Have a Nikon D70 along with a 50mm 1.8 & 18-200 zoom. Thoroughly enjoyed it, and really pleased with some results (within a very amateur realm!). But getting slightly frustrated at a couple of things – the LCD display is v small, so when ‘playing’ it’s often hard to get a decent impression of what the picture will look like, and as such, unsure of what settings to change. It seems a bit noisy above ISO 400. And can struggle a bit when blowing up pics as file size is pretty small.

But overall it’s been great. Want to stick to Nikon because of lenses. So is a step up to a D90 significant enough (it seems it’ll start to resolve above issues) or are there other Nikons to consider?

Many thanks

Don’t ask about the D90. It was all out war last time.

It’ll certainly be a major improvement. The best approach is to get hold of a few bodies at a dealers and have a play (take your lenses and a memory card so you can really see what iq difference you’re getting. If you’re looking for alternatives d7000 is the d90 replacement and very well regarded. D300 either s or non, is a step up again and also fantastic bodies.

Edit to add: if you really need higher performance at higher iso’s the d700 is supposed to be awesome

Why is the D300s more expensive than the D7000 when (as far as I can see) the D7000 is better? Or am I missing something about the D300s?

Thom Hogan does some good articles worth reading regarding Nikon body choice; often all is not as it seems.

Try this one for starters.

Why is the D300s more expensive than the D7000 when (as far as I can see) the D7000 is better? Or am I missing something about the D300s

Yes. And it’s something huge.

The D300 is a top of the line consumer body, built to nearly Pro levels. Full size metal body, complete lens compatibility, excellent control layout…

Years ago someone was debating a D90 or a D200 on another forum, and to answer their question an intelligent poster replied something along the lines of ‘If you have to ask, get a D90’

Those people who need the D200 level and above bodies generally know they need them, and why they need them.

D7000 has come down in price recently and Nikon gearing up for announcement in October.
Rumoured to be announcement of D400 amongst others, so D300S could be a good deal pretty soon

Yes. And it’s something huge.

The D300 is a top of the line consumer body, built to nearly Pro levels. Full size metal body, complete lens compatibility, excellent control layout…

I dont see any difference other than the actual metal used. Would you mind going into a little more detail please?

D7000 is solid magnesium and out performs the D300 – it’s their top DX camera right now.

It seems a bit noisy above ISO 400. And can struggle a bit when blowing up pics as file size is pretty small

Sure you have the right JPG settings on?!

Nikon often keep older versions at higher prices even when they’ve been superseded, just because someone will buy them.

I went from the D80 to D7000 and am very impressed by the D7000 – truly amazing piece of kit.

Just waiting for the D4 to come out now, so I can get an FX camera to complement the D7000.

D7000 is solid magnesium and out performs the D300 – it’s their top DX camera right now.

As above. In what way does it out perform? All I can see is a different metal choice (I look after my kit and they weigh nearly the same) and it can handle a few more lens; so what? Anything else? Genuine questions; not trolling.

I dont see any difference other than the actual metal used. Would you mind going into a little more detail please?

Oh, my bad. I haven’t been keeping up with Nikon’s latest bodies! Yes you’re right, body build seems good, lens compatibility good. Does have poor control layout though compared with D200/300/etc bodies. It’s nice to have dedicate buttons for all the most used primary functions outside the body instead of having to dive into menus.

Check Thom’s site for a full comparison here.

D7000 is solid magnesium and out performs the D300 – it’s their top DX camera right now.

Perhaps. But it depends on how you define ‘perform’ I use a mere D200, and you wouldn’t get me to change over to a D7000 for love nor money, just because of the handling and control. I’ve never had anyone look at one of my pictures (online or printed) and say ‘Oh that could be higher resolution/less noisey/sharper/whatever’ Plenty have said ‘That’s crap’ mind you! 😆

Under the hood they have a new DX sensor which they have rolled out across the entire DX range (bar the 300s). The sensor or possibly processor gets crippled in the lower models eg 3000/5000 range, so the get the same resolution but features / ISO performance / fps isn’t quite as good.

In the D7000 you get 6 fps, super auto-focus (51 point, 3D tracking and colour tracking). As for does it take better pictures than a D70 / D80 (or other body) – it depends on what you’re doing. For landscape – no noticeable difference. For sport / action, the faster auto-focus and 6 fps blow away the D70/80 and make a huge difference. Low light performance (high ISO) is also much better than the older sensor – but no where near as good as the FX bodies.

Whether you want to upgrade depends on whether the features make a difference to you, as someone into sports photography it was a no-brainer, just for the increase in fps and better high-ISO performance. I don’t give a monkeys about resolution – 5mps is quite enough for most photography.

I’ll be buying the D4 as soon as I can pre-order one, just for higher fps and even better high ISO performance.

For those saying the d7000 is better or the same body as the d300s – have you ever actually used or held them both. The d300s is a pro body, the d7000 is high end consumer. They are different in their build primarily. You can drop a d300, you drop a d7000 (which is only part mag alloy if you look closer) and it will break. You won’t find a pro moving from a d300 to a d7000.

Went from D70 to D300 and was amazed. Great at high ISO and also larger LCD for checking focus. Now on a D700 but was very happy with D300. Only reason I upgraded was for full frame with shift lenses.