I really feel like selling all my equipment and buying Canon.

For the last several years, I shoot with a Canon A series P&S and I am pretty happy with the Canon. Therefore, when the chance came up for me to purchase a DSLR, I researched hard and long and couldn’t decide if I should choose a Nikon or Canon. The final decisions came down between Nikon D300 and Canon 50D. Although 50D is newer and cheaper, I bought the Nikon D300 because of my fond memory with FM2 and my two manual-focused Nikkor lenses.

The first several hours of my D300 ownership were filled with disappointment and frustration. The pictures I took were underexposed and the color looked weird, plus I couldn’t figure out which auto focus mode to use (I never had a auto-focused SLR). However, once I read the manual, which is very easy to read, and David Busch’s Nikon D300 Guide to Digital SLR Photography, thing began to change. After two months of shooting and playing with the settings, I can now say that Nikon D300 is truly a camera for serious photo amateurs.

If you know nothing about exposure, white balance, ISO, apertures, and shutter speed, this camera may frustrate you. In that case, I would recommend you buy Nikon D60 10.2MP Digital SLR Camera with 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G AF-S DX VR Nikkor Zoom Lens, which is a wonderful beginner’s DSLR (I end up buying a D60 too). However, if you have basic knowledge about photography and how SLR works and you would like to put everything under your control, then D300 will not disappoint you.

It turns out that wasn’t such a bad thing. I’ve enjoyed the challenge, and the more I discover about this camera, the more I love it.

Unfortunately the user’s manual that comes with the camera (400 pages), doesn’t do a good job of coalescing the camera’s individual features into useful information. There are A LOT of features and most of them have variable settings. Is it intimidating to think about all these variables every time you want to take a picture? You bet! Don’t worry, Nikon has thought of this. By selecting between Shooting Menu and Custom banks allows you to change dozens of settings all at once.

I eventually bought a book on the D300 which covers everything in the manual but makes all the necessary connections between features and gives you a thorough understanding of how to effectively apply them (the author’s name is Busch). I only wish I had bought the book when I bought the camera. It would’ve saved me a lot of time.

I’m happy to say that my D300 is now configured for nearly any photo situation I might encounter.

This camera did not disappoint. The first time I took it out was for gray whales in April. It did a superb job. Next was my first venture photographing orcas. I was on San Juan Island and shooting from the shore. I didn’t have the grip (still getting used to the way that feels), and at 6fps I got amazing shots. I took the camera out on a boat a couple of weeks ago and again the results were amazing. I was using the Nikon 70-300VR lens. You can see some of my photos in an article I wrote on photographing orcas:

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I am more than happy with my D300 and would recommend it to anyone looking to upgrade their camera body. I also don’t know why people complain about their battery life as I have absolutely no problems with mine. I do suggest that if you are buying an extra battery, you get the Nikon battery, not a third party. When you are spending this much for a camera body, what you put into it should be only the best.