Last weekend I had a chance to test the new Nikon D300 DSLR that got released a couple of weeks ago against my D80. After doing a lot of testing with the camera I came to the conclusion that the D300 is a huge upgrade from D80 in many (good) ways.
Pros:
- High ISO pictures on D300 look amazing! I never shoot above ISO 400 on my D80 because anything above requires post-processing with noise-reduction software such as Neat Image. I tried some shots with ISO 800 and 1600 and the results were stunning both in terms of noise and quality of the picture. Typically higher ISO results in noise and softness of objects. Images from D300 were very sharp and the noise was almost non-existent. I will post some image samples later for you to see.
- D300 has “live view” mode – feature that allows you to shoot pictures by looking at the LCD screen (like in point and shoot cameras) instead of the viewfinder. The best thing about live view is the ability to focus on a distant object by zooming in (in tripod mode). This is very useful when you shoot something with a tripod and you are not sure if the focus is right or not.
- The LCD screen on D300 is bigger and has more resolution – ~922,000 pixels, giving a 640×480 resolution. D80 LCD looks like crap compared to this with its 320×240 resolution!
- 20% more pixels (10.74% increase in horizontal resolution and 9.88% increase in vertical*) – D300 is 12 megapixels compared to D80′s 10 megapixel CCD. Small difference, but is noticeable if you are printing large photographs.
- D300 has 51 focus points! Compared to 11 focus areas on D80 and D200, this is a crazy upgrade. Some people think it’s an overkill, but I really liked it. Now I can focus on what I need without having to move the camera to match what I need to focus on. The focusing configuration will probably confuse many D80 owners as there are many new features on the camera as well as in camera configuration. I did not mess with the focusing settings that much, but I did enable the 51 area 3D focusing and it seems to work quite well. It loses objects when there is a similar contrast between the foreground and the background, but it is expected and I still love this feature. When you have a baby that constantly moves, being able to focus on its face without having to re-adjust the shutter is simply awesome!
- D300 is very solid. Yes, compared to D80, it has a much better build quality and weather sealing. You will also notice that turning the camera on and off is a little harder now and pressing the buttons on the camera leaves a different feeling. This camera is supposed to last longer and can tolerate higher and lower temperatures than D80.
- Viewfinder on D300 now shows 100% of the picture! This means that you can shoot with confidence – what you see in the viewfinder is what you are going to get.
- Both D300 and D80 use the same batteries, which means that you will be able to re-use your existing batteries and charger. I have two EN-EL3e batteries (one came with D80 and one was purchased later) and they will work perfectly on D300.
- Camera flash works much better on D300 compared to D80. For some reason, my indoor pictures with flash on D80 were always under-exposed and produced pictures with wrong color. The flash on D300 produces very good pictures with the right colors.
- D300 has a built-in sensor cleaner – a great feature! For those who have more than one lens this feature will be a big plus. It is not very pleasant when your pictures get dark spots because of sensor dirt. I had to clean mine at least 10-15 times before and it is a surgical procedure that requires patience and very good handling. I read many horror stories when people killed their DSLRs by improperly cleaning the sensor. Also, D300 has better protection against dust (D80 has none).
- Nikon D300 is twice faster than D80 – 6 FPS versus 3. I don’t really care about this feature that much as it’s useful only for action and sports photographers. I shoot fast when I don’t want to miss a moment, especially when my son does something interesting.
- D300 has a much more advanced menu. The camera configuration is quite complex and is a big jump from D80. It allows saving custom settings (4 slots, up to 16 combinations) and perform many more functions. Now each major function has its own sub-menu, whereas everything in D80 screen is stacked up in the same menu.
- Same 1.5x crop factor – this means you can use your existing DX lenses without having to worry about replacing them with FX format lenses (like you would with D3).
- Finally the ISO now shows up inside the viewfinder! It was painful to change ISO back and forth from the D80 viewfinder to the top screen.
Cons:
- D300 requires compact flash cards and your SD cards for D80 won’t do any good. You will have to spend extra cash to get good CF cards such as SanDisk Extreme III/IV series.
- D80 has a built-in infrared port which allows using a cheap ML-L3 wireless remote for shooting on a tripod. D300 does not have infrared and you have to buy an expensive external infrared remote that mounts on top of the camera. Other remotes are wired and need to be hooked up to the camera on the side. This is very inconvenient for those that are used to the ML-L3.
- The MB-D10 grip for D300 allows up to two batteries, but the first one has to go inside the camera, which means that when both batteries run out you have to remove the grip to get to the battery inside the body. This is very inconvenient compared to the MB-D80 battery grip for D80 where both batteries sit inside the grip. For those who worry about speed though, you can use an expensive pro battery or 8 AA batteries** and get up to 8 frames per second using the MB-D10 on D300. I don’t shoot sports and really don’t care about FPS, so this doesn’t matter for me at all.
Overall, the D300 is a superb product. It is not revolutionary as the D3 is, but considering the picture quality and low noise in high iso – it’s pretty close. I highly recommend this camera for anybody who is thinking about upgrading from older Nikon cameras or buying it as a first DSLR.
I did a full test of ISO performance on both D300 and D80. Such a big difference!
* Thanks to pcspecialist @ nikonians.org for pointing this out.
** Thanks to Luke for pointing this out.
About Nasim Mansurov
Great photos and a great review. I have a D300 sitting under my Christmas tree at the moment…my first DSLR. I know it seems a lot advanced for a beginner, but I wanted to make sure that I could get something that would last me, I would not outgrow and I couldn’t blame the camera for any bad shots (e.g. the D80 overexposure problem). I’m really looking forward to learning all about it.
