Nikon D300 vs. Canon 40D
I’ve used a Canon Rebel XT for a couple of years and really got into photography through it. When the Canon 40D came out it seemed like a great potential upgrade for me. Reading some of the reviews it seemed like a really good camera. But the more I looked at it, the more I realized that I would soon get frustrated with it as well. It still had some of the same issues that I didn’t like about the Rebel XT that I had:
- autofocus issues; both the Rebel XT and the 40D have only 9 autofocus sensors; while the 40D appears to be somewhat better it still has some reported problems with focusing in low light and overall both cameras get easily confused on what they should focus at
- relatively noisy already at ISO800 - from all I can tell from the reviews it’s not really a huge improvement over the Rebel XT
- the Rebel XT has only fixed iso settings and no quick way to change this while shooting; the 40D now displays the iso setting in the viewfinder and has an Auto ISO setting, but that one isn’t as well implemented as the one Nikon offers
- not really any more rugged than the Rebel XT - I really wanted something that felt more solid and promised to survive a few more years
Basically the 40D is a nice step up from the Rebel XT, but I was sure I would end up wanting more in a year. That’s where the Nikon D300 comes in. It’s more expensive than the 40D but seems to do better on all the things that I didn’t like about the 40D. Or, to phrase it positively, what really sold me on the D300 in comparison can be summed up like this:
- better low light results (not necessarily night shots - I mean shooting indoors without a flash)
- very good sensor with useful in-camera post-processing; especially the Active D-Lighting is pretty cool; nothing comparable in the Canon
- great dynamic range (not sure if it is better than the 40D but it is outstanding in the D300 and I haven’t seen any reviews showing similar performance for the 40D)
- ISO-Auto mode: tell the camera the slowest shutter speed you want and it increases the ISO if necessary; amazingly simple and such a great idea; I always have my Rebel XT on ISO100 or 200 and then often have blurry snapshots because the lighting forced a 1/10s shutter speed or something - or I switch it to ISO800 for something like that and then forget to switch back and have lower quality pictures than I want
- outstanding autofocus; 51 sensors, 3D tracking of moving objects, amazingly fast even in extremely low light (I did some shots this morning that ended up being 1/20s, f4 at ISO3200 and it found focus and tracked it without any noticeable delay)
- none of the Canon things I don’t want, like the different “stupid modes” (err, I mean, Scene Modes - you can’t even shoot RAW in those… I don’t want to pay for these, I don’t want any compromises made for these, they are just useless)
- amazing LCD; you have to see it to believe it - stunning; bright, full VGA resolution, four times the pixels of the 40D LCD; good enough to seriously check focus, white balance, composition, everything
- the D300 can control an SB800 or SB600 flash remotely without any additional hardware. With the Canon system you either need to buy a dedicated wireless controller that you put on your camera (like the ST-E2) or you need to use a system flash like the 580EX attached to the camera and a second system flash (like the 430EX) as off-camera flash - either way that’s extra $$ you need to spend in order to start using off camera flash. Money you can save with the Nikon system as there you need just one system flash (SB800 or SB600) and can use the built-in flash to control it!
- nice solid construction; well sealed, rugged, tough; even a longer promised shutter life
- much more useful liveview feature - on the Canon the AF doesn’t work while on liveview
- many small details - much better battery life, 100% viewfinder, doesn’t use strobe flash as AF illumination, etc
- to be honest, the extra MP (12 vs 10) weren’t really a factor - everything above 6MP or so is enough, I think
After having used the D300 for a couple of weeks all I can say is that I am really happy with my choice.
I’ll write another post about my lenses, later.
Thanks for visiting!
I hope this was helpful - if not, please leave a comment and let me know why! Were you searching for something else? Did I miss an important aspect?
I own both the Canon 40d and the Nikon D300 as my fiance and I are both photographers. I can honestly say having both cameras that the Nikon D300 is superior to the Canon 40d. If you spent about 1 hour with both you would feel they are not even in the same category. If you can afford the D300 I stronly recommend it over the Canon. If money is an issue, the Canon 40d is a fantastic camera and can do pretty much everything you need.
