D90 or D300

[doom102938]

Hi,
I am new to this DSLR thing, and I am curious of the term weather proofing of the D300.
Can it be used in the rain? snow? dessert?
And how about D90, can it be used in those conditions?

it is not advisable to use d90 in such conditions as its not weather sealed, a.k.a it doesnt have rubber seals around the buttons , battery compartment door, CF card slot, thus water or dust can go in and wreck havoc on the electronics and the mechanism inside the camera.

D300 is rather weather proof with a weather sealed lens like the pro DX 17-55, or any pro FX lens like the 14-24,24-70,70-200. It SHOULD(i advise against trying it out thou) hold out against moderate rain.

For good weather proofing, you shouldnt be looking at nikon's offerings. Try pentax, samsung or olympus e-3 with a pro lens.

 

[Anson]

since on D90, wondering how the video mode of D90?
Any restriction comparing to video-cam of camcorder?

You can't auto focus in video mode..

 

[lsisaxon]

You can't auto focus in video mode..

So? Pulling focus can be quite a nice effect on video.. eg the video slowly from OOF to in focus..

 

[lsisaxon]

it is not advisable to use d90 in such conditions as its not weather sealed, a.k.a it doesnt have rubber seals around the buttons , battery compartment door, CF card slot, thus water or dust can go in and wreck havoc on the electronics and the mechanism inside the camera.

D300 is rather weather proof with a weather sealed lens like the pro DX 17-55, or any pro FX lens like the 14-24,24-70,70-200. It SHOULD(i advise against trying it out thou) hold out against moderate rain.

For good weather proofing, you shouldnt be looking at nikon's offerings. Try pentax, samsung or olympus e-3 with a pro lens.

It's not that bad lah.. Unless you're a press photographer or a Nat Geog photographer, I don't think that you'll want to shoot in that kind of adverse conditions. I shot at Grand Canyon when it was snowing with a 2MP Coolpix before (no DSLR then). I gave up and went into shelter before the camera did. The Coolpix is still working. So if an el-cheapo Coolpix is ok, I don't see why a DSLR which costs 5 times more could not take that kind of conditions..

 

[Hachiman]

Ok to be honest I am a newbie in the world of photography but I just love it!!

I became interested when I saw a few of my friends in the office who bought a Canon 450D, I was out of myself as they showed me fantastic pictures and I just wanted to buy a CAM and get started, I went to our local shops here in Singapore and started to look around for a Canon 450D (USA CANON EOS Rebel XSi 450D) as I was convinced that my colleagues made the right choice so I could not be wrong !!

Well I made several shops and just was not satisfied with the canon even by not having a clue about cameras don't ask me why as I don’t even know myself, I was tired and went for my last visit to a shop called challenger and again asked for a canon 450D what a stubborn ass I am... and started to test it take some pics bla bla bla... until the sales girl presented me with the Nikon D90, I was laughing since there was a huge price difference and thought she would like to sell me an expensive camera worth here in Singapore S$1900 for a cam with the 55-185 lens against the competitive S$1200 for the whole kit Camera Bag, Extra Memory, Flash, Lens, Memory Reader, Tripod that Canon were offering.

But then miracle, it was love at the first touch
I knew this was the cam for me it just felt right and good to have such an amazing camera tailor made just for me, that’s how it felt!!! And of course I just bought it!! Out of my budget hahahaa !!!!

Well the same day I took it to the office as I had to go to work as my working hours are from 3PM - 12AM and believe it or not my colleagues who initially talked about the fantastic Canon 450D just went MAD with my cam and loved it and so do I...

What I want to say is that Canon 450 D is a great cam but if you really want something fantastic you have to go for NIKON D90.

very interesting description, adding some laughers to this thread. same as you, it was kinda love at 1st touch when i 1st gotten my d70s years back. i really love the button layout and feel when holding it. having tried many other brands and models, they all kinda feel alien to me no matter how hard i tried, there are just no connection or chemistry. get what that pleases you .. not one that pleases others!!

i often get disturbed by the many canon 350/400/450D users at my work place. They often like to make funny comments about nikon. i still feel that D90 is a level above 350/400/450D especially with the top info display, better grip, better interface (in my opinion) and few more stuffs. i hate using LCD to do my setting too. From each his own. Let your photos do the talking. Snap more .. talk less!! HEHE .. i think i'm talking too much here.. lol .. must vent some frustration a bit.

i just got a D300 last week thou i've seen rumors of D400 floating around .. D90 is a wonderful camera too. My friend got a D90 the next day i got mine as his 1st dslr after testing out another friends D40 and mine D70s for a month. Soon, one more buddy gonna switch over from his Canon 20D to either D300 or D700 .. he still deciding.

