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Question: Is This Camera Appropriate For a Beginner? I'm a relative novice when it comes to SLR photography.  However, I can afford the D300 with no problem. My question is, would the D300 be too much camera for a beginner?  Or would it be something I could learn about in a relatively short time and use for a very long time?
Document: I have been using my Nikon D80 for about a year and decided it was time to upgrade. I did my research and bought the books to learn the D300 before I purchased. I have taken a few courses at my local University in Photography so I am not a complete novice in my Photography Skills. A 10 day Caribbean cruise was coming up in the next 2 weeks when I decided to purchase the D300. The moment I received the d300, I charged the batteries and started snapping away. I'm not sure if the camera was the issue but when shooting in manual mode (which I have always done to get the Depth of field and exposure as I need it) I could never get the exposure correct.
After much research, I bought the D200, and I was thrilled. A new digital SLR was going to have to last me for a long time, and I had decided that the D200 would be the camera for me. However, after a couple of months the D300 was announced. Fortunately, I purchased the D200 from a company with a liberal return policy; otherwise, I would have been banging my head against the wall every time that I read another glowing review of the D300.The 3" high res screen alone makes the extra $300 worth it.
I've used D200 extensively and thought it would be the best digital SLR for years to come. However, Nikon surprised me with D300 and it actually makes it easier to create significantly better images.The D300 has better color, highlights, shadows; it's sharper because it fixes lens flaws, and its superior AF system. Except for the full frame sensor the D300 shares a lot of good things from D3 and comes at a much cheaper price. The D300's tweaks and far more processing power have made it possible to realize superior image quality.
I've owned a Nikon d80 for over a year and a half. This camera blows the D80 out of the water. The new menu system is fantastic and the controls are perfectly placed and easy to use. I noticed immediately that the camera had much better ergonomics then the D80, I often found myself unintentionaly obscuring the AF light on the D80 however the D300 solves this eloquintly by placing a steep lip underneath the sub-command dial on the front. All the controls are well placed and this camera fixed a few of the menu oddities found on the D80, overall a great new camera for anyone willing to take the time to learn the controls.
I'm glad I decided to go with this camera as an upgrade to my D80. Some would say I probably wasted my money because it isn't that much of an upgrade but I'm happy with it. More options for photography that I'm looking to do and I have a bit more room to crop and still have a nice picture if I don't have my big zoom on. I still need to learn it a bit better but have been really happy with the quality combined with my nice lenses. I'm waiting on my vertical grip (should arrive soon).
Now I'm sure it's me and not the camera, but many of my shots were on the darkside (light - dark), so I was spending a fair amount of time dealing with this in PS, iPhoto and Aperture. Was this because I'm color blind, who knows, but it was an issue (for me). In any case, the D300 was announced and Nikon said it was a much better camera (surprise?). Well with my upcoming trip, I decided to see if I could sell my D200, and then get a D300 and cross my fingers.Well I sold the D200 on a Monday, order my new D300 from B&H; Tuesday, got it here on that Friday, got it together, tried it, loaded in the car, and left for Florida.Well I took a few pictures on the way down, and read the book quickly (my first mistake), so I would be better prepared when I arrived in Florida.Florida is about a 22 - 26 hour drive from Maine, so it didn't give me much time to play or read before I got there, but I was hoping enough.
For those wanting exemplary image quality with much of what the D300 offers but for significantly less money: Canon offers the popularCanon EOS 40D 10.1MP Digital SLR Camera (Body Only)and Nikon now has attractive pricing for its popular D200, the fine camera that the D300 updated in late 2007Nikon D200 10.2MP Digital SLR Camera (Body Only). It has also earned many loyal followers and has a very solid build.But once in a long while something extraordinary is designed that stands out from a very distinguished and competitive field.
Wow, I recently bought the sony a350 14.2 megapixel and I can tell u that the sony a350 its great camera, very good pictures, BUT, BUT, after reading a lot of reviews about the NIKON D300 and like three weeks of shooting with the sony a350 I needed more from that camera, I noticed that at 300mm the sony losses a lot of picture quality. well short story, I GOT THE D300, and let me tell u guys that when I came back from the park with around 400 shoots, all I said was, wow wow wow, the colors of this pictures are awesome.Now, I will tell u this, Im not pro but if u buy this camera you will feel like a pro, you will love this thing believe it, but this is the point, if u are not a pro or if this is your first SLR camera i would recomend buying the 18-200 vr lens for it, why?, why, because from 200mm to 300mm there is not a big difference, that happened with me when I had the sony a350, I had the 18-70 and the 75-300, yes of course 70mm doensnt do anything, so u need more, and like I said 300mm is not enough, so I would recomend to get the 18-200 vr wich is an exellent lens and, and if u thing you need more zoom, look for something gives u al least 500mm, I have the D300 WITH 18-200 AND THE SIGMA 150-500 and believe me I cant ask for more, Im so happy with this kit, if u want to read about the sigma 150-500 go to sigmas 150-500 I will write a review.Anyway, if u have the money and ur thinking of buying this d300, THEN GET IT, dont look for more reviews, ITS exellent.
This camera is solid all around.After taking some digital photography classes at the local reseller, I've taken this camera on nature hikes (for nice landscape shots) and fast action shots (college sporting events like tennis). In both situations, the D300 along with the Nikon 18-200mm VR lens that I used on both occasions produced excellent shots. The multi battery pack (MB- D10) gave me the adequate fps to shoot fast moving college tennis players with no problem. The photos are crisp and clear. I've also taken indoor shots of my dogs and used the same lens and camera along with the SB-800 and the shots were also crips and clean.Again, I would highly recommend this camera for those who want to step up from a point and shoot or from an entry level D-SLR.
I got the D300 initially, So that I could compare it to my D200. If there was not much difference, I would simply return it.Well, there was a BIG difference. (I'll leave all the tech details to the other reviewers).The D 300 is a great camera. Get it now and you should have about 2 years before the next model comes out & puts it to shame.So, anyone want a D200 ?....
Answer: The D300 was my first SLR Camera. Before that I was using point and shoots. I would say it is appropriate for a beginner who is learning actively. When I bought this cam I had started taking courses and I evolved rapidly to a serious hobbyist. I would say you shouldn't buy it if you're not planning to learn how to be a better photographer, otherwise, the Canon 40D which is also a medium sized SLR would be much more suited. It has many kinds of automatic modes that you would select. The D300 has only four modes: Manual, Shutter Priority, Aperture Priority and Program mode.Personally I'm glad I ended up choosing the Nikon D300, it's such an amazing camera...I hope this was helpful