the nikon d40 i had using for 3 years plus with shutter counts approx. at 21k had finally gone to heaven. after the shutter just died i tried to revive it ,to make it worst i’m smart ass enough to disassembled and it ended up the chips were burnt. great! now i have my lenses without a body, in addition of this critical moment(i was fooled and dumped) i needed them to accompany me, but not.i have to postpone my fly away to make way for the next camera.
this 2 models come to my mind in terms of my current budget, nikon D300s or D7000. after a few reviews and research, i have chosen my next body.
Here’s a short comparison:
Reasons to consider the Nikon D300
More focus points
51
vs
39
Set focus accurately within the frame
More cross-type focus points
15
vs
9
Grab focus in difficult situations
Less startup delay
300 ms
vs
400 ms
Around 30% less delay when turning on
Slightly less shutter lag
227 ms
vs
238 ms
Almost the same
Thinner
2,9″
vs
3″
Almost the same
Reasons to consider the Nikon D7000
Significantly better image quality
80.0
vs
67.0
Around 20% better image quality
Lower noise at high ISO
1 167 ISO
vs
679 ISO
The D7000 has a slight edge (0,8 f-stops) in low noise, high ISO performance
Video autofocus
Contrast detection
vs
None
Automatically focuses shooting video
Much more dynamic range
13,9 EV
vs
12 EV
2,1 f-stops more dynamic range
Continuous video focus
Yes
vs
No
Record movies without worrying about focus
Significantly better color depth
23,5 bits
vs
22,1 bits
Distinguishes more than 2.5x more colors
Has more storage slots
2
vs
1
More slots allows storing more images without switching memory cards
Better boost ISO
25,600 ISO
vs
6,400 ISO
The D7000′s boost ISO is 2 f-stops better
Better maximum light sensitivity
6,400 ISO
vs
3,200 ISO
The D7000′s maximum light sensitivity is 1 f-stop better
Higher true resolution
16.1 MP
vs
12.2 MP
Capture more than 30% more detail in your photos
Smaller
132x105x77 mm
vs
147x114x74 mm
More than 10% smaller
Lighter
780 g
vs
925 g
Around 20% lighter
And why I have chosen D7000 over D300s:
Nikon D7000 has a 16.2 Megapixel sensor, while the D300s has a 12.3 Megapixel sensor, this is good when you cropping and developing pictures.
Nikon D7000 ISO range is from 100 too 6400 in native mode and up to 25,600 in expanded or “boost” mode, while D300s goes from ISO 200 to 3200 with a boost to ISO 6400, a difference of one full stop in native and two full stops in expanded mode.
Base ISO on the Nikon D7000 is 100, while it is 200 for Nikon D300s.
The new Expeed II processor on the Nikon D7000 is capable of full HD (1920x1080p) @ 24 fps (frames per second), while D300s can only go up to 720p (1280x720p) @ 24 fps. D7000 can also shoot 720p at 30, 25 and 24 fps and 424p at 30 and 25 fps; Nikon D300s only records video at 24 fps.
Nikon D7000 comes with a new TTL exposure metering with 2016-pixel RGB sensor, while D300s has the older 1005-pixel RGB sensor.
Both cameras employ dual slot storage systems for writing, but with different types of cards – Nikon D7000 uses dual SD card slots, while Nikon D300s uses Compact Flash and SD cards.
Weight-wise, the Nikon D7000 is approximately 140 grams lighter than the D300s.
Nikon D7000 shoots images at 6 fps, while D300s can shoot at 7 fps and can go up to 8 fps with the MB-D10 battery grip. In this D300s wins over D7000 on fps.
Nikon D7000 has a lot more White Balance options for more accurate WB control than D300s.
Nikon D300s(only body) cost around RM4,288 while the D7000(only body) is about RM800 cheaper.
And though D7000 has some of its disadvantages like on below, I would still go for it for the overall features and as well for the price of this mid-range DSLR at affordable price :
Continuous buffer limited in depth.
Metering frequently over-exposed in bright conditions.
Continuous movie AF indiscreet in use.
D300s has a better and fast AF with 51 focus points and 15 cross type,while the later has 39 focus points and 9 cross type
