D300 photo quality

Graham00

Graham00

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Graham Mc
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Will the overall photo quality be better with 51 AF points compared to 11 & 3 of the D90 & D60 in Landscapes if all things were equal ? I keep reading the D300 is a class camera as i know it is but i've never had the chance to handle one.
 
but shirley ,,the pictures got to be better with more focusing points,and more pixels and more buttons and more smarties,,,,,,,,must have forgot my tablets today ...
 
Graham00 said:
hmm, entry level DSLR's are what they are.
wished had kept my Minolta 7000 !!!!
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wasnt that one of those film thingy's?

shame on you for letting it go ,,,you must go out and get another film camera now !
 
Graham00 said:
Will the overall photo quality be better with 51 AF points compared to 11 & 3 of the D90 & D60 in Landscapes if all things were equal ? I keep reading the D300 is a class camera as i know it is but i've never had the chance to handle one.
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How many AF points you have will make no difference to the image quality - it may only make it slightly easier to get the focus right or as you intended in your shot though i find 11 points on my D90 more than adequate.

Given that your talking in the context of Landscape shots, it becomes even less of an importance as more than likely you want to get all the frame in focus (catching the hyperfocal distance) so you will be stopped down.
 
i havnt got any focus points on my camera ,,,,:crying:
 
The "quality" of the picture, particulary in landscapes generally hinges on quality of the lens you use. The problem with your D60 is that it doesn't have an internal motor so will only operate Nikon's DX range of lenses and not the top of their range, so you are restricted to the lenses you can buy. That's not the case with a D90 which can use all the lenses a D300 will use. In real terms, the 51AF points do increase your chances of getting a quality photograph because you have more points to fine tune the focus. In practical terms you are hardly ever likely to tell the difference, unless you always use auto area focus. In comparison between the D90 and D300 I think that the D300 has a more sophisticated sensor then the D90, but has definitely got more button operated controls (as opposed to menu driven) and definitely has a better body build quality. If you want to step up a bit you need to get good glass - so if you are operating on a budget, go for the D90 with quality glass, if you have the dosh, go for the D300 with the same quality glass.
 
aberal said:
The "quality" of the picture, particulary in landscapes generally hinges on quality of the lens you use. The problem with your D60 is that it doesn't have an internal motor so will only operate Nikon's DX range of lenses and not the top of their range, so you are restricted to the lenses you can buy. That's not the case with a D90 which can use all the lenses a D300 will use. In rea terms, the 51AF points do increase your chances of getting a quality photograph because you have more points to fine tune the focus. In practical terms you are hardly ever likely to tell the difference, unless you always use auto area focus. In comparison between the D90 and D300I think that the D300 has a more sophisticated sensor then the D90, but has definitely got more button operated controls (as opposed to menu driven) and definitely has a better body build quality. If you want to step up a bit you need to get good glass - so if you are operating on a budget, go for the D90 with quality glass, if you have the dosh, go for the D300 with the same quality glass.
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all their "top of the range" includes the likes of 70-200 2.8 VR to 600mm f4 ED VR AF-S which will all work fine on a D60.
 
PsiFox said:
all their "top of the range" includes the likes of 70-200 2.8 VR to 600mm f4 ED VR AF-S which will all work fine on a D60.
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Sure, but you don't need these to shoot landscapes.
 
hahah...I've selected 11-point AF on the D3x and D3's as scrolling back and forth across all those 51-AF points takes far too bloomin' long and by the time I've got the cursor where I want it, the photo's gone...lol

I think the camera still uses all 51 in Continuous/multi modes though...it just makes manually selcting the AF point a lot faster...
 
Arkady said:
hahah...I've selected 11-point AF on the D3x and D3's as scrolling back and forth across all those 51-AF points takes far too bloomin' long and by the time I've got the cursor where I want it, the photo's gone...lol

I think the camera still uses all 51 in Continuous/multi modes though...it just makes manually selcting the AF point a lot faster...
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I've done the same on my D300. Scrolling your way through all those AF points is a bore.
 
I use the 18-70mm lens on my D60 which is what originally comes with a D300, i'm not a great fan of kit lenses although i still have it and use it for handheld stuff.
 
Graham00 said:
I use the 18-70mm lens on my D60 which is what originally comes with a D300, i'm not a great fan of kit lenses although i still have it and use it for handheld stuff.
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Don't knock the 18-70 Nikkor - it's a belter (y)
 
Wether its down to the number of focus points, or just better use and processing of the selected point, I found the D300 can autofocus a Tamron 70-200 f2.8 much more reliably than the D60. I found the lens hunted dreadfully on the D60, to the point it wouldn't lock unless there was significant contrast on the target. Whilst the D300 hunts less often on similar targets, to the point that the shots I end up missing or deleting are few and far between. Its much more likely I bin a shot due to poor composition on my part. Secondly, the D60 looks and feels unbalanced with a large lens on the front.

Not having an AF motor in the camera body isn't realy a disadvantage unless you set your heart on a specialist lens without an AF motor. Theres plenty of good internaly driven lenses ranging from 10mm to 300mm and longer to keep most people happy
 
aberal said:
The problem with your D60 is that it doesn't have an internal motor so will only operate Nikon's DX range of lenses and not the top of their range, so you are restricted to the lenses you can buy.
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This is completely incorrect. The D60 doesn't have an internal focus motor, so in order to autofocus you need AF-S, AF-S or HSM lenses. All other features will work with non AF-S, AF-S or HSM though. Most of Nikon's top lenses are AF-S so will work fine with the D40. DX lenses means they have a reduced image circle so are designed for APS-C (cropped) sensors, such as the D60, D90, D300 etc and not for the full frame cameras; D700, D3 and D3X.
 
Messiah Khan said:
This is completely incorrect. The D60 doesn't have an internal focus motor, so in order to autofocus you need AF-S, AF-S or HSM lenses. All other features will work with non AF-S, AF-S or HSM though. Most of Nikon's top lenses are AF-S so will work fine with the D40. DX lenses means they have a reduced image circle so are designed for APS-C (cropped) sensors, such as the D60, D90, D300 etc and not for the full frame cameras; D700, D3 and D3X.
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Actually Sigma now produce a few lenses that aren't HSM, yet have an inbuilt motor for cameras such as the D60, etc (ie. the latest 70-300mm APO)
 
Naith said:
Actually Sigma now produce a few lenses that aren't HSM, yet have an inbuilt motor for cameras such as the D60, etc (ie. the latest 70-300mm APO)
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Cool, didn't know that. I think Tokina and/or Tamron have done the same, but I'm not sure about what the acronyms are.
 
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