Reviews for Nikon D300 12.3 Megapixel Digital SLR Camera Body with Lens Kit - 0.71"-5.31"3" LCD - 7.5x Optical Zoom - 4288 x 2848 Image - HDMI - PictBridge - MPN: 9482 
By member:
savio
- Jun 13, 2008
Nikon D300 camera w/ 18-135mm LensStrengths: Light weight, not much noise even at ISO 3200, great color and sharpness, battery lasts soooo...long! Weakness: Portraits with sun set back ground not very good. I have been using D2x and D70 for few years. The D300 is much lighter than D2x, battery lasts VERY long, not much noise even shooting at ISO 3200 (better than D2x), great color and sharpness. The contrast is good for general shootings but for portraits - might want to decrease a bit. For portraits with sun set back ground it is too much contrast causing the sun set almost being washed out, might need some adjustment in settings. Over all, I am happy and very impressed with camera. Highly recommended! 67% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful? Top
By member:
jemaerca
- Jul 23, 2008
Nikon ups the ante again - best DX camera to date!Strengths: 12MP, ISO performance, 6fps, 3" hi-res LCD, 51pt AF tracking, Live View Weakness: Really hard pressed to find one of note - it's that good! The D300 is at the top of Nikon's DX lineup and as the DX flagship, it does not disappoint. It has a lot of D3 goodies at about 1/3 the price. ISO performance is fantastic - I can use ISO 1600 confident that I can clean up the image in post. Six fps is great for sports (8fps is possible if you use the grip and correct battery). The 3" LCD is gorgeous and 51 AF points nails focus all the time. Live View is useful for macros. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful? Top
By member:
szynda
- Jul 19, 2008
Power, Power and More PowerStrengths: Speed, Versatility, Advanced Features, Power, Resolution Weakness: Lacks the foolproof features of the D80/CoolPix line where you have Theme Modes. This is a huge leap forward from my D100 and offers higher resolution, more features and many improvements in customization features. However, for when I don't want to think hard about modes and settings, it would be nice that this higher end camera also had the fool proof theme settings for portrait, outdoor, etc. found on D80 and CoolPix cameras. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful? Top
cnet.com - Jan 28, 2008
Nikon D300 (w/ 18mm-135mm lens)
THE GOOD: Excellent performance and photo quality; solidly built; extremely flexible custom settings architecture; onboard wireless flash controller. THE BAD: A bit too expensive, given the competition. THE BOTTOM LINE: Visibly better photo quality and slightly improved performance make the Nikon D300 a significant upgrade over the D200 and an excellent all-around choice. Top
testseek.com - Sep 13, 2008
Nikon D300
Testseek.com has collected 90 expert reviews for Nikon D300 and the average expert rating is 89 of 100. The average score reflects the expert community’s view on this product. Click below and use Testseek.com to see all ratings, product awards and conclusions. Top
letsgodigital.org - Aug 25, 2008
Nikon D300
If you were to ask me what I found the most important camera of 2007 I would definitely place the Nikon D300 at the top, without a single doubt. A spot that the camera could possibly only share with the Nikon D3. The new Nikon D300 is a beautiful work-horse and meets the requirements of the professional photographer. It is an ideal camera for those who find the D3 too big or just too expensive,... Top
Imaging Resource - Feb 6, 2008
Nikon D300 Review
Nikon's D300 is easily one of the finest digital SLR cameras on the market. Its 12.3-megapixel sensor delivers stunning images up to ISO 6,400, and its 14-bit A/D conversion means you can get better quality in your JPEG and RAW images with the Nikon D300. Out-of-the-box, the Nikon D300 will shoot six frames-per-second, and track a moving subject by combining data from its AF system with... Top
photographyblog.com - Jan 21, 2008
Nikon D300 Review
The mid-range digital SLR camera market has never been so competitive, with new models recently announced by virtually all the major manufacturers. The Nikon D300 is the latest prosumer model to pass through our review lab. With the highest price-tag of any of the main contenders, it has a lot to live up to, but a quick glance at the spec sheet reveals some impressive features. A new 12.3 APS-C... Top
DCResource - Dec 14, 2007
DCRP Review: Nikon D300
When Nikon announced the D300, the digital photography world stood up and took notice. When people call the D300 a "baby D3", they're no kidding. The D300 has nearly the exact same feature set, but with an APS-C / DX-format sensor instead of a full-frame one. That means you get the super-fast performance of the EXPEED image processor, live view on a brilliant 3-inch LCD display, a 51-point... Top
cameralabs.com - Dec 6, 2007
Camera Labs – Nikon D300 review
There’s no denying the Nikon D300 is a highly capable DSLR which will delight enthusiasts and satisfy the demands of pros looking for a backup or ‘budget’ body. Certainly no-one does ergonomics like Nikon and despite a handful of annoyances, it’s also the most feature-packed DSLR of its class. But there’s also no denying it’s comfortably more expensive than many rivals while not... Top 
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Great Camera
Strengths: About everything - Lightning fast focus and frame speed, improved auto white balance, crisp pictures at ISO 1600/3200, save multiple manual white balances, effective auto-area focus & the list goes on.
Weakness: High price, Flash sync at 250 instead of 500 like my D70 and my D70 economical wireless remote does not work with D300.
I have only had the camera for a week, but it has already supplied noticeable improved performance over my D70 which I really liked as well. I used it last weekend at the state wrestling championships and it worked better than I could have expected. I have always used single point focus when taking pictures of wrestling because the more automated focusing systems would get confused. The D300 supplied improvement here when using the single point because I could place the focus point where I really wanted it since there are 51 focus points. The real step change improvement was that I was able to use the auto-area focus as it worked flawlessly picking the focus point correctly and kept the kids in focus.
I used my Sigma 120-300 2.8 lens with a 2X converter and was able to knock off pictures at 6 frames a second. The the focus was right on (note these are moving targets I was taking pictures of) and the pictures looked great at both ISO 1600 and 3200.
Next item, I always manually set the white balance in gym situations as the lighting is always bad and really confused the auto white balance on my other cameras. The auto white balance on the D300 did a really good job. Ih I did continue to use my manually set white balance to be safe, but in the future if I don't have time to manually set it I will no longer be overly concerned with using the auto.
Also, being able to manually set and save two white balance settings was beneficial. I set one with flash and one without which allowed me to quickly switch between using and not using a flash depending on what I was trying to get. The multiple custom settings banks help with this as well -- just toggle to the other custom set up and you are ready to go.
I have not had a chance to try the live view and do not know if I really will have a need, but I can see where this would come in handy in situations where I am concerned about depth of field.
As you can see I am really impressed with this camera and would say I am surprised at how many things it does well that really has improved the pictures I can take -- really a step change from my D70.
The final item I do need to mention is how big and bright the LCD is. You can really quickly see detail on this LCD. I will admit that the D70 LCD is very small compared to most of the new cameras so others may not notice as big of a difference, but for me it is the difference between being able to see if the picture I took is truly spot on focused or not.
So in conclusion, this is a great camera and you should have no reservations about buying one. I was concerned with spending the money on the D300 due to the price being pretty high, but it was well worth it. Hope you get one and have as much fun as I have had with it so far.
I originally listed in the weakness area of this review that the camera did not come with Nikon Capture NX as it was not listed as an included item in the website order info or on the box. However, it was included. I thought the disc I received was the 30-day trial version, but it was the full Nikon Capture NX program. Nice surprise for me.
100% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful?