It's Time for Upgrade

It's Time for Upgrade, originally uploaded by IvanoMak.

Just as last year I got a “late” Christmas present in the form of Nikon D40, this year I got an “early” Christmas present to myself, Nikon D300 that just came out. Most pictures you will see from now on will be taken with that camera, though I am still keeping D40 as a backup camera. It has been an excellent entry-level SLR camera, and I'm still of the opinion that it's the best value for the money out there in the market. There are still few things I can do with D40 that I won't be able to do with the D300 (such as, syncing external flash at any shutrer speed I want, including as fast as 1/1000 of a second).

My reasons for upgrading are as follows:
-- I need more resolution. Over the past few months I had few people who contacting me wanting to buy poster prints of my work. If I cropped the image in the process, I can’t make a print large enough. Plus, stock agencies that I been submitting images are picky about resolution, and the more the better in those cases. I’m going from 6 Mpx to 12.
-- I need exposure bracketing. It will help during sunset/sunrise shots, as now I don’t have to worry about camera move as I change exposure compensation.
-- I want to focus my prime lenses. 50mm f/1.8 is one heck of a lens, and I want to use to full ability.
-- I need better ISO performance. D300 offers that.
-- I want new camera body that will not be obsolete in few months. Hence, why I didn't go with D80 or now obsolete D200.
-- I want more compatibility for my external flashes.
-- I want camera that has more than three focus points and better auto focusing system. D300 has 51 focus points! The sky is my limit now.
-- Finally, I want to have a more professional camera body as I am starting to get more paid jobs, and D300 takes me to a new level of technological abilities.

I still have so much to learn about photography, post processing, printing, and especially about seeing better, but when you get to a point that you start feeling limits to your creativity as a result of inferior camera body, it’s time to upgrade. I have not had the chance to properly test the D300 yet, but I’ll post a review in the next few weeks.