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D3/D300 illustrated

Steen

Senior Subscriber Member
Lets join the efforts and take a look at some real life shots with the new Nikon cameras. Let me start with some D300 shots - it's the one I have :)

"Hagia Sophia" (in Greek language, and "Ayasofya" in Turkish) is a former patriarchal basilica, later a mosque, now a museum, in Istanbul, Turkey. It's the most impressing building I have ever seen.

D300, 1/640 sec., f/8, ISO 200, 12 bit RAW, w. Zeiss ZF 1.4/50mm, Capture NX
 

Steen

Senior Subscriber Member
And here are three 100 %

lower left / center
right
 
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Steen

Senior Subscriber Member
Interior of Ayasofya. This time with a Nikkor 18-70mm autofocus zoom. This is a kit lens, right ;)

D300, 1/2 sec., f/7,1, ISO 200, 12 bit RAW, w. Nikkor 18-70mm at 18mm, Capture NX w. levels & curves + 20 % UnSharp Mask
 

Steen

Senior Subscriber Member
My wife and I just returned from a 9 days travel in Turkey together with some very good friends. We couldn't get a direct flight from Copenhagen to Milas airport in Bodrum so we had to go via Istanbul. This gave us the oportunity to spend one and a half day in Istanbul and the rest of the time in Yalikavak near Bodrum.

Istanbul is Vieris and Odyocus territory. It would have been nice to meet you guys there. I am sure you have much better images from Istanbul, still I will show you some of my shots with the D300 from our trip. I will also upload some of them to a webpage in full resolution so that you can get a 100 % peep of some full res D300 shots. You can see the above first two ones in their entirety http://bondo.be/D300/index.html. I'll put up some more later on.

If any of you are curious to play with a couple of the RAW files (.NEF), just send me an email through this forum about the relevant image numbers. Only please don't re-post the images (crops or entirety) anywhere else than this GetDPI Forum. Lets keep them within the forum or they will soon be floating around all over and getting completely out of control, even being used for hostile proofs of all weird kinds as we have experienced from some less gentle fora.
 
C

cadmium red

Guest
Bondo...it seems the zeiss with the D300 is a great marriage.... Are you happy with it ? Do you have the zeiss 28 or 25 to use with it as well....Iam dreaming of that lens for the D300 I have the zeiss 35 with the D300 and Iam getting sharper pictures the more I shoot with it, and for my skill level thats satisfying. The color from the camera files is very rich as well don't you think,,,,As a beginner I should've started with a less advanced camera but it's just not my stubborn way....and oh yes that building is marvellous....keep posting pictures from Istanbul as it is a place I can't wait to visit in the near future. I have read enough "omar pamouk [I don't think I spelled that right} to be fascinated and drawn to it from afar. ciao , patrick
 

Steen

Senior Subscriber Member
Patrick, I think it's a very, very nice camera, really. If you are a beginner with passion and ambitions for the hobby, you couldn't have made a better choice, I think.
So far I only have the two first ZF lenses that were released during the summer 2006, the 1.4/50mm and the 1.4/85mm. As far as I have heard and read the very best ones are the 2/35mm, 2/50mm Macro, and the 2/100mm Macro, while I haven't really heard anything yet about the new 2/28mm, it will be very interesting to read and see some more about that one. Still it would be pretty close to your 2/35mm. Be careful with the 2.8/25, some say it is for some weird reason deliberately optimized for the "cropped" APS-C sensor, not being very well performing in the outer third of the image circle, i.e. with a 24x36mm sensor in your next camera in five years.
Kit Laughlin would be the right person to tell you more about this. He has all of them I think, well that is except the two ones that I have :eek: - which are not considered the best ones as far as I know; yes, they are fast but actually much better stopped down a couple of stops than wide open.
If you are looking for something really wide I would suggest you take a look at the new Nikkor 2.8/14-24mm zoom. It is said to be a completely fantastic performer within the whole zoom range (which is of course also a very short range) and even wide open. It would make a perfect complement to your ZF 35mm which is also said to be very, very good. Also you should not underestimate the value of having an autofocus lens. Inside "Hagia Sophia" / "Ayasofya" I wasn't allowed to use neither flash nor tripod. So I simply put the camera on the floor and let the self-timer shutter-release + autofocus take care of the rest. Very handy in such a situation. But the Nikkor 2.8/14-24mm zoom is a huge lump of glass, 970 g.
 
C

cadmium red

Guest
bondo.....great and helpful advice thank you. Yes I have been feeling the pull towards the autofocus zoom but I have been waiting to sense which one of the "big" nikkor lenses it will be...I think I have been intimidated by the size of them so far. But then I remember when I finally bought a "big ass" truck for my business after years of buying smaller ones and I was nervous about it the first couple of weeks and now it's just a vehicle...not big or small. Then again the zeiss 35 is not petite by any means.....ok when I complete my next project the nikkor dx zoom 17-55 f/2.8 is the one that interests me...any word on that???? thanks ciao patrick
by the way the mural work inside the "mosque" {museum, etc.} is very rich....has to be seen in person I'm sure...
 

Steen

Senior Subscriber Member
I hope some of you will join the party and show us some samples of your D3 and D300 images from the real life ?

Now a couple of hats from one of the many shoppingstreets in Istanbul.

D300, 1/250 sec., f/5.6, ISO 200, 12 bit RAW, w. Zeiss ZF 1.4/50mm, Capture NX w. levels & curves + 20 % UnSharp Mask
 

Steen

Senior Subscriber Member
Sultan Ahmet Mosque (built 1609 - 1616).
Here I chose to keep the deep shadows from the strong spotlights and not apply D-lighting which would also lighten the entire sky in the dark night causing a weird color and lots of noise.

D300, 1.3 sec., f/5.6, ISO 200, 12 bit RAW, w. Zeiss ZF 1.4/50mm, Capture NX w. levels & curves + 10 % UnSharp Mask
 

Steen

Senior Subscriber Member
Interior of Sultan Ahmet Mosque

D300, 1/2 sec., f/8, ISO 200, 12 bit RAW, w. Nikkor 18-70mm at 18mm, Capture NX w. levels & curves + 20 % UnSharp Mask
 

Steen

Senior Subscriber Member
Some 100 % details (you can also see a full size version on the website mentioned in post # 5)

upper left
lower left
lower right
 

Lisa

New member
That Nikkor 18-70 is a damn fine lens for the money, considering it's an inexpensive kit lens. (Being designed for reduced-frame sensors makes it much less expensive to produce than it would be otherwise.) I used to use one with my D70, and was amazed at the image quality.

I've since replaced it with the Nikkor 18-200 VR lens (and a D200) for the extra zoom and the vibration reduction, and it's more or less the same quality, though considerably more expensive (you pay more for the 200 mm reach and VR).

Lisa
 

Steen

Senior Subscriber Member
Yes, that kit lens keeps surprising me all the time, Lisa. Less than 200 USD brandnew, less than 100 used. Sometimes it is hard to find proportions in prices of different gear.
 

Steen

Senior Subscriber Member
Here is one more with the Nikkor 18-70mm. I wouldn't know which part of this to show you as a crop, take a look at the full res version.
 

Steen

Senior Subscriber Member
same setup, at 70mm, usually not its sharpest focal length, but it seems to work painless here
 

Jack

Sr. Administrator
Staff member
I think the D300 files are the best I've seen overall form all the new camera offerings. Good on Nikon!
 

woodyspedden

New member
I think the D300 files are the best I've seen overall form all the new camera offerings. Good on Nikon!
Hey Jack

Two days ago I would have agreed with you but having shot many D3 images in the past two days since I received it I would say the D3 files are slightly better. Both cameras need some sharpening for sure but both hold up very well with the sharpening. Still hard for me to imagine carrying the D3 on my shoulder all day (I will use it primarily for landscapes) but the D300 with the 40mm Voightlander 2.0 is small, lightweight and sweet. I am anxious to try the Zeiss 50 1.4 as well.

Woody
 
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