# Compare Nikon D300 with D800



## johnog (Aug 26, 2013)

Hi all,
 I have had a Nikon D300 with 18-200 Dx lens for some years and love it, but recently purchased a Nikon D800 with 28-300Fx lens. I took the same shot within minutes of each other setting the iso at 200 on both and the zoom at 200mm on both then uploaded from both to Photoshop elements 11. When I zoomed in on particular points on both shots I could find hardly any difference in the resolution.
I just wondered if I am missing something.
Johnog


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## Braineack (Aug 26, 2013)

4,288 x 2,848px  vs. 7,360 x 4,912px  if both set to L.


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## KmH (Aug 26, 2013)

Neither lens is as good as the cameras they are mounted on.

In other words the limiting factor is the less than top-of-the-line image quality the superzoom lenses you are using and not the two camera's resolution limits.

Try your test again with a better lens that is also an FX lens so it can be used on both cameras without the D800 going into DX mode.


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## shadowlands (Aug 26, 2013)

You should notice improvements in "low light" performance for sure.
Shoot them both at ISO 3200 and or 6400 and then look.


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## goodguy (Aug 26, 2013)

KmH said:


> Neither lens is as good as the cameras they are mounted on.
> 
> In other words the limiting factor is the less than top-of-the-line image quality the superzoom lenses you are using and not the two camera's resolution limits.
> 
> Try your test again with a better lenses that is also an FX lens so it can be used on both cameras without the D800 going into DX mode.



Basically these lens are a bottleneck, get a good prime lens like the 85mm 1.8 or even the 50mm 1.8G and I am pretty sure you will see then the difference.

May I add that it took me a while to learn to see the difference between good picture and excellent picture, actually I am still learning, many times I got negative feedback here on the forum and I was scratching myhead trying to understand what is so bad.
Now when I look at these same pictures I see the flaws and problems immidiatly.


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## johnog (Aug 27, 2013)

Thanks for advice Braineack, do you mean "L" as in Large file or "L" as in ISO?


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## johnog (Aug 27, 2013)

Thanks for suggestion I&#8217;ll take it on board. I thought that after spending £700 ($950) on a "Nikon Nikkor AF-S G ED VR 28-300 mm f/3.5-5.6 Lens" that I couldn't go wrong but then again it is a zoom as opposed to a fixed lens.


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## johnog (Aug 27, 2013)

Thanks Shadowlands I'll do that at first opportunity


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## Tailgunner (Aug 27, 2013)

johnog said:


> Thanks for advice Braineack, do you mean "L" as in Large file or "L" as in ISO?



He's talking about file size. The D800 has larger files, so you need a hair more time downloading/uploading which isn't all that bad.


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## KmH (Aug 27, 2013)

johnog said:


> Thanks for advice Braineack, do you mean "L" as in Large file or "L" as in ISO?


The "L" refers to the image size. See *Image Size* - page 87 of your D800 user's manual, and page 60 of your D300 user's manual.


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## jaomul (Aug 27, 2013)

D800 at 36mp and d300 at 12mp- when lens is at 200 on both isnt the d800 wider by 1.5 and higher by 1.5 so to look at same spot are you not  dividing your resolution by a factor of 2.25, which isnt far off 12mp then so the res wouldn't be massively different. Take the same shot with both adjusting the lens on each to give the same field of view and you should notice a difference then


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## coastalconn (Aug 27, 2013)

Right, to put it simple the d300 is 12 mp, the corresponding size on the d800 is 16mp. So if you took the same shot with the same lens at the same distance, resolution will be similar.. hope that makes sense, trying to type on my phone...


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## RichieT (Sep 1, 2013)

I recently upgraded from the D300 to the D800 too. I also upgraded a couple of my DX lens to FX to better fit the D800. I also picked up the 28-300 as a walking around lens. The image quality of that lens on the D800 is about equal to the IQ of my old 18-135 on the D300. When I switched to the Nikon 24-70 (replacing the sigma 17-50DX) the IQ is head and shoulders above the D300. The same when I use my 85 1.4 or 105 2.8, so much better than on the D300. As was said before, you really do need good glass to go with the D800. Turns out, taking the plunge on the D800 was a lot more expensive than I thought, but well worth it.


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## Patrice (Sep 1, 2013)

johnog said:


> Thanks for suggestion I&#8217;ll take it on board. I thought that after spending £700 ($950) on a "Nikon Nikkor AF-S G ED VR 28-300 mm f/3.5-5.6 Lens" that I couldn't go wrong but then again it is a zoom as opposed to a fixed lens.




Regardless of price that lens (28-300) is still a slow 10x zoom (frequently referred to as a super-zoom) with all of the image compromises associated therewith. Top quality Nikon (and Canon) zooms typically have a zoom range of about 2x to 3x: 14-24 f/2.8, 24-70 f/2.8, 70-200 f/2.8.

To get the maximum pixel peeping sharpness from your high resolution sensor you will have to get better glass. At regular viewing sizes and with well exposed images taken at your lens' mid apertures you'll be fine. 

Moral of the story: don't pixel peep a consumer grade lens image.


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## Tailgunner (Sep 1, 2013)

Patrice said:


> johnog said:
> 
> 
> > Thanks for suggestion Ill take it on board. I thought that after spending £700 ($950) on a "Nikon Nikkor AF-S G ED VR 28-300 mm f/3.5-5.6 Lens" that I couldn't go wrong but then again it is a zoom as opposed to a fixed lens.
> ...



Agreed, consumer glass like the 18-200mm and 28-300mm are nice for chasing the kids around the house or misc trips when you don't want to carry a camera bag full of glass but you really need higher quality glass in order to realize the full potential of your new D800. Example: I would rent/buy and compare photos taken with a 28-70mm 2.8/24.70mm 2.8 Nikon. These are way faster glass that don't give up hardly any quality in order to fit a ton of zoom into one glass. If you're low on cash, check out the 24-85mm 3.5 Nikon kit lens.


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## cgipson1 (Sep 1, 2013)

johnog said:


> Thanks for suggestion Ill take it on board. I thought that after spending £700 ($950) on a "Nikon Nikkor AF-S G ED VR 28-300 mm f/3.5-5.6 Lens" that I couldn't go wrong but then again it is a zoom as opposed to a fixed lens.



I had the 28-300, and used it on my D7000 and it was fine. Once I got the D800, it lacked the resolution to take full advantage of the new sensor. Any of the "Superzooms" are going to lack something somewhere, in order to get that huge zoom range. For the D800, I recommend Nikon's top zoom lenses, or primes.... nothing else. Pick up the 85 1.8 that was mentioned.. it is SHARP! Best zooms for it are the Nikon 24-70 2.8, and the 70-200 2.8 VRII. 

The D800 is a special beast... to get everything out of it that it has to offer, you need the best glass. Otherwise, sell it, and stick with the D300.


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