Malcolm_Stewart
Carpal \'Tunnel
Reged: 11/07/2005
Posts: 2583
Loc: Milton Keynes, UK
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I've followed your thread, bought this week's magazine and found the AP for 8 December 2007 when they compared the D300, EOS 5D and Fujifilm S5 Pro. I'll tabulate the results (and hope that the formatting doesn't screw things up):
8 December 2007
________Spec____build/handling__perf___image quality____podium
D300____28/20_______18/20_____18/20______28/40________92 1
EOS 5D__28/20_______17/20_____17/20______29/40________91 2
S5 Pro___28/20_______18/20_____18/20______26/40________90 3
Note - the anomalies as printed...
21 June 2008
________Spec____build/handling__perf___image quality____podium
D300____18/20_______18/20_____18/20______38/40________92 2
EOS 5D__18/20_______18/20_____18/20______37/40________91 1
EOS 40D_17/20_______17/20_____18/20______36/40________88 3
I have problems reconciling the text and the results under the image quality column, but I guess it all depends on what weighting is given to the different factors.
It's not long since I carefully considered buying a D300 for birding, until I checked out what lenses were easily available. (Instead, I bought a 1D MkIII which can use the lenses I already own.)
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Malcolm Stewart
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PaulatUKcamera
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 24/05/2005
Posts: 1919
Loc: West Wales
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I was a manual SLR user up to the point of acquiring a D200 last year, so was rather disappointed to find that accurate AF was not as simple as it looked.
If you want to keep the subject in frame (and not wave the camera round & lock a central focus point) then pushing a dial to try and find a non-existent focus point is a right pain. If the 40D is similar, then I can tell you that the 300D is a revelation in ease of use. There is always a handy focus point - particularly when you try a vertical rather than a horizontal format.
The high definition screen on the back is a definite plus, as it really is a joy to use - the clarity and ease of use is a magnitude away from the D200 and I would guess also superior to the 40D.
Most of the "other" features appear to be common to all the three cameras.
So for those two reasons I intend to p.ex my D200 for a D300 (for ease of use I have now settled on carrying two cameras rather than undergoing lens change gymnastics with a heavy & unwieldy zoom!)
If I wanted absolute quality, full frame has an obvious advantage. However, I do like the focal length multiplier and as the thought of carrying around a 300mm f2.8 telephoto does not appeal, I'll stick with the smaller sensor.
In the end it is the type of photography you do that determines which particular technical "advantage" you go for.
Frankly, the best value photography, in terms of price, still strikes me as the entry level cameras. A 450D almost does everything as well as a D300 / 40D / 5D and I really do challenge even the most expert of us to say "this was a £1000 camera that took this!"
So why do people get "upgradeitis?" I feel largely because they economise on the standard lens. A lesson I learnt many, many, years ago. As a consequence my last "set" of cameras lasted me 20 years and these lenses still are usable today on the D300 (the main reason I stuck with Nikon)
Paul
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Paul Winter (CRIPN)
Web Site: UKCamera.com
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Mark101
addict
Reged: 15/03/2007
Posts: 583
Loc: Lincolnshire
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Drop a Canon 450d on the pavement from 5ft then do the same with a 40d !
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Cavyslave
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