Camera Labs

Hi,
I just joined this forum and would like to take your expert advice in buying a semi pro Nikon camera.I am new to wildlife photography and need a good camera body.My Choices are between d7000 and d300s.

I went through both the reviews in camera labs and I am unable to make a decision.Can any one please help me in getting a good camera for wildlife photography!!

I have a d40x with a Nikkor 70-300 VR

First thing is, as usual, the `glass` tends to be the deciding factor.

Personally I think the D7000 is the better camera for birds/wildlife.
Better low light/high ISO capabilities, very good image quality, great battery life, + there's 1080p video, (if you need it) and it's cheaper!

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Nikon D700 & D7100 bodies + Nikkor 300mm F2.8 VR11, 1.7TC, 50mm F1.4G, 16-35mm f/4G VR, 105 F2.8 VR macro, 70-300mm lenses. A couple of filters, Giotto tripod & ballhead. Lowepro Slingshot 302 AW

http://www.flickr.com/photos/oldcarlos/

The D300s is still a current model, but except for the frames-per-second rate, it is mostly older technology. The D300s body has more metal, so it should tolerate more abuse or accidents. I own neither camera, but did some research, while deciding which camera to purchase for my wife. She had been used a D300s at work, and loved it, but it was owned by the taxpayers. She had injured her rotator cuff, and therefore light weight was vitally important, so the lighter weight of the D7000 was the deciding factor. Well, my wife loves the D7000, though Nikon saw fit to rearrange the positions of some controls, so there was a learning period.

That being said, I recently saw a nearly-pristine pre-owned D300s at a local camera shop, and would have purchased it for myself, had it been financially possible. These are both really good cameras.

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Canon 7D/5D/40D/1D2N; Nikon F6, FM3A, & Coolpix A; Canon 40mm Pancake, 135L, 50L, 35L, pre-II 50mm 1.8, 100mm 2.8L Macro, 10-22mm EF-S, 28-135 EF, 400mm 5.6L; Nikkor 50mm 1.2 AI-S, 50mm 1.4G, 50mm 1.8D, 16mm 2.8D Fisheye, 180mm 2.8D, 100-300mm 5.6 AI-S; Tokina 17mm & 100mm 2.8 Macro

Hello, smithun81! Welcome to the forums, enjoy your stay!



That's debatable, one could argue that the D3x is still a current model because no "true" successor has been released, but who would buy one when the higher resolution lower priced D800 is available at a much lower price point with much newer technology?

All that the D300s has going for it is the build quality and frame rate. It's built like a pro body, which it should be, as Nikon was going after the prosumer market when it was released. However, the D7000 beats it out in just about every other area, its IQ blows it out of the water. However, if you can still find a D300s at a good price and you personally like the design and the way that it fits in your hand, then go for it.

Either way you won't be dissapointed, and both would be a massive upgrade over your D40x. But honestly, the D7000 is much more future proof and although it lacks a bit in the frame rate department and is smaller, its IQ definitely doesn't dissapoint. If you want to spend a few more bucks and don't mind losing one frame per second, the D600's a good choice, it's essentially a D7000 with a full frame sensor.

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-Evan

Gear: 7 Nikon Nikkor AI-S and AF-S lenses, SB-700 flash, Nikon D7000, Nikon FM, variety of accessories

"There are no rules for good photographs, there are only good photographs."
- Ansel Adams

Evan has a good point re the D600, BUT you'll lose the `crop factor` which can be useful, depending on what you're shooting & your glass of course.

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Nikon D700 & D7100 bodies + Nikkor 300mm F2.8 VR11, 1.7TC, 50mm F1.4G, 16-35mm f/4G VR, 105 F2.8 VR macro, 70-300mm lenses. A couple of filters, Giotto tripod & ballhead. Lowepro Slingshot 302 AW

http://www.flickr.com/photos/oldcarlos/

If you need high fps for your wildlife then buy a D300s.
D300S with batterygrip is 8fps in continuous mode, D7000 has only 6fps, and then it runs into buffer problems after 10 shots.

So if fast continous shooting is important buy a D300S, for all the rest D7000 is probably a better choice.
D7000 = better high ISO noise performance, more megapixel, better color depth, better dynamic range etc...

Nikon d600 at cropped mode will close to 10 MP , very close to d300's resolution power.so it will be usable in that aspect. rest of the time u can enjoy the FF mode

Also at crop mode , the AF points will cover almost the whole frame, ( d 300's AF area distribution is also so spread )

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Nikon D800
Nikon AFS 50mm F1.8 G
Sigma APO 70-200 F2.8 EX DG OS HSM
Sony H50

That's a point worth making, the D600's AF points are all clustered in the centre of the frame. While this isn't a problem in DX crop mode, if you'll be shooting often in the full resolution FX mode, it could be a deterrent.

Here's a GIF from over at Nikon Rumors showing the difference between the AF points while in FX and DX mode:

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-Evan

Gear: 7 Nikon Nikkor AI-S and AF-S lenses, SB-700 flash, Nikon D7000, Nikon FM, variety of accessories

"There are no rules for good photographs, there are only good photographs."
- Ansel Adams

I don't think you will need 8 fps for wildlife shooting, so the D7000 is better.
The D600 could do as well, but than 300 mm is a little short unless you crop like sad before.

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Olympus E-500, 12-60, 40-150, 70-300

Well I disagree, if you want to make photo of a bird landing or starting to fly away those fps can be very uefull. but 6fps on the D7000 can probabaly do that too. I once had to make the choice D300s or D7000 and it did not take long before i went with a D7000.

I there ever will be a D300s successor (D400?) I probably would go with that.