Why do the D200, and now the D300, challenge your technique?

If an image falls in the forest and there is no D300 to record it, was it really an image?

denny

The main thing you'll notice is the loss of the various preset modes, like night portrait, macro, portrait, etc. that the lower end cameras all have. This means you either need to know what those pre-sets actually do shutterspeed/aperture wise, or you'll pretty much lose the ability to take photos in that way.

Challenging to whom? Meaning, challenging compared to shooting slide film, or compared to shooting a compact point-and-shoot camera? Or compared to a D40? Since challenges are generally meaningful in terms of your experience and ability to rise to them, it would sure help to know more about where you are, and where you've been. Oh, and what you'll be shooting, subject-wise, and with what sort of lenses.

For years, I've always agreed with the notion that it's not the camera but the nut behind the ground glass that's important to the creation of great impelling images. I still believe this.

That said, after 45 years in photography, the D300 is helping me to become a better photographer. With top notch glass the D300 gives me confidence to try new things and better techniques. It has brought the magic of photography back for me. Everything is just where it’s supposed to be making the camera transparent to me. Making a change is automatic.

For example, I generally only use spot metering. I’m a little old fashioned in that I generally only use the center focus point and reframe. I love that I can quickly spot several items in a scene and mentally come up with the right exposure, set it and push the shutter without removing my eye from the viewfinder. The right exposure being what I chose not always what the camera would have chosen. The D300 makes it so easy, I can do birds in flight this way with better success than I’ve been able to do it before.

I know I don’t use a lot of the fancy features of this camera, but my older ways are so easy to use on it, I feel like I don’t need to. Everything is in the right place. In other words, it doesn't challenge my technique. It enhances it.

Good luck and I hope this helps.

I find myself constantly fighting the D300's meter and white balance. The biggest change in my shooting technique is that I find I must shoot RAW/jpg so I can properly correct images that the camera did not get right. I now shoot mainly with spot metering rather than matrix. I have also switch to aRGB rather than sRGB. I find the D200's meter is much more conservative.

Once you use a camera long enough, you learn to anticipate how it is going to react to various subjects and lighting conditions and compensate accordingly. I prefer a camera that allows me to concentrate more on composition.

Considering my D200 is dead for the second time with a CHA card reading error I find it very challenging in deed to take a photo with the D200!

"...I find myself constantly fighting the D300's meter and white balance...."

Really?

We found that the white balance is much more accurate on the D300 (and D3) compared to the D200. The "auto" white balance setting is much more accurate under different conditions compared to the same setting on the D200.

We still always shoot in RAW, but there is less post processing necessary on the D300 files (and especially the D3 files) compared to the D200 files.

You are right that the D200 tended to underexpose more often compared to the newer models. Generally I find myself shooting at -0.3 exposure compensation with the D300 and D3.

The D300 is a camera. No different than shooting with an F3, F4 or whatever. You compose the photo and either manually set the exposure or let the camera do it. Ain't no big thang if you shot with fikm F models.

Russ, I have read numerous posts about how most photographers find the white balance very accurate. I am sending my camera in to have it checked next month.