When the D300 was announced, the excitement online was unheard of. Nikon forum’s were jumping with joy at the thought of a Nikon body being able to shoot clean ISO 3200. Some still wished for a full frame sensor (which soon followed with the D700) but the D300 had just about everything you could ever want in a digital camera with a DX (cropped) sensor. This will just be a “write-up” on the D300, as I remember my experience with it, and share with you some of the shots I took with it. I hope you enjoy it or find it helpful if you are thinking of a D300.

NIKON D300 WITH ZEISS ZF 25 2.8

Before the D300, Nikon too a stab at Canon with the D200, but many (including myself) were unhappy with that camera. For me, I had a love/hate relationship with the D200. Its body, speed and ergonomics were PERFECT in my opinion, and destroyed Canon in the “usability factor”. It’s beefy solid look and feel screamed “PROFESSIONAL DSLR” and looked like a small D2 series camera and even surpassed the quality of the flagship D2X!

The main niggle I had with the D200 was it’s higher ISO shooting. I could not use it over 800 as I did not like the noise in low light situations. I sold the D200 pretty quick and waited for Nikon’s next offering. Before I knew it, I had a box from B&H PHOTO arrive to my home via the awesome FED EX guy. Man, I love Fed Ex as it usually means more goodies are on the way. My wife HATES the Fed Ex guy, and YOU KNOW what I mean :)

Anyway, upon opening the D300 I loved the look of the camera. It looked solid, just like the D200. It was pretty much the same body but has some very slight changes. As for image quality between the two, it was no contest to me. The D300 spit in the face of the D200 and laughed. Yes, my 1st shots with this 6FPS mean machine looked good and the high ISO I craved for so long was here. I shot 3200 IN THE DARK with no issues! Check out this self portrait taken one winter night in the snow. I used the lovely 14-24 Nikon lens.

TESTING OUT ISO 3200 AT NIGHT - NIKON 14-24 at 2.8

SO WHAT IS SO GOOD ABOUT THE D300?

Finally, a DSLR from Nikon that went toe to toe with Canon’s top crop camera. With the body, speed, ergonomics, and even the AF of Nikons top pro bodies, the D300 rocked the Nikon fans and soon became the top selling Digital SLR, even though its price clocked in at $1800. So what is driving photo enthusiasts around the world to spend their bucks on this sweet camera? Well, LET ME TELL YA!

1. • It’s FREAKING SWEET! Period!
   

2. • THE BODY. Seriously, world class ergonomics and feel. It makes you want to shoot.
   

3. • HIGH ISO capability. Finally A Nikon that competes with Canon!
   

4. • BETTER THAN THEIR FLAGSHIP AT THE TIME? THE D2X? YEP, it kicked the D2x to the floor and used it as a mop. It included a better sensor than the D2x and was even faster! Seriously. Well, the D2x was a fine cam as well, but ISO over 400? Forget it.
   

5. • THE SENSOR. This 12MP CMOS sensor is made by Sony and is rich, colorful, and provides amazing quality images. The color is top notch.
   

6. • FAST AF. Want PRO quality AF? It’s here. Compared to a Canon 5D, the D300 is MUCH faster and more accurate. Again, best in class.
   

7. • THE LENSES. SO many lenses to choose from. Cheap or expensive you can even shoot the old Nikon AIS lenses on this baby. My favorite lenses on the D300 were the Zeiss ZF line. AMAZING quality, though Manual focus only.
   

8. • THE VIEWFINDER is a nice and large for a crop camera. Very easy to use and comfy for the eyes. I really like it.
   

9. • Built in flash for when you want some fill. I never used it but many do, and this is a plus.
   

10. • The LCD. OMG! What a sweet LCD. 3” and great color/sharpness.
    

11. • I was getting about 1100-1400 shots per battery charge. This is the best battery system I have used in a crop camera. It seems to last forever.
    

12. • Auto White Balance is good. Better than most other cameras.
    

13. •LIVE VIEW. Yep this one has Live View, great for Macro.
    

14. •SELF CLEANING SENSOR. Works good, though not as good as Olympus cameras.
    

15. •FAST 6FPS (Frames Per Second) shooting. Blazing!
    

WOW! All of this sounds awesome! There has to be some negatives about the D300, right? Well, to be honest, the only negatives I found with the D300 were my own issues. For me, when the D700 came out I sold the D300 as I wanted Full Frame. Other than that, I really can not think of any negatives to the D300 and in fact, I prefer the color of the D300 sensor to that of the D700 sensor! So, yea, really no negatives with this camera. In some ways, it is better than the D700.

The Color and the Reach. If you shoot wildlife the crop sensor will turn your 200MM lens into a 300mm.

If you have the cash, and want a top dog in the DSLR world, but are not ready to commit to full frame, I can say without any hesitation that the D300, for me, beats the Canon equivalent. Canon 40D or 50D? Nope, I like the D300 better. Check out this portrait of my son using a D300 and Nikon 14-24 2.8 Lens. It has the look I like (It was tweaked in Photoshop as I do with almost all of my shots)

CHOICE OF MANY KILLER LENSES

When I shot the D300 I absolutely loved it. I did not take it everywhere with me though, (read why in my Leica M8 review) so most of the shots I took with it were of my family, around the house, and friends though I did take it on a Vegas trip.

