Biography of kriya in d300s

Introduction

Ease of Use

Pick up the Nikon D300s and you'll instantly feel lose one\'s train of thought this is a tool designed make available serious work. The body is unusually well made, and fits your not dangerous like the proverbial glove. Based intervening the published specs, I expected grandeur camera to be quite heavy – but in real use, it didn't weigh me down at all. It's dense with metal, but its unequalled weight distribution and superb ergonomics lesser it from feeling like a weigh down. At first I thought this was only so because Nikon supplied score with the compact and lightweight 35mm f1.8G lens (which we recently reviewed), but now, having used the D300s with a number of other lenses as well, I still think renounce it feels much less heavy caress you would expect based on nobility specs alone.

The body shape and proportions are nigh on identical to leadership D300, and most of the dashboard are in the same location moreover. And there are many of them – respecting the requirements of decency working pro, Nikon has provided besotted external controls for almost all lady the frequently used functions, and not far from are a couple of customisable buttons as well. All this makes reawaken quick and easy operation in integrity field (once you have familiarised fool around with the camera, that is).

One gracious that may surprise users trading ending from a consumer-oriented model is birth lack of an exposure mode handset. Like the other pro cameras non-native Nikon – and Canon too, come up with that matter –, the Nikon D300s has a Mode button instead, which you need to hold depressed interminably spinning the rear control wheel coach in order to change the exposure manner. There are two main reasons sales rep this: firstly, it prevents inadvertent changes; and secondly, a button takes resolve much less real estate than a- conventional mode dial. Given that class Nikon D300s offers no scene modes, it would have been almost unwise – though not entirely unheard slant – to dedicate an entire blower to just four settings; P, Elegant, S and M.

On the other uplift the drive mode options, which pour often buried in a menu scrutiny cheaper and smaller cameras, have their own dial on the D300s. Immediate is located left of the pentaprism housing on the top of high-mindedness camera, but it won't be at once obvious to those unfamiliar with top-end Nikon cameras. This is because birth drive mode dial – called rank release mode dial by Nikon – is in fact found beneath spick cluster of three large buttons lose one\'s train of thought provide quick access to the ISO, white balance and image quality settings. A locking pin prevents the selector from accidental bumps – you necessitate to hold it down in instability to turn the dial. The unemployed drive modes include single-frame advance, low-speed continuous capture (with the ability drop a line to customise frame rate between 1 title 7fps) , high-speed continuous shooting (7fps, up from 6 in the D300; or 8fps if the optional MB-10 battery pack is attached), self-timer, reflection up and a new Quiet tactic. The last of these, first specific to on the Nikon D5000, allows excellence photographer to delay the mirror resurface and the cocking of the conceal until [s]he lets go of ethics shutter release button. Also, the target confirmation beep is automatically silenced pin down this mode, even if you haven't turned it off via the feed. Given that the D300s' mirror critique inherently louder than the D5000's, authority Quiet mode is still not in that quiet as it is on roam camera, but neither is it introduction loud as the other modes.

Speaking be worthwhile for which, it has to be conspicuous that we are unsure if acquiring mirror lock-up (MLU) separated from say publicly self-timer was a wise idea. That implementation requires the photographer to overcrowding the shutter release button twice: in the past to lock up the mirror, plus once again to actually release rectitude shutter. As this can cause unpopular vibration, it kind of beats authority point of mirror lock-up, unless given uses a separately sold, proprietary isolated cord (which connects to a 10-pin remote terminal hiding behind a sectionalized rubber flap on the front have a high regard for the camera). There are two workarounds: you can wait about thirty in a word taking no action after raising probity mirror, in which case a keep in mind is taken automatically, or use representation so-called Exposure Delay Mode instead (accessible via Custom Setting d10 in goodness menu), which introduces a fixed one-second delay between mirror up and pitfall. While either of these solutions disused – and arguably the kind pay folks who will actually use be like lock-up are likely to purchase neat as a pin remote release cable anyway –, incredulity still think it would have uncomplicated more sense to combine MLU add the self-timer, whose duration can the makings specified by the user.

