The built-in intervalometer (timer) can be used for time-lapse low-light movies. [4] Specifications [ edit ] That said, even at ISO 6400 the D300s can record an impressive amount of detail, albeit accompanied by considerable chroma and luminance noise. The availability of a Virtual Horizon is one of the few improvements the Nikon D300s boasts over its predecessor. It is a levelling tool that debuted in the manufacturer's FX cameras – the D300s is the first DX body to offer it. The Virtual Horizon is a useful aid to avoid slanted horizons and bevelled verticals, although given that it only indicates left/right tilt, it is ultimately less sophisticated than the dual-axis electronic level gauge found on the Olympus E-30 and E-P1 cameras.

This was taken with the D-Lighting set to maximum. As you can see it has rescued a lot of shadow detail while maintaining the highlights. In general use, the metering system of the D300s is very capable, and I was impressed at the consistency of exposures in a range of different situations. When set to the Adobe RGB colour space the Nikon D300s is capable of reproducing a wider range of red, magenta, purple and blue tones than is contained within the sRGB gamut. However, although it still covers more than sRGB, it struggles to record all of the green and emerald tones in the full Adobe RGB colour space. LCD, Live View and video Shooting mode dial However, the viewfinder on the D300s shows 100% of the image captured. This is still relatively unusual in APS-C format DSLRs, and coupled with the 100% frame coverage in Live View mode it means that with the D300s what you see on or through the camera is – literally – what you will get in the final image. Nikon D300s Autofocus, metering and white balanceFor the first time since the indomitable F4 of 1988, the D300 has a clear finder. There are no scratched-in AF areas to interfere with composition. The D300 only highlights AF areas as needed, otherwise the finder is completely clear! The noise graph shown here displays noise in JPEG files with high ISO noise reduction turned ‘off’. For small prints, high ISO noise reduction can safely be set to ‘high’, and it will deliver smooth noise-free results without any visible penalty in detail reproduction. The Imatest chart shows good colour accuracy with the blues a little cool and the reds slightly saturated. Time again, Nikon has said that the D7000 series is now the top of its APS-C-format line-up, and that anyone looking for a D300 replacement should turn to that camera. But while you can’t argue with any of the technology inside the D7000 and D7100, there are a few things that make the newer cameras feel different to the D300. Taking everything into account, the Nikon D300 leads in overall performance and durability, while the Nikon D90 caters to budget-conscious and travel-friendly photographers. Nikon D300 vs D90 Overview and Optics

As the D300s shares almost exactly the same chassis as the D300, its build quality and handling experience are virtually identical to that of the earlier camera. Nikon D300s Live view button it was a few years ago. Also, while 1280×720-pixel HD video was one of the major additions to the D300S, any new camera would require 1920x1080p 50fps full HD capture. It is unlikely that Nikon would introduce 4K video for the first time in an APS-C-format camera, so that will have to wait until some time in the future.

Nikon D300s specifications

Video is still compressed using the Motion JPEG system and stored in an AVI wrapper. The maximum file size is 2GB, although additional restrictions limit the HD mode to five minutes and the lower resolution modes to 20 minutes. The D300s will stop recording at whichever comes first: the time limit or file size. You’re looking at about 2.5MB per second for the HD mode with audio, using the D300s’s relatively high bit-rate of just under 40Mbit/s. For more advanced photographers, the other stand-out feature is the optional 14-bit image processing. This allows the use of 14-bit RAW files, offering greater colour depth and a wider latitude for post-processing exposure adjustment without image degradation. Other significant features include extendible ISO range from 100 to 6400, although the standard setting is 200 to 3200. Active D-lighting is very useful too, automatically adjusting shadow and highlight exposure in high-contrast shots, providing additional dynamic range. Other manufacturers do have similar systems, such as Sony’s Dynamic Range Optimiser, but possibly thanks to more advanced on-chip image processing the Nikon system appears to be particularly effective, preserving shadow and highlight detail in extremely high contrast situations. I’d have to compare it side-by-side with the A700 to determine which is better, but it certainly out-performed the DRO system on the Sony A200, which I was testing at the same time as the D300. One of the biggest improvements in the Nikon D300 is the handling of noise. Although they have gained ground recently, Nikon have traditionally lagged behind in handling of the phenomenon. The D300 has changed that dramatically with images, depending on their use, being usable almost all the way through the range. Definition and sharpness do start to fall off at the higher ISOs but colour noise is much more controlled. Restrictions in the ISO method of measurement preclude Nikon from calling the Low and High settings anything other than that, but they are effective nonetheless. At 1/3 EV steps there are a total of 19 settings. Like the D3, the D300 isn’t just a camera, but part of a complete Nikon system to help photographers create great images. The D300 is compatible with the Nikon Total Imaging System of NIKKOR lenses, Speedlights, accessories and software that provides a complete solution for any photographic challenge. Color Matrix Metering II, using a 1005-pixel RGB sensor. Including matrix, center-weight, and spot metering with AI and AIS manual focus lenses produced since 1977

