[geauxpez]

I'm going to do a little recon in a local shop today. I'm waffling between D7K, D300s (for the more robust body & faster AF, and waiting for a possible D400 around the corner).

[apisto]

I have had a D300s for about a week. I got a D700 6 weeks or so ago. That camera is wonderful, and I plan on keeping it a very long time. I picked up a used D300S to decide which way to go for a crop sensor camera: stay pentax or go Nikon for the purpose having all lenses within the same system. So obviously my Nikon experience is very brief so far but I will share what I can.

As backiground, the pentax equipment I have used is the K20D with assorted DA*, FA Ltd, and FA lenses, plus a sigma or tamron here and there. I had a K-5 for about a week. While a wonderful camera in almost all types of situations, the type of shooting I often do coincides with the K5's current AF shortcomings.

I am not a photography expert in any way, so take my observations with a grain of salt.

-Operationally, I love the D300s and D700. The just work. I have had absolutely no problems with either body. They are very responsive, and sturdy. The might be a tiny bit large for my hands though.

-That being said, for a crop sensor body, the D300S is larger than I would like. I got a tokina 50-135 (just as wonderful as the pentax 50-135, as expected) to allow a more fair comparison between systems. I am finding I prefer a smaller body for day-to-day shooting. But it is a trade off. While the K20D/ 50-135 combo is more compact, the added bluk of the D300s and the added weight of both the D300s and tokina help steady my shots. This bulk and weight of the D300s combo gets me about 1 stop back in hand-holdability that is lost due to the lack of shake reduction. Granted a grip on the K20D might help in the same way. I have never tried one.

-Unscientifically, and I do not know what the numbers are: The D300s has a little more dynamic range than the K20D. The K5 that I had breiefly clearly had more DR than both.

-The D300s overexposes alot. I have to set exposure comensation on the D300s to -.7 to -1.0 to expose similar to my K20D. This might be a Nikon thing. My D700 overexposes too, but not as much.

-I miss some of the shooting modes that Pentax has on their cameras. Not a huge thing, but worth mentioning.

-Auto WB on the Nikons is diffrent, but not better or worse than the K20D. They all miss, but just in diffrent ways. However, I REALLY like the Nikon's greater configurability in regards to custom WB.

-AF - absolutely no comparrison to the K20D. When I first got my D700(D700 and D300s use same AF module), the AF literally seemed like magic. I felt like someone from the stone age watching a jet fly overhead.

-At the end of the day, image quality between the K20D and D300s are roughly equivalent. WB and colors are obviously a little different. But I shoot RAW, so I can't comment on what the differences are in the JPG's produced by the camera.

-I picked up a D7k in a store and did not like the feel of it at all. I did like the feel of the K-5 though. Proper comtrol placement seems more important on the smaller bodies. Plus the D7k did not feel as sturdy as I was expecting. I have no experience shooting with the D7k.


This was a rather rambling post, but hopefully some of it was helpful.

[KungPOW]

I am also looking at the D300/D300s right now.

In addition to a K10D, I also shoot with a D200. So, my opinions are based on older cameras, and I recognise that some of the things I like about the Nikon have been improved in the newer Pentaxs. This also applied to the newer Nikons as well...

With Nikon the ergonomics of the D200 vs the D300 are virtually the same. I Would expect the D400 to again, be the same. The only thing I do not like about the D200 is the location of the ISO button. The newer Nikons you can link the function button to ISO. The D200 is a little larger and heavier then the K10D, but I get used to it.

Overall, i really like the Nikon setup. I like the straight forward 4 shooting modes. I like that the mode is visable in the view finder. I like all the info shown in the view finder, and think Nikon does a better job then Pentax in this regard.

Matrix metering with the D200 is light years better then any of the metering modes of the K10D. With teh K10D, I had to constently watch the histogram. With the D200, it just works. Exposure issues are usually my fault because I left the exp comp set, and didn't notice the warning in the view finder.

The D200's on board flash , and exposure with flash leaves the K10D 20 years behind. With the D200, the results are always better then i would expect with on board flash, the K10D on the other hand, I have never figured out how to get consistant results.

Auto focus, The nikon dusts the Pentax. It is a no contest situation. Sure in optimal conditions, the Pentax will work and almost keep up, but once the conditions get dark, or poor contrast, the D200 is so much better. In a dark room, the K10D is useless. The d200 has no issues. I had always assumed that I shouldn't expect a camera to focus in dark room. I was wrong.

The only place the K10D is better then the D200 is, high ISO, sensor shift SR, and smaller size. Not to mention the Limited lenses. But then Nikon has some of the best zooms available.

The rumors point to a D400 release near the end of this summer. I am think I will upgrade my D200 with a used D300.

As for the D7000, it has allot going for it. If you consider it as an upgrade from teh D90, it is a huge step. I tried one in the store, and found the body to be comfortable enough. I would expect performance wise it would be better then the D200. i did find the rear focus button to be in a very awkward spot. It was too close to the view finder, and it was difficult to use with my glasses on.

[geauxpez]

Thanks for the responses guys. One of the reasons I went to this particular shop today was to get a better idea of the size of these cameras side-by-side. I don't want anything larger than the K10D I have been carrying (with the battery grip) for the past 3 years, so the 300s was at a disadvantage there. The AF of both bodies was dreamy compared to what I have now. I nearly dropped my credit card on the spot.

