Photo answers review
Photo answers rating 
Features & handling
The D300 clocks in at a respectable 12.3MP that compares well to the Sony Alpha 700 and Canon EOS 40D – the two cameras that the D300 is really up against.
Its ISO range is likely to cause some controversy as it goes from 200-3200 as standard. You can expand the ISO range to 100-6400 but you would expect it to have a 100 setting as standard, wouldn't you?
Then there’s Live View. Well, the D300 does offer a digital view through the LCD screen and a basic form of autofocus, even if it doesn’t respond quite as you’d imagine. But if you are willing to give it a chance there are plenty of times when it can come in handy.
The fact that it comes without a vertical grip makes it smaller and lighter but also more versatile for some photographers’ working styles. But the extra grip really does make a difference to its handling and makes the standard grip more comfortable too.
Anyone familiar with the D200 will have an instantly understanding of the controls as most are in the same place, although now there are a couple of new ones. But as a whole, the controls are much more customisable. In fact, the list of customisable options is impressive.
We reckon the D300 now shares more with the D2/D3 in terms of basic controls. The buttons are of a much higher standard and feel much more sturdy, while the overall build boasts the same tank-like quality as the D2s.
Performance
The D300 is certainly no slouch. Using the regular EN-EL3a battery – and without the extra one in the vertical grip – it will shoot at 6fps. Add on the MB-D10 battery pack with an EN-EL4a (the same battery the D2Xs uses) and the speed goes up to an impressive 8fps.
Users of the D200 will know that it tends to underexpose most scenes by between +0.7 and +1.0EV. The D300 is far more reliable with its metering so you won’t have to dial in much compensation or endure the slight increase in noise by boosting the image at the editing stage.
The autofocus is certainly more accurate in general though, and performs substantially better in lowlight conditions – a much-reported on problem with the D200. It will easily lock on in conditions where the D200 would struggle to get an accurate focus even using the AF-assist lamp.
The new sensor places the D300 at roughly the same resolution as the previous Nikon flagship model, the D2Xs and it’s less than one megapixel lower than the new D3. But right now, we can only compare the results against the D200. And there’s simply no contest. The D300 blows it out of the water. It’s the results at the higher ISO settings that will really impress. The lack of noise is fantastic to say the least.
If you shoot professionally you can easily get high quality glossy results using up to the ISO 800 setting, and depending on certain factors (lighting, subject and exposure) you could even use ISO 1600-6400 images blown across an A3 spread in a magazine.
Results at the low ISO settings are smooth, offering plenty of saturation and contrast but somehow they don’t seem quite as impressive as the performance at high ISO. The extra resolution that the D300 offers over the D200 means that you now have more leeway to crop your images and still get high quality prints above A3 size.
Verdict
Despite the heritage of the D100 and D200, the D300 actually belongs higher up the scale than either of these models ever did. It really does replace the D2Xs in terms of quality and feel. It’s a great camera for a solid price that is well worth getting hold of. In case you’re still not sure, if the choice is between this and a cheaper or second D2Xs, buy the D300 – you’ll get a lot more for your money.
Now watch our video verdict
Product Specification
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Street price
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£1299 (body only)
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Weight/size (WxHxD)
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825g/147 x 114 x 74 mm
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Effective resolution
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12.3MP
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Lens mount
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Nikon F
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Focal length conversion
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1.5x
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Aspect ratio
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3:2
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LCD monitor size
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3in
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File formats
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JPEG, RAW (NEF)
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Card type
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CF
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Exposure modes
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Program, shutter-priority, aperture-priority and manual
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Metering modes
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3D Colour Matrix II, centre-weighted, spot
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Autofocus
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51-point (Contrast detection in Live View mode)
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ISO range
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200-3200 (expandable to 100-6400)
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Battery type
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EN-EL3e
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Software supplied
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Nikon Transfer and View NX
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Start-up time
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Less than a second
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Write times
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1 second (RAW), 2.8seconds (TIFF), less than one second (JPEG)
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Shutter speed range
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1/8000sec to 30 seconds + bulb
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Flash sync
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1/250sec
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Continuous shooting speed
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6fps for 81 frames (JPEG), 20 frames (RAW) or (8fps with optional battery pack)
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