DPR struggling to find D300s cons? Here are a few more:

Jim King · Nov 18, 2009

Just wait until you grow older and develop arthritis in your hands...
--
Jim King - Retired Colormonger - Suburban Detroit, Michigan, USA; GMT -4h (EDT)
Pentaxian for over 45 years.

* * * * *
A fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won't change the subject.

Sir Winston Churchill

* * * * *
The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits.

Albert Einstein

chuxter · Nov 18, 2009

Eike Welk said:
chuxter said:

Aw, now you told the secret! Where is that clever Russian guy when I need him (I want a free program to remap the pixels on my D300...heck, I'd even pay a bit to get it.

Click to expand...

The clever Russian guys of today seem to prefer Canon, unfortunately.
http://chdk.wikia.com/wiki/CHDK

I'm not a CHDK expert, but I think it is for Canon's non-mirror cameras only. I guess clever Russians can't afford dSLRs?

--
Charlie Davis
Nikon 5700, Sony R1, Nikon D300
HomePage: http://www.1derful.info
'I'm from Texas. We have meat in our vegetables.'
Trenton Doyle Hancock

chuxter · Nov 18, 2009

Jim King said:
Just wait until you grow older and develop arthritis in your hands...

Growing old is not for wimps!

I'm 70+, Arthur has visited several places and still manage to use a D300 with a 70-200mm f/2.8 for hours.

--
Charlie Davis
Nikon 5700, Sony R1, Nikon D300
HomePage: http://www.1derful.info
'I'm from Texas. We have meat in our vegetables.'
Trenton Doyle Hancock

sebboh · Nov 18, 2009

i am not (that) old and have no problem carrying around a 30lb pack plus a pro dslr and 4lb lens. nevertheless, i view the size of the d300s (and the 7D) as a negative. the weight doesn't bother me. it just takes up to much space and makes the photographer stick out like a sore thumb. if they managed to cram the d300 into the form factor of the d3000 (with a bigger hump for the pentaprism) i would love it. maybe there's some engineering aspect i'm missing but i really don't know why prosumer cameras need to be so big other than the prism.

chuxter said:
Jim King said:

Just wait until you grow older and develop arthritis in your hands...

Click to expand...

Growing old is not for wimps!

I'm 70+, Arthur has visited several places and still manage to use a D300 with a 70-200mm f/2.8 for hours.

--
Charlie Davis
Nikon 5700, Sony R1, Nikon D300
HomePage: http://www.1derful.info
'I'm from Texas. We have meat in our vegetables.'
Trenton Doyle Hancock

--
hobbes

http://xkcd.com/386/

photostream: http://www.flickr.com/photos/28476552@N04/

FPL53 · Nov 18, 2009

R Butler said:
It does help, actually.

I'll have a proper look at that list in the morning and consider adding any that aren't just examples of features on other cameras (which doesn't mean their absence is necessarily a con).

Richard - dpreview.com

Depends on the year. I remember something about live view being a feature in search of a problem..until it hit Canon and Nikon.

FPL53 · Nov 18, 2009

1. If it breaks down, it's only one lens.

2. If you're body shakes like a leaf normally, you can keep things centred in the frame a bit better. But then in-body I.S. usually only requires a button push to do the same now.

3. It confers huge profits on sales of higher-end lenses from Nikon and Canon because they obviously cost 50% more than they should because of in-lens I.S.

Lucas_ · Nov 19, 2009

john said:
Prognathous said:

5. No in-body IS

Click to expand...

does canon dslr offer one?

No, but SONY ( all of them! ) does!

john120588 said:
john120588 said:

7. Proprietary RAW format

Click to expand...

all raw are proprietary

Some use DNG

john120588 said:
john120588 said:

10. Contrast detect AF is slow and doesn't support subject tracking across the frame

Click to expand...

even canon's contrast detech AF is also slow

Sony's AF in LV mode ( A500/550 ) is faster

john120588 said:
john120588 said:

11. AF assist light is of the bright white type, more annoying and less effective than the red-pattern type

Click to expand...

both are annoying

Right

john120588 said:
john120588 said:

13. No 1080p video; internal microphone is mono only

Click to expand...

do you think 1080p is so much better than 720p? just download some of canon's dslr 1080p they are all soft and fuzzy and need super blue giant to decode the video. all professional camera even the one use in hoolywood are all mono sound.

It's a photo camera, the video is just a gadget, not a must have.

john120588 said:
john120588 said:

14. AF microadjust doesn't support separate adjustment for the wide and tele ends of zoom lenses

Click to expand...

if nikon provide great AF, you really don't need to touch this, this feature are designed for camera with poor AF system.

