How would you change Nikon's D300S?
By Darren Murph 
posted January 29th 2010 10:52PM
posted January 29th 2010 10:52PM
posted January 29th 2010 10:52PM
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Fast autofocus in movie mode that doesn't go whrzzzzzzzzzz whrzzzzzzzzzzz all over the sound of the movie.
@formetopoopon
YES!!!!!
@formetopoopon
tell me about it. changing the aperture mid-movie would be nice, too.
make it work with iPAD
@rhezaganteng yeah stick in the fuckin ipad! It should fit in that empty slot
@xberxinfinity it is most advanced technology in a magical and revolutionary device at unelievable price FROM apple guys, why ?
layzrrrrs
FX Sensor
@Unverified User Its not supposed to be fx. The 700 and d3 are fx and cost more. The 300s is a lower cost version of the 700, peer cost as in uses cheaper DX lenses. Overall, DX makes the d300s a "half price" version of the d700.
You misspelled "Apple's iPad" in the title.
@Bosco lmfao!! Well played
@Bosco
They haven't reached their quota for the number of iPad articles yet, that's about 40 articles away.
@ROFL Did you mean another 40 today?
I just wish I could change my wallet so I could afford one
Hey engadget, since you guys don't mind ipad refrences, but on a serious note , in your engadget app you have the ipad under tabletPCs, now I understand tablet pcs == tablet personal computers, but then what's with the I'm a mac, and I'm a pc shit that goes on. Shouldn't you just have an iPad topic? I'm honestly surprised it wasn't already there
I love mine. I wouldn't have replaced a D300 with a D300s. There isn't enough difference. It was a big step up from my D200.
They should keep the DX format so I don't have to replace my lenses, but make the sensor do better with low light. It would be nice if the sensor could handle high ISOs like the D700.
I also wish bracketing wasn't hidden as deeply as it is. I had to assign one of the customizable buttons to it.
@ganymebe
DX smaller sensor... keep DX lenses,
or Full frame, larger sensor...Captures more light.
Pick one, any one, every one's a winner.
@choco
You could increase light-sensitivity by reducing the pixel count. I doubt that most users actually need 12.3 MP. At 300 dpi prints this would make ~20x14inch prints, but then you can poke your nose into the picture without seeing pixels. Given that most PC screens don't show visible pixels at ~72-100dpi you can get extremely huge prints with 12.3MP.
One other option is to apply something similar to the Sony Exmor technique. Or even license it (if possible).
Lower the price.
Seriously. I'm poor.
there all you windoze fanboys can shut up.
Make it compatible with Canon lenses? Not bashing Nikon's lens line-up, but it does have some gaps that's driven me to using Canon.. like the MP-E 65, or something like the 80-400 but with a SWM.
I prefer Nikon bodies over Canon, the d300s is an amazing bit of kit, but unfortunately lens choices take priority for me..
@Orbis Olympus makes pretty nice glass too.
@Orbis, in all fairness, there is a solid selection of DX lenses for this baby. What's bad is that the good ones tend to cost as much as FX lenses.
- Improve autofocus function on the video
- 1080p video
- WIFI transmitter
- have ISO 100
- Better noise @ ISO 6400
Ditch Motion JPG video format for H264.
5 minutes clips are too short. 15 min. would be nice.
@dontbecreepy 5 minutes is about 4 minutes longer than I need!!
Idk, seems ok to me. Price is always an issue with these really nice DSLR's, but I guess that cant be helped.
I would change its ownership from someone else to me...
PROJECTOR!!!!
No, two projectors. Yes. And make it 3D.
The video was a huge disappontment-the d90/5000/300 all have the same sensor so other then the pro features added like a weather proof body and a bigger prism I see no reason to get this over the existing lineup-unless of course you don't have one to start with-dual processors and framerate selectable manual 1080p video is a must at this price range for this class of semipro dx format slr's.
I love nikon but wtf, all 3 of their new models shoot in only 720p? cmon canon has a rebel thats shooting 1080p....
Full frame, 1080p, GEO location, wifi, and all at the same price :D
@How would you change Nikon's D300S?
Well, by making it micro 4/3 of course.
Sell it and buy a Canon 5D Mark II, tahts the easiest way to get a better camera ;-)
I just got the Canon 5D Mark II, so I don't have a ton of experience with the D300S, but the reason I didn't consider this camera was the lack of a 1080p video option. I'm shooting a lot of stills now, do a lot of video, and the 1080p allowed me to justify the cost.
