Nikon D90 vs D300 dilemma

karmagarda

karmagarda

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Ok, I'm looking to upgrade my D60. There's a few reasons. The main is the focus motor in the body. Other reasons are I'm finding myself pusing the limits of the D60 a bit with long exposures, and I need something that's going to perform better in low light. So a D90 or D300 is on the cards.

Now, I've swayed both directions at different times. Initially I thought the D90 is perfect, got the motor and some spare change for a lens... then I'm looking at the D300s better ergonomics and build quality... then I'm thinking well, I don't do a lot of photography that would make use of the better build... but then again.... etc etc. I've read some other forums and threads on this and I still can't decide between the two. Here's what I've identified as the pros and cons from my perspective:

D90
- Cheaper
- Handles noise better in higher ISO

D300
- 51 Autofocus sensors and Faster autofocusing (can someone confirm the faster autofocusing?)
- Better body build and better ergonomics

Points to note on the above:
I'm aware that the D90 sacrifices a bit of sharpness in the process of handling noise at higher ISOs. This isn't something I'm awfully bothered about.

Can anyone confirm why the D300 beats the D90 in respect to ergonomics? Is it simply down to button/knob positioning being much better?


The D300 also offers faster FPS. This might prove useful, but it's not an immediate requirement. The D90 also offers movie ability, but this would be solely a novelty to me. So apart from the above, what else does the D300 offer? Is there anything that could justify the extra few 100 it costs? That there is my dilemma. Is the D90 in fact good enough for the job? Or will I regret the lack of extra focus points and body build?

I will be able to afford both, but with the D90 I can throw the change at an extra lens too... But the 51 focal points... Argh! :bonk:

Anyhow, a bit of background: I'm interested in quite a wide range of photography. Mosly, up to now, I've been taking night photography, long exposures and street photography. Also a small bit of landscape too. But I want to branch into a bit of studio photography when I improve a bit more. I also want to try my hand at more landscape. I wouldn't mind doing some sports photography too, but I don't want to use sports as a reason to choose my body, because quite frankly I don't see myself really doing an awful lot of it.

Taking the above into consideration, what would you advise?
 
There was a thread recently D90 vs D300 its a fun read :bonk:. I've just gone from D60 to D300 and I'm very happy, I've said it more than once if you can afford it go for the D300.
 
The d300 also has a much better quality body to it with regards to general construction and weather sealing
 
I went from a D40 to a D90 to a D300 in fairly quick sucesion. (For which I blame this forum for making me buy the D300!)

The biggest thing for me is the "feel" of the D300. It just sits way more comfortably and balanced in my hands. I guess thats all a little subjective but it would be well worth going and having a good play in a shop.

AF is definitely faster and more accurate.

Barney
 
Excellent. Thanks guys. In those few short posts you've helped me answer my question :thumbs:. Getting the D300. I will have the money for it, so don't really see why I should be even thinking about it.
 
Just to add, I have handled both cameras before. I like the feel of both of them, but the D300 does feel a bit more "pro". That's a reason I was overlooking.
 
D40 and D60 and D300 are in our family. The advantage of D300: stability - I was walking today through a "soft" rain - takes all lenses MF ... AF .... AF-D ... AFS ..... Avantages of D40: makes resonable good images and is extrem small and low weight camera and has a short flash synchronization time. If you need video - its an other story
http://joergvetter.oyla.de/cgi-bin/hpm_homepage.cgi
BR Atomino
 
I'd get the D300 purely for 51 point AF and AF fine tune. 51 point AF is NOT solely beneficial just for sports..it guarantees the sharpest, most in focus picture when you are composing. It allows you to compose then focus, not focus then recompose. AF fine tune will get your lens as optimal as possible! Both these reasons allow you to get the sharpest pictures possible.
 