Not really, there are excellent third party lenses which may benefit from micro adjust

... Lucas
--
Starting a new gallery: http://lucaspix.smugmug.com/
You're also welcome to: http://www.pbase.com/lucaspix/root

Always having fun with photography ...

Tom C11968 · Nov 19, 2009

Hi Exdeejjjaaaa

Sorry for the stupid statements but I'm not as smart as you are but I still think the older cameras will be dropped at some point in the future and that will result in making your old RAW files obsolete. Not all of us have the ability of making a good raw converter you profile the camera/sensor yourself.
Here are a few links on the subject.
http://www.mediacollege.com/photography/format/raw/

This is from 2005 but interesting read.
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/essays/raw-flaw.shtml

You may want to tell how stupid these people are also.

exdeejjjaaaa said:
Tom C said:

We will be passing 1000 formats and the thirded party converters will become so bloated

Click to expand...

Tom, why don't you just take a source code of dcraw, compare 2 sequential releases to see how much of a new code was actually added to support reading the raw files from several new cameras and then stop making such stupid statements... the real work is to profile the camera and DNG will not help developers there - if you are making a good raw converter you profile the camera/sensor yourself anyways regardless of what camera manufacturer does (share any info or not... if they want to share that information they share regardless of the format and if not - there are plenty of ways to put undocumented information into DNG format as well, there are tags exactly for that)... and I am not talking only about color profiles - but settings (default) for NR, sharpening, etc...

--

--
Tom

ManuH · Nov 19, 2009

Prognathous said:
5. No in-body IS

I think Nikon would benefit from this much more than Canon. They have less stabilized lenses and more legacy lenses. I would consider Nikon if IBIS was available.

Prognathous said:
6. No articulated LCD screen

Only one Nikon DSLR has it, no Pentax, no Canon. I want one personally but I think the G1/GH1 are the perfect cameras for this use.

Prognathous said:
7. Proprietary RAW format

I don't care for the proprietary but in my workflow DNG is a time saver. In Lightroom I can import DNG directly without needing to convert to that format. Offering a DNG option shouldn't be that hard but I guess it's more a political decision that a technical one.

Prognathous said:
8. Virtual horizon can't actively correct tilt (since the sensor isn't tiltable)

It's nice when it actually works. On my copy of the K-7 it tilts all my pictures by 1-2 degrees. It seems that I'm not alone. I'll send it for a fix later though.

Prognathous said:
9. Large and heavy

That's annoying that high performance = large and heavy. There should be more options.

Prognathous said:
10. Contrast detect AF is slow and doesn't support subject tracking across the frame

I don't expect any real improvements with the old mounts.

Prognathous said:
15. Low value for money compared to most other cameras with similar build and image quality

That's always discutable. I'd argue that any APS-C camera > 600$ is of low value when you consider the life span of most electronics.

Prognathous said:
17. No multi-shot HDR mode

I have it on my K-7. Never use it, it just not as good as doing it with a proper software.

Prognathous said:
21. No LCD color calibration

Again, nice on paper but is it actually useful?

Prognathous said:
22. No white balance sensor; No full-correction incandescent preset

I was intrigued by the great AWB performance of my K-7. But I think it's implemented in software, a bit like the Auto WB of Lightroom (but better...)

Prognathous said:
21. No easy way to view dust on the sensor (dust alert)

Yes it saves time but on my K-7 dust on sensor is absolutely not an issue after 10K+ shots and many lenses changes (when using primes it happens very often).

Prognathous said:
22. No live histogram in LV

Really? What a pity. I suppose it could be happen in a firmware upgrade.

Prognathous said:
23. No internal viewfinder curtain

I have a rubber cap for this and I never used it. It's rarely an issue IMHO.

Prognathous said:
24. The rattle of d-rings can be heard in videos

On the K-7 it's the IBIS that makes noise.

--
Manu

http://flickr.com/photos/ensh/
Réflex Pentax: http://www.flickr.com/groups/pentaxfr/

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chuxter · Nov 19, 2009

ManuH said:
ManuH said:

24. The rattle of d-rings can be heard in videos

Click to expand...

On the K-7 it's the IBIS that makes noise.

Shhh! Don't wake the infidels...they'll revolt if they hear you say this. ;-)

--
Charlie Davis
Nikon 5700, Sony R1, Nikon D300
HomePage: http://www.1derful.info
'I'm from Texas. We have meat in our vegetables.'
Trenton Doyle Hancock

Larry Fosse · Nov 20, 2009

Now I'm depressed cuz I have to throw my D300 away and dump all it's photos.
Get a life and go take some great photos.

tom sugnet · Nov 20, 2009

One more:

no intervalometer (D5000 has it)

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John Tannock · Nov 20, 2009

Ha! You found more and some different issues that I did when testing files against my D300. Nikon claimed better Xpeed processing and lower high ISO noise in the "S" model. I tested at ISOs up to 1600 shooting RAW/Jpeg fine and found zero difference in both raw and jpeg noise as well as several other factors. I shot a bracket from -2 to +2 stops on a high contrast subject. The only thing that was different was the jpeg color - cooler in the S model. As for your comment about the no articulating LCD screen, that faux pas blew me away since an under $1000 model (D5000) has it.

chuxter · Nov 20, 2009

tom sugnet said:
One more:

no intervalometer (D5000 has it)

Are you sure? The D300 has an intervalometer. I read one review that said the D300s had it too. Perhaps it's just sloppy reporting?

