Nikon annoucnes the D300

[RonFrank]

I will have to look into the wireless connection for the D200 - the things you learn on SB! Of course still have to change/charge the batteries as I don't think a single charge will last the day as I have never tried, always charge twice a day.

Heh, your owners manual ALSO has this information!

With a good battery and a full charge, I think one can get 300+ shots shooting RAW+JPG.

I generally don't bother changing out my better on a four dive day, or my CF card for that matter. I make sure the battery is fully charged, and use a 4GB CF card. I've never run out of shots or juice over four dives, but your mileage may vary.

 

[RonFrank]

Damn ... is there an accessory battery pack available?

There is an accessory pack available. It's not going to fit in the housing unless someone makes a housing specifically for the D300 plus the accessory pack.

However I think you are attempting to solve a problem that does not exist.

I've been shooting the D200 for a while. I rarely need two batteries over one day, even shooting topside. You may want to purchase the camera, and assess the the battery life before running off to solve an issue that likely needs no solution.

Taking the camera out of the housing between dives is also not a huge deal. I generally like to do so in the front cabin when possible, but I've pulled the camera out of the housing on a six pack as well. This was not to change the battery or Card.

 

[Thalassamania]

There is an accessory pack available. It's not going to fit in the housing unless someone makes a housing specifically for the D300 plus the accessory pack.

However I think you are attempting to solve a problem that does not exist.

I've been shooting the D200 for a while. I rarely need two batteries over one day, even shooting topside. You may want to purchase the camera, and assess the the battery life before running off to solve an issue that likely needs no solution.

Taking the camera out of the housing between dives is also not a huge deal. I generally like to do so in the front cabin when possible, but I've pulled the camera out of the housing on a six pack as well. This was not to change the battery or Card.

We occasionally work out of underwater habitats like Aquarius. It's real humid. The idea of closing up the housing at the start of a two week mission and never having to open it is an attractive one. Images could be transfered straight to the computer and by putting the accessory pack in a simple, separate housing that supplied power through an E/O connector, the power problem could be solved.

 

[RonFrank]

Well.. I would agree with you depending on what you are doing with the image. For me, I may be doing a 20x30 poster sized print and 12MP is not enough to print at 300dpi. 20MP isn't enough either, but it is closer and potentially better.

Pro's are using the 12mpix D2x to produce billboards. DPI, PPI, SPI, and LPI, are confusing mainly because they are so misused. DPI is NOT a digital camera term, it refers to the dot per inch that a printer can produce. It drives me nuts when a publisher says they want a 300DPI image because it's like saying you want a 10 ounce light bulb.

I'm not going to go into the depth here to define and discuss these terms, but if you are serious about making good prints from digital camera's you can either 1) Learn the terminology, and how to do so, or 2) Use a Lab.

The D3 is is more targeted at photojournalism, and is a real speed daemon. However Landscape photographers who can NOT produce fine art images with this camera don't know what they are doing.

The other issue here is that the D3 allows use of the DX lenses, however, your resolution is also decreased to an image closer to 8MP camera. So, if I wanted to use my 10.5mm lense with the D3, I would only be getting 8MP which is significantly less than desireable. For a $5000 camera where the competition is over the 20MP range, I am surprised is all and wouldln't go for the D3 for my purposes. I would rather get the D300 and wait for something like a D3x that may have more MP down the road.

12mpix is adequate for the 35mm format, and surpasses 35mm film resolution. The 20mpix competition is 3K more, so we are not comparing apples to apples.

No doubt that Nikon WILL come out with a higher MPIX sensor over time. OTOH, if serious resolution is your game, forget 35mm style camera altogether, and go for something that has some real power. Yes, I'm talking something like the Hassy HD3 with 36x48mm sensor at 39mpix. Price? Well for 29K, you will have a great looking body, but will not have a lens!

 

[Christian]

Well.. I would agree with you depending on what you are doing with the image. For me, I may be doing a 20x30 poster sized print and 12MP is not enough to print at 300dpi. 20MP isn't enough either, but it is closer and potentially better.

The other issue here is that the D3 allows use of the DX lenses, however, your resolution is also decreased to an image closer to 8MP camera. So, if I wanted to use my 10.5mm lense with the D3, I would only be getting 8MP which is significantly less than desireable. For a $5000 camera where the competition is over the 20MP range, I am surprised is all and wouldln't go for the D3 for my purposes. I would rather get the D300 and wait for something like a D3x that may have more MP down the road.

I'm in the Ad-industry and I recently produced a billboard from one of Alexander Mustards D2x-files with fantastic results. It's easy to uprez these days. If you want to do art-book quality posters, you need to get a digital midformat-camera which btw you can't take underwater anyway, unless you are prepared to spend meg*****$ and custom build something. And there are really no lenses good for UW-use.
Regarding DX, just because it's possible I wouldn't use them with FF. I would sell them quickly and then get some of the excellent Nikkor-glass (17-35, 16/2.8FE etc) that has been compromised on the cropped sensor.

BTW, if anyone going FF wants to get rid of DX-glass I'm interested in a 17-55

cheers

Christian