Alan, my brother in law also got into digital photography and he got a D300 as his first DSLR. There is a learning curve, but once you start shooting pictures you will learn most of the functions pretty quickly. It’s just a matter of time, patience and a lot of reading :)
You will absolutely love the D300! It’s definitely worth every penny. Good luck!
Thanks for taking the time to write this comparison. To be honest, 90% of the things you wrote are found on the product brochures found all over the net. The D80 is not as bad as you have described above ISO 400, but then your expecatation may be higher.
“D300 has better protection against dust?” That has yet to be seen. Sure it has more seals in the body, but at the lens mount, it’s as vulnerable as all other Nikon cameras. Also, the dust shaker in the D300 is not perfect, dirt will still stay inside the mirror box, and the sensoer will still get dust particles. One still needs to clean the sensor, but not as often. By the way, cleaning a sensor requires great care, but you’re scaring people by calling it a surgical procedure. After about 3 times, it’s as easy as cleaning one’s ear with a q-tip. Seriously. Sensor dust is here to stay, every DSLR owner needs to learn to tackle it.
“… being able to focus on its face without having to readjust the shutter is simply awesome.” You probably know this already, but the D80 can do the same (and so can the D50 & D40), Continuos Focus mode.
“…you can use an expensive pro battery and get up to 8 frames per second using the MB-D10 on D300.” I wouldn’t consider AA batteries expensive pro batteries. They still give you 8fps.
“…D300 is a huge upgrade from D80.” It’d better be. It costs twice as much. It’s a two-step upgrade. A fairer comparison is to the D200.
Thanks again for a good post of your personal opinions. I own both, and the D80 is still a wonderful camera.
thanks for these fascinating comparisons of the cameras.
I am a D50 user about to upgrade to EITHER the D80 and the D300
Question: is D300 worth the extra money, and also might it be a bit bulky for street photography, which is what I shoot, plus portraits of friends and family (ie not studio work)
Any opinions most welcome.
Luke, thank you for the comments. I agree that most of what I wrote is available on the Internet. Actually you can find a lot more detailed information on the Internet about the D300. I was just trying to compare it to D80.
Regarding D300 having better protection against dust – I wasn’t talking about the lens mount. I agree that both cameras are equally vulnerable to dust when changing lenses, however, the sealing of the D300 is MUCH better than D80. I would never take D80 to a very dusty/sandy environment, whereas D300 would probably be OK. I agree with you regarding cleaning the dust on the sensor, however, I still think that it’s a surgical procedure as any incorrect handling of the sensor can lead to permanent damage. I would much rather not touch the sensor at all. If the dust shaker removes the dust from the sensor, all I have to do is blow it out. I understand that sticky stuff will still stay and that’s where sensor cleaning might be required, but again, the idea is to reduce the number of times the sensor is touched.
Yes, you can use the “Continuous Focus” mode in D80, but it works a lot worse compared to D300. At least that’s the conclusion I came to after comparing both. And 51 focus points compared to 11 is a BIG difference, especially for macro photography.
Regarding using AA batteries in MB-D10 – I’m not going to argue about using AA vs EN-EL4a. There are some existing discussions regarding this: http://www.nikonians.org/cgi-bin/dcforum/dcboard.cgi?az=read_count&om=27243&forum=DCForumID202
Sorry I forgot to mention AA batteries – I updated the article.
I would love to compare D300 to D200, but I simply don’t have the D200 :) I know that a lot of people are upgrading from D70/D80 and I tried to provide some feedback to them. The overall consensus is – it’s definitely worth the upgrade.
Kevin, I don’t think upgrading from D50 to D80 is worth it. D80 will probably be replaced by another camera soon (D90? D80x?) and D80 prices will drop again. D300 price will stay the same for at least another 2-3 years before a D400 comes out. Plus, D300 is a different class camera, like Luke mentioned in his post above.
I just sold my D80 and got the D300. Its an amazing camera, a big big upgrade from the D80. Price wise I had to chuck in about 1000 dollars on top of selling my D80. The ISO capabilities, sharp color (due to CMOS), quick shutter speed and high fps makes this worthwile and I would recommend to anyone who wants an upgrade. This camera technology will last for the next 5 yrs unill something better comes out. Using even the same lens, I saw a huge difference in picture quality and especially the colors that came out of every shot.
Highly reccomended !
Thanks
My wife currently uses the D80 and I am thinking about buying her a D300 as a second camera. I am tying to find out if the lenses that she has for the D80 will work on the D300. I was told that they will if they are a F-mount but I cannot find out if they are and the book will not tell me so how can I tell. I purchased the camera in February 2007 so its fairly new.
Great Camera, Great article
Craig
Craig,
Absolutely! All lenses that you currently have will definitely work with D300.
Sincerely,
Nasim
All Nikon Lens are interchangeable on all Nikon cameras, film or digital.
Hello just thought i would tell you something.. This is twice now i’ve landed on your blog in the last 3 days looking for totally unrelated things. Spooky or what?
Hehe, that’s interesting :) What did you look for? I’m guessing one was related to Colorado and another related to photography? :)
We just upgraded our D80-camera with an 2nd hand D300, and are very pleased with it :-)
I don’t have time to write all the advantages… If you have the chance for an upgrade, DO IT!
regards,
Harald
Hi All,
Just been thinking about upgrading my D80 as I’ve had it for over 3 years and feel that I have pretty much used it to its full potential. From all what you’ve said, D300 seems like a good bet.
I have also been pondering with the idea of upgrading to a D700. Now I am certainly not an expert but do understand that a D700 is a full frame camera and would like to seek some views that if I did upgrade to a D700, would I still be able to use the lens I have with my D80?
I have been told by the store guys that a D300s would be an ideal upgrade option but then others have said that I could use the same lens on a D700… which I am guessing is only to sell me the camera and the rest is my problem! Typical of store keepers in most parts of the world.
Thanks,
Pav