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Replacing a D300? (1 Viewer)

StuartReeves

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I have a Nikon D300 that I have mostly used mostly with a 300mm F4 and a 1.4 TC. In general I have been very pleased with the results. Despite this, I am starting to wonder whether I would gain anything from a new camera body. The D7100 seems to be the nearest equivalent in the current Nikon range. How do the two bodies compare in real world use? The D7100 seems to be a rather smaller body, which is appealing, but would I notice any other improvements? Any advice gratefully received!

Stuart
 
Go for a good used D700. You'll thank yourself. If you want something new then the D600 is worth a look
 
I went from using a D300s to a D7100 and I love the D7100. If it had the control layout the same as the D300s and was waterproof it would be almost perfect (for me). The 24MP produces a noticable increase in the clarity of shots and an increased ability to crop in without losing a lot of detail.
I use a Sigma 50-500mm OS with both cameras, so if you want a look to compare then have a search through my flickr photostream.
www.flickr.com/stonefaction
The Slavonian Grebe and Whitethroat photos on the front page are D300S photos, I think most of the other bird shots are D7100.
 
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Stuart, I went from the d300 to the 700 as my move to full frame, the advantages for me were that the battery grip was the same and the battery upgrade to el4s was unaffected
As for the camera, much much better low light ability, you can get great results up to 3200 iso which was a massive benefit. Okay so you lose the crop sensor factor and that may be a concern depending on your needs. The build quality and focussing was straight from the D3. I used this as a trial for FX, so I pressed that this year I bought the d800e. If you can stretch to it you should consider that as it offers crop modes that work on the sensor and the best macro body IMHO that you could ever want,
I was tentative about going from my D300 to the 700 but have never regretted it.
 
I have a Nikon D300 that I have mostly used mostly with a 300mm F4 and a 1.4 TC. In general I have been very pleased with the results. Despite this, I am starting to wonder whether I would gain anything from a new camera body. The D7100 seems to be the nearest equivalent in the current Nikon range. How do the two bodies compare in real world use? The D7100 seems to be a rather smaller body, which is appealing, but would I notice any other improvements? Any advice gratefully received!

Stuart

Stuart,
The D7100 would give you more pixels on the bird. About the same as using a 1.4Tc without any stop loss. With your TC it puts as many pixels on the bird as a 500 f4 on a D800. So resolution wise you would notice a lot. Secondly you can set auto iso to 1600 and forget it though you will need a good denoise application if you crop a lot. Dynamic range is better and shadow retrieval better than a D300s.
Autofocus is on par with D300s imo except will focus at f8. Buffer is smaller in frames but empties very quickly (2.5s) with a 95mb/s sandisk card.
It works well with a 300mmf4 but you will need to relearn your handholding technique to get the most of the resolution..

If you want to go FX I recommend the D800 over the D700. Many more pixels on the bird and they are excellent ones too. I found to little reach with a D700 even using a 500mm lens.

I'd keep your D300s if you got a D7100 until you were happy with it.
Plenty of examples in my D7100 flickr gallery for you to peruse and make your own mind up.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/brandon_birder/sets/72157633409947519/
 
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Stuart,
I moved from the D300 to the D7100 and I agree with what Stonefaction and Rich said: The D7100 is giving me a significant increase in resolution and cropping ability compared to the D300. There might be other improvements as Rich noted, but the increased detail/resolution is what I notice the most. I sometimes use the AF-S Nikkor 300mm f/4D with a 1.4X teleconverter, and a monopod if possible. Follow the link below to a gallery of D7100 bird photos; look for photos with keyword "300mm f4 afs":

http://wildbirds.smugmug.com/Nature/Birds/Florida-Trip-April-2013/29616255_KPzGQV

I will attach a reduced, uncropped image of the image of the Red-shouldered Hawk in flight (see the gallery for the edited, cropped version--click "original" to enlarge). I can sometimes crop more than this. I'll try to share another example if I can find time. By the way, all my images start out full size/24MP. So far I have not worried about trying to engage "1.3X crop mode" on the D7100.

I still hope for a true successor to the D300 with a deeper buffer, more fps speed and more robust professional build, and it may finally appear in 2014. But I'm not holding my breath... For now I think the D7100 is the best Nikon body for bird photography, especially for small birds.
Good luck to you!
--Dave
 

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I will attach a reduced, uncropped image of the image of the Red-shouldered Hawk in flight (see the gallery for the edited, cropped version--click "original" to enlarge). I can sometimes crop more than this. I'll try to share another example if I can find time. By the way, all my images start out full size/24MP. So far I have not worried about trying to engage "1.3X crop mode" on the D7100.

Thanks Dave, that Red-shouldered Hawk shot is a very useful illustration of what the D7100 can do. I'm tempted, but at the same time I'm put-off a little by the need to invest in new batteries and SD cards instead of CF cards. I guess I'll wander into a camera shop and get my hands on one at some stage then take it from there.
 
Thanks Dave, that Red-shouldered Hawk shot is a very useful illustration of what the D7100 can do. I'm tempted, but at the same time I'm put-off a little by the need to invest in new batteries and SD cards instead of CF cards. I guess I'll wander into a camera shop and get my hands on one at some stage then take it from there.

Exactly why I went D700 initially, no additional expense but beneficial
 
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