The D300s is the latest version of Nikon’s award-winning D300, which was released in August of 2007. The D300s features a 12.3 megapixel, DX-format sensor, and supports an ISO range of 200 to 3200. Nikon also gave the D300s their 51 point auto-focus system, which makes it exceptionally easy to get a crisp image while shooting. The D300s also has the same 3 inch LCD display as the D300 on the back of the body, which is great for reviewing your shots or when you are using the “Live View” mode. At $1800, it’s firmly in the “prosumer” price range.

There are a few major differences from the D300, which I own. The biggest change is the inclusion of video. The D300s allows you to capture video at 24fps, at either 720p (for a 5-minute continuous shot), 640×424 (for 20 minutes), or 320×216 (also 20 minutes). The D300s also has a “quiet shutter” mode, which is perfect for wildlife photography, and they added the ability to use an SD card as well as a CF card, the previous standard. It is possible to use both cards at once, and there are a couple of ways to do that. You can specify that you want video on one, and pictures on the other, use one as overflow for the other, or manually shuffle them between the two cards as you see fit. I actually prefer to use the backup mode, which writes the picture to both cards at the same time.

Ergonomics: Not much has changed, really: the D300s uses the same magnesium alloy body as the D300, with the same textured rubber that most cameras use. The controls are a bit more intuitive, and the memory card cover release has been replaced with some more function buttons.

Picture Quality: Outstanding. Nikon used a faster processor in the D300s, and it shows. The autofocus (one of the things that didn’t work *quite* right on D300) is fast and intelligent, the picture controls are intuitive, and the end results are outstanding. Nikon’s inclusion of custom picture control settings makes it easy to get everything exactly how you want it, consistently. I use a couple of custom settings that allow me to duplicate the look of some of the most famous types of film, like Fuji Velvia and Agfa Optima.

Video: The 720p looks very impressive. I’ve always been somewhat skeptical of those cameras that try to do two things, because they rarely do them well. Camcorders rarely shoot good still pictures, and still cameras just don’t do video that well. The bad news is, that’s still the case here. Yes, the picture quality is great because the D300s uses great lenses, and a huge (comparatively) sensor. However, the auto-focus is pretty sketchy, and you can REALLY hear the focus motors when you are recording. Also, if you’re not using a tripod, you’re going to have a video that looks like it was filmed by Matt after his energy drink post.

Battery life: The EN-EL3e Li-on battery takes up 950 shots on a single charge, depending on how much time you spending viewing and editing your pictures in camera. I recently went on a trip to Yosemite (the sample pictures you see are from that trip) and shot the entire weekend on one charge. One. That’s pretty damn impressive, and I wasn’t even trying to stretch the battery life out.

Pros: The D300s is a great camera. This is the second version of this model, and Nikon has done a great job improving it. The quiet shutter mode is nice, the auto-focus is faster now, the dual memory slots are nice, if not particularly necessary (SD memory cards are cheaper than CF card though). Also, adding the new dedicated “Info” button was a really good idea.

Cons: Video isn’t quite there yet. Yes, the image quality is much better then what you’ll get from a camcorder, and the HD video is crisp and clear, but that auto-focus noise is just too much (plus it’s slow). I also noticed that the auto ISO and auto WB aren’t accurate all of the time. This could be my personal bias, but I typically end up adjusting those items myself.

Now, in the interest of comparison, I mentioned that I own a D300. I bought one a few months after it came out after much research and reading, and I’m a fan of the original. As such, I was very interested when I heard that Nikon was going to be releasing an update to my much loved D300. Will I be upgrading? Probably not. The video feature isn’t enough to make me switch, and I think I’ll be waiting to go to full frame for my next upgrade. If I didn’t already own D300, would I buy a D300s? Absolutely. No question about it. The Nikon D300s is still the best “prosumer” level DSLR on the market today.

To be fair, there is another possible contender for the crown that is not on the market today just arriving on the market. That would be the Canon 7D. It’s around the same price point (MSRP is actually a bit cheaper, at $1699), and if the published information is to be believed, the Canon’s video modes will be better then the D300s (though likely have the same problems). Canon has stated that their camera will capture HD video at 30, 25, and 24 FPS, and will also allow more manual control then the Nikon. As for the rest, well, the eternal Nikon vs. Canon conflict goes on. We’ll just have to wait and see who exactly rules the roost after the Canon is released.

The D300s has an MSRP of $1799.95, for the body only.

The physical camera is different in some subtle ways. There’s a dedicated live view button, a quiet shutter mode, and the door to the memory card hatch has been changed. Nikon also switched the control rocker switch to the style used in the D3 and D5000, and it’s a definite improvement.

Internally, things have been upgraded as well. The camera has a faster CPU, which allows for quicker auto focus. I have noticed that the 16-85mm lens that Nikon sent with the camera does seem faster, however I haven’t had a chance to test it on my D300 yet to get an accurate idea. The D300s does feel snappier then the D300. I’m not sure if that’s something that quantifiable or not, but I’ll let you know when I do the proper review.