--
Charlie Davis
Nikon 5700, Sony R1, Nikon D300
HomePage: http://www.1derful.info
'I'm from Texas. We have meat in our vegetables.'
Trenton Doyle Hancock

photo nuts · Nov 21, 2009

as well as AF+metering reliability.

Sadly, there are other great cameras out there with excellent features, but they simply don't deliver on the basic features mentioned above.

Joele · Nov 21, 2009

photo nuts said:
as well as AF+metering reliability.

Sadly, there are other great cameras out there with excellent features, but they simply don't deliver on the basic features mentioned above.

It all depends on your priorities, I went from the D90 to the K-7 and admit the sensor (esp when viewing pics at 100% on a screen) was slightly better for the d90, but not so much that it outweighs other considerations.. To me there comes a point when better features/build/value in other areas outweighs slight sensor differences that wouldn't effect 99.9% of prints..

I often think we have really gone pixel peeping mad at the expense of a lot of other factors (i don't exclude myself there either)..

------------
Joel - K7, DA15, FA31, FA50, DA70, Voigt 90/3.5, DA*200
My Gallery: http://www.eisner.id.au

azguy · Nov 23, 2009

Some have stated that the D300s' lack of an articulated LCD is a disadvantage. That is true, in part, but you have to look at all the specs. There is a trade-off. The D5000 is smaller, likely because of the frame. The 3" LCD on the D300/D300s is more useful to me than the swivel capabilities.

D5000, LCD monitor
• 2.7 " TFT LCD
• Approx. 230,000 dots
• 100% frame coverage
• Brightness adjustment

D300s, LCD monitor
• 3.0 " TFT LCD
• 920,000 pixels* (VGA; 640 x 480 x 3 colors)
• 170° viewing angle
• Brightness adjustment
• 100% frame coverage
--
JohnE
I have enjoyed taking these images: http://www.pbase.com/jpower

Below, Phoenix City Hall with Nikkor 10.5mm on D200

mike_2008 · Nov 24, 2009

The Sony A550 has a tiltable 3-inch 920K pixel LCD in a smaller package than the D300s. It's pretty clear that any camera with LV benefits from at least a tiltable LCD.

azguy said:
Some have stated that the D300s' lack of an articulated LCD is a disadvantage. That is true, in part, but you have to look at all the specs. There is a trade-off. The D5000 is smaller, likely because of the frame. The 3" LCD on the D300/D300s is more useful to me than the swivel capabilities.

D5000, LCD monitor
• 2.7 " TFT LCD
• Approx. 230,000 dots
• 100% frame coverage
• Brightness adjustment

D300s, LCD monitor
• 3.0 " TFT LCD
• 920,000 pixels* (VGA; 640 x 480 x 3 colors)
• 170° viewing angle
• Brightness adjustment
• 100% frame coverage
--
JohnE
I have enjoyed taking these images: http://www.pbase.com/jpower

Below, Phoenix City Hall with Nikkor 10.5mm on D200

--
http://mike2008.smugmug.com

exdeejjjaaaa · Nov 24, 2009

Tom C said:
Hi Exdeejjjaaaa

Sorry for the stupid statements but I'm not as smart as you are but I still think the older cameras will be dropped at some point in the future and that will result in making your old RAW files obsolete. Not all of us have the ability of making a good raw converter you profile the camera/sensor yourself.
Here are a few links on the subject.
http://www.mediacollege.com/photography/format/raw/

This is from 2005 but interesting read.
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/essays/raw-flaw.shtml

You may want to tell how stupid these people are also.

well, they are in that matter... again - just look at the actual source code and do not be a lemming...

--

roweraay · Nov 25, 2009

Tom Christiansen said:
Prognathous said:

5. No in-body IS

Click to expand...

Nikon doesn't have body-IS. It has lens-VR. These are quite different. Watch this:

I know that Nikon has lens-VR in some of their lenses. But to my knowledge, not a single 35mm prime, not a single 50mm prime, not a single 85mm prime, not a single 100mm prime, not a single 135mm prime etc have lens-VR.

Am I mistaken ?

DPR struggling to find D300s cons? Here are a few more:

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