital SLR. The update resolves an issue with vertical banding which (very rarely) can appear in images that have been taken at shutter speeds slower than 8 seconds.

Click here to download Nikon D300 firmware v.1.02 for Mac

Click here to download Nikon D300 firmware v.1.02 for PC

Inside Nikon's Sendai Digital SLR Factory

In October of 2007 Rob Galbraith featured an interesting story about Nikon's Sendai SLR factory. Wrote Galbraith:

In August 2007, Nikon invited technology journalists from around the globe - including us - to take part in the D3 and D300 launch announcements in Tokyo, as well as tour the company's Sendai, Japan manufacturing facility where the D3 is being built.

At the time, D3 bodies were being assembled at a rate of about 400 per day , but this was expected to grow to about 600 per day in September 2007 for a planned ongoing production of 12,000 units per month. A D3 is comprised of about 2000 individual components.

Nikon's Sendai factory opened in 1971 and employs over 1100 full-time and temporary workers. In addition to the D3, Sendai has produced the D2Xs, D2X, D2Hs, D2H, D100, D1X, D1H and D1. Except at the busiest times, Sendai runs a single eight-hour shift per day.

Nikon's factory in Thailand, which handles the production of the D40, D40X, D80, D200 and now the D300 (plus certain lower-priced lenses), operates round the clock in three eight-hour shifts and employs about 15,000 people. Assembly of the D300 was also expected to be in full swing in September, at which time 60,000 units of the midrange digital SLR were to be made each month.

While at Sendai Nikon, no pictures were allowed to be taken inside factory buildings, but Nikon has now supplied us with photos showing some of the manufacturing activities we saw when there, including the D3 being assembled.

To view those photos and read Galbraith's original article, click here.

Nikon D Series Highest In Customer Satisfaction

Excerpted From January 2008 Rangefinder Magazine (pdf):

According to J.D. Power and Associates, Nikon's D-series cameras rank "Highest in customer satisfaction with digital SLR cameras." Using a 1000-point scale, the 2007 Digital Camera Satisfaction Study found that Nikon's D-series digital SLR cameras earned a score of 822 index points, making them the highest-ranked camera line among digital SLRs in four areas of customer satisfaction: picture quality, performance, operation, and appearance and styling. The popular D series includes the D200, D80, D40x and D40, as well as profsional models such as the D300 and D3 digital SLR cameras.

J.D. Power and Associates Press Release (August 29, 2007)

Ken Rockwell's D300 Page

Ken Rockwell has consolidated all his D300 tests, observations, news, opinions on one page. Excerpt:

"The Nikon D300 is the world's greatest amateur camera. The Nikon D300 is far more revolutionary than its specifications suggest. I've never said this before of any other camera, but the D300 actually makes it easier to create significantly better images than with earlier cameras.

"The D300 has better color, better highlights, better shadows, it's sharper because it fixes lens flaws, and its superior AF system and viewfinder free us to compose more freely. The D300 shares these innovations with its nearly identical $5,000 big brother, the D3. Compare their menus or read their users manuals and you'll see that they are the same on the inside! Owning both, I can confirm that they both operate in the same way and give the same look to their images. At ISO 200 with an exceptional lens, there isn't any visible difference I can see."

Michael Reichmann On Nikon Versus Canon

Michael Reichmann, of The Luminous Landscape, just posted an informative comparison between Nikon and Canon, with a special focus on how Nikon's new D3 and D300 cameras stand up against Canon cameras. Here are a few excerpts.

EXCERPTS:

"In this essay I look at the new Nikon D3 and D300 though the eyes (mine) of someone who has been shooting with Canon cameras for the past 8 years. Prior to 1999 I used Nikons, shoot film, and used them to make a living in photography for some 30 years. I also used (and still do) Hasselblads and Leicas, and as a magazine reviewer have probably tested and shot with almost every major camera system available since the mid-1960's. But for several decades prior to the advent of digital, Nikons were my 35mm tool of choice.

"In about 1998 I switched to Canon. The reasons were because Canon had fast USM autofocus, a line of Tilt / Shift and long Image Stabilized lenses that Nikon did not, and I found that these were all to my needs and liking. I also felt that I wanted a change, maybe even just for the sake of it, to learn and become familiar with something new and different. This type of change can often be creatively stimulating.

