Award Sounds Music, Photography and Consultancy

There are a number of reviews about Nikon's new DSLR releases of the D3 and the D300. I like the look of D300 a lot. It's a step up the model range and a generation newer than the prosumer D80 that I've been using. I'm surprised how much the technology has moved on in such a short time, I feel I shouldn't be surprised since technology is moving quicker every day, but I am.

Macworld has a nice, simple review of the D300 providing a very quick overview.

I use the Nikon D80 and I like it. There's little not to like for cameras in its class. The main problem I've got is that I'm not comfortable with the results of images from ISOs above ISO 400. So I've tended to use very slow ISOs and retain the highest quality possible. This bugged me so much that I hardly ever use the auto-ISO feature and instead set the ISO manually to ISO100 or ISO200.

Dust is something of an issue, involving having to clean the sensors at regular intervals. I've seen the dust cleaning solutions of other cameras, but I've yet to see anything worth changing for. That is until I read Luminous Landscape's comparison of features between Canon and Nikon. I like how the author introduces the differences without fanning any flames, but still provide enough objective and subjective information for readers to make their own decisions.

The two major items of information that caught my eye in the Luminous Landscape article were the:

1. improved noise-levels at high ISO. I couldn't believe the quality of the image at ISO5600. That's amazing for what I've seen in low light conditions. It would open up a whole raft of other possibilities and the auto-ISO feature becomes a real feature after all.
2. improved sensor cleaning. The D80 isn't brilliant coping with dust. It sounds like the sensor shaking on the D300 works well. For the first time, I'm reading positive reviews on sensor cleaning from a variety of sources (doesn't mean that other systems do not work, just that I haven't come across the reviews saying they do).

How about the D3?
Well, yes it's a better camera. With the price differential between the D3 and D300, it's aimed at a different purchaser. The D300 is at a more comfortable price point for the prosumer.