Nikon D300 vs Samsung HZ15W

In this comparison, we will evaluate the Nikon D300 and the Samsung HZ15W, highlighting the advantages of each over the other, discussing their pros and cons, shared strengths and weaknesses, and providing a rating based on their available features and specifications to assist you in choosing the one that best suits your needs.

Nikon D300 was introduced in March 2008 and Samsung HZ15W was introduced in February 2009. Let us first list highlights of the models.

Now that we've looked at the most essential specifications and gained a basic understanding of these cameras, we can delve into more details and see the differences between them.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Nikon D300 over Samsung HZ15W.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Samsung HZ15W over Nikon D300.

We already listed pros and cons of each model. However, you may also find useful to look at their common strengths and weaknesses shown side-by-side.

Screen

Nikon D300 and Samsung HZ15W have 3.0" Fixed screens with 922k dot and 460k dot resolutions respectively.

Optical (pentaprism) Viewfinder on Nikon D300

Nikon D300 has a built-in Optical (pentaprism) viewfinder. It has a 100% coverage and 0.94x (0.63x 35mm equivalent) magnification. There is no built-in or optional viewfinder available on Samsung HZ15W.

Nikon D300 features a 12.3 megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor with dimensions of 23.6 x 15.8 mm and a total area of 372.9 mm². Its native ISO range is 200 - 3,200 and expands to 100 - 6,400 in boosted mode. Samsung HZ15W features a 12.2 megapixel 1/2.33-inch CCD sensor with dimensions of 6.08 x 4.56 mm and a total area of 20.8 mm². Its native ISO range is 80 - 3,200.

Nikon D300 is equipped with EXPEED processor and can take pictures up to 4288 x 2848 resolution. It can also take pictures with lower resolution like 3216 x 2136, 2144 x 1424 with 3:2 aspect ratios. Samsung HZ15W can take pictures up to 4000 x 3000 resolution. It can also take pictures with lower resolution like 4000 x 2654, 4000 x 2248, 3264 x 2592 x 1944, 2048 x 1536, 1920 x 1080, 1024 x 768 with 16:9, 4:3, 3:2 aspect ratios.

Samsung HZ15W has an image stabilization.

USB Inputs and HDMI Outputs

Both models have USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) inputs for data transfer. connector for video signal output.

Battery

Nikon D300 comes with EN-EL3e battery pack with battery life of 1000 shots and Samsung HZ15W comes with SLB-10A battery pack.

External Storage Slots

Nikon D300 has a single CompactFlash (Type I/II, compliant with UDMA), MicroDrive card slot. Samsung HZ15W has a single SC/SDHC/MMC/MMCplus card slot.

Shutter

Nikon D300 has Electronically controlled vertical-travel focal-plane shutter. Shutter speed can go up to 1/8000 sec on Nikon D300, and up to 1/2000 sec on Samsung HZ15W. Nikon D300 can shoot continuously up to 6.0 fps.

Exposure

Exposure meterings of Nikon D300 ranges from 0 to +20 EV and you can set the exposure compensation within the ±5 EV range on Nikon D300 and ±2 range on Samsung HZ15W. You can also do exposure lock and exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Nikon D300 and exposure bracketing on Samsung HZ15W.

Flash

Cameras have built-in flash with maximum range of 12.00 m at ISO 100 on Nikon D300 and 4.70 m on Samsung HZ15W. Nikon D300 also accepts external flash which can be connected via Hot Shoe or PC Terminal. The fastest flash synchronization speed is 1/250 sec on Nikon D300.

Nikon D300 body has dimensions of 147 x 114 x 74 mm (5.79 x 4.49 x 2.91") and Samsung HZ15W body has dimensions of 105 x 61 x 37 mm (4.13 x 2.4 x 1.46"). Nikon D300 weighs 925 g (2.04 lb / 32.63 oz) and Samsung HZ15W weighs 249 g (0.55 lb / 8.78 oz).

Nikon D300

Samsung HZ15W

147 mm

114 mm

105 mm

61 mm

114 mm

61 mm