I've just about had it with my D300

[toxic]

I don't understand why it'd take $150 to ship a camera in...

I dunno about Nikon, but Canon pays for shipping if the repair doesn't work the first time, and you get a 6-month warranty for whatever the problem was.

 

[hogfaninga]

I don't understand why it'd take $150 to ship a camera in...

I dunno about Nikon, but Canon pays for shipping if the repair doesn't work the first time, and you get a 6-month warranty for whatever the problem was.

I think everyone is missing the point even though it has been explained. His camera is a demo (once again, Nikon only covers factory refurbs and demos for 90 days) which means the warranty is covered by Cameta, not Nikon (after 90 days which this is the case). Cameta has their own rules. Nikon does pay for shipping if they don't fix it the first time right (plus you get an additional warranty on the replaced part--I think it is 6 months also--not 100% sure though), if it was bought brand new. He didn't buy brand new so he has to deal with the place he bought it from. It is Cameta's warranty. Now if Cameta sent it in (which I really wonder if they did send it into Nikon or just fix it themselves), which they did for the OP, then they have to deal with Nikon if the repair isn't done right. Cameta, as I said, has an in house repair facility I believe.

His problem is with Cameta, not Nikon.

I would be very surprised if Canon gives a full year manufacturers warranty on demos/refurbs. If so please provide a link showing this.

 

[BanjoBanker]

I have been a Nikon guy for a long time. I have had several experiences with Nikon's service and it is GREAT. Contact Nikon's service department and tell them what is gong on and get their recommendations. I am unfamiliar with Cameta, but I feel you are always better served dealing with the manufacturer when you have a warranty issue or repair is needed out of warranty. You may be entirely correct in your statement about cameta putting your D300 in a circular file for a month and returning it! Deal directly with Nikon, you will be much happier.

 

[jaseone]

How about trying to take some photos in similar lighting conditions that you are able to post with EXIF data intact that demonstrate the issues you are claiming? If images work fine in Program mode but not Aperture Priority then to me that would indicate usage related issues and not camera related ones but without example images it is impossible to say.

 

[kjohansen]

I own a D300 and it has performed awesome. I have shipped one of my D3's to Nikon for service and I had to send my D2x in for service. Both times the cameras went to El Segundo and were turned around quickly, the D2x cost me about $200 to fix, it was bought used, but it worked like a champ after it was fixed. Nikon always gives an estimate for service work.

Send your camera to Nikon and get it fixed! The D300 is a great camera

Like has been stated before, you can have problems with any camera, and if you are shooting with consumer glass, you will not get the best results. Pro glass is expensive, but oh the images look great.

 

[hogfaninga]

Like has been stated before, you can have problems with any camera, and if you are shooting with consumer glass, you will not get the best results. Pro glass is expensive, but oh the images look great.

LOL

 

[compuwar]

I'm really beginning to regret going with Nikon these days, for two main reasons. One is that Canon's offerings in the form of the 40/50D are priced lower than the D300 while offering real world performance that's pretty close, and also because Canon lens selection is wider and also tends to be less expensive.

Canon's lens selection isn't much wider- and both manufacturers have price points where they're significantly better than the competition. However, if you're convinced the grass is that much greener, then jump ships- it's better to be happy with your tools than to fight them.

I could deal with that if my D300 just worked as it was supposed to. Unfortunately, despite having already been back to Cameta/Nikon for servicing, I think they just put it in a circular file and returned it to me after a month, having done nothing to fix it.
[/quit]

Nikon tends to put a repair report in with all their repairs that say what they did to the camera. If you didn't get one of those, then I'd call up Nikon and see if they have a repair record for your camera's serial number.

Just today, I was taking some sports pictures, and my lenses kept backfocusing and sometimes not even focusing at all in the actual image, despite the camera being focused in terms of what I saw through the viewfinder (i.e. person in focus in viewfinder, person out of focus on the display after the shot). I took several shots in a row of someone in the outfield that was standing completely still in bright sunlight (i.e. fast shutter speed) and the camera repeatedly gave me out of focus images. I couldn't post them even if I still had them because the subjects are minors, but I hope you can take my word for it. Other shots gave me similar results. I used both C and S focus modes, and fiddled around in general, but the results were always inconsistent at best.

What happens if you manually focus? Are you using the Nikonians settings, the default settings or some other combination? Closest subject priority set to off? Nikon's advanced autofocus modules are pretty tweakable, and it's possible to mis-set it and get bad results. You should be able to repeat the results with subjects you can post.

Frustratingly, sometimes my D300 works as it's supposed to. I feel like I'm good enough to know when it's me and when it's the camera, and I'm almost certain it's the camera, particularly as it's already been found in need of service once before by a professional and sent back to Nikon.

In most of the cases I've seen, when things are inconsistent it's a setting problem. If I were you, I'd rule that out prior to completely giving up.

At any rate, I love the D300 for what it can be, but I'm not too fond of my actual D300 these days. It has around 14,000 clicks on it now, and given that I can't actually be sure if it's in good technical condition, I don't even know if I could sell it.

Send it to me, and if it's not good, I'll send it back

Anyone willing/able to talk me off a ledge here?

Check all the AF settings, make sure you understand what they do and how they're set and how that affects things like moving children.

 

[luminosity]

I appreciate all the replies. I think my Canon bit was just a fit of pique, mostly out of frustration. When it works as designed, the D300 is a remarkable camera. I'm still a bit curious about Canon's lens selection, but perhaps it's just the prime lenses I'm thinking of.

If you didn't get one of those, then I'd call up Nikon and see if they have a repair record for your camera's serial number.

I didn't get that, but Cameta had it on file. Interestingly, it said that they cleaned the camera, and yet there's still a noticeable speck visible through the viewfinder.

I didn't try manual focus, and in the future, I'll try that. I was just using my own settings. I've had my 80-200 lens dropped off to be looked at and probably fixed up a bit, and that may solve some or all the trouble.

My camera did great at a track meet last Thursday, and that's gotten me thinking it was primarily the 80-200 lens that was at fault, along with my own settings and handling. But, we'll see. Nothing can really explain why my camera has lost all power on two separate occasions, despite a mostly charged battery.