Well, it seems as if the commercially viable life of a digital camera is about 18 months, perhaps 2 years, depending upon how fast technology moves. The D300 was introduced in August of 2007. I bought mine in February of 2008.
Although I am about a month late in hearing about it, I see that Nikon has discontinued the D300, in favor of the D300s. The main differences between the two are the the ‘s’ model has HD video and a Live View button. The sensor and, for the most part, the entire camera are the same. Oh, and the D300 supports dual card slots. One for a CF card, the other for an SD card. There’s nothing here that would make me want to trade.
There is an interesting feature, Quiet Shutter Release mode. From Nikon’s site they say:
Also added to the D300s is a Quiet Shutter Release mode, which substantially reduces the sound of the mirror while shooting. Quickly accessed by selecting “Q” on the release mode dial, this feature is ideal for the photographer who wishes to remain unobtrusive.
I wonder how much quieter it would really be. Certainly not as quiet as a rangefinder! 
Anyway, I’ll be keeping mine, after all, basketball season is around the corner!
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13 Responses to “Discontinued”
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Paul
oh yeah and more Hobbs.
From what I am seeing the main upgrades for a while will all have to do with video. I am still on the fence about the whole convergence thing and I know it has more to do with the commercial market than anything. Still I feel there is more of a story in a still image or slide show than any short video. The only other thing that I am seeing develop is the high ISO capabilities which would be a great advantage for ‘street’ shooting. The one I am interested in there is the new G11 from canon to replace my G9, range finder size with a viewfinder and digital raw files, perfect for me if you can set it above 100 ISO and get usable file.
Excellent action work on the last post and I am looking forward to the basketball images
I can tell your beginning to see pictures. I see this almost every posting. Please see some for me. I’m in a drought….
A rental company donated a D300 for me to use during a charity event. What an awesome camera. Smart for not rushing to want or “desire” to upgrade.
Am glad you don’t “PS Action” your photos to death. They are really too good to do that to.
Thom Hogan writes about the D3s’s quiet mode:
@Tom: I understand the droughts. This photo was actually taken back on March of this year. I was getting out of my car and heading to the beach. This vehicle was parked right next to me. I saw the shot and took it.
Sometimes you just stumble into these things. Regarding PS, I rarely use it at all. I pretty much stick to Lightroom and the sliders.
@Andreas: Though I’ve not heard it, that’s what I figured it would be, less noisy, but not quiet.
Most products today conform to planned obsolescence. The old saying “follow the money” certainly holds true. To keep selling manufacturers will keep adding new features, whether you need them or not, and keep putting out new models every 12-18 months. You just have to decide when the new features make it personally worthwhile to make a jump. I’ve not been tempted lately.
In the photo, the reflection colors are vibrant and I like that there’s another scrunched reflection of the same scene in the red panel below the glass window.
I love Nikon but they have been pixel chasing for years. My wife and I had a D40 and D50, now she uses a D60 and I have a D90 and have never used the video. We are satisfied with what have. She likes hers because of the size and weight. And I don’t want anything bigger or heavier due to arthritis in my hands.
I have so little interest in the video feature that I am not even tempted by its listing among features. Like Ray, I am tempted by Canon’s G11. I like my G7 very much as a stealth camera (in spite of the fact that I rarely do that sort of photography), but yearn for the ability to shoot RAW with my smaller camera. The improved ISO performance in that new model is another attraction. Of course, on some days I wish I had a 1D or 1Ds, but it never becomes a serious enough itch to be a problem. Even if I had tons of money to throw around, I wouldn’t care to upgrade as often as Canon would like me to.
In “quiet” mode, when you press the shutter button, it flips the mirror up and takes the shot, but (unlike normal mode) it doesn’t flip the mirror back down until you release the button. So basically it lets you split the noise into two parts so you can delay the sound of the mirror return.
There’s an explanation/demo at http://www.nikondigitutor.com/eng/d300s/index.html. When it shows the menu, point to “Features of the D300s” and then click on “Quiet shutter-release.”
@Gary: Thanks for the link. I listened and was not impressed, but then again, I am comparing to the sound that a rangefinder makes.
This Quiet mode is not the least bit stealthy.
Nikon used to have the quiet mode on their film cameras. Strange that it is only now back again.
Sometimes it was a little leas disturbing to wildlife, but certainly not as silent as a rangefinder.
The D3 has also upgraded to the D3x and now the D3s…it is enough to make my head spin. I’m sure the D700 is due an upgrade any day now…
@Laurie: Probably so. It seems inevitable. Also, it is getting into the holiday season. Time to buy a gift for yourself!
I would imagine that Nikon would probably throw HD video onto the D700 and make it a D700s.
LOL…not this year…I think I’ve exhausted the camera gear budget for the next, oh say, 5 years…??? Maybe…