Switch from Canon 30D to Nikon 300D

[Mammamia]

Hi everyone, I am an amateur photographer. I shoot mostly my children and their sporting events using hand-me-down equipment. I have an offer to trade my Canon 30D and 18-200mm lens for a Nikon 300D and 18-200mm lens. Both lenses have IS/VR and same aperature range. Both cameras have been used by avid amateurs for several years. The main appeal in switching for me is that I will be switching to the same brand the rest of my family currently uses so sharing/trading/handing down becomes a lot simpler.

Understanding that I'm going to have to learn a whole new camera system, I'm trying to figure out the differences between the two cameras themselves and what, if anything, I will miss from my Canon. Any help or insight you can offer would be greatly appreciated!!!

[OsmosisStudios]

You're getting a camera that is 1-2 generations newer and is a substantial step-up. Go for it!

(this is assuming you're referring to a Nikon D300 body, and not a Nikon D3000 body)

[Mammamia]

Thank you! And yes the D300 body not the D3000.

[inkista]

At the D300 level, you're not likely to miss anything, except the prices on Canon's mid-range telephoto and supertelephoto L primes. No 70-200 f/4L for $600 or 400/5.6 prime for $1100 for you if you go to the Nikon side of the fence. This likely won't be much of a factor, though, if you're relying on hand-me-down gear.

[Mammamia]

Ohh, always a good thing to know. Thank you. The only other thing I've been able to find so far is the ISO doesn't go up as high on the D300 which in theory shouldn't be a big deal since ideally I'd be shooting at low ISO's, but without fast lenses I sometimes use those super high ISO's indoors if I know it's just going to be a small snap shot. Again, not a huge factor I don't think.

[inkista]

Actually, the D300 goes higher than your 30D, not the other way around.

Your 30D only really does 100-1600. The D300 does 200-3200 (with 100 and 6400 done as in-camera-processing). This means that the D300 shoots at iso 200, overexposes the shot by a stop, and then processes it to bring the exposure back down to simulate iso 100 (i.e., digital "pull" processing), and shoots at iso 3200, underexposes by a stop, and then processes to bring the exposure up to simulate iso 6400 (i.e., digital "push" processing). Your 30D does "push" processing of iso 1600 to achieve iso 3200. But this kind of "push" processing is something you can do yourself simply by shooting in RAW and adjusting the exposure in post processing.

The biggest differences between Canon and Nikon are the base iso levels. Canon tends to have a base iso of 100, while Nikon bases at iso 200. And Canon uses push/pull processing to achieve 1/3 EV stops, while Nikon does not.

[Mammamia]

Oh wow, I never understood that before (obviously). I really appreciate the explanation. That makes a lot of sense. Well, seems like there aren't a lot of downsides to trading.

[inkista]

Not as long as you don't have a lot of Canon-specific gear, and you're going to a Nikon body with a focus motor (which the D300 has) so you can autofocus with both AF and AF-S lenses. And it is still an upgrade--kind of like going from a 30D to a 7D (although the D300s is more directly analogous to the 7D).

If you had $3000 sunk into L glass, or were contemplating a D5000 or D3000, though, the decision would probably be a bit harder.

I really think your own problem might be in finding affordable midgrade telephoto lenses for sports shooting, but given that you're using inherited gear, and you can only inherit Nikon anyway, this isn't an issue.

[jml79]

Originally Posted by inkista

Not as long as you don't have a lot of Canon-specific gear, and you're going to a Nikon body with a focus motor (which the D300 has) so you can autofocus with both AF and AF-S lenses. And it is still an upgrade--kind of like going from a 30D to a 7D (although the D300s is more directly analogous to the 7D).

If you had $3000 sunk into L glass, or were contemplating a D5000 or D3000, though, the decision would probably be a bit harder.

I really think your own problem might be in finding affordable midgrade telephoto lenses for sports shooting, but given that you're using inherited gear, and you can only inherit Nikon anyway, this isn't an issue.

And then there is Tamron to the rescue, 2 telephoto primes under $500/ea, 180mm F/3.5 for $639 and a 70-200 f/2.8 for $729.