Nikon D300S, professional level performance.

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Nikon professional-level performance with agility and creative versatility

We were favorably impressed in our lab testing with the D300S’s continuous shooting capabilities.

It hovered just under the advertised 7 fps mark regardless of burst length. Using the D300S and the 32GB SanDisk Extreme Pro, we could clear a buffer worth of 20 RAW images (11.6MB per image) in approximately 8.5 seconds.

A Lexar Professional UDMA CompactFlash card rated at only 300x was able to perform the same task in about 10 seconds.
Overall, the performance of the D300S is a modest improvement over the already impressive D300.

The D300S uses the same Nikon Multi-CAM 3500 focus system used in the D3 and D300, which can utilize up to 51 focus points, 15 of which are cross-type sensors. Default value is 9 points, with 21 and 51 points (with and without 3-D tracking) available for user selection.

Nikon recommends 9 points for situations where there is time to compose the photo or the subject is moving predictably (motorsports, track and field events, etc.); 21 points for subjects moving unpredictably (football players);

51 points for subjects moving quickly (birds) and 51 points with 3-D for subjects moving erratically from side to side (tennis players).

Even though there can be up to 51 focus points on the screen, only the active point selected by the user is displayed … a good way to prevent clutter in the viewfinder.

Focus acquisition speed is among the best in class. Tracking moving subjects seems noticeably better with the D300S than when attempting the same shots with the D90 — which is pretty darn fast for a mid-tier DSLR.

Shooting moving subjects with D300S proved remarkably easy, and the only times I didn’t get a tack-sharp image it was due to shallow depth of field or photographer error.

The D300S is one of those cameras that just doesn’t miss when it comes to autofocus as long as you’re using a good lens.

The D300 has a powerful, manually-deployed built-in flash and hot-shoe. The built-in flash carries a Guide Number of 56 feet at 200 ISO. Recycle times are excellent for the built-in flash – using manual control to force a full power flash resulted in a fully recharged flash in about 1.5 seconds.

The typical high performance mix of flash modes includes front curtain synch, red eye reduction, red eye reduction with slow synch, slow synch, and rear curtain synch. As good as the built-in flash may be, serious flash users will want to consider Nikon’s excellent SB series external flashes for the D300S.

I used the SB-800 during most of the testing period, but the newer SB-900 offers some nice improvements if you’re looking for a good external flash for use with the D300S.

Nikon D300s: Specification
• Resolution: 12.3Mp
• Sensor size: 23.6×15.8mm
• Sensor type: CMOS
• Image size: 4288×2848
• Aspect ratio: 3:2
• Focus system: Multi CAM 3500 DX with TTL phase detection
• Focus points: 51 inc. 15 cross type
• Crop factor: 1.5x
• Lens mount: Nikon F (with AF coupling and AF contacts)
• File type: JPEG, RAW (NEF), TIFF,
• Sensitivity: ISO200-3200 (expandable to ISO100 & ISO6400 equivalent)
• Storage: SD, SDHC, CF (UDMA compliant)
• Focus types: Single, continuous, predictive, manual
• Metering system: TTL exposure metering using 1,005px RGB sensor
• Metering types: Matrix, centre-weighted, spot
• Exposure compensation: +/- 5EV in 1/3, ½, or 1EV step increments
• Shutter speed: 30sec-1/8000sec, bulb
• Frames per second: 7 (8 via grip)
• Flash: Built-in, hotshoe
• Flash metering: iTTL, auto aperture, non-TTL, range priority manual
• Flash sync speed: 1/250sec
• Integrated cleaning: Image sensor cleaning, Image dust off reference data (requires Capture NX2)
• Live view: Yes, tripod & handheld, contrast detect AF
• Viewfinder: Optical eye level pentaprism, approx. 100% coverage
• Monitor: 3in TFT LCD, 100% frame coverage, 920,000dot (307,000px)
• Video: Yes, HD 1280×720 at 24fps (max.)
• Video format: AVI, Motion-JPEG compression type
• Audio: Mono (stereo with optional external mic)
• Interface: USB 2.0, HDMI
• Power: Lithium Ion
• Size: 147x114x74mm
• Weight: 840g (excl. battery and card)

Nikon D300s: Verdict

Now I’ve had the camera in for a full test, I’m amazed by the improvement in noise reduction. The images I produced are clean and pleasing to look at.

Having a play around with the colours gave some interesting results that I think will be useful to a lot of photographers and some professionals will be able to implement the use of the video functions into their work.

Their was a lot of scoffing at the release of this camera simply due to its only visible upgrade which is the inclusion of video. But it doesn’t look like Nikon have been sitting back on their laurels at all and I think this is a worthy camera to add to the stable until the D400 (?) is released.

Of course the price is a tricky one to get around so if you’re thinking of using this as a stop gap, then I wouldn’t bother. Only really get this camera if it’s something you’ll keep for a number of years and judging by the picture quality, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t.