AtominoTalk said:
D40 and D60 and D300 are in our family. The advantage of D300: stability - I was walking today through a "soft" rain - takes all lenses MF ... AF .... AF-D ... AFS ..... Avantages of D40: makes resonable good images and is extrem small anl low weight camera and has a short flash synchronization time. If you need video - its an other story
http://joergvetter.oyla.de/cgi-bin/hpm_homepage.cgi
BR Atomino
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Cheng said:
I'd get the D300 purely for 51 point AF and AF fine tune. 51 point AF is NOT solely beneficial just for sports..it guarantees the sharpest, most in focus picture when you are composing. It allows you to compose then focus, not focus then recompose. AF fine tune will get your lens as optimal as possible! Both these reasons allow you to get the sharpest pictures possible.
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Thanks for the feedback! Definitely going D300. Might be after Christmas when I do. I'll keep an eye out for any deals in the mean time. Have watched about 20 of them on ebay over the last few weeks to get a feel of 2nd hand prices too! :lol:
 
D90 is a million times better than the D300, for obvious reasons.........:thinking:
 
fracster said:
D90 is a million times better than the D300, for obvious reasons.........:thinking:
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Fracster, aka Ken Rockwell... no? :lol:

On a more serious note, how's the D300 fairing out for you Fracster? (presuming you haven't sold it in the last few weeks :D)
 
D300s is my next major purchase, will give me so much more than my D60 :D

Can't wait :D
 
This is not an exhaustive list these are just the differences that are relevant for me.

I only ever use 1 of the 51 focus points but the ability to select which one of the 51 is really useful, particularly if you are using very narrow DoF.

Also the D90 does not have AF fine tune which is important if you want the best from your lenses.

The D90 will flash sync at 1/200 the D300 at 1/250

The D300 can handle 14bit files unlike the D90’s 12 bit

The D90 shutter is tested to 100,000 clicks v the D300 150,000 although I am sure they are the same unit.

Having said all that the D90 probably offers better value.
 
karmagarda said:
Fracster, aka Ken Rockwell... no? :lol:

On a more serious note, how's the D300 fairing out for you Fracster? (presuming you haven't sold it in the last few weeks :D)
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The D300 is my most used camera for wildlife stuff, I think it is simply brilliant for that subject.
 
Harvey_nikon said:
D300s is my next major purchase, will give me so much more than my D60 :D

Can't wait :D
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Yeah, I'm already back on ebay. I see there's a post in the wanted section here already so I'll probably put more of an effort in after christmas, see if more comes up.

(p.s. I'm just in awe of your unlces photos at the moment... ridiculously good!)

ah5168 said:
This is not an exhaustive list these are just the differences that are relevant for me.

I only ever use 1 of the 51 focus points but the ability to select which one of the 51 is really useful, particularly if you are using very narrow DoF.

Also the D90 does not have AF fine tune which is important if you want the best from your lenses.

The D90 will flash sync at 1/200 the D300 at 1/250

The D300 can handle 14bit files unlike the D90’s 12 bit

The D90 shutter is tested to 100,000 clicks v the D300 150,000 although I am sure they are the same unit.

Having said all that the D90 probably offers better value.
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I knew about most of the above, but never thought of the flash sync. There's another reason to go D300!

Yv said:
Actually, the d300 will flash synch with higher speeds, 1/320+ using that thingymajinggy whatsit where the flash stays on or bursts or something longer than the shutters open.... technophobe, moi? :shake:
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You talking about a battery grip? :thinking: :lol:
 
:nuts: no, even I know what a battery grip is. You can set the flash synch to 1/320FP and it will then use high speed synch upto 1/8000. I can't remember the exact technology behind it, but its something along the lines of the flash burst being longer then the shutter speed, so its not actually synching in reality, but it does the job.
 
Just a thought , if you are buying new the vat goes up in
January:(
 
Yv said:
:nuts: no, even I know what a battery grip is. You can set the flash synch to 1/320FP and it will then use high speed synch upto 1/8000. I can't remember the exact technology behind it, but its something along the lines of the flash burst being longer then the shutter speed, so its not actually synching in reality, but it does the job.
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I'm boggled too so :lol:. Sounds spiffing though.

gromit99 said:
Just a thought , if you are buying new the vat goes up in
January:(
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I'll be buying second hand. The other option for a while was save like a mad man until mid next year and get a D400 when it's released. But if my prediction is right we could be talking about £1500 for that, so I've ruled it out.
 
If your not concerned about low light/high ISo, you could try the D200,cracking camera for the money....:thumbs:
 
fracster said:
If your not concerned about low light/high ISo, you could try the D200,cracking camera for the money....:thumbs:
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Low light/high ISO is 1 of the reasons I'm moving to either D90 or D300 so it's a pretty big factor. I had considered the D200 only for this reason.
 
karmagarda said:
Low light/high ISO is 1 of the reasons I'm moving to either D90 or D300 so it's a pretty big factor. I had considered the D200 only for this reason.
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The DXO labs tests give the D90 significantly higher scores in all areas of sensor performance v the D300, particularly low light ISO. Unsurprising - the D300 is a 1 year older design than the D90.

