7D or D300S

Hi all,

I have a noob question pertaining to purchase of a DSLR. I am a wildlife photographer and currently i am shooting with Canon 1dmk3 and 400mm f5.6 L with a teleconverter. I have 90% of keepers and i am really happy with it.

I used to own a nikon d300 an year ago and used to shoot with 80-400mm with a 1.4x tc. After switching to mark3 i was using the d300 for portraits on 85mm f1.8. Everyone has ups and downs in life and i was a victim of recession and i had to sell the d300 and 80-400mm VR lens.

Now i am willing to purchase a camera both for portraits and wildlife. Though i will not quit using mk3, but planning ot get a second body for portraits and wildlife.

Currently i have two models in my mind. a nikon d300S and a Canon 7D. the lenses available with me are nikkor 50mm f1.8 and canon 50mm 1.8. I can't afford a FF.

Help me decide to choose between 7D and D300S for both portraits and wildlife.

You may visit my gallery at : http://www.pbase.com/abdulghani/small_birds

Awaiting your reply.

Regards
Rahil, Abdulghani

That is not easy but personally, I would stick with one system but only you can decide whether you are more comfortable using Nikon or Canon. If you want to keep the 1D3, then the 7D might complement it nicely.

If I were in your shoes I would also sell MKIII save a bit more and purchase a MKIV which is an upgrade to what you already have.

I have a 7D - If you stick with Canon, two would drive me nuts. The 7D is a nice body for the money. I would probably agree with the MkIV purchase but the 7D is a nice backup for the price. Some fun 7D facts that I like:
18 MP's
8 FPS shutter speed
Buffer handles 15 RAW / 94 JPEG
Fast 19 point AF and new Servo tracking system
New multi function menu button on back to rapidly change between modes (e.g., AV, Manual and TV)
Electronic Level

Gr8! i appreciate your advise.

well i use my mk3 for the studio and a 7d for wildlife .
My plan was to get the mk4 but the 7d is plenty good enough IMO also one has to wonder what the next upgrade to the 7d will have ? to me the 7d is so close to the mk4 at such a small cost it will be of no concern to dump it after a year for the next model.
That will still work out cheaper than a mk4 and you get the next improvements earlyer :)
Rob.

I agree with the comments above. The 7D is a great camera. It may not be better than a D300s (or the D400 which might be announced this year) but it is by far the best 1.6 crop camera Canon has ever made.
If you already shoot with a 1D III I would go for the 7D. It depends on your style but using two systems would drive me nuts.
If I had to start from scratch, it would be a lot harder to decide between Canon and Nikon as it was several years ago when I started with the 10D but I would always try to stick to one system. This saves money!

Imaging going on a long trip. You would need backup bodies for both systems. If you own a EF 4/500L for your 1D Mark III and your 1D Mark III fails during that trip you can still use the 7D with that lens. Not so with a D300s no matter how awesome that camera may be.

Of course you could also go for the D300s and get a D700 or a D3s as a 2nd body. Using a D300s and a D3s would be an awesome combination.

Markus

I currently shoot with a 1D4, 7D and a D3s and have also had a D300s in the past which I used side by side with the 7D.

AF-wise the D300s edges out the 7D for subject tracking, especially against complex backgrounds. IQ-wise, I give the edge to the 7D which has produced the better print at all sizes and ISOs vs. the D300s. The 7D's improved metering is better than previous Canon cameras and in most situations is as accurate as Nikon's.

If you are happy with the 1D3, then you'll be very very happy with the 1D4. In focal length limited shooting, the 7D does have an advantage over even the 1D4 in resolved detail (easily from ISO 100-400).

The answer is easy, I agree with the above.

Buy the body that will allow you to use the lenses you already own.

The 7D.

It is true that the D300s AF is much better than the other bodies you mention.

Robert

I thinks its a personal decision however both are great products. I would stick with one system or the other not both. If you have a lot invested in glass (lens) then I would be pick the system which you have more lenses of.

Thank u all for your suggestions and finally i pulled the trigger on Canon 7D.

Cheers and have a nice week ahead.
Rahil

I think you made the right choice. AF wise would hate to use the 80-400 with a converter, it is slow without !!!! The straight 400 is much better but would only work on a 1D series camera !! Good luck !!

Good decision. Better to stick with one brand. 7D is good. 1D IV would have been great as well.

Cheers,
Sabyasachi

Stick with one system. If you will keep MKIII then insted of 7D buy a FF (5D) or sell MKIII and buy 7D and 5DII.

Thanks milan.

You have a tough choice but I think the advice of staying with one manufacture's camera a good one. I just noticed one vender was offering the 7D for a hundred dollars less than what most are asking for theirs and it states Canon is offering a rebate. You know what manufacture's rebates can be a sign of (o: