Nikon D300 - Good Competitor
Bare in mind that I was just testing the Nikon D3 with AFS 18-200mm lens before trying out the D300. If I can explain the speed of D300, AF better…it is like the sound of Zop while E-3 is like ZOoooop. Yes, the difference is very obvious. On the viewfinder of D300, you can see the focus change is instantly. You don’t see from blur to sharp in progress…but instantly change!
I test the Nikon D300 by focusing to close and then to far subjects, making sure that the camera and lens have to travel some “long” distance in order to get focus. The result is just amazing! The lens snap into focus almost instantly!
I can’t remember which lens was mounted on the Nikon D300, if I am not mistaken, it should be the “12-60mm F2.8-4.0 SWD” (confirmed the lens, just update with photo). The lens extend quite long (almost double the original length after zoom to telephoto).
On the side note of D300 physical built, the camera does feel good in hand with firm grip design. It is definitely a very big size camera as compared to the E-510 or other E-DSLR. There are lots of buttons at the back of the D300…which I am not familiar of, so I didn’t try it out. The Flippable LCD screen actually makes the E-3 looks a bit cheap…discount the professional feel of the D300 in my humble opinion. Of course, this is just my personal feel, in terms of practical use, it is definitely better than those fixed LCD. Yeah, imagine shooting from above your head or on the ground.
To be honest, I must say I am impressed with the Nikon D300 AF system. Definitely deserves the title of “among the world’s fastest AF” if not already the world’s fastest!
That’s all from my few minutes try of the Nikon D300 digital camera. If I got the time, I will go try it out again. By the way, I notice the price of D300 is around RM1k cheaper than E-3, so it is definitely a very good competitor to the Nikon system.
Relative links about Nikon D300