I looked at a Nikon at a shop, looked great, cool in camera effects. Nikons have years of great glass and I wish I could've gone with them, though I'm happy. I want 1080p24(23.98), 720p60(or more for slomo). A card format option to get rid of the time limit issues, maybe support different file systems if that's doable, IDK. And a high quality video codec, h.264 probably. Low noise at high ISO is a lot of fun.
Having had mine for about 3 months now, after upgrading from a D200, I've yet to find anything really wrong with it. The movie mode wasn't really a feature I cared about so any shortcomings there don't concern me. As a camera its given me great results for portraits, landscape and a little wildlife photography in the garden. One feature I would like, is to be able to set what I consider my 'default values' and then on the rear screen in info mode (nice feature already there), have it highlight all the settings that are different from my defaults, so I don't accidentally start shooting in the wrong mode.
To be quite honest, it's perfect the way it is. If I wanted full frame I'd have gone with the D700 which is a really nice camera.
Did a heap of research before buying it over the D90. I originally started with the D70s.
I think each to their own. Get what suits you and stick with it. For me, matrix metering with manual lenses opens up a whole new world to me. As did the fantastic 51 point AF and dual memory card feature. Video isn't really something important to me. But having it there is a nice bonus feature.
Had this camera since Octobet and it has served me very well ever since.
I would change it from your hands to mine!
GPS. The bane of my photography life is tagging all the photos so I can find them later. But I can usually remember where, and mostly about when, I took the photos I am hunting for. Given those two coordinates I could pretty much find any photo without the hassle of having to tag them all manually.
Its still getting hammered in Low Light levels by the EOS 7D especially during Movie Mode. It would be nice to take low light movies, especially if carrying it around at night. I continue to wait until Nikon comes out with something that can compete in this regard. And yes, I know its ridiculous to complain about a DSLR's movie mode.
I love the 14bit color really helps improve image quality when croping or shooting macros. Wish there was better dx primes/faster lenses to take full advantage of the camera. Really wish nikon would release a stand alone video camera that could use nikon mount lenses. That way a dslr could be a dslr again and not a video camera.
I love my D300 and would have upgraded to the 300s if the video was on par with the Canon 7D.
i'll wait for the samsung gx30 - reported to be full frame, 1080, gps, sd/mini sd, etc list goes on
Put a little more research and development into better DX sensors. The latest word from NR is nikon is working on a new 15 mp sensor. I say ditch the pixels and make it work better in low light. My D80's 10 mp is sufficient for me, and plenty resolution for anyone. Hey Nikon, here's an idea: Make a camera with a 10 mp DX sensor that goes up to 12,800 ISO. Shove some real usefulness up canon's ass in response to 7D's 18 mp. Slap D400 on the front, and you'll sell 'em like hotcakes. I'll take preorder, I promise.
The D3s is the best camera nikon makes (better than canon's 1D4 even) because it has a useful 12,800 ISO stop, not because it has more pixels.
Get rid of the mediocre video. Up the megapixels to 18.
geo code, wifi and better iso will be best in dx mode....
And yes I agree 6MP would be enough if it can do nice 10k iso...lesser MP means better and fast focus as well
As far as video goes, being a photographer I dont use video feature thus no value to me. i buy camera for photographic capability not videos...
I have the smaller brother of this beast the D90.
Almost went with the D300, but decided to forgo the investment as this was my first dslr after moving from the film and with the technology going so fast, I'm sure we are going to see the refresh in a year or two. By that time here are the things I would like to see in the D300
1. the light sensitivity must go up, please go with those crazy ISO numbers and fix the noise matter.
2. bump up the sensor sized to handle 20mp
3. video mode sucks huge, how about 1080p 24/30/60fs with the autofucs in place and if you are going to leave the 720p make it 240fps. stereo mikes?
Sharper pixels ... i.e. weaker anti-aliasing filter or better yet, NO anti-aliasing filter (e.g. Leica M9). I used a D90 for a little while but returned it. The D90 is better then my D70 in every aspect except the one I cared most - sharp pixels.
I turned in my 9 month old D90 for one of these about a month ago. In that time I have already established one stuck pixel.
Foremost: 1080p30/25/24 at "true" broadcast frame rates.
Next: 720p60/50/30/25/24 at pro frame rates.
3rd: 1080p60/120 for special effects. Even if this could only be cached internally for under 15 seconds, it would be a production tool of great importance for special effects.
4th: Bluetooth transmission of Live View instantly.
See HDSLRreview for similar thinking.