Well i was glad Ray came over , first he help me set up the D300 and explained few things . Thanks Ray. I am NOT a manual reading kind of guy. But I will say the Nikons have a ton of stuff which is good and bad . maybe too much stuff but some things are really nice. Live view for one is awesome and badly needed for product work and really handy with PC lenses . That alone was worth the switch from the 5d although we all know that will change. My other concern is noise . Obviously we all know ISO 640 is the max on the M8 and i need that extra stop. I see no real issue at ISO 1200 on the D300 and it does start to get noisy at 1600 but this is the first day with it and i need to load NX also and i need to figure out how to work these files . learning curve but raw processing is my game so it will come pretty quick. I have the camera at 14 bit and it does slow it down some but not a issue for me. i love the size and weight plus the feel of the Nikons in my opinion has always been better than Canon and the flash system has always been better also. Not to take away from canon but the Nikon seems more user friendly. i think I read Nikon is designed by shooters and Canon by engineers. maybe so and won't argue that point.
Now i already know this is no M8 either so no question my M8 files will be better in the lower ISO area. Not much can touch the M8 in certain ways. But first off , i was really impressed by the 105mm macro. Now folks it is really hard to impress me about photo gear and is a serious challenge for any OEM. i do not get wet pants over this stuff ever. I have seen the good the bad and the ugly . The 105 mm macro is damn good, the zeiss 50mm 1.4 i really liked and has a nice look to it. The 180mm is the 180 it has always been good and a classic Nikon lens and the price is right. The 17-35 i shot before and is also another Nikon classic and will get that at weeks end and the 85 nikon also.
Okay i am glad Ray brought the D3 along for the ride. Obviously for what i shoot the D3 is just too fast and i am very happy with the speed of the D300 and the size and weight. Honestly i do not need a D3 for that stuff , Full frame is another one that is great and love to have it for many things and the 1.5 does bother me some. i would have rather have a 1.3 but obviously i would take FF over any of them . For bokeh reasons and wides no doubt.
My biggest concern is the image quality and this is where the D3 looked better even at reasonable ISO forget the high ISO's for a minute it is over talked on the internet . The important part is what most folks skip over and that maybe do to inexperience from other forum sites but it is the tonal range . The D3 files look smoother and more range to them. There is more of a gradual transition and this is just looking at the LCD panels so i still need to wrap my arms around this to make final conclusions but when it comes to gear i am one of the sharper tools in the shed maybe not anywhere else but this stuff my eyes don't lie. But the D300 looks very good and don't want to take away from that and at it's price point whips some great quality out there. i need to get working on the files and see if i can work them the way i like . I know NX is highly rated for them , so need to try that to and i did not shoot all that much today to get a real feel for it. But first impressions are important and i liked it very much and look forward to using it. i just know me like most of you know me and just the fact there is a better Nikon out there makes me itch. LOL
But i need to remember what this system is too me also and that is to fill in some gaps and maybe take over on event work to some degree but my M8's are primary for now. but i will say this Nikon has taken some major major steps forward on the bodies and there lenses. Not sure as another camera company i would want to be in there rear view mirror they just may get smoked. Note to industry take notice.
