Nikon D300S AF Observations (and more) Today

[Jim Fenton]

Note....these are first hand observations and comparisons based on what I photograph and you shouldn't take them for gospel relative to what you shoot.

After having used the camera in the field this morning and this afternoon, I've got a couple observations.

A) The shutter is quieter on the 300s (which makes no sense to me) but it definitely has a more "damped" sound as compared to my 300.

B) AF is definitely faster when using TC's on my 500VR (after testing this on flight shots this afternoon) and the percentage of what I call "critically focused" is a fair bit higher.

C) When using TC's for BIF on the 500, the slow focus acquisition I experienced in hazy lighting conditions with TC's on the 500 is gone.

D) Focus is faster with the 70-300VR

E) WB and exposure seems better (outdoors...haven't tried it inside). Andreas...I will tell you that the red channel still appears hot early and late. I need someone to make me up a nearUniWB for this machine!

I guess the best way to describe it is that in some situations the AF is faster, in some it gives a feeling of being "more determined" and it sure looks to me to be more precise.

I will qualify these as first day observations (I did switch back and forth to convince myself I wasn't imagining it). I do need more time in the field to solidify / refine these observations though, especially in some different conditions.

No...I haven't bothered with the video :)

[arash_hazeghi]

What is your setting for CF a1,a3,a4, a8 ? do you use single, dynamic or auto area AF?

Note....these are first hand observations and comparisons based on what I photograph and you shouldn't take them for gospel relative to what you shoot.

After having used the camera in the field this morning and this afternoon, I've got a couple observations.

A) The shutter is quieter on the 300s (which makes no sense to me) but it definitely has a more "damped" sound as compared to my 300.

B) AF is definitely faster when using TC's on my 500VR (after testing this on flight shots this afternoon) and the percentage of what I call "critically focused" is a fair bit higher.

C) When using TC's for BIF on the 500, the slow focus acquisition I experienced in hazy lighting conditions with TC's on the 500 is gone.

D) Focus is faster with the 70-300VR

E) WB and exposure seems better (outdoors...haven't tried it inside). Andreas...I will tell you that the red channel still appears hot early and late. I need someone to make me up a nearUniWB for this machine!

I guess the best way to describe it is that in some situations the AF is faster, in some it gives a feeling of being "more determined" and it sure looks to me to be more precise.

I will qualify these as first day observations (I did switch back and forth to convince myself I wasn't imagining it). I do need more time in the field to solidify / refine these observations though, especially in some different conditions.

No...I haven't bothered with the video :)

[Fabs Forns]

Any improvement noise-wise?

[Jim Fenton]

Fabs.....there is a difference in favor of the 300s but it is very slight is side by side image compariosns.

[Alex Wimmer]

Good to hear D300s AF is better at initial aquisition, this was something many reviewers noted when comparing CAM3500 of D300 with D3/D700.

Do you think there will be firmware update to fix this on D300? As I can tell from specs the are same AF wise so this seems more of a change in software.