DSLRUsers.com

What would be the best suggestion for someone looking at buying a Nikon, A friend of mine has the same camera as i do (oly e510) and they have decided it just wasn't cutting it. They had a fiddle with my bro in laws d200 and loved it. Not just for feel but quality in the shots. What would you suggest they buy? they were looking at the d300 but is it worth it? Is having the multiple focus points better then the 11 found on the d200? Yeah i'm in the same boat, i've had enough of my oly too, i find the autofocus is really bad, the image quality isn't the best and al together i am wishing i never brought it 3 years ago!!
So please any suggestions for my friends and myself would be appreciated.

Kristen

Dependent on your needs and budget I would also look at the D90, very similar image quality (some would say better), 11 AF points (not as good as the 51 in the D300) in a smaller, lighter package.

The D300's AF is probably the best on the market, even when you are not using all 51-AF points, it is built like a tank (but weighs as much as one as well). If you/your friend liked the D200's feel then the D300 will be right up your alley.

Best to compare the pair directly.

yeah we both liked the weight of the d200 and the d300 from the reviews is a similar weight. Is there a real noticeable difference in the af quality? i had looked at the d90 but when held i prefered the d200, not sure whether my friend has held a d90 though.

Thanks for the advice, appreciate it. I figure if and when i can update i want to update to the best technolody, i know wheni brought my oly the sales guy was bragging it up but i notice i huge difference in quality and sharpness of the images. - sharpness in my images are a rarety and not through any fault of my own, i always wondered whether the sensor was damaged but i aint gonna worry about repairing it, i'd rather a nikon now.

I have a D300 and a S5 Pro (D200 in disguise - same AF) and I find that the D300 is a nudge faster, but def more reliable as the light dims in AF. More importantly, the D300 is more flexible in terms of how the AF is used, allowing you to define the availability of 51 or 11 af points for selection and the the number of af points used for assistance (51, 21, 9). Compared to the D90 the AF differnce is more substantial, I found that low light AF was VERY slow with D90 using the 18-105VR lens, but it may be faster with a f/2.8 lens...I have not been able to test that.

The two cameras feel very similar in the hands so no issues there. I find that the D300 (compared to the D200) has a nicer menu system (which it shares with the D90 as well to an extent).

Hope this helps

yeah it does help so thank you, its nice to know what camera your using, i often see ppl who post their images who use Nikon cameras, their shots are usually pretty crisp and in focus where its meant to be, in my pictures there is never anything crisp all a bit blah. Mind you i think if i were to upgrade it wouldn't make my shots better but rather crisper and sharp to look at. Even when my shots are in raw they're shocking, so if you know anyone wanting to buy a camera tell em mine they can buy!! lol

I have the D700, and my 'better' half has the D90. If you are looking at a Full Frame the D700 is a great camera, and I like the weight of it.
The D90 is a nice little camera, but to me it feels a little too small, which comes from using the D700 I guess

But, comparing the D90 to the D300;

D90 has 2 more years of advancements over the D300
D90 - 11 Points vs 51 in the D300
D90 - Movie mode and Live Viewing
D300 heavier and more solid feeling
D300 faster frame rate (I think 6 vs 4.5 from memory)
D90 cheaper than D300

WE have a number of the 2.8 lenses, and they are all nice and fast on both cameras, even in low-light conditions, which is great.

I guess the questions to ask before deciding are;

Price
Full or cropped frame
Feel of camera - go down to your local store and hold them
What do you want to use it for - light conditions, sports, speed etc
Price

bigsarg7 wrote:yeah it does help so thank you, its nice to know what camera your using, i often see ppl who post their images who use Nikon cameras, their shots are usually pretty crisp and in focus where its meant to be, in my pictures there is never anything crisp all a bit blah. Mind you i think if i were to upgrade it wouldn't make my shots better but rather crisper and sharp to look at. Even when my shots are in raw they're shocking, so if you know anyone wanting to buy a camera tell em mine they can buy!! lol

Generally there isnt too much difference in terms of sharpness in any of the cameras, it only becomes a problem when there is a problem with the camera. A lot of people sharpen up their images in post process, so this may be one of the reasons that you find other peoples' photos are sharper than your own. Other things that can affect this include: lenses (some lenses are just sharper than others), camera shake (esp with long exposures) and focus accuracy. Unless you apply sharpening, your RAW will be inherently softer than jpg as the camera applies sharpening when you use jpg.

If you really think your camera has some AF problems then I would have a look at taking photos of a ruler from a 30-45 deg angle with the lens wide open and zoomed to a longer focal length, using a tripod with image stabilisation off. If you aim your focus at one point then shoot you will be able to see if the focus is in front or behind where you are aiming. Keeping the aperture wide open and using a longer focal length will keep the depth of field shallow. This is a quick and dirty method (best done at the minimal focal distance of your lens with a telephoto), but if you want to be more precise there are specialised charts and tools that can be used. PS your camera would be welcome over here, if it needs a new home, I quite liked the E-510 when I lent one.

D90 or D300, depending upon budget