Friday, October 03, 2008

Which New Camera?

The D300?


Or the D90?


After 4 1/2 years with my trusty D70, I am feeling the inexorable pull towards a new DSLR camera body. It's down to the newly released D90 and the (almost) year old D300 - which one to choose?? This is a heavily discussed topic as witnessed on the dpreview.com discussion forums, and a constant topic between me and my friend Mark, who owns a D70s.

Here is a list of general advantages of the D300 over the D90:
- Better build quality and weather sealing
- Higher frames per second
- More focus points (51 vs 11)

A list of general advantages of the D90 over the D300:
- More lightweight, compact camera body
- HD video recording capability
- $500 less than the D300

As a part of my impromptu vacation day, I went to the Best Buy, fully expecting to put my hands on the D90. But I didn't expect that I would put my hands on the D300 - I was totally surprised they had a D300 on display. Heck, they even had a D700 on display (I didn't even pick it up - cannot afford to go there).

So, some comments after handling both cameras:

  • The D300 really isn't that much bigger or heavier than the D90. I am accustomed to big, heavy lenses which probably balance better on the D300 body.
  • The D90 felt a bit "plasticky" to me - perhaps because the grip isn't rubberized like my D70. It felt a little cheap.
  • I felt more at home with the camera controls on the D90 - they are similar to what is on the D70. The camera sales guy (who actually knew how to operate the camera) helped me with the D300 controls.
  • I wouldn't use the HD Video recording functionality on the D90, so that feature won't factor into my decision.
Before I walked into the store, I was leaning towards the D300....and after holding both cameras (they let me put my 24-70mm lens on the D300 body)....I am still leaning towards the D300. My main concern was the size and weight of the D300, and now I know that won't be an issue.

Now, to save up the $ for the darn thing (here's hoping that the prices continues to drop and that Nikon will offer up a Rebate just in time for the holidays......)

2 comments:

Lee 9:13 PM  

I think you'll be happier with the more expandable camera. You have such a great eye for photos. I think you'll outgrow the 90 before the 300. Just my 2 cents!

Anonymous 1:42 AM  

D300 and don't look back...

Copyright Notice

All images on this blog (unless stated) are the intellectual property and copyright of SLPhotography and shirley319 (© 2009, 2010). Do not steal, borrow or pirate the images here.

The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code. and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act) prohibits the use of digital property to be used without the consent of its owner.

Stat Counter

email subscription

Enter your Email


Powered by FeedBlitz

  © Free Blogger Templates Spain by Ourblogtemplates.com 2008

Back to TOP