Nikon D90 or D300

markyboy.1967

markyboy.1967

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Mark Molloy
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Im thinking about getting a new camera to replace the D50. It would be a christmas gift if i decide thats what i want or not.I just feel that i still have to keep plugging away with the D50 as its not been used much. I like the looks of both the D90 and the D300. Which handles higher ISO s better and generally which would you choose. I photograph birds/wildlife when i can and i cant justify or want to go full frame just yet.
 
Camera buying is purely subjective, otherwise we would all own the same one.
Sit down and look at the facilities each has to offer, think about the price, and buy the one that fits in with your needs.
 
I upgraded to a D300 from a D50, but that was early this year so didn't have the choice of a D90. TBH, with the money saving and the video feature I might be tempted with a D90 if I were to be upgrading now, but I don't regret for a moment have the D300 :D
 
I've recently asked the same question when upgrading from a D70. In the end I went to a shop and tried them both and came away with the D300.
I'm still geting my head around the multitude of focussing options, but so far after 400 clicks, I think I made the right choice.

BTW; the focussing speed when shooting wildlife is markedly improved over the D70 and I've been able to catch small birds in flight, much much easier, still no keepers though........yet :D
 
This is the exact question I have been asking myself for the last month or so. Once my expenses get paid this month I am buying one or the other. At the moment the D300 is currently the favourite, the only things for me clawing it back towards the D90 is a) the movie mode (would be great when out and about with my daughter) and b) the fact that I could save £200 and put it towards decent glass.

My issue is that everytime I compromise to save money, I regret it. Don't want that to happen this time.
 
Also worth noting recent price drops, the D90 has dropped to £650 (even £599 in places) which makes the gap a bit more significant.
 
ukaskew said:
Also worth noting recent price drops, the D90 has dropped to £650 (even £599 in places) which makes the gap a bit more significant.
Click to expand...

SRS Microsystems is doing the D90 body for £599.99.
I really want. Can't afford
 
its all down to how much you want to spend on the upgrade.

The D90 will pretty much do everything the D300 does, and its the same size as the D50 so should feel not much different handling wise.

The D300 is bigger, heavier, stronger, and weathersealed --- and now can be had for between £800-£900.

The D90 wasnt out when i got the D300, but i would have still got the D300, mainly because i was upgrading from the D200, but i also think movie mode is a waste of time.

The D90 handles High ISO as good as if not marginally better than the D300.
 
The "guts" of the 2 cameras are similar - leaving aside the movie function on the D90 it comes down to how each feels in your hand and if it is worth the extra to you to get the more robust D300
 
I had made my mind up to go for a D300, but am now swinging back towards a D90 - the £300 I would save would pay for a sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 and still leave me some change

And that movie mode, even with the wibble wobble is very tempting.

DAMN IT I hate being this indecisive.
 
There's no figure for it, but AF speed on the D300 will be quicker than the D90. Depends how much of a nut you are for a fast focus... :D
 
I've just been into Jessops to have a play and am now even more confused. The D90 is certainly a nice camera, but even whilst in the store I was finding it quicker and easier to change settings and stuff with the D300 just because of the plethora of buttons about. On top of that the AF on the D300 is a fair whack better than the D90.

The other issue is the ability to be able to adjust the AF for specific lenses - from what I have heard a couple of people have thought they have had soft lenses and have then tweaked the focusing and been pleasantly surprised at the result.
 
thats the idea of a pro spec model, everything can be changed quicker, everything is that little bit faster.

If you are in any doubt at all, get the D300. I havnt regretted buying mine for one second.
 
When the D90 was announced, and having owned the D300 for a few months, I thought "****. might have wanted to hold off a bit there" but since then I've thought about it many times and I'm actually not regretting the D300 one bit. It's absolutely solid, I just get the impression I could almost use it to play football and it'd still be happy to shoot photos afterwards. It's a camera I expect to have for at least the next 3 or 4 years, quite possibly longer and so I should squeeze value out of every penny I spent on it. The movie mode of the D90, I don't care for one bit, I just want a very very capable stills camera and that's what I have. It does absolutely everything I can think I would need of a camera. I don't think there's anything else out there (for the money) that remotely compares. Get the D300, you will love it.
 
markyboy.1967 said:
Think the D300 will be for me but i might wait a few months so i an get the best from my D50 before shoving it into a cupboard somewhere.
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Why not get the D300 now and use the D50 as a backup :p

The D300 is an awesome bit of kit. I haven't had it that long but apart from the weight, I really can't fault it. I don't regret not getting the D90. The D300 handles much better than the D90 and as said, it is better built. The D90 doesn't have the 51-pt AF and the 6(8)fps of the D300 which I need not only for motorsport but for all types of photography.

I'm shooting at a wedding this weekend and I'm sure the 8fps + 51pt AF will come in handy! :)
 
The D90 doesn't have the 51-pt AF and the 6(8)fps of the D300 which I need not only for motorsport but for all types of photography.

I'm shooting at a wedding this weekend and I'm sure the 8fps + 51pt AF will come in handy!

If you find you need huge amounts of FPS to get shots, it might be worth practicing timing and anticipation, which is a useful photographic skill.

