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| Photo by Michael J. McNamara |
| The D300 provides Excellent image quality, and its advanced AF, flash, and metering systems easily tackled this tough backlit scene. Click photo for more image quality shots. |
For more virtuosity, look at the AF. Taken from the D3, it's a 51-zone, TTL phase-detection system with 15 cross-type sensors capable of vertical and horizontal detail detection when using any Nikkor lens with a f/5.6 or wider aperture. (The Canon EOS 40D has nine cross-type sensors active at f/5.6 or larger, plus a center sensor active with f/2.8 or larger-aperture lenses.)
In our tests, the D300 focused extremely fast in bright and moderate light from EV 12 to EV 6, slightly faster than the EOS 40D, but not as quick as the Sony A700 or Olympus E-3. In low light from EV 4 to EV 1, it was just behind the Canon but much faster than the Olympus. And in very low light from EV 0 to -2, it was faster than any other DSLR we've tested, maintaining an AF speed of under 1 second even at its limit of EV -2 (the Olympus stopped at EV -1).
You can select individual AF zones or groups in patterns of 11 zones, and fine-tune the AF for individual lenses (great for third-party glass or old Nikkors that don't provide object-distance data to the camera). The 51-zone pattern also covers a wider area of the image than Nikon's full-frame D3 (a 1.5X 35mm lens factor benefit) so the D300's 3D-Tracking should, in theory, be able to lock onto a moving subject and follow it across more of the field of view than the D3.
Without a testable D3, we couldn't confirm this in our field tests. But we verified Nikon's claim that the D300's Auto-Area AF mode, with its Scene Recognition System (SRS), can track an object by color and shape. It gives higher priority to off-center skin areas (such as a face, exposed shoulder, or arm) rather than centrally located background elements. So instead of manually locking onto a person in a scene and then recomposing, you can let the AF do it all in one move. We like the way this camera thinks!
See it Live
The AF system also works in live view -- albeit with a delay in focus and capture due to the time it takes the mirror to swing up and down. Predictive focus tracking doesn't work in this mode, but there's a second AF method that uses contrast detection and analysis of image detail. You can position an AF zone anywhere in the scene and zoom in on the live image up to 13X to check focus, but we found it much slower and not useful for moving subjects, such as an insect or swaying flower.
Do pros and advanced amateurs need live view? We don't think it's about to replace the D300's excellent optical viewfinder, with 0.94X magnification and 99 percent accuracy. But it sure comes in handy for macro and overhead shots.
Unlike the Olympus E-3 and Panasonic Lumix DMC-L10, the D300 doesn't have a swiveling LCD. But its 307,000-pixel (920,000-dot, VGA resolution) 3-inch screen packs twice the resolution of those moveable monitors and of the 3-inch (230,000-dot) display on the Canon EOS 40D. It has a wide 170-degree viewing angle, and you can read images and text even in bright sunlight.
Any Which Way
Metering systems and most image-quality controls on the D300 are similar to those on the D200. With that 3-inch LCD, menu controls are a snap. Modify the Picture Control presets to fine-tune contrast, sharpness, brightness, saturation, and hue. Monochrome? Adjust for color filter effects and tone.
In addition, you can create custom Picture Controls in the supplied software and upload them to the camera -- especially useful for studio shooters with different lighting setups.
Our field tests confirmed the accuracy of the metering and white balance systems. If you've shot with Nikons before, you'll find the external controls easy to master while looking through the viewfinder. And the number of setting variations is astounding. That's one reason the D300's manual is so thick.
Of course, we doubt that most photographers will read all the way through the manual before firing up the D300. Taking pictures with this camera is simply irresistible.
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