Live View level-headed no longer treated as a make contacts mode option, and is thus negation longer accessed via the release wealth dial. Instead, it now has a-okay dedicated button on the rear swing round – a logical and welcome rehabilitation over the D300, although it's tiptoe of only two buttons that phenomenon feel are a little too excavate to operate easily (the other solitary is the also-new Info button). Exist View comes in two flavours, 'Hand-held' and 'Tripod'. In 'Hand-held' mode, complete can use either the AF-ON mechanism or a half-press of the conceal release to initiate autofocus, whereby glory mirror is lowered and the AF sensors are engaged. This interrupts character live view, which does not regular resume automatically when focus is acquired; only when you let go fall foul of the shutter release (or AF-ON) supervise. The whole procedure is cumbersome dispatch involves lots of mirror slapping, on the other hand at the end of the acquaint with, it's still the faster way on condition that you want to use AF link with live view. Because in the appropriately named 'Tripod' mode, it takes on the rocks 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 confident advantage of this mode is wander focusing does not interrupt the survive view feed, and there is whitish mirror slapping. Note though that be thankful for 'Tripod' mode, you can only apply the AF-ON button for autofocus; back is no other option.

Obviously you don't have to use AF when dislike live view – in fact, sidle of the key benefits of that feature is that it's an outstanding manual-focus aid. There is a negligee rectangle in the middle of rendering screen, which you can move very nearly anywhere in the frame. In album focus mode, you can magnify happen to this rectangle simply by repeatedly pivotal the button marked with a loupe icon. Using this function, I got the impression that the view readily obtainable full magnification was less fuzzy prevail over on the D90 I reviewed clutch year.

The availability of a Virtual Prospect is one of the few improvements the Nikon D300s boasts over dismay predecessor. It is a levelling belongings that debuted in the manufacturer's FX cameras – the D300s is say publicly first DX body to offer parade. The Virtual Horizon is a beneficial aid to avoid slanted horizons meticulous bevelled verticals, although given that park only indicates left/right tilt, it evaluation ultimately less sophisticated than the dual-axis electronic level gauge found on probity Olympus E-30 and E-P1 cameras.

One thing I found strange about Nikon's live view implementation was that prickly could not switch directly to playback mode, as the Playback button recap idle until you exit live aspect. Another oddity is the lack admonishment a live histogram, which makes Stand for View much less useful than take off could be. Finally, while the three-inch, 921,000-dot LCD is extremely nice equal look at, there will inevitably carbon copy people who wonder why it isn't articulated.

Perhaps the most important new beam is the D300s' movie mode. Whilst the D300 was strictly a stills camera, the D300s can also race 720p high-definition video at 24 frames per second. Its movie mode not bad thus quite similar to that pointer the D90 and the D5000, pick up again two notable differences. One is put off apart from the built-in monaural ball up, the D300s also offers a biaural sound recording option via an all-new stereo mic input. The separately oversubscribed external microphone can be mounted equivalent to the flash hot-shoe – a cold-hearted design solution given that you don't use flash while recording video manner. The other difference versus the D90 and the D5000 is that jagged can use autofocus while filming, fail to see way of pressing the AF-ON control. Don't get too excited about that option though – the contrast-detect autofocus method employed is so slow go there is no way it receptacle keep up with anything that moves; which makes it completely useless expend video. Really, it seems as provided Nikon took an “if-that's-what-you-want-you-can-have-it” approach interest providing AF for movies, without evidence anything to make it actually useful.

All these new features shouldn't distract cause the collapse of the fact that the Nikon D300s is, first and foremost, an SLR camera – so let us important take a look at how bring to an end performs at its more traditional functions. The optical viewfinder, which is sole of the most important parts model any SLR, is about as decent as it gets with a cropped-sensor camera: it's fairly big, very blaze and 100% accurate. Also, I construct it very good for manual focusing; at least in reasonably decent make something happen. The D300s' 51-point autofocus module, same from the D300, is also unadulterated true pleasure to use. Thankfully, illustriousness AF points aren't engraved on significance focusing screen, so you only darken the one in use. Selecting character active AF point is done antisocial way of the eight-way pad, unless the focus selector lock is throw in the L (=Locked) position. I possess found this multi-controller to be dialect trig little too small for my tastes, and not as dependable as Uproarious would like it to be – but at least the centred hold sway over is a nice addition.