I'm gonna wait till the next replacement for D700 and see how it goes then. Just sold my D70s yesterday and a few more under utilised gadget. Gonna add the money to my trinity fund.

happy snaping, everyone!!

by the way, do get a nice rain protection cover if you are shooting in the rain .. dun put your precious gear in this kinda condition too much ..

 

[doom102938]

It's not that bad lah.. Unless you're a press photographer or a Nat Geog photographer, I don't think that you'll want to shoot in that kind of adverse conditions. I shot at Grand Canyon when it was snowing with a 2MP Coolpix before (no DSLR then). I gave up and went into shelter before the camera did. The Coolpix is still working. So if an el-cheapo Coolpix is ok, I don't see why a DSLR which costs 5 times more could not take that kind of conditions..

Haha. True. Its weather proofed for a reason. But we are quite kiasu about this because its not cheap for the hobbist(exceptions). And Nikon doesnt really make it very clear as to what they consider weather proof.

I also would use my Canon PowerShot A710IS in the rain. Mainly because its old and cheap. I would also use my D300 in the rain. Only if i had a weather proof lens. Mainly because of the cost.

But dont think so much. Just buy a rain cover and shoot the thing out of your DSLR.

 

[eone8]

Not that I would use it in the rain on purpose. But recently I am just back from alaska and on the 'boat' tour, outside is raining with strong wind. But the view was fantastic...the mountain and the glacier...
So I am wondering will D90 be able to be used in that condition?

 

[ianwurn]

Not that I would use it in the rain on purpose. But recently I am just back from alaska and on the 'boat' tour, outside is raining with strong wind. But the view was fantastic...the mountain and the glacier...
So I am wondering will D90 be able to be used in that condition?

Prob not a good idea.... Well, i noe this is a Nikon thread, but if I had the call, for your conditions, I'd go use a Olympus weatherproof, waterproof (Up to 10m), shockproof pns camera..... At least some pix better than no pix or some pix and a watered in camera....

BTW, coming back to Nikon but OT a little, if the D700 for example is weatherproof, wat kind of adverse conditions can it take ? And I don't mean what the manual says.... Anyone knows ?

 

[thomas990]

D300 for sure. will make full use of 51 AF point plus 3D tracking + AFC .
D90 11 AF point too limited.

 

[David Kwok]

Well IMHO, this is my view. We have seen IQ of D90 and I personally witness D300 on my own hands for several months, but I don't think IQ alone makes D90 in par with D300. Not just the weather seal feature which I personally feel is one important consideration if you want to really feel safe bringing it into adverse weather conditions. It's not that I don't trust, but Nikon certainly didn't just make a camera weather seal so that it sounds good right ? If your non weather seal camera didn't fall sick, it could be the weather is not worse enough, or I would love to believe that if Nikon makes their normal class non-weathered seal camera able to withstand bad weathers, their weather-seal camera should be able to take more hit.

Next is if D90 is in part with D300, why didn't Nikon place D90 as D350 or D250 ? or D300s and blah blah blah... Do u feel Nikon will just make as good camera and place it under the entry level and give is a better(lower) price tag, so that photographers will go after it and neglect their D300 ? D300 may not have video capabilities, but what are we choosing here ? A camera or a videocam ?

In any case, there is a rumour for D400 probably coming out soon. How soon and when we are not sure, but I only knows if it is suppose to replace D300, then u can certainly expect D300 price to tumble real bad. I highly suggest a wait for 1/2 a month and wait till at least end of jan and see if D400 is really going to come out.