For now, I went out and shot some 720p video for you, and I am impressed with that feature. There are a couple of things that I have notice about the video mode though, you will want to either be on a tripod, or have the VR set to “active”, and the auto-focus noise is really noticeable.

For now, here’s a gallery of the camera itself, and a sample video at the top of this post. If there is anything in particular you’d like me to check out or compare to the original D300, put it in the comments. I will be watching and try to answer for you.

The good news is that the D300s is available now and looks great.

The bad news is the movie mode still features major jelly-motion, and the autofocus is comically slow. We already got a taste of the HD movies with these official productions, but as we noted then, they avoided certain camera movements which embarrass the camera somewhat. Not now!

Nikon Rumors kindly documented the bits we’ve all been waiting to here about. Here’s that jelly effect we observed in the D90 (and 5D mk II):

And here’s the autofocus, which is contrast-based and as slow as death. Can this really be the maximum speed? I mean, other contrast-based focusing cameras are no faster, but it’s still ridiculous.

Though to end a good note, the 7FPS drive sounds great and looks super responsive (of course, there’s no lens so it’s not focusing or metering):

I’m sure it’s a great camera, but like all the other DSLRs, the video has some serious issues. Don’t let it stop you from getting a D300s, though — its movie mode is on par with any other DSLR’s.

The videos, by Robert Bosch and Ami Vitale and commissioned by Nikon to show off the D300s’s movie mode, don’t offer much on that point. I can’t see a lot of skew, but then again, it looks as if the creators went out of their way to avoid situations where skew would be evident (basically, any kind of horizontal movement). I’m also skeptical that YouTube adequately preserves 24fps video. There are some more videos here at Nikon’s site.

Here’s a frame that shows an example of skew (obviously the helicopter blades are moving very quickly, so skew is unavoidable):

Needless to say, this kind of distortion tends to distract the eye, and a filmmaker would be right to avoid it when using a camera prone to it.

Commenters at the original post are debating what manual controls, if any, there are. The consensus seems to be that there’s manual focus and a selectable aperture before shooting. That pretty much makes it difficult to use for serious filmmaking, but it doesn’t mean it won’t be great for this and that.

[ProLost via PDNPulse]

Nikon Rumors may or may not have Nikon’s 2009-2010 product roadmap, but we kind of hope what it’s the real thing. It’s loaded with six upcoming DSLRs and tons of lens, including the D3000 and D300s being announced on August 4th just like we thought. Then next year we should see the rumored D4 with the D4x coming later in the year, along with the D400 and a Coolpix model that sports a DX sensor. We sure have our fingers crossed that this list pans out.

Well, well. We told you that Nikon was going to launch two DSLR cameras this summer. These two are probably them and we need to point out that Nikon is getting good “leaking” pics of unannounced cameras. The last time around, everyone and their brother knew about the D5000 before it was official. This time we’re seeing the D300s – which we already know about – and the also unannounced D3000.

A quick look at the D300s pic (above) shows that it sports a microphone for the rumored video mode. But besides that little change, the rest of the body seems to be the same as the current D300, which is right in line with the rumor.

The D3000 pic shows a body that’s very similar to the new D5000 except for the lack of microphone holes and it’s slightly smaller. You can probably guess what that means. Also, LensTip examined the pic closely and found that it doesn’t have an HDMI port, articulating display, which all means this camera will likely be the entry level DSLR when it launches.

Given the product hero shots are already available – that is if these are real – there is a good chance that we’ll see both the D300s and D3000 sometime this summer.

Nikon Rumors, LensTip via Engadget

It seems that Nikon has scheduled press conferences for both July 30 and August 4. We hear that a new DSLR will be a announced at each presser. The D300s is a given, with its SD card slot and 720p24 recording, but what’s the other DSLR?

Photography Bay points out that it could either be a D60 replacement or an update to the D3s. We’re thinking Nikon would probably update the entry-level D60. The new must-have spec is video recording and the D60 doesn’t have the goods. Sure, neither does the D3x, but that camera is geared towards professionals and let’s be honest, the video recording junk is just a novelty.

So expect two new DSLRs from Nikon in the coming months. One will definitely be the D300s and we’re guess the other will be a D60 replacement.

There has been quiet mumbling online for a couple of weeks now about a new Nikon D300. This time around though, it would be the D300s with the extra letter hinting that it probably supports SD memory cards. Well, a new image popped up on Nikon.com that seems to lend some crediability to the rumor.

Not only does the image show the D300s name, but also has an icon for the SD card in the lower left. Now, the rest of the rumor from states that the camera will receive updates throughout, but also come with a 720p24 movie mode. Of course we don’t have any idea when the camera will be release, but chances are that it’s coming.