DSLR Photos: First pics from the new D300

KEH had a Nikon D300 in EXC condition for $79 and, rather than let my D300S substitute for one in my "Class of 2008 Prosumer Shootout", went ahead and sprang for it. It arrived the other day and I charged the battery, put a card in it, popped the excellent 17-55mm f/2.8G DX zoom lens on it, and took it out for a spin.

The 17-55/2.8 is a monster lens but really delivers great results. The 26-83mm equivalent focal length is good for most around-the-neighborhood shooting situations and the f/2.8 maximum aperture all the way out to the long end means it's a pretty fair short portrait lens in a pinch.

As Zed noted in an online discussion, at the time the D300 was definitely the big dog in this class of cameras, easily outselling its crop-sensor competition from Canon, Pentax, Olympus, and Sony.

For a camera that was released towards the end of 2007, it still holds up quite well. You could still do work with this thing, no problem.