These days I only shoot for fun and for my personal satisfaction. What happened was, when I ran out of the house I would end up not grabbing the D300 and lenses as it was just too much gear, too heavy, and a chore to carry around. I eventually ended up with a smaller camera (Leica M8) that I take everywhere. BUT I can say without any doubt that the D300 paired with Zeiss ZF glass or good Nikon glass is astonishing.

Zeiss ZF? Oh yes. Manual focus, small, compact and solid as Leica lenses but made for the Nikon mount.

I am a HUGE fan of the Zeiss ZF line. As of this writing, the ZF line consists of the 18, 21, 25, 28, 35, 50, 85 and 100. All manual focus (MF) masterpieces. It is very easy to MF with the D300’s viewfinder and I never had an out of focus shot. I did keep a Nikon AF lens for times when I just HAD to have AF but for 99% of my shots I used the Zeiss lenses. I owned the 25 2.8, 50 1.4, 85 1.4 and 100F2.

Soon, I will have separate write ups on some of the ZF line of lenses but for now, back to the D300. Here is a quick snap I shot of my wife while in Vegas with the Zeiss 25ZF.

I HATE THE SNOW - ZEISS ZF 25 AT F4

HOW ABOUT HIGH ISO NOISE?

So lets talk about high ISO and the D300. As I have stated it is MUCH MUCH better than the D200 in this department. I have read a few reviews of the D300 where they said the high ISO was usable only up to 1600. Well, I have to disagree on that as I have used it at even ISO 6400, and had a usable image. Below see an ISO 1600 and 6400 image. These were out of camera JPEG’s resized for web. Click for the web sized larger versions.

To me, this says while ISO 6400 is a little noisy, it is NOT UN-USABLE. Trust me, I would not hesitate to use it if I had to. Just make sure you get the exposure right! The fact is the D300 improves upon the D200 in the high ISO Dept. This is much better than even my $4000 Leica M8 can do. With the Leica, ISO 2500 is worse than the D300 ISO 6400. Pretty impressive. But my Leica does indeed have a soul :)

15 BELOW ZERO - D300 - ZEISS 25 ZF

One thing is for certain, the Nikon D300, just like most higher end Nikon’s, is TOUGHER THAN A TEXAS ARMADILLO. I shot with it in snow, rain, extreme cold and even hail. Never gave me one problem. Never froze up or quit. The D300 is a pro camera any way you look at it. I remember even taking a fall in the snow and the D300 was coated. Wiped it off and it was fine!

So what do you get when you buy the D300? Well, you get the Body, Body cap, Battery, Battery charger, Strap, manual, USB cable, video cable, LCD Monitor cover, manual, 1 year warranty and a demo of Nikon Capture. Comes with everything you need except a lens. You can buy a “kit” version with the popular Nikon 18-200 Lens included.

The lens that stayed on MY D300 90% of the time was the Zeiss 25 ZF. It was the most versatile lens I had as it focused close, worked as a normal lens or macro, and on the D300 became a 38 mm lens. A perfect focal length for everyday shooting. As you can probably tell, I love the Zeiss ZF 25!

One feature of the D300 I love is the Dust Shaker. It keeps dust off of your sensor so you do not get the dust blobs in your pics. Olympus was the first company to do this, and they did it well. The D300 works well also, and I never did get any dust on my sensor. It works.

I also enjoyed the Live View LCD. When I shot macro or even the coffee shot up top I used live view and it proved to be very useful in real world use. One thing that always worked for me on the D300 is the Auto Focus. It was pro level and FAST as I could ever need. Here is what Nikon says on their site about the D300 AF:

“The D300 incorporates Nikon's Multi-CAM 3500DX auto focus module that features an intelligent array of 15 cross-type sensors and 36 horizontal sensors. The system also features 3D tracking with automatic focus point switching that takes advantage of all 51 AF points as it uses color and light information to accurately track the subject. Altogether, the D300 delivers exacting autofocus precision at blazing speeds.”

Yea, its fast and it locks on super quick. I usually never took advantage of this though as I used center point only. I still focus and recompose! By the way, here is another Zeiss 25 shot! Wide open at 2.8 and taken in Caesars Palace casino.

THE RAT PACK - D300 AND ZEISS 25 AT 2.8

This write up, as I mentioned earlier is pretty much just my memory of the D300 as I no longer have it. I used it for quite a while but have since moved on even though I still miss it greatly. After reviewing images for this review, I realized how special the D300 really is. A bulletproof body, crazy long battery life, amazing sensor and all the features and speed you could ever ask for. At $1499, its a great buy and top of its class. I may one day buy another D300 as its quite a bit less than a D700 and still provides the quality, though it is not full frame. I really could not find any weakness of this DSLR.

When I bought my D300’s I purchased both of them from B&H Photo. They are pretty much the only store I buy camera gear from as after 10 years I have never had one problem. Their return policy is great and customer service is the best I have encountered.

To go to the NEW D300s page at B&H, just click here. If you add the D300 to your cart there the price will be lowered. They also have all of the technical stats on the camera. I hope you have enjoyed this short but sweet write up on the Nikon D300 Digital SLR! I thank you! Also, as with most of my reviews I add to and update them frequently so check back often!