"As the new decade progressed and digital became dominant I never regretted my move to Canon. Though Nikon was first with an affordable pro DSLR, the D1, Canon quickly responded with the D30, 1D and their successors. Canon was then the first with a full-frame DSLR (1Ds) , and this plus the company's extremely clean and low noise proprietary CMOS sensors meant that there was little pull on me to return to the Nikon brand.

"But then in mid-2007 Nikon announced the D300 and D3, and just prior to the end of the year started to ship both. Even a cursory look at the features of these two cameras showed that Nikon was back in the game. This caught my attention, and for the first time in nearly a decade I decided to see what Nikon was offering. I also decided that the only way to do justice to the brand was to actually go out and put together a complete system and to start using it in the field.

"No -- this doesn't mean that I am switching from Canon to Nikon. But it does recognize that with more than 1 million readers a month from around the world I have a lot of people visiting the site who are interested in both camera platforms. It makes sense therefore for me to become conversant with both systems and to cover them equally from now on. So -- during November and December 2007 I purchased an almost complete Nikon system. It consists of Nikon D3 and D300 bodies, and a selection of lenses..."

............

"Not to put too fine a point on it, but after being away from Nikon for the better part of a decade and having been immersed in the Canon gestalt since then, I was frankly surprised at the extent to which current Nikon cameras offer feature and function advantages over Canon. While some of the ones mentioned above may not be relevant to any one photographer's needs, there are bound to be several which can be real productivity aids, if not just downright fun to have and use.

"As a journalist I really don't care which camera system is better than the other. I have no loyalty to either brand, or any brand for that matter. All I care about is features, functionality and performance...

"We now have a bit of a sea change happening. Nikon has flexed its considerable muscle and with the D3 produced a camera that sends a clear challenge to Canon's nearly decade-long dominance of the digital arena. The D300, though in many ways simply a logical progression from the D200, is a much better camera than its predecessor, and along with its superior sensor offers the pro and advanced amateur a set of features and functionality that is unmatched at the moment in Canon's line up.

"For its part the full-frame Nikon D3 is a direct challenge to Canon's 1 Series, which has dominated the pro marketplace now for more than half a decade. The 1D MKIII is right in the D3's bore sight, and the D3 matches it or surpasses it in IQ, sensitivity, and resolution..."

Read Complete Article.

Popular Photography: D300 Camera Of The Year

Popular Photography crowns Nikon's D300 the 2007 Camera of the Year.

>> watch larger clip on Popular Photography's website <<

Excerpts from Popular Photography's D300 article:

"Nikon could have played it safe. By just tweaking its highly rated D200, the company could have come out with a camera priced closer to Canon's new 10.1MP EOS 40D ($1,300, street, body only). Instead, the engineers went wild, revamping everything from the viewfinder to the sensor, adding live view, and taking such pro-level features as the 51-zone AF system from the new Nikon D3 ($5,000, body only). The result: the new 12.3MP D300 ($1,800, body only). Now, after our Lab and field tests, it's clear that Nikon made the right decision. We're so convinced of it that the editors of Pop Photo named the D300 The Camera of the Year 2007..."

...

"From the outside, the D300 looks a lot like the D200. But what's on the inside pushed the D300 to new performance records in the Pop Photo Lab:

"• It's the first DSLR to earn an Excellent image quality rating from ISO 200 all the way up to ISO 3200.

"• It sports the fastest (and most sophisticated) AF we've tested so far.

"A major factor in the D300's stellar image quality is the new Sony-made 12.3MP (effective) CMOS sensor that captures RAW data with up to 14 bits of color per red, green, and blue channels. Most other DSLRs in this class only provide 12 bits per channel. This gives the D300 an advantage in reproducing fine color gradations, shadow details, and wider dynamic range. But it also increases the file size of images recorded in the 14-bit mode (selectable over normal 12-bit RAW)."

...

"The only reason the D300 didn't earn an Excellent image quality rating at ISO 6400 was the higher noise levels in shadows."

...

"NX now ships with Nikon's D300 and D3, allowing advanced exposure, white balance, and lens-distortion correction, D-lighting and sharpening tools, and the powerful U-Point technology (with an assortment of filters) inherited from Nik Software, Inc."

...

"If you're a sports photographer and photojournalist, then you might want to stick with the amazing low-light image quality and burst capacity of Fine-quality JPEGs, and leave RAW (or RAW + JPEG) to those who can accept the hit to burst capacity and have time to process the files later. After all, the D300 captures up to 100 Fine-quality JPEGs at 6 frames per second..."

...

