Nikon D300

Likes

- Great handling - Clear, bright viewfinder - Fast autofocus - High-res LCD - Fast Burst mode - Manual focus in the live view - Excellent image quality

Dislikes

- No in-camera image stabilization - Heavy - Break in the live view for AF - Overly basic included software

Conclusion
The 12.3-megapixel Nikon D300 is a fine upgrade to its predecessor, adding a huge range of features to the popular D200. The Nikon D100 was introduced in 2002 with 6.1 megapixels and a 5-point autofocus system. The D200 improved that to 10.2 megapixels. The Nikon D300 not only adds more resolution, but does it on a newer CMOS image sensor that has greatly improved performance.

The D300 has a solid set of components, including a bright and accurate optical viewfinder and a beautiful, high-resolution 3-inch LCD screen that offers live view. The live view has its hang-ups – as do all DSLRs that offer this – because the mirror has to flip to enable the autofocus system, thereby cutting off the live feed to the LCD. But it’s still a nice feature to have when you can’t be as close to the viewfinder as you’d want.

The autofocus system is straight off the pro Nikon D3 and is amazing. It has 51 points and is the fastest we’ve seen. The Nikon D300 is well suited for sports shooting with its 6 to 8 fps Burst mode (depending on whether the battery grip is attached), and quick predictive autofocus tracking.

The Nikon D300 isn’t the perfect camera, but it’s close. It includes a dust reduction system but skimps on the in-body image stabilization many other manufacturers are now offering. Image stabilization is included on individual lenses, but that drives up the cost of the glass. The included software is also insufficient for any real editing, so owners will have to invest in something other than what’s on the CD-ROM. But the users who want to take advantage of these features will probably already have a copy of Photoshop, so that's not a  major problem. And while the D300 is expensive at $1,799, it's a bargain for all the performance it offers.

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