Amateur Photographer Magazine

 Nikon D300 digital SLR product review - taster - INTRODUCTION

Wednesday 28th November 2007

Angela Nicholson

INTRODUCTION



At AP we have access to a range of photographic equipment and we usually have a choice of cameras when we want to take a photograph. While the awkward handling, lacklustre AF and soft images meant the D100 was left in the cupboard, the D200 has been called upon more frequently. This model provides all the control we need within easy reach, the AF system responds promptly and it produces good-quality images with little chroma noise.
Although the D200 was a dramatic improvement on the D100, it isn't completely without its problems. Not least of these is a metering system that is over-sensitive to highlights and an LCD screen that is sometimes too bright. The specification sheet for the new D300, however, reveals that beneath its surface it is a very different camera from the model it replaces.

We might have anticipated that Nikon would replace the D200 with a higher-resolution model, but the change from a CCD sensor to a CMOS device was a surprise to many. This move meant Nikon had to develop a new processing engine for the D300 and this, plus the changes made to the sensor, could have huge implications for image quality and noise levels. I hope Nikon hasn't compromised these for the sake of two million extra pixels and a boost to the continuous shooting rate.

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