With ROAR2 approaching, I have carefully followed Ken's photography advice not to rely on having only one good camera and I am anxiously awaiting the arrival of my Nikon D300 which should be delivered today. It might not be until tomorrow, because those of you who have met my wife will understand that I was unable to convince her to stay home and wait for the delivery. Any other Nikonians out there who have one of these?

Mitch - congratulations on your newly acquired camera. Our neighbor is a Nikon fan. I'll be back with my trusty Kodak.

PS - if you want Bert to stay home for delivery, would a dozen red roses for her would do the trick? ;) :app:

Cheers, Anne

Hi Mitch,

We're on ROAR2 as well and have also been going through our camera bags. Len uses a Canon EOS 5D, but he's also going to rent an extra Canon Rebel body so he doesn't have to change lenses out in the field too often.

I'll probably shoot with one of those cameras when I'm not taking video footage. I just got a new Canon high-def videocamera...now I need to spend some time experimenting with it.

I used it in Alaska a few weeks ago so I need to review that footage and see what, if anything, I should do differently in Africa.

My Dad is a complete Nikon fan and says you can't go wrong with any of their stuff. I hope your camera arrives ASAP!

Andrea

"Another trip, another camera" - sounds like my husband!!! At least, it FEELS like we have bought a new and different type of camera for each trip. When we were still scheduled to go on ROAR2, he had every lens picked out...now he is settling for the camera itself and then we're buying a smaller one that will fit in his pocket when we go on our Voyager cruise in the Med.

Don't ask me what brand any of these cameras are, I am totally ignorant when it comes to cameras! LOL

Anyway, hope your camera arrives today, safe & sound, Mitch! :) And I can't wait to see the pictures you take with it. ROAR2 is not far off at all!

Y'all make me feel like such an amateur. I'm still in the point and shoot group, but absolutely love mine; trying to decide whether to take both of them or not.

The Nikon D300 is a great choice. I will have a Nikon D80. Expect to use the 70-300 VR lens the most. Just got three more sd cards from b&h. Got 3 of the 2gb 133speed lexar cards. They have a 15.00 rebate deal on the cards right now. Take lots of memory cards. Carol will use the Nikon point and shoot that takes video also.

Whose needs to pack. Been packed for this trip for months. Getting harder and harder to wait.

Most of the pros tht shoot people, sports and events are using Canon which is what I use. The 5d is a great camera but they are coming out shortly with it's replacement upgrade. Canon's lenses are top grade for most applications and it is more the lenses than the camera body that make a great image.

If Len is renting a Rebel, going from the 5d, I would suggest he looks at the 40d instead because the control buttons are more similar and he will be able to switch cameras more easily. The Rebel is much smaller and not as easy to hold if you are used to a larger camera.

Nikon makes some great gear too. I used a Nikon before I opened my own photography studio/business

ChatKat, As I would guess you would agree it is not the camera, nor the lens but the person that pushes the button that makes the picture.

Mitch:

Good choice! Nikon is a great camera.
I did the same thing..... to prepare for Roar 2, I got the Canon Xsi (the new Rebel). (and a couple of lenses!) Then I took it on CAVIAR & tried to learn it.
I took some great shots and some downright awful ones!
My take away: When your new baby arrives, play with it a lot. Make mistakes.make lots of them...your ROAR shots will be the better for it!

Hope to get some time together with you guys in Africa, Doug

Absolutely! In 2003 we were in Peggy's Cove/Halifax Nova Scotia. I was new to digital photography and the battery remained in my cabin on the Navigator. I was so upset because it's so picturesque. I went to the gift store and bought a disposable camera. Every one of those photos is on the wall in my home office. Definitely, the photographer, the ability to see light and compose - but the equipment does help.

If you are seiorus when you take your camera out, have three batteries: One in the charger, one in your pocket and one in the camera!

Lets not forget, Mitch is asking about about the Nikon D300! Again, does anyone have it like he asked in OP?

Think it's too new for anybody to have it yet ... was just released earlier this year and can be hard to find (though B&H Photo has it in stock right now). Mitch, you might be the guinea pig on this one but you can tell us all how much you like it after you get to play with it! (mucho camera envy on my end)

Masaki uses a Nikon camera but I am not sure which model.

I have a D40 and a D70. I have not upgraded to the semipro models like the D100, D200, or (drool) D300 ... though it's not from not wanting to do so!

Mitch,

You can go to www.Dpreview.com or www.dgrin.com if you want to talk about the Nikon's. They have forums like this devoted to specific models.

Thanks for everyone's comments. As expected, I will have to wait until later today to get acquainted with my new camera. I have read some rave reviews. I will post a progress report. There are some great sales on memory cards now. Sandisk is offering rebates on all their card including the ultra-fast ones in all sizes.

The dpreview site is excellent. A great source for anyone looking for any type of digital camera. You might take a look at the book done by Tom Hogan at http://www.bythom.com/nikond300guide.htm

I bought his book for the D80 and have found it a good investment. The manual that Nikon provides is sometimes hard to follow. The Tom Hogan book helped me a lot. He has one for the D300 that sounds equally good.

Look forward to meeting you on ROAR 2, hopefully our schedules will cross at some point.

Thanks, Ralph. I look forward to meeting you as well. It won't be long now-

Ralph you know I live with "Mega Pickle" man - many cameras just a few fine pictures - my 3 favorite blow ups 8X10 in our house were taken by 14 yr old granddaughter $199 camera from Walmart - guess she has the gift - excellent pictures

Spent the weekend getting to know my D300. What a difference between the D80 and this camera. I am very impressed. I am having fun!

Take pictures of the camera! :lol: