I am currently shooting a Nikon D300. It's honestly more camera than I need, but at the same time, I am getting a case of upgraditis or at least kinda wanting something different. I thought at first I'd like to try a mirrorless setup, but I'm not sure that's the way I want to go. I like the idea of shrinking my kit, but I think I'd miss the features of a full size camera.

So here I am. I have a good offer on my D300 body. I still have the Nikon lenses that I have not tried to sell yet. So it would make a little more sense to stick with Nikon, but I don't think I'll have too much problem selling my lenses giving me the cash to buy new ones if I went with something other than Nikon. I really am trying to create a minimalist setup anyways, so a couple zooms and a 50mm prime is about all I need. Maybe throw in a nice macro lens and I'm set.

So I guess after all my ramblings, what I am asking, is there a body that is as good or better than the Nikon D300 that can be found new or used for $800 or less? Really the biggest thing that I am not happy with in the D300 is the low light performance, otherwise, honestly, it's a pretty great camera. I just wanted to see what options might be out there. Thanks to reading and thanks for any help.

Ddefine "better". More pixels? Features? High ISO performance? Wwhat do you want to do that your present camera won't do?

A lot of people want "better" but have no idea what they want. Then when they spend several hundred dollars they have less money and no satisfaction. If you can't define what you want, stick with what you have.

Do you have DX lenses?
Otherwise I'd just wait until you can get a D700 and be done with it for awhile.

runamuck wrote:
Ddefine "better". More pixels? Features? High ISO performance? Wwhat do you want to do that your present camera won't do?

A lot of people want "better" but have no idea what they want. Then when they spend several hundred dollars they have less money and no satisfaction. If you can't define what you want, stick with what you have.

Mega pixels don't matter to me much. Of course if I can get more just because the camera has more, good, but I don't look at that as a selling point. The biggest thing about the D300 that I don't like is low light ability. Really, otherwise the camera is pretty great for me. I was just kinda thinking out loud and wanted to see what might be out there for options. At the price I was offered for the body, I am not going to be out anything as I bought it used at a good price.

As far as the D700 option, that's certainly possible if I keep this camera and save up for a while. Hopefully prices on them will continue to fall. Or I might wait until the new DX body (D400?) is reveled by Nikon but then my D300 will loose value instantly. I guess it would make a good back up.

I'm not sure about a couple of your lenses, but it looks like you have FF glass.

Outside of a D7000, you're not going to find much that is a real upgrade for you at that price point. That camera isn't massively better for ISO, but does have much better DR and seems to produce cleaner files at higher ISO.

What you give back is the pro build and handling and a slightly less capable AF system. Personally, I don't think that is worth the trade. Keep shooting your D300, keep saving your money and wait for a compelling step.

My $0.02.

Since you mentioned you are waiting for the D400 I assume you can almost afford the D600. I am in the same position and I decided to save and go with the D600. Everything is perfect about it, at least for my needs. Top notch ISO performance, IQ, , 100% finder, great video, tons of other features and you can still use it in DX without compromising much.

If budget is concern, I agree with M635 that the D7000 has better ISO and IQ and it's sold really cheap now.

I think the only thing that fits your situation is the D7000. And it is smaller than a D300, but 'better'

Yeah, another vote for the D7000. A used one can surely be had for $800, and it's worlds better in terms of image quality, dynamic range and it does have a few more usable megapixels. It's buffer is so-so, it's bracketing feature is somewhat limited (if that matters to you), but it's RAW files are just lovely.

If I had to guess, we're not going to see a D400. We'll see a D8000 as the top of the line DX camera, and then the D600 will take over where the D300S left off. Just my guess of course.

Cheers,

Randy