Not having a pop, but someone rattling off 8fps at a wedding is really not ideal, its a great way to irritate folks :)

Think "timing" rather than "spray and pray".
 
puddleduck said:
Not having a pop, but someone rattling off 8fps at a wedding is really not ideal, its a great way to irritate folks :)
Think "timing" rather than "spray and pray".
Click to expand...

Its not for "spray and pray" mate its to prevent having people with closed eyes from blinking. It happens all the time, and it only takes 1 person to have their eyes closed or even half closed in a shot to ruin it.

Also, there are many occasions when 6-8fps at a wedding would be useful such as when the bride throws the bouquet or when the guests throw the confetti - which is when a lot of people have their eyes closed.

I'm not saying its essential, but it is useful to have. A wedding only happens once, if you've missed the shot, you've missed the shot - you can't go back and do it again.
 
Well, my mind was made up for me, wife has told me to go buy the D300 :D
 
Foggy said:
The other issue is the ability to be able to adjust the AF for specific lenses - from what I have heard a couple of people have thought they have had soft lenses and have then tweaked the focusing and been pleasantly surprised at the result.
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Well, some people say that is a waste of time, me, I'd sooner have it as a feature I can use as oppose to sending camera and lens into the workshop to be tuned up when I discover that as a problem.

The D300 AF btw is the fastest, most accurate I have yet to discover on a DSLR - and I mainly do highspeed motorsport photography...
 
gwocni said:
Tell me how you hypnotized her then..............
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I went to Jessops today to have a play with both and had talked myself into the D90 over the course of the afternoon as I would be a bit scuppered lens wise with the D300. She then said "whats the point, 6 months down the line you'll only be wishing you had bought the D300 so just get that", "yeah, but with the D90 I can also afford the 10-20mm sigma" I replied, and I get back "just get that with the D300, make sure you use my credit card so I at least get the clubcard points".

My wife, without doubt, is pretty damned AWESOME.

Now, when do I tell her I need another £300 for the 24-70mm f/2.8 in the next month or two?
 
Your wife is awesome indeed. Can you ask her to sort me out with a 600mm f/4?

Actually, sometimes I wish I'd gone with the D200 when I bought the D80. At the time, I hadn't envisaged trying some older AI lenses, which the D200/D300 will mount and meter; for a while CaptureNX was a freebie with the D200 [would have shaved £120 off the difference]; and the better build of the D200 would have been icing on the cake.

The D300 has even more knobbage than the D80, for even better realtime control. I just used my dad's 350D [my first D-SLR camera, sold to him - for peanuts of course], and couldn't figure how to change to a single AF point and spot metering [which is my preferred method of working in Aperture priority mode]. Dedicated buttons for WB, ISO, Quality, Drive mode, focus mode, AF mode make life so much easier - the more functions you don't have to dig menus for, the better.

D300 it is for you, then. You made the right choice. ISO 1600's very usable, evidently.
Now, mustn't look at the D700... mustn't look at the D700.... mustn't look at the D700....
 
I am running on the theory, not many people will have bought a D300 and wish they had just got the D90, whereas I bet there are a few people who have the D90 and wish they had gone the D300 route.

You mention the D700...I wish! My plan is (and dont tell the wife), to start saving for the big boys of the nikon lens range that will also work on full frame, should take me a year or two and then when the D800 comes out.....
 
Foggy said:
I've just been into Jessops to have a play and am now even more confused. The D90 is certainly a nice camera, but even whilst in the store I was finding it quicker and easier to change settings and stuff with the D300 just because of the plethora of buttons about. On top of that the AF on the D300 is a fair whack better than the D90.

The other issue is the ability to be able to adjust the AF for specific lenses - from what I have heard a couple of people have thought they have had soft lenses and have then tweaked the focusing and been pleasantly surprised at the result.
Click to expand...

As I said in my first reply, I was confused and leaning toward the D90 until I actually went to a shop and had them in my hands and used them. I thought my 17-50mm Nikkor F2.8 was sharp until I spent some time tweaking it by -10 in camera, now it's noticeably sharper.

Whatever you buy I'm sure it will be a good camera, only you can make the decision but IMHO the D300 is worth the extra for me.

Kev

oops!!! just finished reading the thread. Congratulations, can I use your wife's credit card please, she can have lots of clubcard points with a Nikon 70-200 :)
 
Kev said:
I thought my 17-50mm Nikkor F2.8 was sharp until I spent some time tweaking it by -10 in camera, now it's noticeably sharper.
Click to expand...

The lens fine tune is not really suitable for zooms, only primes...
 
Been using my D90 for three weeks now and very pleased with it. Bought the D80 battery grip for it as well from here.

I had a play with a D300 but preferred the smaller size of the D90, just felt more comfy for me even with the battery grip.

The video mode is not the the gimmick I expected, it is very good with the right lens (used my D70 kit lens 18-70 dx).
 
I don't really see the D90 as all that much of a jump from the D50. I know that sounds daft, but I had the D80 and bought a D50 as a back up and didn't feel there was much in it, iq wise. Okay so the D90 is a step further on from the D80, but the D300 is in a whole different class and if I was going to have to pony up all that money I think I'd put the extra to it and get the D300 and make better use of your glass collection.
 
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