Mastering the Nikon D300

1.5. 12.3 Megapixel DXCMOS Sensor

A major factor in the D300's excellent image quality is the new Sony 12.3 effective megapixel CMOS sensor. It captures RAW data with up to 14-bits of color for each of the red, green, and blue channels. Most other DSLRs in this class only capture at 12 bits per channel. This gives the D300 an advantage in reproducing finer color gradations, better shadow details, and a wider dynamic range. Figure 5 shows the sensor used in the D300.

Figure 1-5. Sony 12.3 Megapixel CMOS Sensor

The D300's 12+ megapixels gives me an image file that is sharp and colorful enough to make enlargements out in the 16×20 inch range and ...