At least u get people dumping D300 in CS for a good low price 2nd hand, or a cheaper D300, or if you prefer the spec of D400 (go get it)

:bsmilie:

My 2 cents worth

 

[bigpond]

In any case, there is a rumour for D400 probably coming out soon. How soon and when we are not sure, but I only knows if it is suppose to replace D300, then u can certainly expect D300 price to tumble real bad. I highly suggest a wait for 1/2 a month and wait till at least end of jan and see if D400 is really going to come out.

At least u get people dumping D300 in CS for a good low price 2nd hand, or a cheaper D300, or if you prefer the spec of D400 (go get it)

:bsmilie:

My 2 cents worth

I'm not so sure the D400 will be such a killer product, esp after the launch of the overpriced and not so impressive D3x... If the D400 is no more than the D300 with video mode, some people might not even consider that as an upgrade as far as IQ goes. And if Nikon adds more megapixels to the D400 (like what Canon did to the 50D), again, IQ -- noise -- could suffer, etc. So, let's wait and see...

IMHO, the D300/D3 series marks a milsetone in Nikon's DSLR history, just like the humble D70 did 5 years ago. I think it will take Nikon quite a bit longer than next year to come up with a really good product that will take us to the next level in IQ and performance.

Rgds.

 

[David Kwok]

I'm not so sure the D400 will be such a killer product, esp after the launch of the overpriced and not so impressive D3x...

IMHO, don't be so sure about D3x capabilities yet, none have really witness the power of it at low ISO. From the spec, it is certainly not a D3 replacement (I hope it is not either :sweat, but until we see some good raw comparison of the beast, we cannot just judge the book by its cover. As for the D400, my sentiments similar.

 

[AbangR]

Hi all,

Im new to photography. Am thinking of getting either the D90 or D300. Can any of you advise?

Thanks very much!!!

If you have to ask, I would advise you to go with a D90.
Use it until you feel that it is limiting your creativity.
Invest your money on good lenses at the beginning as these can be used later when you upgrade.
DX or FX doesn't really matter until you become more seasoned or turn pro.

(just a friendly suggestion from a non-pro user)

 

[mscommerce]

Get the D90, unless you really, really need the D300's better/faster autofocus (i.e. you are shooting sports or kids). On the other hand, used D300s go for only a bit more than new D90s, going by the prices around here...

 

[lsisaxon]

Get the D90, unless you really, really need the D300's better/faster autofocus (i.e. you are shooting sports or kids). On the other hand, used D300s go for only a bit more than new D90s, going by the prices around here...

Kids? You'll need D3!!

 

[David Kwok]

Kids? You'll need D3!!

Wow!!! Man speaking from experience! hahahaha
set at DX ? 11fps ? hahaha What kids u have ? :bsmilie:

 

[lsisaxon]

Wow!!! Man speaking from experience! hahahaha
set at DX ? 11fps ? hahaha What kids u have ? :bsmilie:

A 19mth old boy. Most of the shot are OOF because he runs around. Need to set AF-C and let it track before I shoot. ;p I mainly use D90 because of the ability to shoot video. ;p

 

[David Kwok]

A 19mth old boy. Most of the shot are OOF because he runs around. Need to set AF-C and let it track before I shoot. ;p

Does the center weighted 3D tracking works for you ? Because I hardly works for me. The focus point often jumps all over the place when I'm trying to track moving subjects

 

[lsisaxon]

Does the center weighted 3D tracking works for you ? Because I hardly works for me. The focus point often jumps all over the place when I'm trying to track moving subjects

The 51pt 3D tracking on D300 works ok for me, just that the initial acquisition is a bit slow. I am still quite old school and prefer to use the single area AF at the centre. I still haven't got the hang of how the 11pt on D90 works. Maybe too few points for the 3D tracking to be useful. ;p

 

[2100]

There is the age old trick of setting the AF locked to a particular point (AEL, AFL button), let the boy run and once he is within that particular AF distance (ie green dot lit), the camera will snap....else it will just be waiting. Forgot how to initiate that, do a google. Some pros do this.

AF speed - does not matter at all.... a D70 is ultra fast too as it does not make use of the full algo. Of coz don't tekan it with a 85/1.4 dah....