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Nikon D300 review
by Romulo Lubachesky
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Performance
The
first big novelty is the revolutionary Multi-CAM 3500DX auto
focus module with an apparently absurd 51 focus points, 15
of them cross-type. So many focus points seemed like an exaggeration,
however another notable innovation is their use in continuous
focus with 3D-tracking. With this option, you can focus an
object with a determinate color, like red, and if this object
or camera moves, the focus points will track this movement.
The speed of this tracking will depend on the lens that you
are using, of course. however, I did some tests with one lens
without internal motor (non-AF-S), an 85mm f/1.8D AF Nikkor,
known as a slow lens, and it's tracking was most efficient.
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| Nikon
D300 12 bits RAW image; 50mm f/1.8D AF NIKKOR @ f/5.6
aperture; 1/250 shutter speed; ISO 200; Adobe RGB color
space; Direct sunlight -1 white balance |
I
felt a slight improvement in the focusing speed, but a huge
difference in the accuracy and lock of the focus whichever
the focus point was used. I focused on an irregular texture,
with several focal planes that would prove difficult under
normal focusing conditions.
The
result was surprising; the D300 did a perfect focus in all
my attempts and in all focus points, while the D200 did it
in only 80% of the attempts with the central focus point and
in none of the attempts with peripheral points of focus.
In
other adverse conditions, like direct back light or dim light,
the D300 execution is also higher, with much better precision
in focus acquisition and locking.
Another
remarkable innovation, that I consider to be one of
the main features of the new Nikon, is the capabilty
of focal adjustment with several lenses. The front-
and back-focusing has been reported as a serious problem
that could happen even with brand new lenses.
The
Nikon D300 has a new system that just does that, it
compensates and saves the information of 12 different
lenses in a fine adjustment. This fine tunning goes
from +20 till -20, loading this information every time
the specific lens is attached to the camera.
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300mm
f/4 ED IF AF NIKKOR @ f/4 aperture; 1/4000 sec. shutter
speed; ISO 800
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My 300mm f/4D ED AF-S Nikkor had a slight back-focusing
problem on the D300 and it didn't exist, or it wasn't
visible on my D200. I solved this problem in just 3
minutes, compensating the focus to +15. Until now this
flaw has needed no further correction by any authorized
technical service.
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To
meter with precision when using non-CPU lenses (that
don't have any electronic contacts with the body) it
is necessary, via the menu, to chose the focal length
and the maximum lens aperture.
I
have 4 manual focus lenses and had to go through the
menu every time I changed lenses; a significant delay
in most situations.
But
now the D300 has the ability to store up to nine non-CPU
lenses' information, allowing to switch from one to
another by using the customized button and the back
command disc. A genius solution.
My D200 has a tendency to underexpose, the D300 doesn't
have this characteristic. This could change the way
to meter and may need some time to get used to it if
you have previously been using a D200 with the same
meter bias as mine.
I always use the Center-Weighted Metering mode with
an 8mm diameter circle.
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55mm
f/1.2 AI NIKKOR @ f/2.8 aperture;
1/180 sec. shutter speed; ISO 1600 |
The frame rate was already quick on the D200 (at 5 frames
per second), but it is even faster now on the D300,
with 6 frames per second or 8 fps if you are using the
MB-D10 vertical grip or the AC adapter.
I noticed a smoother movement coming from the mirror;
this reduces the camera vibration during continuous
drive shooting. The result is a very minor chance to
vibrate at low speeds from mirror slap.
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55mm
f/2 AI NIKKOR @ f/2.8 aperture;
1/180 sec shutter speed; ISO 1600 |
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I am a big suporter of the SLR system; therefore the
D300's Live View option isn't a great advantage for
me. However is interesting and, in a certain way, attractive
the fact that you could see live the digital image on
the LCD monitor. I believe this capability could be
helpful in low light situations or in a landscape with
lot of details; it would be easy to see all the composition
elements on the LCD.
With
this D300 new system you can even use contrast-detected
auto focus, driven from the imaging sensor. The Nikon
D300 simply reads data off the CMOS image sensor and
evaluates how abruptly light to dark (or dark to light)
transitions happen on the image plane. AF operation
in this mode is unfortunately quite slow, so they really
mean it when they call it Tripod Mode. |
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