Nikon D300S

Noise Reduction (6.67)

There are three levels of noise reduction here, High, Normal and Low, each of which applies to exposures at ISO 800 or higher. Noise reduction can also be turned off to maximize image detail, though some noise reduction processing will still be applied at ISO settings of Hi 0.3 or above.

As shown in the chart below, there is a substantial gap between results shot with no NR and the NR Low setting, and those taken with the camera set to Medium or High NR. As seen in our sample image section, there’s a matching jump in fine detail loss between the settings.

Our test distinguishes between the component color components in the overall image noise level, shooting with noise reduction turned off. With some cameras, one color will be substantially higher than the others, and hence more visible, but that’s not a problem here. More on how we test noise.

When shooting under bright light, the D300S displayed very low image noise, surpassing the Canon 7D by a significant margin. We test by shooting the ColorChecker chart under controlled 3000 lux studio illumination at all standard ISO settings, using each available noise reduction setting, and use Imatest software to analyze the test photos.

ISO Options

The ‘official’ ISO range is 200-3200, which by default are selected in 1/3EV increments, but can be set in 1/2 or 1 EV steps through the custom menu. In addition, there are three settings below ISO 200 (Lo 1, Lo 0.7 and Lo 0.3, equivalent to ISO 100-160) and three above 3200 (Hi 0.3, Hi 0.7 and Hi 1, equivalent to ISO 4000-6400).

There is also an Auto ISO option that allows the camera to adjust the ISO if a proper exposure can’t be achieved using the aperture and shutter speed settings selected by the user. A maximum acceptable ISO value can be specified.

Focus Performance

The D300s uses a fast 51-point autofocus system with 15 cross-type sensors, a holdover from the D3000 and the D3 before that. The focus area is selected using a switch to the bottom right of the LCD. Which one of the three Dynamic Area options will be used (9 point, 21 point, or 51 point) is set via the Custom Settings menu.

There is a very bright AF assist illuminator located between the right hand grip and the lens, which brings flashlight-like intensity to the task of achieving focus in dark environments, and works very effectively.

Long Exposure (8.72)

Our long exposure testing didn’t reveal major flaws in the D300S performance, but it didn’t match the results we found shooting with the Canon 7D or the Nikon D5000 in either color accuracy or image noise at slower shutter speeds. We shoot the ColorChecker chart at a low 20 lux illumination level, with long exposure noise reduction turned off and on, at a range of speeds from 1 second to 30 seconds. For the D300S, long exposure noise reduction kicks in for shutter speeds slower than 8 seconds. More on how we test long exposure.

Color values don’t change significantly as shutter speeds increase, which is an important consideration. Unlike many cameras we test, long exposure noise reduction does have a significant impact when shooting with the D300S.Overall, though, we found higher image noise at slow shutter speeds than for most of our comparison cameras, which maintained image noise below 1%.

The long exposure score for the D300S is acceptable but not impressive when compared to other SLRs, including the less expensive D5000.

Video: Low Light Sensitivity (9.04)

The Nikon D300S required 7 lux of light to reach 50 IRE on our waveform monitor—a strong performance for the camera in our low light sensitivity test. The most notable part about the D300S’ performance is the fact that it is a bit better than what the Nikon D5000 managed in our testing last year.

When reviewing the light requirements in the table below and the chart above, keep in mind that much of what determines a low light sensitivity score is based on the lens used. If we had shot this test with a slower lens then the D300S would have probably done significantly worse. Still, these results should give you a basic idea of how well each camera handles low light sensitivity. The Canon 7D and Panasonic GH1 both offer multiple frame rates for recording HD video, so the table below lists the sensitivity results for each.