nikon d300 or d7000

[stanleydegraaf]

hey guys,

i have a nikon d3100 but i really want a more professional camera, but i don't have very much money and i want some good lenses to.

i only photograph landscapes, wildlife and sometimes something in the studio. the point is that will always be using a tripod or monopod, so the light sensitivity isn't a big deal i rarely go over 800 iso. i don't care about the movie mode since i will never use that either plus i will keep my nikon d3100.

now have i been looking at the nikon d7000 but a couple of days ago i met a professional photographer who has a nikon d300 that he is not using and he said that i could buy it from him for around 500 euros, his camera works fine i've hold it and their is nothing wrong with it and it has about 25000 clicks, and i really liked the feel of a heavier body

the nikon d7000 will kost me around 750 euros because i don't like buying such equipment from people that i don't know.

whats your opinion about this, which camera should i buy, i am seriously considering the nikon d300.

give me your thoughts and if you know great lenses that suit my needs please tell me

thanks in advance

[Designer]

Both models are DX, and the D7000 is a newer model with better features, IMO. Of the two, I would purchase the D7000. If you want a more professional model, save your money until you can afford an FX model.

[Polar01]

Stanley: the D300 came out in August of 2007, now 5 years old. the D7000 came out in September 2010 2-1/2 years old. I own the D7000, what you get is a top of the line senser, better software which helps with reduce high ISO noise, easy to use 3position custom selection dial, no damn buttons. There are some smaller things but I will let others speak up.

Cheers:

Allam

[Stagecoach]

Hi Stanley,

I do not generally respond to questions regarding 'which camera should I buy' as my only experience with DSLRs is with my current D300 and previously the D80.

Looking at your photostream of Flickr it is obvious that you have been a competent photographer for some time as your photos covering many styles show.

You say you want to upgrade to a more profesional camera but in my opinion your existing camera is giving profesional image quality results already !

Perhaps what you need to do is ask yourself is what does your existing camera not give you now that you would need/like and which models will give you this taking acount of budget ?

As for advice on lenses, this will be difficult for anyone to respond to without knowing what you already have.

[Melkus]

Price per performance the D7000 is a better value has alot more going for it like beiing able to do video, longer battery life, Has more storage slots, Better maximum light sensitivity etc etc. You can't go wrong with the D7000

[Manfred M]

I looked at the D300 when I bought my DSLR and it was not hard to see that the D90 gave exactly the same image quality as the D300 for about 1/3 the price. That is not saying that the D300 is not a nice camera, but it is rather dated; I have a couple of friends that own it, so I have shot with one a number of times. At 25 000 shots, there is a lot of life left in it, as the shutter is rated at 150 000.

The D7000 is a much more modern camera, but is really also getting old (getting close to 2-1/2 years) and is due for a refresh (that may or may not happen). It is a model I have not used, so have no hands-on knowledge of it.

If it were me, I would go for the D7000; it is a superior camera to the D300.

[Mike Buckley]

This is a really simple scenario for me: Ask yourself what the D7000 will do to meet your needs that the D300 won't. Then ask yourself if that's worth 250 Euros.

Also consider purchasing a D7000 used from a reputable company that has a no-questions-asked return policy. You might be able to narrow the cost difference. In the U. S., I highly recommend KEH.com but don't know if they ship to the Netherlands or if the cost of shipping would be prohibitive.

[NorthernFocus]

I've owned both bodies. The D7000 is an awesome camera for the price. It is great for landscapes and static or slow moving wildlife. You said you rarely shoot above ISO 800. At that the D7000 will be really clean. That's right about where the D300 starts getting noisy. I mostly shoot action type stuff so I recenly sold the D7000 and held onto the D300. Here's how I would sum it up.

D300: better/faster auto focus with motion tracking, higher buffer capacity (22 vs 10 frames, RAW-14 bit), more robust construction

D7000: 1.5 stop better ISO performance, marginally more pixels, video, inexpensive infrared remote, dual cards

One thing that absolutely drove me crazy with the D7000 is that the wheel used to set shooting mode does not lock. Every time you take it out of the camera bag you have to remember to check that the darn thing is in the right mode. Not that big a deal if it is your only camera. They have the same wheel on the D600 but put a locking mechanism on it.

Good new is that you can't go wrong. They are both great cameras.

[Mike Buckley]

One thing that absolutely drove me crazy with the D7000 is that the wheel used to set shooting mode does not lock.

I have owned the D50. I still own a D80 a D5100 and a D7000. The characteristic that you describe is present in all of them. My Minolta consumer-based film SLR that I purchased in 1983 had that lock and I can't even begin to understand why Nikon doesn't put a lock on that wheel.

