# what to buy a nikon d300s or nikon d7000?



## lil dvl (Oct 25, 2010)

what to buy a nikon d300s or nikon d7000?

so i currently use a nikon d40x with kit lenses and sigma 10-20. the camera is getting really old its probably shot a million or more pics so its time to upgrade (lensses aswell). i shoot wildlife sport and landscape. So i want something fast and good quality at a reasonable price. i was looking at the d300s for a while and now they have produced the 7000 im not to sure which way to go! 

the only thing that looks better on the 300s is the af sensor 51points compared to 39, and it shoots up to 8fps compared to 6. will this make a huge difference between the 2 cameras?

Any help is fantastic i am self tort so i dont understand alot of camera talk so keep it in simple terms


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## ghache (Oct 25, 2010)

From the reviews ive seen, the usage i do with my camera and the price difference, i would be tempted to get the d7000....

The d7000 has some really interesting feature. It feels alot more heavy duty than the regular plastic bodys but is smaller than regulars magnesium bodys, autofocus has a little bit less points and cross points but 39/9 is still really good(considering that i only have 112 on my d90 and so far it works really well for me. The meetering is also using twice as much pixels than the d300s

I would get the d7000 over the d300s for the only reason that most of my shoot are done in studio and location shoot and mostly use low iso settings. The extra megapixels would be really nice for cropping and the 250th sec over the 1/200 on my d90 would be really nice for location shoot.

2 memory card slot? hell yeah.


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## Neil S. (Oct 25, 2010)

ArthurIhde said:


> nikon d7000 is better


 
In many ways yes...

The D300s is built better though I think, and for some people this counts for a lot.

Also the D7000 is newer which gives it the advantage of having the latest and greatest.


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## molsen (Oct 25, 2010)

Considering you shoot wildlife and sports, the D300s will be better suited for that.  It's AF is top-notch and is AMAZING in action situations.  The D7000 is a nice camera, but there's still no verdict on its AF module, and there's no way it will outperform the D300's, although it'll be close.

That being said, the D7000 will be a little more user-friendly for someone coming from a D40x.

Also, please please PLEASE consider upgrading your glass FIRST.  That will make a much bigger difference in your photos than a new body will.


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## ghache (Oct 25, 2010)

If you shoot wild life and sports the 300s has as SMALL advantage over the d7000


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## tirediron (Oct 25, 2010)

The main advantage of the D300s is build quality.  Magnesium body, weather sealing - all things necessary for outdoor work.


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## Shane Anderson (Oct 25, 2010)

Hmmmm...saw a D300s for $1399 in Toronto yesterday...


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## molsen (Oct 25, 2010)

Personally, I'd get a used D300 (unless you need the half-ass video feature) and use the money you saved to get better glass, especially a better zoom like the Nikon 70-200 f/2.8


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## KmH (Oct 25, 2010)

molsen said:


> Personally, I'd get a used D300 (unless you need the half-ass video feature) and use the money you saved to get better glass, especially a better zoom like the Nikon 70-200 f/2.8


Word!


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## djacobox372 (Oct 25, 2010)

tirediron said:


> The main advantage of the D300s is build quality.  Magnesium body, weather sealing - all things necessary for outdoor work.



Surprisingly the d7000 also has a Magnesium body, not sure about the weather sealing.


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## molsen (Oct 26, 2010)

djacobox372 said:


> tirediron said:
> 
> 
> > The main advantage of the D300s is build quality.  Magnesium body, weather sealing - all things necessary for outdoor work.
> ...


Not the entire body, just the top and back covers... not too much to write home about when compared to the D300.  D7000 has weather sealing also, but I'm not sure to what extent


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## kundalini (Oct 26, 2010)

KmH said:


> Word!


 Up!


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## MrLogic (Oct 26, 2010)

Keep in mind that the D7000 frame buffer only holds 10-12 frames.









> * scubajunkie
> 
> says: 							*
> 
> ...




stolen from: Flickr: Discussing Frame buffer in NIKON D7000 CLUB


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## orb9220 (Oct 27, 2010)

*"i shoot wildlife sport and landscape"

*If I made that statement then would know I answered my own question.
Being out in the weather banging around all the time. And D300 having a more robust faster AF and FPS would pretty much cinch the deal for me. Don't get me wrong I am sure I could find a item or two that the D7000 has that would be nice. But at the end of the day would feel better knowing I had a proven design that stands the test of the outdoors and such.
.


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## molsen (Oct 27, 2010)

Exactly.  Several gently used D300's can be had for ~$900 on Ebay right now.  Take that $300 you saved and put it toward a fast, sharp zoom


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## benhasajeep (Oct 27, 2010)

tirediron said:


> The main advantage of the D300s is build quality. Magnesium body, weather sealing - all things necessary for outdoor work.


 
AGREED!!

If your going to invest in better lenses, as in heavier lenses. And your going to be trudging outdoors with that combination. The D300s is the camera to choose. The magnesium body, and weather sealing is a big advantage over the D7000. And from what I have read at DXO, according to their measurements. The D300s is the better camera performance wise. Not everyone agrees with their methodology though.  The D7000 does have magnesium alloy's in its construction, but I don't think its a full magalloy body.  But I don't know the specifice.  The D300s is a full magalloy body.

I went with D300 over D90 becasue of its build. DXO actually had the D90 performing better than the D300. But it was close. But I have never looked back. Currently my biggest / heaviest lens is a 300 f/2.8. Don't think I want that on a polycarb body. As its not always on the mono or tripod! I liked the D300 so much. I bought a 2nd one. Instead of using a lower or cheaper model as a back up. I think its worth it!


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## mpaganuc (Jan 30, 2012)

I have a D300S and D700. At the time I bought, i had the same doubts of you. I went to D300s because I felt more professional and match better with my D700 (batteries, acessories etc.). The build quality is better than D7000 and also the performance: 7 fps, buffer 100 pictures, and one thing I find important to my way of shooting is the bracketing of 9 photos, D7000 bracketing is only 3.


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## Markw (Jan 30, 2012)

Nice reply, but please don't dig up mundane threads well over a year old.  It's frowned upon in these parts. 

Welcome to the board!
Mark


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