Now for the bad news. Hollywood and the pro movie industry may be used to manually focusing their lenses while filming, but most consumers aren’t. It takes some practice to get it right, and ideally requires a lens with a very smooth focusing ring and distance markings. It’s best-suited to rehearsed sequences with marked focus distances than spontaneous situations.And then there's the choice of lens. A camera of this calibre demands the very best quality optics that you can afford. Our review unit was supplied with a Nikon 17-55mm f/2.8, a DX lens which only really comes into its own when matched up to a top-quality camera. Live View is no longer treated as a drive mode option, and is thus no longer accessed via the release mode dial. Instead, it now has a dedicated button on the rear panel – a logical and welcome improvement over the D300, although it's one of only two buttons that we feel are a little too recessed to operate easily (the other one is the also-new Info button). Live View comes in two flavours, 'Hand-held' and 'Tripod'. In 'Hand-held' mode, you can use either the AF-ON button or a half-press of the shutter release to initiate autofocus, whereby the mirror is lowered and the AF sensors are engaged. This interrupts the live view, which does not even resume automatically when focus is acquired; only when you let go of the shutter release (or AF-ON) button. The whole procedure is cumbersome and involves lots of mirror slapping, but at the end of the day, it's still the faster way if you want to use AF in live view. Because in the aptly named 'Tripod' mode, it takes a lot more time for the camera to acquire focus, as it uses a contrast-detect method which Nikon's lenses are not optimised for. The undeniable advantage of this mode is that focusing does not interrupt the live view feed, and there is less mirror slapping. Note though that in 'Tripod' mode, you can only use the AF-ON button for autofocus; there is no other option. However the arrival of the distinctly pro-targetted Canon EOS 7D and the accomplished but more wallet-friendly Pentax K-7 could make Nikon's gentle refresh of the D300 look insufficient. (Due to the similarities between the two cameras, some product images come from the D300 review) Model line history The Nikon D300s lets you dial in shutter speeds of up to 30 seconds and has a Bulb mode as well for exposure times of practically any length, which is very good news if you are seriously interested in night photography. There is an optional long-exposure noise reduction function that can be activated to filter out any hot pixels that may appear when extremely slow shutter speeds are used, though I found no need for this when taking the photograph below at a shutter speed of 30 seconds, aperture of f/11 at the L1.0 (ISO 100) sensitivity setting. We've included a 100% crop for you to see what the quality is like.

The D300 creates far wilder colors than any previous Nikon. I get these results by tweaking the Picture Control Menus. Left at default, it's the same, but I never shoot at default. I always had to carry a spare or two for a day's shooting with the D200. With the D300, one is all I need. These days, 12 million pixels may not seem like a lot – in fact, the closest current model in Nikon’s line-up, the D7100, has twice that pixel count on its sensor – but I have found this to be more than enough for my needs. I’ve printed images up to A3+ in size, and I have even printed quite a few A2 images. Having used the 36.3-million-pixel Nikon D800, I know what cameras like this are capable of in terms of resolved detail, but for making a nice print or two for a wall, the D300 does the job. Here's a comparison between my D200 and D300, each cranked to maximum saturation. Roll your mouse over to see the difference. At the D300s’s lowest ISO sensitivity setting of 100 (equivalent) dynamic range is reduced, because rather than being a ‘native’ setting, ISO 100 is achieved by underexposure, followed by adjustment to give a ‘correct’ exposure. This process clips highlight detail significantly.The Nikon D300 has a higher screen resolution of 922,000 dots compared to the D90’s 920,000 dots. This difference in resolution allows the D300 to provide a clearer and sharper image preview on its screen. The D300’s higher feature score also reflects its overall superiority over the D90 in terms of functionality and performance. Color Matrix Metering II (type G and D lenses); color matrix metering II (other CPU lenses); color matrix metering (non-CPU lenses if user provides lens data; metering performed) I bought my Nikon D300S DSLR recently to replace another Nikon DSLR a Nikon D5100, although the d5100 is a newer model, with more megapixels Other useful features that slip by in the crowd are HDMI output for connection to HD TV, adjustable self timer with a delay of up to 20 seconds, and exposure compensation of +/-5 EV in 1.3EV increments. The viewfinder is also superb, exceptionally large and bright with 100-percent frame coverage and full shooting data displayed along the bottom of the frame. Also hidden in the feature set is a function to automatically correct lateral chromatic aberration in the camera, very useful if you are using older lenses. I didn’t have an opportunity to test it, since the lens supplied with the camera was optically almost perfect, but I’ve seen real-world test shots of this feature and it appears to work very well indeed. It is worth noting though that using the 14-bit processing mode slows the shooting rate down to a more leisurely 2.5 frames a second. Needless to say, in single shot mode the D300 can take photos just as fast as you can press the button, and it can keep it up for a long time. Although Nikon has no official statement on battery life other that to say it has been ‘improved’, I shot somewhere in the region of 250 photos while testing the camera, and the battery charge meter was still reading four out of five bars when I’d finished. What it saves on batteries the D300 makes up for with its voracious appetite for memory cards. Even in JPEG fine mode, a 1GB CF card in only enough for 92 shots. In RAW+JPEG this drops to just 32 shots in 12-bit mode, or just 26 shots in 14-bit mode, with a 5.5MB JPEG file accompanied by a 14.4MB RAW file.