[NorthernFocus]

Sometimes you just have to wonder...

[PhotomanJohn]

IMO, one would not trade up from a D3100 to a D7000 solely for basic picture quality because their won't be any difference. Why I traded up from the D5000 to the D7000 was for all of the added features. The list is too long to cover here but the high points are direct access to virtually all commonly used functions without having to go into the menu, internal focus motor, user defined modes, mirror lock up, DOF preview, internal flash commander, 100% bright view finder, disable of focus priority, etc. These are the reasons I think one should upgrade and to me they more than offset the additional cost. All these cameras are capable of taking awesome photos. I find the D7000 to be very fast and flexible when shooting in changing conditions.

John

P.S. Even though I agree the mode knob should have a lock, I have never accidentally moved it from where I wanted it.

[Letrow]

Most things have been covered by now, but I'll throw in my two bits. I have owned the D7000 and it is a very nice camera. The mode knob is fine, don't worry about that, it isn't loose or something. With normal use it should not move by itself.
The D7000 is more modern and has a better sensor than the D300. If you find a good used D7000 it should be around the same price point as that D300 you mention.
There might be DX replacements coming up, so that could potentially drive down the prices for new cameras even further.

[AB26]

Hi Stanley,

You have said it yourself ,"I really liked the feel". Personally I would not swop my D200 for a D7000.
25000 shots, just been run in!

[kris]

Hi Stanley

I used a D300 for years and it is really a good camera. I also had the opportunity of using a D7000, again a good camera, but a bit different. From sensor point of view the D7000 newer and offers more pixel, the D300 has more autofocus-point, a little faster. We can add more things here. However both are very good cameras and I am sure you can get very good pictures with either one of them.

In my case what really made the difference was the handling. I found the D7000, smaller and lighter than the D300, not well balanced in my hands. Besides they have different commands, the D300 being more professional oriented, the D7000 more consumer oriented. When I used the D7000 I really missed some useful "butons", e.g. the AF-lock.

If you have the opportunity just take both cameras into your hands, and shot some pictures.

Cheers
Andrea

[HenkB]

You can't go wrong with either body if you intend to continue on in the same vein as your Flickr gallery indicates. But, that's not saying much since you created that gallery with a camera that, by the numbers, is only modestly less competent. It is the person, not the camera. The real advantage that either of these cameras would offer is the ability to use older, screw-drive auto focus lenses and move you up into Nikon CLS flash.

If, as it looks to me, you can count on being able to control the light in your photographs, almost any camera shot at base iso will do. One important criterion for choosing a body, it seems to me, should be the desired output, both size and medium. For large gallery prints, go for the megapixels. Playing the Devil's advocate, for web display, a la Flickr, you could easily use a D70, which would be real cheap these days, and get 1/500 sec flash synch in the bargain. Is it 'outmoded' technology? You bet! Could it have taken every one of the photographs in your gallery? You bet! The problem would be when you wanted to go outside that envelope.

Another criterion is the consideration of competitors - what are they shooting and would a different camera help you differentiate and compete. No competitors, no problem.

Since you mention budget as an issue, consider this. The D300 has been the epitome of the semipro/pro DX body - rugged build, high frame rate, pro-type control layout. That's all well and good, nothing a guy or gal can't get used to. But all of this is different from the experience of the more consumer D70-90/7000 breed. For instance, if you mix types as I have (I have until recently been shooting D90 and D300) then it is necessary to maintain two separate collections of remotes for the cameras. Another: try to find the bracketing button on the D300 (hint, it's the Fn button - who knew?). If either camera should wear out, you will be tempted to buy a follow-on whose control layout mimics the one you have been shooting. At that point, the new camera of type D7000 will be less expensive than that of type D300. Of course, nothing is a problem unless you allow it to be. I find I can go back and forth between the D90 and D300 with ease, even on the same shoot. (I also willingly shoot the 'outmoded' D70.) But I mention it because I have found this consideration very important in my deliberations between the FX models on offer.

Here's a short list of things I like about the D300 and D90.
D300:
It's heavy
D90:
It's light

And that's it in a nutshell. Happy choosing and shooting.

Hendrik

P.S. I have found the mode knob on the D70 and D90 to be easy to disarrange. This seems to happen with some regularity putting in or taking out from some bags. I have seen elsewhere Nikon take heat for the knob lock on the D600. Go figure! They're just tools and we need to adjust to them, too, since the manufacturers can't make one size fit all.