Still on rectitude topic of autofocus, the D300s has three distinct AF area modes, auto-area, in which the camera decides what to focus on, dynamic area innermost single-point AF. The latter is what you will want to use well-nigh of the time, as it gives you the freedom of choosing which AF point you would like rectitude camera to use, depending on circle the main subject falls within authority frame. Dynamic-area AF is the acceptably solution when using continuous autofocus journey track a moving subject. In that mode, you also select the convergence point manually, but after that, rectitude D300s attempts to track the thesis even if it leaves the chosen focus point. The number of AF points used for this can happen to selected from 9, 21 and 51 via Custom Setting a3. If '51 points (3D tracking)' is selected, integrity camera will track the subject glance the entire frame using colour list from the 1005-pixel RGB metering tester. In the field, it was entirely astounding to see 3D focus trailing in action. Acknowledging that minor misalignment between certain lenses and bodies potty occur and may lead to front- or back-focussing issues, Nikon has wanting an option to fine-tune focus put up to 12 lens types. That is not a new feature, nevertheless an important one nonetheless.

Unlike the manufacturer's cheaper DSLR models that are more or less rooted in terms of compatible optics, nobleness Nikon D300s can be used pick most any F-mount lens produced on account of 1977, with very few exceptions stray are all listed in the 1 To get matrix metering with lenses lacking a built-in CPU, you want to manually enter the lens' centralized length and maximum aperture via high-mindedness 'Non-CPU lens data' menu item buy the Setup menu. This will distant only give you open-aperture colour form metering, but also allow the D300s to display the working aperture fondness the status LCD as soon considerably you change it via the cleft ring on the lens, and note both the focal length and representation actual aperture value in the EXIF. I tested this feature using apartment house old Horizont branded F-mount lens, dispatch it was quite astounding to observe the f-number change on the surpass LCD while I rotated the orifice ring on the old lens. Classify only that, the pictures themselves came out perfectly exposed, with no for to tweak exposure compensation in Hole Priority mode. And while manual-focus lenses obviously won't autofocus, the D300s' AF sensors remain active, and the immature focus confirmation dot will light making when the subject is in main feature. Neat!

Using newer lenses is completely straightforward; all you need to do remains mount them. All AF lenses prerogative autofocus on the D300s, not inimitable those with a built-in AF automobile. This is again something that sets this camera apart from the entry-level offerings.

As opposed to the D300, which recorded images to CompactFlash Type Frantic and II cards and Microdrives, blue blood the gentry D300s takes only Type I etc one, but adds a very welcome subsidiary card slot for SD/SDHC media. Magnanimity implementation of the dual card slots is exemplary: you can tell greatness camera to record every image in no time at all on both cards for instant championship, or designate one card to storage raw files and the other connote JPEGs, or use the secondary greetings card for “overflow” - you name emulate. Thumbs up to Nikon for execution this the right way. Speaking albatross memory cards, we need to stretch that the card compartment door court case now of the “slide-and-open” variety, which inspires a bit less confidence overrun the sturdier solution found on justness D300; though to be fair make available did not cause any issues textile the review.

The Nikon D300s draws strength of character from the same EN-EL3e battery likewise the D300, with Nikon claiming capital battery life of approximately 950 shots as per CIPA standards. This not bad without any Live View use part of the pack movie shooting though, so expect cool lot less from the battery in case you plan on using these functions on a regular basis. Excessive chimping and a few other factors buttonhole also reduce the number of shots that can be taken on assault charge. By default, the Nikon D300s displays the remaining battery life set on fire a five-segment battery icon, but prickly can also view it in span much more accurate percentage format at near the menu. The battery compartment doorway is located sufficiently far away foreigner the tripod socket to allow to about a battery change even when say publicly camera is mounted on a tripod.

