D90 VS D300

[Ben Ang]

mm.. actually, i think the Mg alloy does make a difference.. i don't really abuse my equipment, but i don't pamper it either.. there was once i was shooting at a water fall when i slipped. my reflex was to push my hand back to balance and in doing so i slammed the d200 into granite.. the granite actually chipped off, but the camera was fine. pretty sure a plastic body wouldnt have fared so well. i routinely bump my d700 around, and it shows on the baseplate and corners. i ve had both bodies splashed with seawater and sand, used in thunder storms, and had the d200 sitting in about 1-2cm of water for a shot... its reassuring to know(and convenient too) that i can just rinse it off under the tap. what matters to me is that i can concentrate on shooting and not have to worry about accidental knocks and misalignment from falls. i guess its the assurance that the camera won't suddenly die on you unless you really really screw up

 

[brapodam]

mm.. actually, i think the Mg alloy does make a difference.. i don't really abuse my equipment, but i don't pamper it either.. there was once i was shooting at a water fall when i slipped. my reflex was to push my hand back to balance and in doing so i slammed the d200 into granite.. the granite actually chipped off, but the camera was fine. pretty sure a plastic body wouldnt have fared so well. i routinely bump my d700 around, and it shows on the baseplate and corners. i ve had both bodies splashed with seawater and sand, used in thunder storms, and had the d200 sitting in about 1-2cm of water for a shot... its reassuring to know(and convenient too) that i can just rinse it off under the tap. what matters to me is that i can concentrate on shooting and not have to worry about accidental knocks and misalignment from falls. i guess its the assurance that the camera won't suddenly die on you unless you really really screw up

Yeah I never really thought much about build quality, but ever since my camera dropped and the side chipped off and my zoom button got stuck, I looked at build quality as more of a safety net. You can't always avoid accidents, sometimes they happen and build quality is just something that is good to have. The D90 suffered a bit from that drop (apart from the zoom button and the crack, nothing else was damaged), but my Tokina lens showed no signs of being dropped; even the UV filter on it showed no signs of damage. So build quality is something to think about, even if you are very careful.

 

[ZerocoolAstra]

one of the photo here and see how it was damaged.

So the question is, if the same impact were to befall a Nikon pro body, would the camera remain in pristine condition? I am quite confident that the damage will be much less severe, but there will still be damage. Some functions may not work.
Not everyone uses their cameras with butter fingers and drops them or crashes them into solid objects :bsmilie:

Based on your logic, all motorists should be driving around in military tanks, so that if you bump into a lamp-post or something, there won't be any damage to the vehicle.

 

[Miao]

D90 vs d300 .... Seem like pro bosy vs plastic body topic here ....
Aiya .. It all boil down to how much money u will to spent .. Rich enough get a d3/4 series, if not just make do wit a plastic body .. Thats life, always made adjustment to make ur life better.

Dun worry too much .. All things fail .. Fyi i got a d3 that fail after less than 5 k shoot, ya right .. Shutter blade fly out .. Boken ..

 

[Jamesf]

If TS has any plan to use old AIS lenses, the D300 would have advantage over the D90.

 

[ONTIE]

Have been using D90 for 2 years but still working fine as i don't really bang my camera to the wall and shoot under the rain ~ exterior still perfectly sealed. no complain about its quality

 

[daredevil123]

I take d90 .. Heres my experience with both camera,

Iso 1600 - d90 beat d300, no fight, d90 is almost half to 1 stop better iso performance
af accuracy - believe it or not, d90 focus faster and more accurately than d300 in low light situation, afd or afs len doesnt matter.
photo quality - both are very similar, but i prefer d90 photo more. D300 does not do 4 frame per second if u select 14bit nef, only 2.5 frame.

If u like solid feel body and big viewfinder, sure, go for d300, but where photo quality and af accuracy is concern, go for d90.
Solid body doesnt break .... Hmmm but who bamg their camerea ar anyway ... Unless u r a full time pro, u would not choose either cam cos d7000 and fx cam r much better.

I have both the D300s and D90... D300s is faster and more accurate in AF for sure.. and noise is almost the same. The D300s has only very slightly more noise (not as dramatic as 1/2 stop) in RAW but preserves so much more details that when I go through my NR process, I get better pictures than the D90. In JPG, they are identical to my eyes.

 

[sin77]

Alot of mixed feelings from me since I owned both, and I shoot alot of events and outdoors with them.

D90 is very handy and light, and you will enjoy shooting outdoors with it.
D300 is very suited to indoor events with SB900 (data communication). It's colour rendition and metering is slightly better than D90. But use for a long while your hands might get shaky coz it's so heavy.

