The Nikon D300 digital SLR has a resolution of twelve megapixels - the same as the D3, but achieved courtesy of a smaller and hence more economical "DX Format" image sensor (roughly analogous to an APS-C film frame), which is rather smaller than the D3's "FX Format" type (near-identical to the size of a 35mm film frame). The D300 can shoot full-res photos at six frames per second for as many as 100 JPEG Large/Normal photos, pulling almost neck and neck with the 6.5 fps of Canon's just-announced EOS 40D digital SLR. Add the optional Nikon MB-D10 battery grip though, and that jumps to 8 fps - a significant step up from the Canon. The Nikon D300's combination of modern CMOS sensor technology, and Nikon's a new image processor dubbed "Expeed", come together to yield an impressive ISO sensitivity range of ISO 200 to 3,200 with the ability to extend this to an ISO 100 to 6,400 range.With the D3 and D300, Nikon becomes the latest manufacturer to support a "live view" function in a digital SLR - letting you preview the frame to be captured in the LCD display rather than having to hold the viewfinder to your eye. The LCD, incidentally, is the same one used in the Nikon D3 and should prove easy on the eye with a diagonal of three inches, 640 x 480 pixel (920,000 dots) of resolution, and 170-degree wide viewing angle. Nikon's live view functionality has two operating modes. In "Handheld" mode, autofocus is allowed by dropping the mirror briefly to allow light to reach the camera's TTL phase detection autofocus module - the downside being an interruption to the live view while focusing is happening.. In "Tripod" mode, the camera uses contrast detection autofocus from the image sensor, allowing for autofocus to occur without interruption to the live view - and usefully, also allowing for the AF point to be set anywhere in the image area.
Which brings us to autofocus, another area of the Nikon D300 that impresses. A new Multi-CAM 3500 DX autofocus system has 15 cross-type sensors and 36 linear sensors, for a total of 51 autofocus points. 3D Focus Tracking is possible across all 51 points, with the camera automatically switching between focus points to follow your subject. A new Scene Recognition System is described as a "world's first" by Nikon and is said to recognize the scene being photographed, then use this information accordingly when calculating exposure, autofocus and white balance. An Active D-Lighting system corrects for shadows and highlights to produce more appealing images. There's also a new Picture Control System with four basic presets - Standard, Neutral, Vivid and Monochrome - which the user can then tweak to their taste, adjust imaging parameters such as saturation, brightness, sharpening and tone compensation. Up to nine different customized presets can be stored in each D300 body, and up to 99 can be stored on a CompactFlash card - enabling easy sharing of settings among multiple cameras (or for that matter, easy sharing of cameras between multiple photographers).
As with the Nikon D3 it is announced alongside, there are enough standout features on the Nikon D300 that a full discussion is beyond the scope of this news article. Briefly though, other features of note include a 0.13 second startup time, 45 millisecond shutter release lag, viewfinder with near-100% coverage, UDMA-compatible CompactFlash storage media slot, an HDMI connection (cable not included) that allows for the Nikon D300 to be connected directly to a high definition display, in-camera correction of chromatic abberations based on information on the lens in use, dust and moisture-resistant gaskets, a magnesium alloy body, tempered glass over the LCD display, a self-cleaning sensor, and a shutter mechanism rated to last to 150,000 releases.
The Nikon D300 digital SLR goes on sale from November 2007, priced at just under $1,800.
provided by Imaging Resource
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