The comparison s not really a fair one to make . The D300 is a better camera but it’s also almost twice the price of a 40D. The Nikon that most closely matches the 40D is the D80.
Would you have chosen the D300 over a 5D, still not a apple to apple comparison as the 5D is FF and a couple of years old, but with current prices they’re are fairly closely priced.
My head is spinning. I’m trying to deside between the D3 and the D300. I love the 5D but don’t want a dust magnet. wish I could get a preview of the new one. Canon lenses seem to be better then Nikkor. More I.S. options for us old folks. Maybe I’ll just dig out my Ziese stuff and start scanning negs. I used to scoff at 35mm and now I’m considering droppinng 5 G’s on digital imsaging. The Gods must be crazy.
Dadgummit…I had about 3 paragraphs written and I went to try and find a dictionary on line and came back and all was errased. Maybe the Gods want me to be more concise. When I get to be king spellcheck will be everywhere. You’ll be able to wear it on your shoulder like a school teacher girlfriend.
It was refreshing to see an E-mail from Dirk upon returning from work today. You’re right, the D3 is the apple of my eye. Some photohound reviews say that it just gets out of your way and lets you focus on your photography whilst others say it’s a huge learning curve, much like a small plane. I want semi large prints where the colors just jump off the page. I don’t want noise, refracting(?), and especially banding. YYYuuuccckkk! Blue sky should be only that. I do child photography as in location as opposed to studio. Kids are fast and I might miss the red eye pop up flash. What the heck, the D3 takes pictures in the dark. The colors in N. Arizona sometimes show up better in photos than they do through the eye.
Canon photos seem to brown to me. The flash on the Nikons appear to be better than Canon. The digital age has brought us some really cheap fealing cameras. I was exited to pick up the Sony700 in the store only to note that it felt like a plastic toy in my hands and the fonts on the LCD where cheezy to say the least. The 5D feels solid to me and so does the 300. Those focusing red things might take some adjusting to but perhaps they don’t have to be blaring in your screen. Sorry, I’m 57 and we studied Ansel Adams and he’s causing small tremors from all the flopping he’s doing in his grave. He’d wait for 3 weeks for the light to be right when he found something he wished to photograph. Aledgedly.
Photogrphy is light painting. Digital hasn’t really mastered that skill yet but, the D3 brings us a little closer. My real dilema is the lenses. If I get a 300 and I know that what I really want is the 3…will I buy dx lenses when i face fiscal reality or will I dig deep and find the bucks for the 1700$ lenses knowing that my heart is still craving full frame? decisions-decisions. Should I just buy 2 cameras like all these other fans? the 300 can be my party camera and when I’m exploring the Land of Enchantment(N.M.) I’ll take the Escalade(D3).
You kids in the Eastcoast and even the midwest, do yourselves and the photo gods a favor, go west. The trees are more dramatic, landscape more colorful,the water is blue not brown or black and spirit, the one that wakes you up before dawn for the perfect sunrise, really likes to ham it up. It talks to you, saying things like oh, you liked that did you?…well come over here and climb over that huge cedar that fell 5 years ago and is covered with deep green ferns and bright purple moss(Washington rainforests) Nature is an exibitionist and she just gets tickled when you take time to appreciate her beauty. Monsoon storms over the Grand Canyon, Zion in Utah, just below it the 4 corners(don’t get lost there)Antelope Canyon by Page,,,,(Golly Miss Molly) Eastern oregon( the Ochicos)Shasta and Yosemeti, The desert outside of Tucson, Western Montana, somebody stop me, Idaho, the Tetons, Jesus has a home in Sedona Az, The Devil has a cabin off I80 in Wyoming and if you still can’t get enough then Alaska and Hawaii will really send you into the next life with their colors. Keep them shutters loose kids, excuse my spelling and eat more live food so the Gods will smile on you more. Out.