The timing was good as well -- the Nikon regional rep was giving a consumer seminar there and I sat in on that and learned a lot about the menus and little tricks that he likes. Atlanta gets no love from Pentax, so I get to read about things from my chair.

The size of the D7000 is very similar to my K10D and although I may lose in-body SR, I will gain more lens options, CLS and more local availability. The local shop has pricing along the lines of B&H and will take care of any QC issues & shipping to Nikon should they arise. I don't need a pro body as I'm not documenting the Serengeti or shooting formula-1 racing, so I think I would get at least 3 or 4 years out of it (like the K10D) before I feel my skills or needs outgrow it.

I will likely read articles for a few more days, then seal the deal. The D7k and the 35mm/1.8 prime for starters and more glass once I offload my Pentax wares. Given the relatively low re-sale value of the K-10D's lately, I'll probably hang onto mine, sell the grip and an extra battery or two and get a WR kit lens so I'll have an SLR to carry in my canoe and not worry much about.

[dylansalt]

I also didn't want a camera much larger than my K10D and purchased the D7000.

I find it way more comfortable to hold one handed.

No dslr is perfect, nor is the D7000 but it does a lot really really well.

I have just covered the French Bouldering Climbing Comp in Reunion and took over 500 shots at ISO 2000 -6400 without the auto af assist light and it never missed a beat while using the 16-85 and 70-300 combo.

I shot in jpeg - the Auto1 AWB is really very very accurate in all sorts of lighting - I could display the native jpeg on a 24 inch monitor without having to do ANY noise work even after applying a smidge of sharpening - the only pp I had to do.

On a side note I was looking at ultra sharp pics taken at 1/25 sec @ 16mm later on and realized I had been shooting with vr turned off - so you definitely don't need ois or vr unless going down to 1/8 sec.

But shooting with at 300mm with lens based vr is a far better experience than a lens without or in body ois

The 16-85 and 70-300 are really exceptional consumer zoom lenses.

The movie mode is really great and I shot a lot of clips of very good quality - the autofocus does quite a good job during movie recording too

[geauxpez]

Thanks dylansalt for the thoughtful response. I'd love to see your results.

[cupic]

I sold my K10D a while back to a student (Lucky girl) and pick up a D300 with 3500 actuation since then I gotten a 35mm f/1.8(MY fav and crispest) 50mm f/1.8,85mm f/1.8 and 70-300 VR and as above the D300 is rocket science absolutely rocking.This a this is my primary setup and my K20D is the backup


cheers

[Arpe]

For the purposes of shooting sport I'm considering picking up a D300s to replace my K-7. I understand the IQ, noise etc. are similar at same ISOs. Though I can get decent shots the call of the big 2's focussing abilities is very strong.

Would D300/D300s owners agree on the IQ question?

[geauxpez]

Thanks for all the responses everyone. I picked up a D7000 (body only) on Friday with the 55-300VR(II) (nice $100 instant rebate) and the 35mm/1.8. All I can say so far compared to my K10D is "oh my GAWD". (c: I have a couple more things on order. The VR is really cool -- I'm looking through the viewfinder with the lens racked out the 300, press the shutter and that wavy image goes smooth as though someone has reached over to steady my hand .

Live View is still a foreign concept to me, so I will have to do some reading on how to use that effectively. It was helpful that I had that Nikon class because there were some things in the menu that I wouldn't have figured out for months if ever.

I did a couple of quick videos just to see if I could work the video button. The sound sucks. BUT, I knew that it was a weak point & it's not a priority for me.

I still have to download images to play with them in lightroom, but hell, I'm having fun so far. Call it a stimulus package.

Cheers & happy shooting everyone.

[opiedog]

it's a great camera. takes some used to coming from a pentax though.

a few tips:

Auto ISO - no easy way to turn on or off. have to program the Function button to to the 1st item in the MyMenu. then program the MyMenu's 1st item with Auto ISO on/off

Auto ISO - lower ISO limit is whatever manual ISO you select. if you select ISO 200 manually, that will be used by AutoISO as the lower limit.

btw, where did you purchase the 35mm f1.8? can't seem to find that one except from the price gougers.

[geauxpez]

Thanks for the tips. I'll have to play with it. I'll post up a couple of things I learned when I sit down with my camera tonight. Maybe we need a tips & hints thread in here. That might cheese people off though .

As for the 35mm lens, I was going to get it at Showcase in town ($209) where I bought my camera & the 55-300, but they didn't come in with the bodies -- they should be in this week. I bought the last one at a Wolf Camera store near my house for the same price. I think B&H is just $10 less, but out of stock. Shipping would eat the difference & I don't mind a $10 brick & mortar toll.

[Student]

Someone is going to have me use a D300s for two weeks soon... What is the ISO performance like? Better than the K-7?

[twitch]

Someone is going to have me use a D300s for two weeks soon... What is the ISO performance like? Better than the K-7?

Yes, almost a stop better, ie, almost as good as a K-x

[Student]

Yes, almost a stop better, ie, almost as good as a K-x

Almost only?

[Arpe]

Yes, almost a stop better, ie, almost as good as a K-x

Oooh, didn't know that. Is that mainly because it's reduced pixel count