"The EXPEED image processor also cuts startup time (Nikon claims 0.13 sec), enables true HDTV video output (via an HDMI connector), and serves up dynamic-range enhancements in the Active D-Lighting controls. When turned on, Active D-Lighting manages high-contrast scenes by preventing blown-out highlights without blocking up shadow details, much like Sony's Dynamic Range Enhancement. For NEF RAW files, Capture NX software must be used to apply D-lighting adjustments."

Read the complete review here.

Ken Rockwell On Nikon D300

Excerpted From Ken Rockwell's D300 Page:

"Holy cow, without even trying my D300 is cranking out killer colors I never could get with any other camera, digital or film. Along with the psycho colors, the dynamic-range controlling firmware (cryptically called 'Active D-Lighting' by Nikon) really works and is giving me better highlights than I've ever seen with digital capture. My D300 is making better images than any of my other cameras, which is a "first for me to say that since my color reference, at least up until yesterday, was Fuji Velvia 50. I think I prefer my D300."

............

"my D300 has surprised me by being the first digital camera that actually makes visibly better photos than my other Nikon cameras! it does this on both artistic and technical levels. My D300 delivers clearly superior images directly from the camera as JPGs. I never shoot raw since I shoot too much to manage it in NEF.

"As every artist knows, the most important technical aspects of any image (besides lighting and composition) are tone (light and dark) and color. The D300 clearly can have bolder color than any previous Nikon, and also has some fancy tricks that really work to render light and dark as I want them."

...........

"I'm renaming Nikon's magnificent but stupidly-named 'Active D-Lighting' (ADL) as 'Automatic Dynamic Range Accommodation' (ADRA). That's what it does: it applies the zone system and alters exposure as well as development for each shot in order to accommodate the scene's dynamic range. It also could be called 'Adaptive Dynamic Range' or ADR.

"Unlike the awful post-processing gimmick called 'D-Lighting,' this pre-correcting system works great...

"Unlike the crappy D-Lighting post-processing of the D40 and D80, this lightening is subtle and doesn't have those horrific shadows around them as D-Lighting did. I love ADL so much I leave it on all the time.

"ADL really does improve my biggest complaint against digital cameras. This feature automatically identifies highlight areas that will be lost, and does its best to bring them under control. It works, and it works automatically."

...........

"The D300 has an uncanny ability to eliminate lateral chromatic aberration (LCA or lateral color fringes, those green and magenta halos that often appear on bright edges at the sides of an image).

"I kid you not: the 10.5mm DX and manual focus 8mm AI-s fisheyes somehow lose their color fringes and snap back into perfection in the corners. The 24-70mm f/2.8 has a little LCA at 24mm on the D200, and it also goes away with the D300. Ditto with the 18-200mm VR at 18mm: no more fringes on the D300!"

Ken Rockwell: Nikon D300 Versus Canon 5D High ISO Shootout

Excerpted From Ken Rockwell's "Nikon D300, D200, D40 and Canon 5D High ISO Comparison"

"All the DX Nikons are about the same. There is more variation from one speed to the next, or in the camera's use of noise reduction which you can do later in software, than there is from any DX Nikon to the next. The D300 has the least noise of the Nikons at high ISOs, but that's because it's also FUBARing (blurring) the image almost to beyond all recognition at high ISOs just to smother the noise.

"The 5D is the easy winner for high ISOs, because it stays sharp while the Nikons' noise reduction blurs the images along with the noise. I crown the 5D because it has the highest detail (signal) to noise ratio. With this, I can apply NR in software and get the smoothest image of all if I let it get as soft as the Nikons.

"Get a D300 for its spectacular treatment of bold color and outstanding highlight rendition. Don't throw money at a D300 if all you want is better high ISO performance.

"If you want better high ISO performance, get a 5D which costs about the same as a D300.

"If you're loaded, I expect the Nikon D3 will be at least as good as the Canon 5D due to The Full-Frame Advantage. For instance, the D3's US User's Manual says (page 299) that the D3 doesn't use any noise reduction (blurring) until you hit ISO 2,000, while the D300's US User's Manual (page 263) says the D300 uses noise reduction starting at ISO 800.

"This means you're blurring your images on the D300 at ISO 800, but at ISO 1,600 the D3's images are still unfettered. Noise reduction tries to leave sharp edges alone, but it smoothes over milder image textures along with the noise."

Nicely Done Nikon D300 Tutorial

Includes Movies and Photos
Click Here