In fact, the D90 scores the highest for sensor performance in the FX category.

The extra money for the D300 does not go into sensor performance. It goes into weight and size and the AF system.

The D300S is the one to get if you want the weight and size of the D300 with the sensor performance of the D90.

I would be wary of considering the D300 a "pro" camera, despite what the Nikon website says. Real pros buy the D90, even for use in the Amazon. :naughty:
 
martsharm said:
The DXO labs tests give the D90 significantly higher scores in all areas of sensor performance v the D300, particularly low light ISO. Unsurprising - the D300 is a 1 year older design than the D90.

In fact, the D90 scores the highest for sensor performance in the FX category.

The extra money for the D300 does not go into sensor performance. It goes into weight and size and the AF system.

The D300S is the one to get if you want the weight and size of the D300 with the sensor performance of the D90.

I would be wary of considering the D300 a "pro" camera, despite what the Nikon website says. Real pros buy the D90, even for use in the Amazon. :naughty:
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I agree. As mentioned in my first post the D90 has proven to out perform in higher ISOs (it sacrifices a small bit of sharpness which to me didn't matter). This was one of the reasons I was close to considering it over the D300. That and the fact that it's cheaper :lol:. But, the D300 offers other things that are extremely important to me too. The 51 focus points and autofocus speed. Also the better body build.

Just to clarify as well, I consider the D300 a semi pro camera. What I was saying was that it felt more pro to me in comparison to the D90. I.e. it felt nicer and a better fit in the hand.
 
karmagarda said:
Maybe there's 2 sides to the story! One of the comparisons I've read is this:

http://www.mansurovs.com/nikon-d300-vs-d90-high-iso-noise-comparison
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I wasn't previously aware of that test, and it's good to see more comparison shots. However I disagree with the conclusion of the tester! To my eyes, there's more detail in the doll's hair at ISO 1600 and 3200 with the D90 (as well as the D90 giving greater sharpness, less noise, better dynamic range/contrast and better colours, all agreeing with the DxOMark tests). My conclusions are obviously all subjective. Basically they're both great cameras, you've an enviable choice ahead of you.
 
I've just had exactly the same dilemma as the OP (Although I am switching from Canon!).
I've plumped for the D300s. Although I would not class myself in anyway a pro or even semi pro, I figured the extra quality and facilities of the D300s would see me in good stead in the long term... I've had to compromise because of the extra cost. The valuable advice from the likes of this forum says to me that 'glass' is as important as the body. So I've gone for quality 2nd hand lenses. A bit of a risk but at least I can get used to the camera before spending extra cash on even better glass... preferably prime lenses.
 
martsharm said:
I wasn't previously aware of that test, and it's good to see more comparison shots. However I disagree with the conclusion of the tester! To my eyes, there's more detail in the doll's hair at ISO 1600 and 3200 with the D90 (as well as the D90 giving greater sharpness, less noise, better dynamic range/contrast and better colours, all agreeing with the DxOMark tests). My conclusions are obviously all subjective. Basically they're both great cameras, you've an enviable choice ahead of you.
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That's a fair point actually. It looks like he's possibly focused on the hair in the D90s shot as opposed to the eye lashes. And it was at 1.4 so that would explain why the D300 is soft on the hair, and the D90 on the lashes. Interesting results.

I'm still going D300 though. I prefer the feel of it in my hands so that (and 51 focus points!) makes it worth the extra few hundred pound
 
Hi All,
My first post!
I have the D300 and no experience of the D90. One feature, of the D300, that I have just started to use is the "flash commander mode". The camera is able to control three groups of flash whereas my older D70 was only able to control a single group. If you might start using complex flash set ups then the ability to control multiple groups is very useful.
best wishes

Simon
 
Simon Knight said:
Hi All,
My first post!
I have the D300 and no experience of the D90. One feature, of the D300, that I have just started to use is the "flash commander mode". The camera is able to control three groups of flash whereas my older D70 was only able to control a single group. If you might start using complex flash set ups then the ability to control multiple groups is very useful.
best wishes

Simon
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Thanks Simon, and welcome to TP! I'm definitely leaning towards the D300 now, so I'll either have one this week or pretty soon :lol:
 
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