If you intend to use 3D focusing for moving subjects, please get D300 for 51 focus points; speedwise & accuracy, it makes a lot of difference.
For ISO performance they are about the same, don't have to compare too hard. Some situations D90 is better, some better with D300; it's not absolute.

For about the same price, I would get D300.
However it all boils down to your needs as well.

If you want to get a new camera, then get D7000. If on budget, still can consider D5100 (but not highly recommended), though I just bought one.

 

[ExplorerZ]

I "upgraded" from d7000 to d90 to d5100.
Why? im only a casual user, looking for a light camera that offer better image quality.

End of the day, i just depends on what you are looking for. You not gonna call those professional sports photographer to use a d3200 or a casual shooter who only use camera in a family outing to bring a d4 out.

 

[playhard]

If you like to hear the shutter sound, you never choose a D5100 but a D300
If you want a light body, i still choose D90 over D5100 because of versatility of lenses.
If you want fast shutter speed, you should choose D300.

 

[sin77]

If you like to hear the shutter sound, you never choose a D5100 but a D300
If you want a light body, i still choose D90 over D5100 because of versatility of lenses.
If you want fast shutter speed, you should choose D300.

i hate shutter sound when i shoot indoor events, as ppl get disturbed and stare at me.
For versatility of lenses, I think most new lenses are compatible, hence that should not be one of the top reasons.

 

[Thinktank22]

Alot of mixed feelings from me since I owned both, and I shoot alot of events and outdoors with them.

D90 is very handy and light, and you will enjoy shooting outdoors with it.
D300 is very suited to indoor events with SB900 (data communication). It's colour rendition and metering is slightly better than D90. But use for a long while your hands might get shaky coz it's so heavy.

If you intend to use 3D focusing for moving subjects, please get D300 for 51 focus points; speedwise & accuracy, it makes a lot of difference.
For ISO performance they are about the same, don't have to compare too hard. Some situations D90 is better, some better with D300; it's not absolute.

For about the same price, I would get D300.
However it all boils down to your needs as well.

If you want to get a new camera, then get D7000. If on budget, still can consider D5100 (but not highly recommended), though I just bought one.

D5100 iso win hands down over both d90 and d300 .. its just that good .. iso is so much more important than built of the photo .. cos end of the day, it the pic quality that count.

 

[sin77]

D5100 iso win hands down over both d90 and d300 .. its just that good .. iso is so much more important than built of the photo .. cos end of the day, it the pic quality that count.

Iso performance is important but not everything about a camera. Talk about what quality when I it can't be convenient n fast enough for me to capture that shot

 

[cichlid]

one of the photo here and see how it was damaged.

I think you need the 7D, haha, joking only
Canon 7D - Hardcore Durability Test - YouTube

 

[rain5533]

I think you need the 7D, haha, joking only
Canon 7D - Hardcore Durability Test - YouTube

Ha ha that one is crazy test.

 

[kriegsketten]

:bsmilie:Having a full alloy pro-body doesn't guarantee indestructibility of the camera body itself. But average joe tog doesn't need it since most situations do not demand it.

Full alloy body does add extra insurance to allow pro-tog to still try to get their in-process job done (even with a slight damaged camera) and deliver the images they are required to cover. When you get paid, you get $$$ to cover the extensive damages or fund a replacement body.

On the case of D90 vs D300... Fully weather-sealed body is a big plus on the D300... means you can shoot in the extreme weather conditions (desert, winter, dirty streets, heavy rain, etc) without having to worry about your equipment. On the D90, not necessary that it can't do all that, but it's a big risk you'd just have to undertake... If you have an important photo assignment that you have to die die deliver...then I wouldn't bank on the D90...

On the features side... I trust D300 allows you to name your files accordingly... on D90, you don't get to do that... If there is another D90 on the team of togs... both your images and his/her will get mixed up and even get replaced by each others if there is the same file name with exact number sequence...

Other than better ISOs (which is not everything btw), D5100 is no where close of being a pro-tog's tool... reason being, some of the functions are just too unaccessible in an urgent situation. Sure it is still a capable camera, but you ought to assess your assigments and know better what you're up against than blindly go for a just a good ISO body... As there will be times when ISO just isn't everything...

If you seriously don't care about needing the pro functions and features, I'd just recommend a D3200 - it beats a D5100 in almost EVERYTHING except the flip screen (which isn't necessary a plus to some)... :bsmilie: PLUS you get to be the first use the wireless module than anyone else who still have to rely on cables, card readers, etc...