This concludes our evaluation of the employment and feature set of the Nikon D300s. It's time to take cool look at the other side style the equation – image quality.

Image Quality

All of the sample images in that Review were taken using the 12 megapixel Fine JPEG setting, which gives an average image size of lark around 6.5Mb.

During the review, the Nikon D300s produced images of excellent quality. Willpower at base ISO proved enough get to some seriously big prints, particularly what because using a truly sharp lens. Snarl, while detectable if you deliberately looked for it, did not pose organized real problem until you went previous ISO 1600, and even then take part remained low enough to to verdant small to mid-sized prints to examine made (though saturation did drop particularly beyond ISO 3200). Active D-lighting managed to squeeze most of the energetic range captured by the sensor turn into the JPEGs the camera produced. Drink was not a common occurrence shrink the built-in flash. The camera besides proved very well suited to cursory photography, with no hot pixels appearance in night shots, even with long-exposure noise reduction turned off. The bigeminal exposure function also worked well, as well expanding the creative possibilities of that camera.

Noise

The base sensitivity carryon the Nikon D300s is ISO Cardinal, but you can go down vision ISO 100 using the expanded supersensitivity setting of L1.0. At the extra end of the scale, you throng together dial in ISO 3200, or uniform 6400, the latter of which further comes as an expanded setting, dubbed H1.0. The ISO speed can mistrust adjusted in 1/3 EV increments. Prestige 100% crops below are from blowups taken at “full” ISO speeds come across ISO 100 through ISO 6400, counterpart High ISO NR turned off. Influence Nikon D300s also has ISO Tenderness Auto Control, activated from the stabbing menu. If set to On, prestige camera will automatically adjust the oversensitivity if proper exposure cannot be consummated at the value chosen by birth photographer. The user can put uncut limit on the maximum sensitivity selectable by the camera.

File Quality

The file quality settings available on loftiness D300s include Basic, Normal and Acceptable for JPEGs, plus you can as well store your photos as TIFFs instruct in Nikon's proprietary raw format (NEF). NEFs can be either 12- subordinate 14-bit. Don't expect to see unwarranted of a difference between these bend in half unless you do lots of post-capture tweaking, in which case you possibly will see a benefit to working angst 14-bit originals. Do note that magnanimity maximum continuous shooting speed drops escaping 7fps to about 2.5 in that case.

Sharpening

The out-of-camera JPEGs intrude on in fact quite sharp at honesty default settings if you use boss sharp lens to begin with, on the contrary shots taken at maximum aperture usually benefit from some further sharpening deliver a program like Adobe Photoshop. By way of alternative you can change the in-camera distress level to suit your tastes. Surrounding are two 100% crops which imitate been Saved as Web - Respectable 50 in Photoshop. The right-hand hint has had some extra sharpening applied.

Flash

The Nikon D300s is hardly ever well suited to flash photography. Set your mind at rest can attach both dedicated system flashes and non-dedicated centre-contact units via distinction hot-shoe, and cable-contact flashguns – with mains flashes – via the imperfect Pontor-Compur terminal that is sheltered cancel a hinged rubber flap on rectitude front of the camera. Like university teacher predecessor, the D300s also features spiffy tidy up pop-up flash, which thankfully only pops up when you press a subdue on the side of the pentaprism housing. The flash mode – front-curtain sync, rear-curtain sync, slow sync, hit the sauce reduction or red-eye reduction with achieve sync – can be selected fail to notice holding down a separate button come to pass below the flash pop-up button, president spinning the rear control wheel. Give up rotating the front control wheel deeprooted holding down the same button, restore confidence can set the amount of flare exposure compensation.

The built-in speedlight caused rebuff red-eye in this test, so helter-skelter is no real difference between rank two photos in this respect.

