Nikon D300s What now?

Drew Shergold

Drew Shergold

Suspended / Banned
Messages
21
Name
Drew Shergold
Edit My Images
Yes
Hello, Looking for some advice on where to go next, after hours, day and weeks reading forums and watching youtube videos i'm going in circles and hope someone could give me some advice!

Im currently using the nikon D300s and have started getting some paid work, weddings, family shoots and a little studio work. I look at my work and it lacks depth and that high quality look. I have seen some amazing work with the D300s but I'm not sure how much is down to photoshop as it's so hard to find raw images straight from the camera.

Sadly i'm on a budget.... So here are my options: Upgrade to a D700 or a 5D mark ii or buy some nicer glass? Im currently using a nikkor 85mm 1.8 for most jobs but its not getting the results I want.

Any advice would be really appreciated.
 
It would make sense to go for a D700 or another FX body if you want full frame camera ?
There is nothing wrong with the glass you have but like you said a lot these days is down to your post processing skills.
I still have and use a D300 and though my PP skills leave a lot to be desired I can still get images pretty much straight out of camera from a jpg.
 
I went from a D300 to D700 (now D750). If your 85mm is the G, I would say go for the D700, it`s a great camera, and on ff the 85 will shine.
 
Paulie-W said:
I went from a D300 to D700 (now D750). If your 85mm is the G, I would say go for the D700, it`s a great camera, and on ff the 85 will shine.
Click to expand...

Yeah the lens is the Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 85mm f/1.8G, Do you have any photo's online I could check out?
 
Might be worth posting some pictures here, people are usually helpful and can give pointers, tell you if you have equipment problem or if some other solution to your perceived issues is to blame.
 
Last edited:
I used 2 D300 cameras for a couple of years shooting Weddings, Portraits & Landscapes - they gave me everything I wanted at the time and yes a high quality look

Unless you really just mean an incredibly shallow DoF, and hence FX would give you that over DX, then your problem with the D300 is down to you & perhaps your processing, the camera is fine and I use that 85mm too which is perfectly fine

If you don't crack the shooting technique & the PP part then in a few months we'll get "I'm thinking of moving from my D700 as I'm not getting the high quality look I'm after"

Dave
 
I would say get D700 and keep the D300 as backup. They both use the same battery and charger and memory card. These small things makes life a lot easier when shooting paid jobs.
 
I have a D300, and I absolutely love it.... I moved some years back to a D700 and i absolutely love that too! Because I love the D300 so much I didn't have the heart to sell the D300 and to be honest what do you get for a 300 body now.... peanuts. I kept it and glad i did. On a shoot in 2015 the D700 died (it was -21 in Norway) but I would have been totally stuffed had I not kept the D300. The 300 is now my always in the car camera.

For a "Big birthday" I upgraded to a D810 another fabulous camera and guess what, I still have the 300 and 700.
Some things to think about..... if your a Nikon shooter like me stick to Nikon don't faff around re learning the menu system.... How much is a 700 body? not a great deal I would imagine and its a lot of camera for relatively little money. If your sticking with your 300 then when you buy lenses, buy FF lenses, then when you decide (if you decide) to for FF its not such a painful experience, this is what i did BTW.

And all of what @DG Phototraining Dave said above(y)
Remember it the person behind the camera that makes the photo, not the gear;)
 
I did have the D3 and D700 at one point. Sold the D700 to go more compact for travel and bought a Fuji. I still got my D3 for other stuff I shoot. Technology wise the D3 is dated but it is still a capable camera to shoot anything today. D700 has the same sensor as the D3. Since you got a D300, the D700 is basically the same body with FF sensor, you don't need to relearn the control etc.
 
Last edited:
Thanks for all the Advice, I have definitely decided to stop 'lusting' over shiny new things and learn to use what I have. This forum is great I have lost the last 24hrs to it..... The constructive criticism thread is such a great resource so i'm looking forward to getting some photography roasted on there!

Thanks Again
 
I think one of the most important things I ever learnt from a professional photographer was to "Know" your camera inside out, upside down and back to front. A pro will set his camera without a second thought, a bit like driving a car, you don't even have to think about doing it. I guess you only have to look through flickr so see stunning images on all but the most modest camera, which underlines the fact its the person that takes (and makes) the Photograph not the camera, and all the bell's and whistles in the world wont make you a better photographer. I'm still learning @62 guess you never stop.
 
i have the d300 also a d700 and i tell you the d700 full frame is the one i would choose ever time
 
holty said:
i have the d300 also a d700 and i tell you the d700 full frame is the one i would choose ever time
Click to expand...

I regret selling my D700 and kept the D3 instead. The D700 is more portable then my D3, altho they both have the same sensor.
 
holty said:
i have the d300 also a d700 and i tell you the d700 full frame is the one i would choose ever time
Click to expand...
badboy1984 said:
I regret selling my D700 and kept the D3 instead. The D700 is more portable then my D3, altho they both have the same sensor.
Click to expand...

How much difference do you see in the image quality? more specifically the depth and detail and tones. I understand 99% of photography is about lighting, Composition and PP but then why does a pro camera cost £1000's.
 
Drew Shergold said:
How much difference do you see in the image quality? more specifically the depth and detail and tones. I understand 99% of photography is about lighting, Composition and PP but then why does a pro camera cost £1000's.
Click to expand...

I also had a D300 before I own the D700 and D3. the only real difference between the D300 and D700 is the sensor and I think the view finder is slightly bigger on the D700 as well. Body, control and handling on both D300 and D700 is exactly the same so i won't go into detail.

Shooting in nice bright day with decent light etc, I've not see much difference on low ISO. The difference is when you crack that ISO up in rubbish light. the d300 can get really noisy at around 1000 in my opinion. The d700 is great all the way up to 3200 and very usable up to 6400 too. Only real reasons I kept the D3 and sold the D700 are the D3 is smaller and lighter then a gripped D700 and I got bunch of spare batteries for the D3.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top