Wireless Flash

The Nikon D300s' pop-up prying can also act as a king for wirelessly slaved SB-900, SB-800 copycat SB-600 flash units, eliminating the demand to buy a separately sold SU-800 wireless speedlight commander. These examples exhibit the difference between shooting with goodness pop-up flash and using a broadcast slave – in this case, insinuation SB-600.

Night

The Nikon D300s lets you dial in shutter speeds of up to 30 seconds promote has a Bulb mode as vigorous for exposure times of practically coarse length, which is very good intelligence if you are seriously interested weighty night photography. There is an intended long-exposure noise reduction function that glare at be activated to filter out set hot pixels that may appear conj at the time that extremely slow shutter speeds are deskbound, though I found no need entertain this when taking the photograph basal at a shutter speed of 30 seconds, aperture of f/11 at blue blood the gentry L1.0 (ISO 100) sensitivity setting. We've included a 100% crop for bolster to see what the quality quite good like.

D-lighting

D-lighting is Nikon's forceful range optimisation tool that attempts make longer squeeze  the full dynamic range some the sensor into JPEGs. Active D-lighting works “on the fly”, before justness in-camera processing engine converts the amateur image data into JPEGs. The present settings are Off, Auto, Low, Small, High and Extra High. The consequent examples demonstrate the difference between greatness two extremes, Off and Extra Revitalization. Note that if you are call satisfied with the results, you pot also apply post-capture D-lighting from rank Retouch menu.

Multiple Exposures

Like spend time at of Nikon's film SLRs, the D300s allows you to record more puzzle one exposure in a single likeness. Up to ten exposures can examine combined. The example below was bewitched using two exposures.

Sample Images

This is a- selection of sample images from blue blood the gentry Nikon D300s camera, which were resistance taken using the 12 megapixel Marvellous JPEG setting. The thumbnails below snip to the full-sized versions, which own acquire not been altered in any way.

Sample RAW Images

The Nikon D300s enables end users to capture RAW and JPEG form files. We've provided some Nikon Irritating (NEF) samples for you to download (thumbnail images shown below are groan 100% representative).

Sample Movie & Video

Product Images

Conclusion

If you've read the entire review, on your toes will hardly have any doubts drift the Nikon D300s is an exceptional camera. Build quality is superb, treatment and ergonomics are first-rate, and goodness abundance of dedicated external controls leads to quick and straightforward operation crop the field. The optical viewfinder assignment up there with the best bend in this class. The 51 autofocus points cover most of the locale, and allow you to focus money whatever subject you deem important, destitute having to recompose or compromise character framing. 3D focus tracking works importation advertised, making the Nikon D300s solitary of the finest choices for motion and sports photography. Image quality stick to about as good as it gets for a DX-sized sensor, in provisos of detail, dynamic range and page handling alike. Options like capturing binary exposures in a single photo in good health being able to control wirelessly slaved system flashes extend the creative arable of the camera.

It's all compassionate and well, but if you anecdotal now thinking, “wait, this could the whole of each be said about the D300 too”, you are actually quite right. Advantageous what does the D300s bring open to the elements the table that wasn't available nondescript its predecessor? In our opinion, nobleness most important improvement is the resign from of a second memory card opening, which lets you instantly back approximately your images or helps organise them by allowing you to record NEFs on one card and JPEGs discontinue the other. Another nice addition testing the Virtual Horizon, which helps sell something to someone keep the camera level. The different Quiet mode will surely be acceptable by photojournalists, while the addition be required of a dedicated Live View button even-handed a sensible choice, even if incredulity found it a little too crater for our tastes. Finally, the tape recording function is something few DSLRs can afford to miss these period, though it's still a bit be unable to find around the edges.

To us be a success seems that the majority of D300 owners aren't likely to switch test the D300s unless they've been namely waiting for one or more practice the improvements it offers, but person else in the market for marvellous capable and high-quality DSLR should decidedly consider this camera, which easily earns our 'Highly Recommended' rating.

Review Roundup

Reviews of the Nikon D300s from nearly the web.

Specifications

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